A Widower’s Unexpected Rescue – Extended Epilogue

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Three Years Later

Her third wedding anniversary behind her, Cordelia knelt in the middle of the large flower and herb garden with Clementine, harvesting the late autumn’s herbs to prepare for drying. She would hang them in small shack that Micah had built for her two summers ago. 

After they finished in this garden, they would move on to what they called “Susannah’s garden,” where she and Evie would pluck the remainder of the late summer and early fall vegetables and enjoy the colors of the remainder of flowers that bordered it.

“Watch out, Thomas,” Cordelia cautioned, her two-year-old toddling between the rows, his chestnut hair catching the early afternoon sun. She smiled and extended her arms toward him, his own outstretched as he giggled. He fell into her arms and she held him close, loving the feel of his little arms around her neck, the smell of his hair the exact shade as his father’s.

“Where did you leave the basket?” she asked the little boy.

A small arm unwound from around her neck and his tiny finger pointed to the edge of the row. She had given up trying to keep him from prancing around in the garden in spite of a crushed plants once in a while. He was an extremely curious child and she was hesitant to quell his nature. 

She heard the sound of the screen door and glanced over her shoulder to find Evie emerging from the house carrying a basket as well, moving toward the edge of the garden where the chamomile grew.

“Oh sorry, Mama,” she said. “I just took my eye off him for a second or two to get the basket. I’ll take the bundle of flowers to put into the shed.”

She would never grow tired of hearing Evie call her “mama,” but she always made sure that Evie always remembered she had two mothers, not just one. At fifteen years of age, Evie had grown into a lovely young woman and a most devoted older sister. She constantly told Thomas bedtime stories about her late mother Susannah.

She watched as Evie carefully walked between the rows of plants and reached for Thomas’s hand. “Come along, Thomas. You’ve got to help me pick the rest of the chamomile flowers, don’t you?”

In a second, Thomas squirmed in her arms and Cordelia released him. Not really caring where he planted his feet, he crab walked toward his big sister, his hand outstretched for hers. 

“Evie! Evie, pick flowers!”

Cordelia smiled as she watched the two of them make their way toward the far edge of the garden. Beside her, Clementine chuckled.

“You’re going to have your hands full,” the older woman cautioned, glancing at the children with fondness. “Evie is already attracting attention from the boys at church and in Livingston when Micah brings her to town with him. And that little one there, well, he’s going to be as handsome as his father.”

Cordelia smiled. “I know. They’re both growing so fast.”

It was hard to believe that three years had passed since she had married Micah. She couldn’t remember ever being so happy, at least not after her father had passed away. She thought of him often and hoped both her parents were watching over her from heaven—watching over her and Micah and Evie and Thomas, and even now, the little one growing inside her. She hadn’t told Micah yet, but she planned to, and soon.

The steady clop of horse’s hooves and the creak of a buggy approaching prompted all of them to look up. Thomas began to race toward the buggy until Evie jumped up and grabbed his hand, swinging him into her arms and gently scolding him. Cordelia stood as well, shading her eyes as the buggy approached, sending a great cloud of dust up behind it. 

Clementine got to her feet, too, wiping her hands on a towel as she squinted. “That’s Doc Wilson’s buggy,” she murmured.

“Yes,” Cordelia agreed. 

Over the past couple of years, Cordelia sometimes assisted Doctor Wilson in the care of his patients, mostly in Logan, but sometimes in Livingston or the surrounding area. Her herbs and medicines kept him in good supply, as more modern remedies were hard to get in these parts. Not only that, but when Cordelia told him that her father had spent years training her and that she had helped him on numerous occasions in surgery or in patient care, the doctor had begun to rely on her more and more.

She watched as the doctor pulled the buggy up short in front of the house and quickly made her way out of the garden to greet him. She knew something was wrong. “What is it, Doc?” 

“I’ve got a difficult childbirth in town, Cordelia, with complications.” He paused. “It’s Melody Worthington.”

Melody Worthington was a twenty-four-year-old woman who’d been married for just over two years. She was a tiny thing and Cordelia was familiar with her case. She’d been watched under Doc Wilson’s careful eye since they’d learned of the pregnancy. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s breech,” he said. “I don’t want to give her more laudanum or she won’t have the strength to do what’s needed to deliver this baby. She’s hesitant to allow me to try to turn the baby. Her husband’s trying to help but she’s in a lot of pain and not letting either one of us do much to help her. She’s been in labor for just over a day now and she’s close to exhaustion.”

Cordelia nodded, glanced at her son and Evie, watching from the edge of the garden.

“Go on,” Clementine said. “I’ll take care of things here.”

Cordelia turned toward Evie. “Evie, get me some yarrow, willow, and chamomile,” she said as she hurried to the house. “I’ll be out in just a minute, Doc.”

By the time she darted from the house wearing a shawl over her shoulders and her bonnet on her head, Evie had emerged from the herb shed, a basket held in one hand, Thomas held against her hip with the other.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” she told the girl. “Tell your father that I’m in town with Doc Wilson.”

“All right, Mama,” she said, her expression somber. “Good luck, and I’ll say a prayer for Melody.”

For the next few hours, Cordelia spent most of the time cajoling, imploring, and sometimes firmly instructing Melody to sip the tea, or to allow her to move the suffering woman onto her side while she massaged her lower back or her belly, giving her bites or sips of her concoctions as she struggled to deliver her baby.

Lord, don’t let me lose her, she silently implored. She had helped her father with one difficult birth like this before, but it had taken hours and lots of patience. The woman’s husband, Matthew, hovered close, questioning this or that, of course worried about his wife, until Cordelia had finally sent him out of the room because his own nervousness was affecting Melody’s own.

Finally, as the sun slowly settled over the western horizon, the baby arrived, much to their relief not only of Melody, but the baby’s father. As Cordelia held the tiny bundle in her arms before handing the boy off to Doc Wilson, she couldn’t help but wonder if her next child would be a little boy or another girl. She wanted to give Evie a sister, but a little brother for Thomas would be just as fine. She thanked God for this little one’s entrance to life and for sparing Melody’s own.

As soon as the babe was cleaned up and snuggled up against his exhausted mother, Doc Wilson allowed Matthew back into the room. He didn’t look at either Doc or Cordelia, but rushed immediately toward his wife’s side, kneeling down on the floor as he gazed into her tear-streaked face as they both admired the new addition to their family.

Cordelia didn’t mind being ignored. She turned to Doc and smiled, gathering her things while he gathered his own and then spoke briefly over his shoulder to Matthew as they left the room.

“I’ll be at the boarding house all night, Matthew,” he said. “If you need me, come get me. I’ll be by in the morning to see how they’re both doing.”

When the two emerged from the house, Cordelia was surprised to find a small crowd gathered in front of it.

“How is she?”

“Is the baby all right?”

Doc Wilson glanced at Cordelia with a smile and a sigh before turning to the small crowd that had gathered to await news. “She’s had a baby boy. He’s healthy and she’s doing fine, although she could use some rest, so none of you better go in there and bother her, you hear?”

“Thanks, Doc,” some of them said, while others thanked Cordelia. She had long ago gained not only their admiration, but their respect for her own healing capabilities.

Both of them weary, Doc Wilson drove her home. Along the way they passed Rebecca and Ezra’s property. She saw the two of them in the yard, Rebecca holding her one-year-old daughter, Mabel. They didn’t stop as they passed on by, Cordelia waving to them and both of them waving back.

By the time they reached the front yard of the Rocking R, the sun was just about to settle over the westernmost mountains. Lights glowed from inside. Standing on the porch, leaning casually against the post waiting for her, was Micah. 

Her heart thumped, as it always did when he came home from a long day out on the range or, like today, when she’d been away from home for a while. Without waiting for Doc Wilson to help her down, she stepped from the buggy and thanked him. 

“Thank you, Cordelia,” he said. “Your herbal remedies helped to relax poor Melody, as did the rubs that you massaged her with and the encouragement you gave her. I know she appreciated having you there with her.” He glanced past her shoulder and lifted a hand toward Micah. “You go on now to your own family and get some much-needed rest.”

“You too, Doc.”

As Doc pulled the buggy around, Micah came off of the porch and approached, draping an arm around her shoulder as the dust from the buggy settled.

“How’s Melody? Evie said she was having a difficult time.”

“She was,” Cordelia agreed, weariness tugging at her. “But she delivered a healthy little boy and with some good rest, she’ll be fine.”

He took his hand in hers and tugged her inside the house. “Clementine has supper ready.”

Although Cordelia was almost too tired to eat, she knew she needed to nourish the little one growing inside her. After supper was finished and Thomas was tucked into bed and Evie was in her own room reading, Micah reached for Cordelia’s hand.

“I know you’re tired, but would you mind a little walk before bed?”

She looked up at him with a smile. “Not at all.” As they passed the kitchen, she glanced inside, where Clementine was just finishing up the supper dishes. “We’ll be right back, Clementine.”

She turned to glance over her shoulder with a smile. “Take your time.”

Micah guided her around the house and toward the cluster of cottonwood trees where the creek bubbled softly. Darkness had settled, but under a starlit sky, they stood together, her hand in his. She soaked in the night air and the peaceful sound of crickets chirping and the deep-throated growl of a bullfrog a short distance away.

Under the starlit sky, Cordelia reached for his other hand with her own and placed it over her stomach. He looked at her in confusion for a moment, and then the grin he gave her touched her heart. 

“Looks like you going to have to add another room to the house before spring,” she murmured.

He chuckled and then gently wrapped her in his arms, holding her close. The side of her face pressed against his chest, she listened to the sound of his heartbeat while he rested his cheek lightly on the top of her head.

“Any thoughts about a name if it’s a boy?” he asked.

She nodded. “I was thinking of Samuel David, after our fathers.”

“Both good, strong names,” he agreed. “What about if it’s a girl?” 

She smiled even though he couldn’t see it. “Mary Susannah,” she murmured.

His arms tightened around her and he cleared his throat, and she looked up at him. They kissed, a soft, deep and tender kiss that conveyed the depth of their feelings for one another. The both lifted their faces to look up at the starry night sky, and Cordelia smiled as he held her tightly against him. 

She had everything she had ever wanted: a husband she loved and who adored her, and children—a family that would grow over time until she and Micah would grow old and wrinkled. She looked forward to every moment of it.

Thank you, Lord, for my countless blessings. 

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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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