A Heart Worth Guarding – Extended Epilogue

Four years passed in the blink of an eye.

Claire remembered thinking on her wedding day that her heart was complete. But she was wrong. Her heart wasn’t really complete until she had her children. Duncan Jr., whom everyone called Junior, was three. Her daughter, Emily Elizabeth, was just one.

Claire was sure her daughter was advanced in everything. She was already walking, though she did wobble and was a little clumsy sometimes. Claire was delighted when she toppled over and her older brother ran to her rescue, consoling her with baby talk. She could also speak a few words clearly, which was quite amazing in Claire’s mind. She was learning at the same time as her brother. The bond her children shared meant a great deal to her.

It was the day of their fourth anniversary when Claire would get to see everyone in her family all together at once again. She’d traveled to New York a few times, usually with Edmund, who had made good on his word and moved to Dry Canyon on a part-time basis, splitting his time between Texas and New York. Whenever he decided to go back, he always invited Claire and she went almost every time. She hadn’t been able to go on several occasions because she was either pregnant or busy with the children. Once they were born, she was determined that they would get to know her side of the family, too, but she didn’t want to take them until they were a little older.

Her mother, brother, and sister had met Junior on a few occasions. Claire didn’t want to travel with Emily Elizabeth until she was at least two years old. Even if she was advanced.

They had planned a picnic by the lake for their anniversary and everyone was invited. She rode with her children in the buggy to the picnic spot.

“Yoo hoo!” she called out, getting out of the buggy and turning back to lift her children out. Once their little feet hit the ground, they ran off. Claire watched them both, bouncing on their little baby legs, wobbling but doing an amazing job getting down the small slope of a grassy hill to the clearing where the shore was that led to the water.

The sky was clear and blue. The sun was shining bright. They couldn’t have picked a better day to celebrate their anniversary.

Claire waved her hand high in the air until someone saw her. Duncan was already there because he’d picked up Mrs. Fieldale, Damon, and Eliza from the stagecoach station. When he saw his children come running to the shoreline, he turned his head and saw her coming toward them.

“There’s my best girl!” he called out, hurrying to meet her halfway.

“Howdy!” A chorus of greetings filled the air as they all saw her and came to greet her.

She received many hugs, even from her brother and mother, who didn’t look nearly as stressed as they had the last time Claire had seen them.

“It is so good to see you, Damon. Mama. Eliza. How have you all been?”

“My husband is here, Claire. You must say hi to him, as well. He’s over there with Edmund and Amelia.”

“Ah, I knew Amelia would come,” Claire said, excitement in her voice. She was happy her cousin had finally found a woman to spend his time with, especially because her time was very limited now that she was married with two small children. Plus, Amelia was just like Edmund, funny, outgoing, intelligent, and courageous. She liked to go on adventures and Edmund was the perfect man to do things like that with.

Claire went down to the shore and laid out a big blanket, setting her picnic basket on top of it. When the men gathered together, the women came to where she was and sat on the big blanket. Alice had brought her children but they were off playing with Claire’s.

“You must tell me how things are going in New York,” Claire said, smiling at her mother and sister. “You both look a lot happier than you did before.”

Eliza and Mrs. Fieldale looked at each other before Eliza answered. “Well, as you know, Reuben’s company has been making quite a lot of money and he’s become quite rich. That’s good for me. But it’s also good for mama and Damon because they both have been given stipends as consultants to the firm. They are making good money on their own now. Damon does a lot of work. He works hard for Reuben. I’m proud of him.”

“I am, as well,” Mrs. Fieldale added.

“That is so wonderful. Just wonderful.”

The women talked for half an hour before the food was doled out. Then all were sitting on large blankets, in families, eating and talking. They’d been out in the sun for two hours when Claire felt a cold breeze blow past her. She looked up and was dismayed to see clouds were rolling in.

“Oh no!” she said. “And here it was so beautiful earlier today. I can’t believe it.”

A clap of thunder made her and several others jump. She hopped to her feet, along with the rest and they all began to gather the food, drinks, baskets, and blankets.

They hadn’t gotten to their buggies before the rain began to come down.

Several of the women screamed lightly, dashing for the buggies.

“Let’s go to the cabin!” Duncan called to the others as he lifted his son into their buggy. “Follow me!”

Claire turned around once they were all in the buggy and took out a small cloth from her bag. She wiped the rain from her children’s faces and smiled at them. “Wasn’t that interesting. A sudden storm.”

She looked over at her husband, whose jaw was clenched. She knew that the storms could sometimes be very bad, very dangerous, and Duncan worried about that every year. He’d told her about some of the storms he’d been through before. They weren’t any fun.

She turned around in her seat, giving the cloth to Junior and telling him to use the dry areas to get up any remaining food from himself or his sister. She looked at Duncan again and said in a low voice, “Are we going to be okay in the cabin, Duncan?”

He looked over at her, nodding. “Yeah. That cabin is never gonna fall down. No trees close enough to do it. I reckon a tornado could down it but I don’t think that’s gonna happen.”

Claire shuddered. “I know storms have done a lot of damage to Dry Canyon before.”

Duncan nodded. “Not just once but several times since I’ve been alive. It’s scary but certainly nothing we can’t handle.”

She reached across and took his hand. “I know you can handle it, dear husband. You can handle anything.”

He grinned. “Thank you, my dear. You’re too kind.”

She laughed. “Well, that’s what everyone said after you killed the Snake those years ago. I still can’t believe you pulled that gun out as fast as you did.”

“I wasn’t going to let myself get killed before I got to love you.” He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it, smiling at her.

“Aw, I love you, you handsome devil you.”

They reached the cabin ten minutes later and everyone ran inside, taking anything they could carry with them. The cabin was still stocked with plenty of food and warm blankets and even had a stack of firewood sitting by the fireplace.

Claire set her daughter down, looking around. It was nicely furnished, though it was obviously a hunting cabin and not a place of residence. She liked it right away and was amazed she’d never stepped foot in there before.

Duncan came up behind her, putting one hand on her shoulder. “What do you think?”

“This is where you and Edmund keep running off, too, huh?” She nodded in approval. “I like it. Very rustic. Nice. I’ll come with you boys sometime and be your cook and housekeeper. How does that sound?”

“It sounds delightful to me. I would have invited you before if I thought you might be interested. I just never thought you were.”

The two walked to the fireplace while the rest of the group filed in and made themselves comfortable. Duncan knelt by the fireplace and removed the covering. He went about making a fire, smiling up at her. “You’ll like this. I keep this place well stocked. We have everything anyone could possibly need here.”

“Oh? How about nappies?”

Duncan stood up and faced her, looking right into her eyes. “Would you believe… yes.”

Claire was taken by surprise and smiled wide. “What? How in heaven’s name did that happen?”

Duncan laughed. “I really want to take credit for that,” he said. “But it was Edmund’s idea. He’s been trying to get you to let me bring Junior here, just to show him how men live when their wives aren’t around.”

Claire had to laugh, throwing her head back. “Oh my goodness. You have to be kidding me. He’s been bugging you about that? For how long? Junior is only three years old.”

“I know. That’s why I haven’t brought him yet. I keep telling Edmund that but he keeps asking.”

“I wonder why? I think I’ll have to ask him about it.”

“All right but don’t tell him I told you.”

They both laughed at that and Duncan leaned to pick up some firewood. He started with small bundles held together with twine, which he placed around the outside and directly under the larger logs he placed in later.

The fire was roaring within minutes, warming the inside of the chilly cabin.

Claire went to the couch and sat down, stretching her legs out in front of her and her arms out behind her over the back of the couch. Seconds later, Junior came over and jumped up on her, knocking her breath out for a few seconds. When she recovered, she put her arms around the little boy and hugged him tight.

He pulled back to sit on her lap. “I love you,” the boy said.

“I love you, too, Junior. Be careful about jumping on mama. You might hurt me. Okay?”

The boy nodded.

“You know, years ago before you were born, I made a friend on a train and he was a little boy just like you.”

Junior looked surprised and excited. “What was his name?” he asked in a way only his mother could understand.

“His name was Charlie. Can you say that? Charlie.”

“Chawey,” Junior responded immediately, looking impressed with himself.

“That’s right!” Claire said, enthusiastically. “And he had the cutest little face. But not as cute as yours, my little man.”

Junior abruptly threw himself against her in another attempt to hug her. She laughed and hugged him again.

He crawled off her lap and went running off after that last hug. Claire watched him, love and satisfaction filling her soul. She could practically feel the happiness coming out of her pores.

“You really like it here, don’t you, Claire?”

She looked up to see her mother had moved from the seat she’d been in and was standing in front of her.

“I really do, Mama. Why don’t you sit and talk with me?”

Mrs. Fieldale looked at the front door, wistfully. “I love a good storm,” she breathed. She turned her eyes back to her daughter. “Will you come sit on the porch with me? If the rain doesn’t get us there, I’d love to watch it and smell it. I love the smell of rain.”

Claire couldn’t remember the last time she’d spoken casually with her mother that way. And she knew she had never seen a wistful look on the hard woman’s face. She pushed herself to her feet.

“I’d love to sit on the porch with you and watch the storm,” she said, trying to keep her excitement from her voice.

The two ladies left the safety of the cabin behind and ventured out onto the porch.

“Oh, we are very fortunate,” her mother said. “The rain is going away from the house. Look, it’s slanted. You can see it in the reflection of the lanterns there.”

Claire looked up and into the reflection like her mother said. Mrs. Fieldale was right. The two lanterns hanging on either side of the porch were lit as the clouds had brought with them darkness that had blocked out the sun. She could see the rain was indeed slanting away from the house.

“We’re blessed,” Claire said quietly. “That’s what we are.”

“Yes. Yes, that’s it.”

The two women sat side by side on the porch swing and Claire kicked off with the toes of her right foot. She looked at her mother, a renewed sense of love for the woman filling her chest. “I’m so glad you came, Mama. I’ve… missed you terribly. I didn’t know what to do after Papa went away. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

Mrs. Fieldale shook her head. “You have nothing to apologize for, Claire. I was sullen and angry with your father and took it out on you. I must have been a nightmare for you and your sister.”

“Not at all, Mama.”

The women looked at Eliza, who had stepped out on the porch, the screen door still open and she was between it and the open front door.

“Come sit with us, Eliza,” Claire said, scooting to the side. Her mother moved to the other side and they made room for Eliza to sit in between them. She turned to her mother as soon as she sat down.

“You really shouldn’t say things like that, mother. I loved having you stay with us. You can stay with us as long as you want. You know that. It doesn’t have to be because you need to. Reuben would build on an addition for you.”

Mrs. Fieldale gave her daughter a skeptical look. “You think he would do that for me?”

“I do.”

“But why?”

Both Claire and Eliza gave their mother a strange look. “Mother, you should know the answer to that,” Claire said with a hesitant smile.

“Yes, Mama. I can’t believe you. He would do it because you are my mother and I care about your safety and well-being. I want you comfortable and happy. And at this point, you don’t have anywhere else to go. Get yourself a beau and don’t worry about the rest of your life.”

The women laughed.

“It’s not all about finding the right beau, you know.”

This time all three ladies looked up at the front door and it was Damon who had come out. He stood near them with his back to the wall, his hand propping the door open.

“If it’s not about finding the right beau, what is it about?” Eliza asked.

Damon snorted softly, shaking his head. “A shame you ladies don’t get it. A man won’t make a difference if the woman is wrong for him. It has to go both ways. Respect and love and mutual admiration.”

“But of course,” Mrs. Fieldale said. “You aren’t telling us anything we don’t already know, son.”

He grinned at her. “I just love giving you ladies advice. I know you’ll never take it but I do so enjoy doling out my knowledge on the male gender. Considering you three know next to nothing about that.”

“I have a lot of knowledge about men,” Eliza said. “I’ve lived with one for nearly eight years now. So no lectures, brother dear.”

“I don’t give lectures,” Damon responded, light-heartedly. “I give wise advice. Advice that should be heeded but never is.”

The women laughed.

“You are so funny, Damon.”

“Somebody telling jokes?”

The door was pushed open once again and Edmund came out with Amelia close behind him. Like Edmund, she was tall and slender. But she had the most unique heart-shaped face Claire had ever seen. She was pretty in her own way. It was the fire in her soul and the red in her hair that had attracted Edmund. Claire had already assumed that by the time Edmund got around to telling her. She’d liked Amelia from the moment she met her.

“Someone is always telling jokes,” Claire said. “And it’s usually you.”

“Who me?” Edmund pointed at himself, turned an innocent look to Amelia, and shook his head. “I really have no idea what they’re talking about, dear. Don’t listen to a word of it.”

Amelia grinned and leaned to rub the end of her nose gently against his. He smiled and grabbed a quick kiss before she moved away from him, which made her laugh her tinkling laughter that everyone loved so much.

Claire grinned at the bantering couple.

“But I like your jokes, Eddie. In fact, I love your jokes. It may be the reason I’m with you. It certainly isn’t your looks.” She laughed right away and kissed him again. “I’m kidding. You are an incredibly handsome man. I’m blessed that you love me.”

“I think I’m the one who is blessed,” Edmund retorted.

“Let’s not start all of this,” Claire said, laughter in her voice. “Back and forth, yes we all know you two love each other to death. Let’s find something interesting to talk about.”

Everyone laughed, especially when Duncan came out onto the porch and said, “Something interesting to talk about has arrived.”

“Goodness, everyone is coming out on the porch,” Claire said when the laughter died down. “Who is left inside?”

“The children?” Edmund hazarded a guess.

Claire raised her eyebrows. “The children? Are they in there by themselves?” She looked around and it seemed everyone was accounted for.

“No, Reuben isn’t out here. He’s still in there. He’ll keep an eye on them, I’m sure.”

Claire felt herself relax into a happy peace. She was surrounded by people who loved her.

“God bless husbands and children,” she said. “God bless us all.”

THE END

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