When their Paths Cross – Extended Epilogue

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Malinda sat outside the ice cream parlor, pushing the pram back and forth with one foot while she read the newspaper and ate her cold dessert. It had been a year and a half since her wedding to Lester and a few months since she’d had their daughter, Emma, whom she hoped would be the first of many. Emma was a beautiful baby whose parents both loved her with all their hearts. 

Malinda was waiting for Nettie to meet her and they were going from there to the house Malinda had turned into a boarding house. She was to meet with a new resident who was to come to town that afternoon. It was usually something Casey would take care of. At fourteen, Casey was showing signs of being way too mature for her age. It was a shame she’d had to grow up so fast, Malinda thought, but the girl seemed to be managing it well. 

Just as they’d suspected, Casey was now quite interested in boys, Lincoln Brewster found himself at the top of that list. 

As Malinda looked through the newspaper, she had an idea that brought a smile to her face. Just for fun, she would see if there were any ads for brides. She had just turned to the page and scanned down to where the ads were when she heard her name being called.

She looked up to see Nettie running toward her, her skirt clutched in one hand and the other one high above her head. She was waving a letter in the air. 

“Molly, Molly!”

Malinda grinned wide as her friend got closer. She stood up and looked down at Emma, checking to make sure she was all right. Her daughter gazed up at her with no reaction. She was only a few months old.

“You look excited,” she said as Nettie hurried to her. 

“I am so excited!” Nettie confirmed. “Look at this! I was passing by and Carl asked me to give it to you.”

Malinda took the envelope from her friend and looked down at it curiously. A tingle ran over her skin when she realized it was from Timothy Habeck. She hadn’t heard from him since he’d left that day long ago. 

Giving Nettie an intrigued look, Malinda ripped open the envelope and pulled out the folded piece of paper. When it was unfolded, she read it aloud to Nettie.

“Dear Ms. Malinda. I don’t know what to call you now because I’m assuming you got married to your beau. If you have, congratulations, Mrs. Ford. If you have not, I am sure it is in the works. I am sure you worked through any differences you might have had. I felt the urge to write to you today to thank you for what you did for me. You didn’t know it at the time and neither did I, but I had my own Lester Ford right here in Idaho. That is to say, not a man but a woman for me like you found Lester for you. Her name is Theodora Browning. She is a lovely lady just a few years younger than me with a penchant for tracking down criminals and a real knack at shooting. She has won four major competitions here in our town in the last four tournaments she was in. I am very proud of her.” 

Malinda stopped reading and looked up to see Nettie’s reaction so far. The look of interest on Nettie’s face made Malinda grin. 

“This is so nice of him!” Nettie exclaimed.

“Yes, it really was.” Malinda looked down at the paper again and continued reading, “I have convinced Theodora to come to visit you so that I may properly introduce her to you. I have told her the reason we are together is because you inspired me with your love for the man who lived in the same town as you. It isn’t often we find a love that can’t be made better. I do believe I was one of the lucky ones. I will write to you when our travel plans are confirmed so you will know when I will be showing up in Ten Trees. That will be better than the last time when it was a complete surprise, won’t it? With much care and friendship, Sheriff Timothy Habeck.”

“Aww, I just can’t believe how nice that is,” Nettie gushed. “I am so glad I got to hear that letter. You should read it to Lester, too.”

Malinda laughed. “I don’t think a second surprise visit from Timothy is what Lester wants. I will definitely warn him so he won’t be surprised and wonder what’s going on. I’ll let him read it himself.”

“Isn’t it time to go meet the new arrival at the boarding house?” Nettie asked, looking at the large clock at the top of the church steeple. “We don’t want to be late. The other residents will take care of it themselves.”

Malinda let out a single laugh. What Nettie had said wasn’t untrue and that was why Malinda had to laugh about it. Several times in the past, the new resident would be moved in and welcomed by the others before she even got there to sign the papers. 

“Those times were never my fault,” she said in her defense. “That was when Casey was late. Not me.”

“And you ended up going in her place and getting there late. I understand.” 

Nettie did know what was going on. She’d been helping Malinda with the boarding house ever since Emma came along. Malinda knew her friend was only teasing.

They both walked in a hurry toward the wagon Malinda had brought to town. She pushed the pram over the rocks and dirt road hoping her daughter would think it was a fun adventure being bounced around in the little bed she was in. 

Emma seemed completely unbothered when they finally got to the wagon. She shook her head, wondering about the child’s endurance and hoping there was nothing wrong with her that made her stay so calm and collected. What if she couldn’t hear? She could definitely see. Her eyes followed them when they moved in front of her. 

Pushing her motherly worries to the side, Malinda picked Emma up and laid her in the wagon. She and Nettie put the pram in the back of the wagon. She pulled herself up in the wagon and took Emma into her arms. Nettie took the reins and got the horses in motion.

They were at the boarding house ten minutes later. Nettie was the one unloading Emma while Malinda ran inside to see if anyone was waiting in the lobby area. As she passed the long lawn to the left, she was sent back into a memory of when she’d been hanging laundry there on a regular basis. She’d given over her business to several other young ladies, who were now making a nice income doing their own hard work. 

The boarding house brought in enough money for Casey to decide what she wanted to do with her life. If she chose to pursue higher education, the money would be there for her to do that. It was a true blessing and she would forever thank Lester for thinking of the idea. 

He’s so brilliant, she thought fondly as she went through the front door. 

She was momentarily shocked when she stepped in. There wasn’t just one person in the lobby. There were several dozen. They all had mischievous looks on their faces and one of them pulled her to the side. 

“Oh, Neb is going to be so happy to see you here.” 

“What’s going on?” Malinda asked confused. 

“I’m going to ask Nettie to be my wife.” 

Malinda spun around to see Neb standing behind her. He had cleaned up and was dressed in his Sunday best. He was holding a bouquet of gorgeous flowers and had the most adorable boyish look on his face, Malinda could barely stand it. 

She blinked at him as she figured out what was going on and said quickly, “Well, she’s right outside. She’s about to come in with Emma. If you’re going to surprise her, you should know she’s about to surprise you.”

Neb turned around and called out, “All right, everyone, she’s here. Hush up now.” He turned back to Malinda and said, “Do you think you can stall her for just a few minutes?”

“Stall her?” Malinda raised her eyebrows. How was she going to do that? “I… I will try.”

She turned away from him and went right back out the door. She stayed where she was blocking the entrance with her body, staring at Nettie, who was about to come up the stairs. Nettie froze, staring back.

“What is it?” Nettie asked with fear in her voice. 

“N… nothing!” Malinda replied, trying to put a lift to her voice. “I mean, I thought, maybe we can go for a walk. Nobody’s in there. I guess they aren’t here yet.”

“But the resident said they would be here in a few minutes. We’re only a little early. We shouldn’t leave.”

“We’ll just… go around the house. Yeah. That’s all. I just want to take a little walk. You don’t want to walk with me? What if I trip or something? I might need you.”

Nettie gazed at her, a thoroughly confused look on her face. “No, I didn’t say I wouldn’t go with you. I just thought… well, around the house is fine, I’m sure. We can see if anyone comes in. Do you think any of the other residents have seen anyone? Did you talk to anyone inside?”

“I… no one else has seen a new resident, no.” Malinda felt comfortable telling that truth.

Malinda took Emma out of the basket and held her in her arms, marching back down the stairs and across the lawn. Nettie hurried after her, bewildered by her friend’s behavior. Malinda knew Nettie was feeling that way. It wasn’t much different from how she herself was feeling. She tried to figure out why Neb wouldn’t tell her what was going on and would have her as taken aback as Nettie was going to be. 

She suspected Lester may have had something to do with that. As in, Neb had informed Lester, who neglected to tell his wife what was going on. Lester probably didn’t think twice about it after Neb let him in on the secret. 

Just as she was thinking that, Lester popped up on the back porch, coming out from the door that led to the kitchen. 

“Oh!” both Malinda and Nettie reacted to seeing him. 

“Don’t squeeze that baby too hard,” Lester teased his wife, coming down the three steps with a bounce, holding his arms out to take Emma from her. Malinda blinked at him but handed the baby over. He had a few warm, loving words of greeting to say to the baby before he looked at his wife and Nettie again. “Funny running across you here,” Malinda said, using a tone that let him know she knew what was going on. He gave her a clueless look.

“Not really. I have been wanting to look at the place to check for needed repairs for months now. When I found out there was gonna be a reason – you know, new resident and all – I figured I’m come out and inspect.”

Nettie was the skeptic and frowned at him. “Why would you come out to inspect right when the new resident is supposed to show up. I don’t think that would instill much confidence in someone when it came to where I live.”

Lester looked at his wife. “I think we should all go inside. I’m sure it would be more comfortable to wait inside. Don’t you think?” He asked the question of the baby in his arms. She didn’t respond. She just laid there and blinked at him.

“But…” 

Lester didn’t cut her words off. He just turned and walked toward the house, giving her a sly side look and tickling his baby on her cheeks to make her coo. 

Malinda sucked in a breath and decided to go with it. She followed Lester, giving Nettie a questioning look that was returned with one of the same.

“I got a letter today you might be interested in,” she said as they went in. “Remind me to show it to you later.”

Lester glanced over his shoulder and nodded at her. He pushed open the door on the other side of the kitchen and when the three of them stepped out into the hallway, Malinda felt a hushed silence from the lobby where she knew everyone was. She was beginning to get excited but hoped the sudden surprise wouldn’t scare her friend too much. 

The three walked down the hall and emerged into the lobby area, where all the people suddenly called out “Surprise!”

Malinda stepped over to her husband and pressed up against him, giving him a smile. He looked down at her and smiled back. Nettie swept her eyes all around her. It took a moment for her to understand what was going on.

“It’s… it’s not my birthday, I’m sorry to say. I’m sorry to whoever thought it was.”

“That’s not what kind of surprise party this is,” Neb said, stepping out from behind one of his larger friends. 

Malinda watched Nettie react to seeing Neb come toward her. She went pale and her eyes widened.

“Neb?” she said his name in a questioning voice. “What’s… what’s going on?”

“I’ve been wanting to ask you something for months,” Neb replied, reaching out and taking her hand in his. He looked directly into her eyes. Even Malinda got chills from the look on his face. He was so deeply in love with Nettie. It was clear as day in his expression.

“Oh, Lester,” she whispered, pressing up closer against her husband. He chuckled and put an arm around her, squeezing her to him.

“If there is one thing I know in this life, it’s that you can’t pass up the chance to make it better,” Neb was saying. “Another thing I know is that to make my life the best it can possibly be… it has to be with you. I have to include you in my future because… you are my future. I can’t imagine taking another step without you by my side. Please, Nettie, say you’ll be my wife and let me love you for the rest of your days on earth.”

Nettie was quiet at first. Malinda scanned her friend’s face and knew why. She was only speechless because her tears had clogged her throat. She was nodding vigorously and finally got out the words. 

“Yes!” she exclaimed. “Yes, I will marry you, Neb. I love you more than you can imagine. I love you!” 

She threw her arms around his neck while everyone cheered. Malinda was pleasantly surprised and amused when suddenly they were all holding glasses of what looked like white wine or champagne. She hoped it was champagne. The bubbly drink made her feel giddy inside. 

After the initial congratulations were through, a very excited Nettie came over to Malinda. Her eyes were big as saucers and she was positively glowing with happiness.

“Can you believe it?” she asked her friend breathlessly. “Can you believe he finally asked me? I didn’t think he was going to. I really didn’t.”

Malinda laughed softly, bouncing her baby in her arms. “Surely knew he would eventually. He’s been expressing his feelings to everyone in town for months and months. Showing you off at every gala and every festival and every party. Come on, you knew he would ask you.”

“I suppose I thought he would,” Nettie admitted. “But not like this. He is so…” Nettie didn’t finish her sentence. She just sighed. 

This made Malinda laugh, which startled Emma, making the baby jump. Malinda instantly felt better, knowing the child could hear and see and had all her fingers and toes. She was healthy, according to the doctor. Perhaps her calmness was just part of her unique little personality. Malinda couldn’t wait to raise the little girl and see how she developed. She hoped to be shaping the minds and hearts of many little children before she and Lester were done.

“I know how much you love him. It must feel so good to be on your way to adulthood like me.”

Nettie laughed. “I’ve been an adult for a while now, thank you so much for noticing.”

Malinda shared a laugh with her. 

“Where’s that husband of yours?” Nettie asked, turning toward the crowd of people in the lobby. 

“Oh, he escaped to somewhere around here. He got to hold his daughter. He’s satisfied.”

Nettie gave Malinda a sharp look. “Oh, he’s not giving her more attention than he is you, is he?”

Malinda was momentarily taken aback by the question. She gazed at her friend and then laughed softly, shaking her head. “No, no. Not at all. We are his girls. He is a happy man.”

“You are a happy family,” Nettie said.

“Correct.” 

“And I’m so very happy to see that. I know I’ll have the same with Neb. I just know it.”

Nettie put one arm around Malinda’s waist and the ladies stood there together, watching as their men met up and were now talking excitedly to one another. 

Malinda couldn’t have been happier. God had blessed her and her sister, her friends, and her husband and daughter. There was no way for her to express it as much as she wanted to. 

She swayed back and forth, though there was no real need to try to keep Emma calm. 

Nettie whispered the words that caught Malinda’s heart and stayed in her mind for a very long time to come.

“Life is so good. I wonder what more adventures there are in store for us?”

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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!

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