Signs Of Joy for the Wounded Hearts – Extended Epilogue

---

OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!

Grab my new series, " Faith and Love on the Frontier", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!

---

Winona thought she was going to come out of her skin. She had never been so excited in her life. Not even at her own wedding to Dallas had she been that excited.

She restrained herself from jumping up and down and laughing. It was neither the time nor the place for that. She held onto Dallas with all her might. He kept looking down at her with a warning in his eyes.

As Denise passed by her, Winona reached out and brushed the woman’s arm with her hand. Denise grinned and reached out to touch her. It was only a few more steps for her to reach the altar. 

Winona sat down and watched as her father married Denise Craddock one year after their meeting under strange and terrible circumstances. Those circumstances hadn’t stopped them from falling in love. 

Just like her and Dallas. They hadn’t met under ideal conditions either, but at least he hadn’t had to tend to a deep wound on her hand like Denise had for Franklin.

Winona had never seen her father as happy as he was at that moment. Then again, she’d missed out on seventeen years of his life, so she could only base it on the worst time of all—when they’d been trying to prove his innocence. 

When the ceremony was over, the entire guest party went to the covered shelter behind the church where they would have cake, snacks, and wine.

“Three essential things at any wedding,” Denise had stated confidently.

Colin was right by her side through the wedding, and Winona fully expected him to be there during the reception, too. But to her surprise, once he was under the shelter, he found his friends, a girl and a boy from Butter Creek schoolhouse who had taken Colin under their wing. At first Winona was worried the teenagers would hurt Colin somehow. It was Dallas that had talked her down, saying that Colin was not a fragile baby. His mind was less advanced than most his age, but he wasn’t at all stupid. 

Truth be told, Winona liked it when Dallas counteracted her dramatic reactions with reasonable ones. It made it hard for her to worry, but how could that be a bad thing? Dallas always thought things through with such precision and intelligence, she figured she would have to use her brain for much with him around. 

With her father and his new wife cuddling up behind their table, which had gifts scattered across the surface, Colin spending time with his friends, and Dallas preoccupied with the gentlemen who had taken over his law firm, making him a partner, Winona was surprised to find herself feeling a little bit alone. They were all so busy. They had no time for her.

She sat in a chair and watched the people moving around her. So much talking, laughter, joy, happiness. These were the things she loved the most. 

After a half hour of observing them all and eating her cake, Winona decided to take a walk down to the edge of the small creek that ran along behind the church. She did so, walking through the grass slowly, tempted to take off her shoes and feel the grass through her stocking feet.

She remembered, though, the last time she’d done that. She’d stepped on several rocks and some of the grass was quite prickly, sticking into her feet. It sounded like a lot more fun than it actually was.

But once she hit the shore, she did reach down and slide her shoes off, making the wine in her glass slosh back and forth. She steadied the glass, which was so far untouched by her lips and tossed her shoes to a nearby tree, hoping they would stay in the shade and not be noticed by any wild critters or dogs wandering around. 

She went to the edge of the water and looked down, feeling it brush against the tips of her toes. It was a lovely feeling. 

Stepping back, she walked the short distance to the small pier that allowed boats to launch down the creek to the river and then out to the ocean. She’d never been on one of those boats. They were usually used just for transportation of goods. 

She stepped on the wooden planks, testing the steadiness first, even though she knew men much, much larger than her trampled on those same wooden planks every other day. They barely creaked under her light weight; some of them didn’t creak or move at all, as if she didn’t even weigh a feather. 

She went to the end and sat down, hanging her legs over the edge. She wished she didn’t have stockings on. She would have liked to feel the water against her bare toes. It had been years since she’d been swimming. As tempting as the idea was, she was not dressed for such frivolity—especially not in the long red dress. She didn’t mind that, in the end, it wasn’t her that purchased it from Abby’s dress shop window. It was a gift from Dallas—his first real gift to her—and that was thrilling every time she thought about it. It made the dress even more special.

As if she conjured him with her thoughts, she saw the image of her husband come up behind her in the reflection of the water. She smiled and turned her head to see Dallas there, giving her an affectionate look. 

“Couldn’t sneak up on you even if I wanted to,” he said, coming over and dropping to sit on the edge like she was. She noticed he’d already removed his shoes.

“What are you doing?” she asked. “I don’t want to take you from your friends.”

He gave her questioning look. “You don’t want me here with you?”

He sounded hurt, but she knew he was mocking. She shook her head and rested it on his shoulder. “No, I’d rather you were here with me. I just don’t want you to think I’m keeping you from having fun.”

He tucked his fingers under her chin and made her look up at him. “You are my fun, honey.” He kissed her nose and then her lips. The kiss on the lips lasted a lot longer, much to Winona’s satisfaction.

“Is everyone having fun back there?” she asked. 

He glanced over his shoulder. “You know they are.”

Winona rested against him again. “Do you think our life has been boring since we haven’t had any cases to solve together?”

Dallas snorted. “What are you talking about? You’ve helped me on two cases since then. It hasn’t been boring. It will never be boring with you.”

Winona giggled. The little bit of snooping she’d done for him in the past year wasn’t nearly all that she wanted to do. Once she became his wife, she decided she was going to be his Girl Friday, his helper in all ways, any ways, that is, that she was capable of helping in.

“And I plan on continuing to help you. I should become a lawman. That would show those criminals a thing or two when a woman arrests them.”

The thought was so outrageous, they both laughed.

“I think I’m feeling a bit hungry,” Winona remarked.

“Did you get any of that cake? It was so delicious. Mrs. Crane is an amazing baker.”

“Yes, she really is. That’s probably why she has her own bakery and sells baked goods to people.”

She felt him squeeze her and laughed delightedly. She pushed to her feet and held out her hand to him. “Let’s go get my husband something to eat. The last thing we need is a lawyer collapsing at a wedding. Especially my father’s wedding.”

They laughed again as they walked through the soft sand to the place where they had left their shoes. She didn’t put hers back on; her stockings had tiny particles of sand rolling around in them and all she wanted to do then was take them off. She knew it wasn’t ladylike, so she didn’t dare. But she really wanted to very much.

She was glad when they got back to the shelter and she was able to sit down. It was going to be uncomfortable for her to walk until she was at home and could remove the offending garment. So she sat, happy for her father and telling him so every chance she got. An hour later, after constantly maneuvering her feet to try to get the small bits of sand out, Dallas stood up and told her he was ready to go home. He’d eaten his full, he said, and was ready to take a nap on this lazy Saturday afternoon.

Winona wholeheartedly agreed. 

She wished her father and new stepmother the best of times and kissed them on both cheeks before departing the wedding, Colin in tow. He was staying with her and Dallas in their home just for the night. Then he would be returning to stay with Shona while Franklin and Denise were on their honeymoon. When they returned, Colin could go back to their house, if he preferred, or he could stay with Dallas and Winona. He was really free to go wherever he wanted. 

Shona’s health was deteriorating and Winona was glad to have someone there with her while Franklin was away. Even if it was someone of diminished cognitive capacity, Colin would know if something was wrong, and if help was needed. With the devil and his son locked away, she had no doubt her grandmother and brother were not in any danger.

No more than usual anyway.

Winona was as relieved as she could get when she stepped foot in her own house. She went to the bedroom immediately and pulled the stockings from her legs. A bit of sand fell out on the floor and she stared at it begrudgingly. Using a towel beside her pitcher and basin, Winona swept the sand under her bed where no one would be able to step on it.

“Now if any monsters want to be under there, they will be very uncomfortable.”

She laughed at her joke, replacing the towel beside the basin, thinking twice and taking it out to be laundered. She stepped into the big closet by the kitchen where they kept the wash basin for clothes and all the accessories needed to do the task. She tossed the towel onto a pile of similar looking cloths.

It was ten months since she and her husband were married. As she left the laundry room, she wondered if Dallas knew she had been to the doctor and had something exciting to tell him. She’d been waiting, sitting on the news because she wasn’t about to bust in on her father’s happiness. He needed to have his day. 

For two weeks, she’d planned to tell Dallas the night her father left for his honeymoon. Then she and Dallas would go to tell Shona and Colin. 

She wondered if Colin would understand he was going to be an uncle. 

It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he was there, that he would participate in everything with them from now on. He would be a good uncle. She was sure of that.

Winona left the bedroom behind, having donned some comfortable clothes. She was ready to sit in front of the fire and pass her time with a good book. After dinner, she would tell him. That seemed like the perfect time, since Colin would go to bed right after eating. 

She didn’t want him to know quite yet. It was a surprise for her husband and she didn’t want Colin’s lovable but admittedly boisterous enthusiasm to take anything away from what she knew would be a pure and special moment for her and Dallas.

That moment came upon her faster than she thought it would. Before she knew it, she was sitting with Dallas, in front of the very fire she had started hours ago, curled up beside him, trying to concentrate. But she couldn’t read. The words were swirling around in front of her eyes. Her brain would go off in another direction and she’d have to read the same paragraph over and over without ever understanding it.

“Dallas,” she said finally, using a tone much harsher than she’d meant to.

He looked down at her in alarm. 

“Yes?” he asked, his voice tense.

“I have to tell you something.” She shook her head. “I didn’t mean to say your name like that.” She giggled, putting one hand over her mouth. “I just want to tell you something.”

He nodded. “That you love me and I’m the most wonderful man in all the world. Yes, wife, you’ve told me a million times.” He bopped her on the end of her nose and laughed. 

She laughed with him, scooting so she was on her knees beside him on the couch. She grabbed his arm and pulled on it gently. “Listen to me, Dallas. I want to tell you something.”

He raised his eyebrows and gave her a curious look. “Well, you’ve said that three times instead of just saying what you want to say. Speak, woman!” He cracked a grin and she giggled again.

“I bet if you try real, real hard, you’d know what I want to tell you.”

Dallas stared at her. There was only one thing, she thought, it could possibly be. Would he guess right?

“You are…” He hesitated. Winona could feel the excitement growing in her chest. If he didn’t say something soon, she was going to explode. “… leaving me? Is that what you’re doing? Why would you do that! You know I love you.”

“Oh, Dallas! Stop playing!” She swatted him on the arm. “I’m serious. Guess, I know you know what it is.”

His grin spread from ear to ear. “I think I know what it is.” 

She nodded vigorously but wasn’t going to say it. She wanted to hear him say it. 

“Yes, yes?” she urged him. She felt more like a schoolgirl in that moment than she had in all her adult life.

“You are going… to… have…” He paused again and she gasped in frustration, pulling on his arm harder this time. “Going to have my baby?” He ended it on a question, but she knew he already knew the answer.

“Yes!” she cried out. “I am. I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting to tell you. Thank goodness I don’t have to hold back anymore!” She rested the back of her hand against her forehead and rolled her eyes. 

Dallas laughed. He put both arms around her and held her tight. “My darling wife. We are going to have a baby. I cannot believe it. How wonderful. How utterly wonderful. You will be a great mother. I can tell already.”

“I’m excited.”

He laughed again. She could see the happiness emanating from his handsome face and was so glad she was the one who had put that smile there. He had been making her smile for a year. Now she would return the favor.

“I hope it’s a boy,” she whispered, cuddling up against him. “What do you want? A boy or a girl.”

“I want a healthy baby,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head. “And a healthy wife afterward. That’s all I want.”

Winona sighed softly. She looked down when Dallas placed his hand on her stomach.

“Gonna be a while, huh? I can’t tell yet, and I look at you way more than I look at myself.”

Winona nodded. “Doctor says I’m about two months along, but he will know a better estimate in a couple months as I start to grow.”

“Your pa is going to be so pleased,” Dallas said. “I guess you waited to tell me because he was getting married, huh?”

She nodded. “I didn’t want to take any of the attention away from him. Not even for you.”

“I wouldn’t have let anyone know.”

“You would have been bursting with the information, husband. This way, you can go and tell everyone under the sun and my father won’t notice the attention since he’s gone. I just didn’t want him to be upset and happy at the same time.”

“Your father wouldn’t have minded at all if you’d taken the attention from him. You know that. But I understand why you did it. I think that just makes you an even better daughter.”

“I know. I’m really a great daughter, aren’t I?”

He grinned wide. “And the most humble of all, too.”

“You really won’t mind if it’s a boy or a girl?” she asked, running one finger along the inside of his smoking jacket. He didn’t smoke but he did like to have a warm smoking jacket on a cold night, he often said.

“No, of course not. I will love my child and all the children we have together with all my heart.”

“I know you will. We are going to be good, loving parents. At least you have a frame of reference, though. I didn’t have either of my parents growing up. I hope I do a good job.” 

She hadn’t thought about it before and was suddenly worried that she would mess everything up right from the start. She furrowed her brow and chewed on her bottom lip for only a moment before Dallas put a stop to her nonsense.

“You are going to be the best mother in the world,” he said, “and do you know why? Because you didn’t have your mother. As long as you live, I know for a fact you will show our children all the love and attention you were never able to get from your parents. We will have a lovely family.”

Her worries abated for a time, Winona smiled at him and pulled him into a warm, loving kiss. Her life was about to start a new chapter and she was happy to say goodbye to the last one. 

Readers who read this book also liked

---

OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!

Grab my new series, " Faith and Love on the Frontier", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!

---