A Widow’s Refuge in the Rancher’s Arms – Extended Epilogue

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Three years later

Jonas glanced around the ranch, hoping the sheep were still in the pen. Eli and Owen had taken to letting them in with the goats, and while nothing bad would happen, it was a pain in his side to separate them all again when it was time for shearing.

And with the days growing longer and hotter as the early stages of summer set in, it was only going to be a matter of time before he needed to shear them.

Thankfully, the boys were with Maggie, each of them holding one of her hands as she learned how to walk. Maggie giggled as she took one toddling step after another, looking like an exact copy of Clara. Thirteen months old and Maggie already had her brothers wrapped around her little fingers. There was seldom a moment when Eli or Owen weren’t with her.

They might have learned to be a bit of that from me.

Still, he didn’t suppose that was the worst thing in the world. He had learned to ease off and allow Lydia to live her own life, and in time the boys would too.

And for now, he knew that his children were always going to look after each other.

Jonas grinned and strode over to them, Buckshot dashing ahead and circling the children. “Does your ma know you have Maggie out here?”

“Ma said she was feeling like a drowning whale and we all needed to go outside since it’s sunny.” Eli smirked, flicking his hair away from his eyes.

Even though he was older now, the mischievous shine had never faded. There were times when Jonas saw that same shine in Maggie’s eyes, and there was no doubt in his mind that she was going to take after her brother.

Jonas laughed as Buckshot threw himself to the ground in front of the children, rolling over and showing them his belly. Miss Boots weaved between their legs, her tail wrapping around all of them. “I have to go check on the herd, but you’re going to take care of the sheep and goats, right?”

“Yes, Pa,” Owen said, grinning.

There wasn’t much Owen loved more than the animals. In the last few years, they had nearly doubled the size of the cattle herd and tripled the horse breeding program. They were both needed with the rapid expansion of Red Butte, but none of it would be possible without Owen’s help.

Even during the rare moments on the ranch when there was nothing to do, Owen would be with the animals. He’d spend the evenings sitting in the pasture with the horses and drawing them. Eli preferred to spend the evenings reading to Maggie, though there were times when he would be out in the shed with the tools, working on building new toys for her.

A bark sounded and out of the barn came Fleur with her puppies trailing behind her. The labrador’s tail was going a mile a minute as she ran up the hill with her tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth.

Owen left Maggie with Eli, instead running to his dog.

Jonas’ cheeks hurt from smiling, but he found that he couldn’t stop, even if he wanted to. There was something peaceful and fulfilling about looking around the ranch and seeing everything he used to think he wasn’t worthy of having.

Thomas would’ve loved this.

The door to the house opened and Clara stepped out, groaning and shaking her head, both hands beneath her growing stomach like she was trying to hold it up. “I swear, I feel like I’m bigger than I was with the twins.”

“Well, when I was in town this morning for my appointment, Dr. Linwood said that he thinks it’s likely going to be twins.”

Clara leaned into his side as he wrapped his arm around her.

“I heard you told the boys that you feel like a drowning whale.”

Clara shot him a flat glare, but there was a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Wouldn’t you feel like a drowning whale if you were carrying around extra weight? I swear, it’s good that there’s only a month left at most, otherwise I won’t be able to get out of bed on my own.”

“Well, whether it’s one baby or two, we’re going to be ready for whatever comes our way. There’s nothing we won’t be able to handle together.”

She snorted. “I don’t see you carrying around your fair share of the pregnancy weight.”

Jonas laughed and moved to stand behind her, placing his hands over hers and helping support her stomach, his chin coming to rest on her shoulder. “Is that a bit better, darlin’?”

“Yes.” She leaned back into him, looking a little more serene. “If I could have you stuck to me every day and holding my belly up, that would be wonderful.”

“Like you said, only another month.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek before looking back at their children. “Did you stop and see Sheriff Calder while you were in town too?”

“I did.” Clara closed her eyes, the warm summer breeze playing with the ends of her hair. “He said that Red Malloy is finally talking. He’s given up some of the names of the other members of his gang. It’s still going to be years before he gets out of that jail in Denver, but from what I hear, the sentence might be shortened.”

“And Silas and Sheriff Kettering?” Jonas hadn’t heard news of them in a while, and though he had wanted to go to town with Clara and talk to the sheriff, lately there hadn’t been enough time in the day to be gone that long.

“They’re still in Denver too. A couple more years to go, but there’s rumors of them being moved to New York and keeping them far away from Red Butte.”

“Good. I don’t want them to be able to hurt us.” Jonas kissed her cheek again.

“And there was something else.” She turned to look at him, her hands on his chest and excitement in her eyes. “Because you and I were the ones who captured Red, turns out we’re going to get the reward money that comes with the gang being brought to justice. They were supposed to notify us after they were convicted, but somehow it seems the marshals forgot!”

Jonas’ brows pulled together. “We don’t need more money. The boys have their inheritance, and you and I and the other children are more than capable of living off what the ranch brings in and living comfortably.”

“We can do as we did with the boys. We can take the reward money and set it aside for Maggie and the new baby… or babies. They can use the money for their education, or their first home, and they won’t have to worry.”

Jonas smiled and cupped her face. “I like that idea.”

“Good.” Clara pushed up on her toes slightly, her lips ghosting over his. “You better go and get your son before he teaches your daughter how to climb that tree.”

With his jaw on the ground, Jonas turned around, and sure enough, there was Eli trying to teach Maggie how to grab onto the lowest branch of a tiny tree.

It’s never a slow day.

He wouldn’t change it for anything though. This was the life he hadn’t dared to dream of. It was the one that didn’t belong to men like him, but somehow, he got it anyway.

So, as he jogged across the yard and to the tree, his leg feeling better than it ever had, he was reminded of the days when he used to teach his own siblings how to climb trees.

“She’s a little young for that yet,” Jonas said as he stopped beside Eli. “But why don’t you climb up the other one and show her how to do it?”

Maggie giggled and clapped her hands, leaning into Jonas as he picked her up. Her soft curls tickled his jaw as she curled into his chest. Jonas watched Eli scramble up the tree, climbing higher than he had before but his steps were sure.

“I think we should build Maggie and the new babies a treehouse,” Eli said as he sat down on one of the thick branches, his legs dangling. “Uncle Caleb could come over and help, especially since he lives next door now too.”

“Well, he should be here in time for supper, so you can ask him yourself.” Jonas turned and looked down the road, and sure enough there was a wagon coming toward them, Caleb and Lydia seated beside each other.

“Owen!” Eli shouted, rushing down from the tree and landing on the ground with a soft thud. “Uncle Caleb and Aunt Lydia are here!”

With a wild yell, Owen came dashing out of the barn, the twins running down the road to meet them. Jonas laughed and shook his head, going back to Clara to wait.

Fleur and Buckshot were flopped on the porch beside Clara while the puppies played with Miss Boots. Jonas sat down in the rocking chair beside Clara’s, holding Maggie and rocking as her eyelids started to droop.

Clara hummed to herself, watching the boys. “Do you think they’re ever going to stop being so wild?”

Jonas glanced down the road, only to see them running behind the wagon as Caleb drove faster. The boys threw themselves into the back, popping up with wide grins. “I don’t think they would be the boys they are if they were any less wild.”

“Well, I suppose you might be right about that,” Clara said with a fond smile.

The wagon continued up the path from the road to the house, stopping in front of them. The boys were out first, both of them reaching up to help Lydia down.

“Five more months,” Lydia said as soon as she was on the ground, one hand on her expanding belly. She hugged Clara and placed a kiss to her cheek before taking one of the other rocking chairs. “I don’t know how you’re doing it with this heat. I so much as move and I feel like I’m on fire.”

Caleb chuckled and hopped down from the wagon, peeling Maggie from Jonas’ arms and tossing her gently up in the air before catching her again. “Look at how big you’re getting!”

Eli scoffed and shook his head. “You saw us yesterday.”

Owen elbowed Eli. “He’s old. People forget things when they get old.”

The twins looked at each other, slowly nodding like it all made sense while Caleb stared at them, slack-jawed.

“I’m not that old!” Caleb handed Maggie back to Jonas. “I bet I could race both of you to the old tree and back and I’d win.”

Eli cocked his head to the side. “If we win, we want you to help us build a treehouse for Maggie.”

Caleb took a quick look at Jonas, who gave him a slight nod. Jonas should’ve known that Eli was going to try and make it interesting instead of simply asking Caleb for the help. Eli was stubborn that way. He liked to think that he could do things on his own.

Jonas couldn’t blame him for that one. He had been like that too until Clara came into his life.

“Deal,” Caleb said, stretching slightly. “But if I win, you two are going to be mucking out the stalls on my ranch for a week.”

“Go!” Owen shouted, taking off running and barely giving Caleb a chance to go.

Jonas laughed as the three of them took off running, Caleb going a little slower, pretending that he was getting a stitch in his side and he could barely breathe.

The boys beat him to the tree and came racing back, rushing off to go grab paper and a pencil so Eli could start drafting what the treehouse was going to look like.

All Jonas could do was sit back in his chair and smile.

There was a time when he didn’t think life could be that good—times when he thought he was numb and just moving through life.

But now, looking at the family surrounding him and the love they shared, he knew he had just needed a reason to thaw. A refuge in people he could call home.

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