Her Unintentional Pure Love – Extended Epilogue

Jarrett eyed his father in law and Reuben wryly as they looked over the 200 strong herd. He turned his eyes away from them just when Bart noticed he was watching. He had a big smile on his face and the question he asked next was expected.

“I bet you’re thinkin’ about the day you dropped off those 30 head, ain’t ya?”

Jarrett made a face that sent both Reuben and Bart into fits of laughter. “Maybe. I suppose you could separate the weakest from the herd as repayment to my pa but, well, that doesn’t really sound like something you’d do.”

Bart kept his smile, slapping one hand on his son-in-law’s shoulder. “You’re right about that. And I wouldn’t have my good friends, Elliott and Vivian, thinking I am that way.”

Jarrett was amused that Bart used his parents’ names the way he did, as if he was so proud to be their friend he had to name-drop. It was true that the Raines family were popular and well-known. It was something Jarrett had been used to since he was old enough to discover his family had the most money of anyone in Coleburn County. He still wasn’t used to hearing things like that from Bart, even though three years had passed, he’d married Laila, they now had a little boy and Bart had taken the same road, marrying Annette. Their lives were completely different from when he’d been that stubborn, deceitful young man.

He didn’t look back on his behavior fondly.

“Well, which ones do you want to send over there?” Reuben asked, turning back to the fence and lifting one foot to prop on the bottom rail. He rested both arms on the upper rail and gazed out at the cattle.

“There’s plenty to choose from,” Jarrett said. “And even if you did pick out the weakest 30, they wouldn’t be all that weak.”

“They are looking good this year, aren’t they?” Bart said, pride laced in his voice.

“Yes, sir.” Jarrett said the words under his breath, studying the grazing cows scattered over the vast pasture.

“Well, let’s go. You pick ten, you pick ten and I’ll pick ten.” Bart pointed to each of the younger men as he spoke. They nodded and went to their horses, mounting and going through the fence into the pasture.

When Jarrett mentioned to Bart that he’d like to give back the thirty cattle he’d taken from his father in the poker game those years ago, he was surprised by how quickly Bart had agreed to it. It wasn’t that the Raines family needed any more cows. They didn’t need the money given to the Andersons either. But it would be a nice gesture, he thought, and it would relieve an old burden he didn’t want to carry around anymore.

He’d found it easy to explain it all to Bart. He’d spoken to Laila about it one night before bed while she was feeding their baby boy, Nicholas.

“I’ve always felt guilty about that,” he’d said.

“Your pa doesn’t bring it up to you, does he?” she had asked, rocking gently back and forth in the chair to soothe the baby.

“No. He never does. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t on my mind. I’m… I’m different than I used to be.”

Laila had surprised him by shaking her head and giving him a loving look. “No, you aren’t. You just came into yourself. You grew up, became a man. It just took a harsh lesson to get you there, that’s all.” She had stood up and placed the baby in the bassinet beside their bed. Then she’d come over to him. It still gave him chills when she touched him, so when she rested one hand against his cheek and gazed lovingly into his eyes, his body erupted in tingles.

“And look at you now. A husband and father, a businessman… you are so loved, Jarrett Raines.”

“And so are you, Laila Raines,” he had replied. “Except the opposite of what you just said. You know… because you’re a woman.”

Jarrett smiled, remembering how they had laughed so abruptly that they woke Nicholas. But the boy was a calm, happy baby and he went straight back to sleep. The sound of laughter hadn’t bothered him enough to make him cry.

Jarrett was happier than he’d ever been in his life.

Once he and the Andersons pulled the thirty head from the herd and cornered them off to drive to the Raines ranch, he anxiously turned his horse in the direction of the main ranch house.

Laila felt a flutter in her stomach when she looked up from the toys she had spread around her and Nicholas and saw Jarrett riding toward them. She giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. Nicholas looked up at her, crawling across the blanket to put one of his hands on her mouth.

“Why you laugh, momma?” the little boy asked.

“Yes.” Laila turned when her step-mother spoke from her chair on the porch. “Why you laugh, momma?”

Laila and Annette grinned widely at each other.

“I was just wondering if there’s something wrong with me,” Laila said quietly. Annette lifted both her eyebrows, losing her smile.

“Something wrong with you? What do you mean? Do you not feel well? Why would that make you laugh?”

Laila took hold of Nicholas’s hand and kissed his tiny fingers, grinning down at him. She enjoyed the beautiful boy face smiling back at her. She loved her son more than she ever thought could be possible. She was sure she didn’t know what real love was before she looked into her son’s eyes. She loved Jarrett, of course. But it wasn’t the same. When she looked at Nicholas, she saw a lifetime of joy and happiness that no one could take away from her. Even when the little boy was mischievous and got into a jam, she still could not shake the great amount of love she had for him.

“I feel fine. Except when I see my husband coming. Then I tend to get these… fluttering feelings in my stomach.” She glanced at Annette through narrowed eyes, biting her bottom lip and grinning. “Do you think there’s something wrong that I get butterfly stomach every time I see him?”

Annette laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, Laila. You are such a silly.”

“Butterfly…” Nicholas repeated the word, giving his mother a look of wonder. He dropped his eyes to her stomach and leaned forward pressing both hands into Laila’s belly. “You have butterfly in tummy? Butterfly. I have to see. I have to see.”

Laila pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. She and Jarrett had yet to figure out where Nicholas had come up with the phrase “I have to see”. It was a constant with him. He was a fast learner, talking at less than two years, forming sentences by his second birthday.

“I can’t let you see, Nicky,” Laila cooed, running one hand through his reddish-yellow hair. He grinned at her.

“I have to see.”

“Oh you’ll never hear the end of that now,” Annette laughed. “Shall I go get a knife so you can show him the butterflies in your stomach?”

Laila gasped, opening her eyes wide. “What a thing to say!” she exclaimed, her laughter barely contained. Annette just shrugged.

“He doesn’t know what I’m saying anyway, Laila. Don’t be sensitive.”

Laila finally let out her laughter, shaking her head. “You never know, Annette. He’s one smart cookie.”

Annette burst out laughing when Nicholas jumped to his feet. “Cookie!” he yelled, clapping his hands together excitedly. “Cookie! Coooookie!” He ran in circles across the porch, rounding the rocking chair Annette was sitting in and trampling on her feet.

She cried out in pain, pulling her feet back and shaking her head. “You’d think he would see my feet right there,” she said in a voice that sounded more amused than angry.

“I know, I just don’t know why he won’t stop walking on people’s feet like that.”

“Maybe he’s going to sell shoes,” Jarrett said, hopping down from the horse and taking the porch steps two at a time to meet his wife, who had stood up to greet him. “Hello, darlin’,” he said, leaning to kiss her cheek.

“Hello, my love,” Laila responded, lifting onto her tip toes to receive the kiss from him.

“There’s my young man!” Jarrett called out, reaching out just in time to snatch Nicholas off his feet in mid-run and lift the laughing child high in the air. “Look at you, such a fast runner! You run very fast, don’t you, Nicky?”

“Yes, papa, yes, I do!” Nicholas laughed more when Jarrett tickled his sides. He set the boy down and held him back for just a second from running. “All right now, when I let you go, you’re going to go forward really fast, so don’t fall down. Be careful, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Nicholas didn’t respond. He was giggling and squirming in Jarrett’s hands, his little body straining against the hold. Jarrett looked at Laila.

“You realize when I let him go, he’s gonna hit the ground running, right?”

Laila bit her bottom lip. Nicholas was likely to get hurt from the way he was struggling. She shrugged softly. “Let him go gently. Maybe he’ll catch himself in time.”

Jarrett let out a regretful sigh. “I’m gonna let you go, little man. Gonna let you go, okay? Be careful.”

“Let go, let go, let go!” Nicholas laughed, still trying to wiggle out of his father’s hands.

Jarrett let go and the boy took off at full speed in Annette’s direction. She recoiled as he came at her.

“I don’t think he can stop!” Laila surged forward at the same time as Jarrett to catch the little boy before he tackled Annette.

They both halted when Annette leaned toward the little boy and swept him up when he barreled into her open arms. The rocking chair went back dangerously far but both Annette and Nicholas were laughing too hard to be afraid. The chair settled back to a comfortable spot and everyone was left laughing.

“Reuben is bringing the wagon around so you ladies can follow behind the herd. We’re going to have a nice celebration when we get to my folks’ house.”

“It’s going to be so much fun,” Laila said, giving Jarrett a sly smile. She glanced down and Jarrett grinned wide. “We get to tell them our news.”

Jarrett nodded, patting his wife’s tummy. “Yes, they will be so excited for a new grandchild. Even though that little man is quite a handful already.”

When they pulled up in the front courtyard of the Raines ranch, Jarrett was seated proudly in front of the herd with Bart by his side. A feeling of delight welled up inside him when he saw both his brothers, his mother, and his father waiting for them to arrive. Elliott raised one hand in greeting, a wide smile on his face. He immediately began down the steps and mounted the horse he had ready for their arrival.

He gestured with his hat to show them the direction to take the herd in. As they proceeded toward the open pasture where the cattle would be released, he noticed his mother and brothers came down after his father, though they were walking around, their eyes on the herd. Half a dozen ranch hands were standing outside the bunk house, watching, their faces lit up with excitement and happiness.

As the cows were herded through the gates into the pasture, Jarrett was stunned to hear cheers and whistles fill the air behind him. He turned to see the rest of the ranch hands, everyone who worked at the Raines ranch, in fact, and the entirety of his family were raising their hands and voices in happiness. It gave him chills.

Once the cows were all the way inside the corral, he had the honor of closing the gate behind them. He and Bart turned their horses to go back to the main ranch and meet Elliott, who had stayed at the back of the herd to make sure none of them stayed behind.

The men met in the middle of the courtyard. Elliott was shaking his head, a look of immense pride on his face.

“Jarrett, you’ve done yourself proud, young man. I am so pleased. Thank you so much for this. You didn’t have to do it.” Elliott reached across, his hand extended to his son.

Jarrett’s emotions were heavy when he shook his father’s hand. “Thank you, pa,” he said, trying to keep his voice from trembling. His father’s love was bright in the man’s eyes. And Jarrett couldn’t just see it in Elliott’s expression. He could feel it. He hadn’t felt it before meeting the Andersons. What a lesson he had learned.

Elliott shook Bart’s hand next. “You’ve been such a good influence on my son, Bart. Did what I couldn’t accomplish.”

“Now, now,” Bart said, shaking his head. “You and I both know that neither of us had anything to do with the changes Jarrett’s made.”

Jarrett looked at both men and realized when they both glanced in Laila’s direction, they were talking about her. He smiled wide. “Well, I was about to feel insulted but I can’t deny that as a fact. Laila has changed everything about me. She’s made me grow up. That’s all it is. She says I was always a good fellow so there’s that, too.”

The men laughed as they closed the distance between themselves and the house where their families were waiting. The ranch hands had disbursed, going back to their duties.

“Pa, can we talk?” Jarrett asked, slowing his horse down.

“I’ll give you two some privacy,” Bart said.

“Thank you.” Jarrett watched as Bart moved his horse faster and Elliott gave him a curious look.

“Is everything all right, Jarrett?” Elliott asked, his voice cautious.

Jarrett nodded. “Oh yeah, everything is fine, Pa. I just wanted to talk to you for a minute, if that’s okay.”

“Of course it is. Let’s head back that way, I want to check out these cows you’ve brought over. I’m very pleased with this, Jarrett. You’ve made me a very proud father today.”

Jarrett couldn’t remember the last time he and his father had sat down and talked on an intimate level. As far as he knew, the last time would have been when he was looking for his mother and found his father instead. Elliott had given him sound advice that day.

Jarrett wasn’t seeking advice, though. He just wanted to spend a little time with his father.

The two men dismounted at the gate corral and let their horses wander behind them as they stood gazing out at the cattle.

“They do look like strong, healthy cows,” Elliott said. He glanced at his son with amusement. “I half expected them to be thirty of the weakest cattle in the herd.”

Jarrett laughed, throwing his head back.

“Is that funny?” Elliott said, although he was still smiling.

“It is. But only because these are the weakest. Nothing but strong cattle at the Anderson ranch. That’s right.” He nodded, putting on a serious face but losing it quickly afterward when his smile returned. “No, we didn’t pick out the weakest ones.”

“Well, it wasn’t our idea in the first place.” Elliott gave a weak defense and sounded like he knew it was one.

“Yeah, but we went along.” Jarrett paused for a moment before he said, “Pa. Laila and I are going to have another baby.”

In a surprise move, Elliott turned to his son and put both hands on Jarrett’s shoulders. He was clearly fighting back his emotions. Jarrett didn’t think he’d ever seen his father like this. Not with him or either of his brothers or even Vivian Raines.

“Son, I am so proud of you and the beautiful family you are creating. This is the happiest day of my life. My son has repaid me for an old debt that was already forgiven but apparently not forgotten by you. You have made me so proud. These last three years have been quite a turning point for us all, haven’t they?”

“They have been, Pa. I’m happy, too. And I’m glad I was able to make you proud.”

“You’ve become the man I knew you were able to be,” Elliott said, his voice cracking and tears filling his eyes.

Jarrett felt his own tears rising. He had never seen his father cry. Never.

Elliott pulled Jarrett into a forceful hug, slapping his son on the back, tears streaming down his face. “So proud of you, son,” he said with a strained throat. “So proud. So proud.”

Jarrett closed his eyes, listening to his father’s emotional words, unable to keep his own tears from falling. He had won the approval of his father, the one man he had looked up to his entire life.

“Can anyone get in on this hug?”

He and Elliott pulled apart and looked over at Laila, who was smiling at them both, looking as pretty as a peacock. Both men held out one arm to her and she moved to be swallowed up by their arms.

“I thought you might tell our big news without me,” Laila said in a low voice. Her smile betrayed that she wasn’t upset by it.

“I’m sorry, honey,” Jarrett said regretfully. “I did.”

“Well, that’s fine, husband,” Laila said, glancing first at Jarrett and then at Elliott. “Because I just told Vivian.”

Jarrett’s smile was instant and he let out a laugh, turning his eyes to his father. Elliott’s reaction was the same.

“Well, I guess we just aren’t very good secret keepers, are we?” he asked, squeezing Laila’s shoulders with the arm he had around her.

“I guess not.”

“It’s okay,” Elliott said, eyeing both the young people with adoration. “The love is still there.”

The three laughed as they turned to walk back to the house, where the rest of their blended family awaited them.

THE END

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