Two years later

The leaves were red and orange again, and the breeze had that early-autumn bite to it. Elizabeth shifted the wrap over her shoulder, looking back to make sure Herbert was still comfortable. He was over a year old now, his smile bright and his dark curly hair blowing in the breeze. He gave her a toothy smile and she laughed, her heart swelling. 

Once she was sure that he was secure, she continued from the station to the stable, the sun just starting to come up over the eastern ridge. She glanced over at the hay stores, glad to see that the repairs from two years ago were still holding despite all the summer storms they had that year. 

“Lizzie!” Jesse called out, walking from one stall to the next with a bucket of feed, Blue trotting alongside at his heels. “I’m almost done feeding the horses.” 

“He’s doing a fine job at it too,” Harold said from a chair in the corner, his dog resting at his feet. 

“I thought we agreed that being retired meant you weren’t going to come out to the barn until after the sun was up?” Elizabeth said, teasing Harold as she went over to one of the horses and started petting it. 

Harold rolled his eyes. “I want to be here. Someone needs to make sure the boy is ready for when the station is his one day.” 

“With you teaching him, he’s going to be the best station owner Jones Relay Station has ever seen.” Elizabeth reached out and ruffled Jesse’s hair. “Well, if everything is settled here, I’m going to head back to the station and see what Nora’s whipped up for breakfast.” 

“I can handle this,” Jesse said, giving her a firm look, as only a seven-year-old could give. It was the same one James liked to give her when he thought she should rest. 

She laughed and left, stopping in the doorway to look back at Jesse, watching him move onto the next stall in the same unhurried way James moved. Both of them had settled in even more over the last two years. Jesse had grown up and made more friends. He spent his mornings helping out at the station before school, and after he would bring his friends over to help with the goats and the chickens. The house had expanded to a ranch, the cattle herd still growing now that there was more time to care for them all. 

Elizabeth lingered for a moment longer, before turning and going up to the station. 

James was sitting at one of the tables near the windows, a piece of paper in his hand. The station smelled like bacon and eggs, a sizzling sound coming from the kitchen. 

“Are you okay?” Elizabeth asked, seeing Joseph’s handwriting on the envelope sitting on the table. 

“I am.” James sighed, putting the letter down. “It’s from Joseph. He wrote about the mountain. About what life had been like for him after he’d left home, but before he became Edward Crane.” 

“Was it hard?” Elizabeth asked. She still hadn’t forgiven Joseph, but she had empathy for James and what knowing the truth about his brother did to him. He was still unsettled about everything that happened, even all these years later. 

“He struggled for a while.” James put the letter back in the envelope. “Knowing what happened to him when he left home doesn’t change what he did, but I think it helps me understand him a bit better.” 

“I can understand that.” She got Herbert out of the wrap and set him on her knee, holding him close while he babbled. 

James took one look at his son and broke out into a broad smile, reaching forward and taking the baby from her. Herbert giggled and reached for James’ face, cupping it with his chubby little hands. 

“Jospeh is still being kept locked up in Sacramento, isn’t he?” Elizabeth didn’t like to worry about what could happen if he ever got out, but there were some nights when she wondered if they’d continue to be safe. 

“He is and he’s never getting out.” James offered her a warm smile. “You don’t have to worry. Both Thomas and your pa are watching over us, and they’re going to make sure we’re safe.” 

She glanced at the outline of the bulge in his breast pocket, an old watch that belonged to Thomas. “I know.” 

“Now, don’t we have things to do before everyone comes over for Jesse’s birthday party?” James stood and balanced Herbert on his hip. Elizabeth went to stand, but James shook his head. ‘You need to have breakfast. You relax while I take care of getting everything set up for the party.” 

***

“Happy birthday, Jesse!” Maggie shouted as she walked through the door of the station later that afternoon, Silas close behind her, their daughter in Silas’ arms. 

Elizabeth smiled and went over to greet Silas and Daisy, pulling them both into hugs. She kissed Daisy’s cheek before plucking the baby from Silas’ arms. 

“Have the opinions of everyone in Riverside quieted?” Elizabeth asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Silas. The town he and Maggie moved to was only six miles away, and Elizabeth often heard whispers and judgments against Silas and Maggie. 

“They’re getting better, but I’m never going to be truly accepted there.” Silas shrugged, his eyes on Daisy. “All I want to do is make Riverside a better place for her though. She’s going to face the opinions of bigots either way, but one day I hope she never has to hear another person mocking her heritage or her people.” 

Elizabeth nodded, squeezing his arm. “You’re a good father, and I know you’re going to do right by her.” 

“He is a good father,” Maggie said, sweeping over to them. “It’s hard to believe Daisy is already three months old.” 

“Mrs. Bannock, fancy seeing you here. I thought you were going to be too busy running that lending library of yours to come today,” Elizabeth said, her tone teasing. “I’m so proud of you and all you accomplished.” 

“It’s going better than it was, but there will still be the odd week here or there where I don’t see a soul because some new rumor is spreading around town.” Maggie rolled her eyes, but there was a fire in her eyes that said she didn’t care about the opinions of others. 

Elizabeth was proud of how far Maggie had come since she showed up back home two years ago. She’d stood up for herself first with Daniel and then with the entire town of Riverside when she married Silas and took his name. 

Maggie grinned, scooping Daisy up and holding her close when the baby started to fuss. “It’s been struggling a bit more since I changed my name. A mining family stopped sending their children, but there are some families who don’t care.” 

“The ones who do care aren’t worth your time.” 

“Those children returned yesterday evening. It took nearly six weeks for them to come back once the name change was public knowledge, but they did.” Maggie kissed the top of Daisy’s head. “We’re changing opinions slowly.” 

Elizabeth smiled, and while she didn’t know firsthand what they were going through, she remembered the letter Silas sent her months ago. He’d been asking after James and Jesse and the station, wanting to know if the repairs on the fence and hay stores were still holding, asking if he’d need to come back to help for any reason. 

At the bottom of the letter had been a note that he went to visit his mother’s people and even they had questions about why he’d married Maggie. 

“Supper is ready!” Nora said, motioning to the tables. “Once everyone is done eating, there’s a stack of presents to open too.” 

Jesse lit up as his friends went dashing over to one of the tables together laughing and talking as they settled down to their suppers of chicken and mashed potatoes, all of it smothered in gravy. 

It’d been Jesse’s choice. 

Elizabeth sat down at a table with James, grinning and wiggling her fingers at Herbert. Vance and Michelle were across from them, their son, Caleb, in Michelle’s lap, already asleep with a little drool rolling down his chin. 

“Look at how happy he is,” James whispered, looking over at Jesse. ‘There was a time when I didn’t know if he was going to have this kind of life waiting for him. I thought we were going to spend time moving from ranch to ranch.” 

“He’s got friends now, and he’s getting pretty good at working with the horses too. He’s been out at the stables every morning before the sun is up to feed them and turn them out in the pasture. Even manages to help Vance muck most of the stalls before the sun is up,” Elizabeth said, pride filling her as she looked at Jesse. 

“He still wants to be a horse trainer,” Vance said, peeling off some of the crispy chicken skin. “He’s going to do well at it too. He’s been working with one of the fillies and she’s really taken to him.” 

“Good, having something to do will keep him out of trouble as all the boys get older.” Elizabeth wiped Herbert’s hand after he stuck it into the pile of mashed potatoes on James’ plate, laughing as he waved his hand and potatoes splattered on James’ face. 

James burst out laughing, other people turning to see what the commotion was. The more people who looked, the more who started laughing, until the entire room was filled with laughter. 

After supper was done and the presents had been opened, everyone moved outside. Fires were lit as the night descended around them, stars twinkling in the sky. Jesse ran around with his friends, laughing and calling to each other as they hid among the trees. 

Elizabeth sat beside James on the ground, leaning into him, Herbert asleep in her lap. She tilted her head back and looked up at James. “I’m pregnant again.” 

“What?” he asked, keeping his voice quiet so the people around him didn’t hear. His eyes were warm with love and happiness as he looked down at her. “You’re sure?” 

“Very.” Elizabeth smiled and put her head on his shoulder. “I want to keep it between us for now, but I couldn’t keep it a secret from you any longer.” 

James laughed and tilted her head back a little further, kissing her, the voices of their friends and family fading into the background as the world narrowed to just the two of them. 

“I love you,” she whispered, reaching up to cup his face, running her thumb over his cheek. 

He turned his head and kissed her palm before looking back at her. “I love you too.” 

She nestled into him, closing her eyes for a moment and enjoying the feeling of the life they had created. It was warm and happy, love flowing from every corner of her life. 

When she opened her eyes and looked up at the sky again, two stars shining brighter than the rest. 

We’re all happy now, Thomas and Pa, neither of you have to worry.

The stars seemed to wink at her. Her heart swelled, sure they were looking down on the family with nothing but love. 

She sighed, getting more comfortable as she glanced over at Maggie and Silas, Daisy already asleep. Ben was up and running around with the children while Nora sat to the side with her daughter, her granddaughter toddling around. Harold hovered nearby, playing a soft song on his fiddle, his dog still at his feet. 

Everything was peaceful and quiet. Joseph couldn’t touch their lives anymore

Their family was growing. 

Her heart was full in ways she had never known possible.

And as she sat beneath the stars with the people she loved, everything felt right in the world. 

THE END