Epilogue

 

 

Laughter echoed through the air as children splashed in the lake. The day, like many others in August, was bright and warm. People were milling around, some were walking through the woods and others were sitting in lawn chairs, conversing with each other. Chicken, brats, and ribs were grilling on the six-burner propane gas grill that Kirby had gotten Sam for her birthday last month. Kirby and Beth were in the cabin preparing the sides to go with the barbeque. Charlie and Jack were handling the round-robin horseshoe tournament they’d started, and their wives, Jilly and Kate, were keeping an eye on the children. It was the annual summer picnic for the fire, EMS, and sheriff’s departments, and Samantha and Kirby were happy to host the celebration this year.

The past ten months had brought two weddings, Samantha and Kirby married in May, and Deputy Jack Reed and his fiancé, Kate Walters, married in June, and one divorce, Beth and Jackie Parker. After Jackie had been convicted and sentenced to prison, Beth had filed for divorce and was now enjoying her freedom. She, Jake, and Julia remained in the old farmhouse, which had been renovated by Henry Carpenter’s construction company, and Samantha had built a treehouse for Beth’s children. Kirby and Samantha had also had a fence built around their property and cleaned some of the brush from around the lake. Planning on having more events like this, Kirby had also had benches built around certain trees close to the cabin and scattered throughout the woods.

With the food prepared, Kirby and Beth brought out several dishes and set them on the long folding table that already held paper plates, plastic ware, napkins, and plastic cups. Two large pitchers of tea, one unsweetened and one sweetened, were also placed at the end of the table. A line had formed, and people filled their plates to capacity and sat where they could find a place. Conversation was a bit loud as people were talking over each other. The day was a good day to have good friends.

After the events of the day had come to a close and everyone had left, Kirby, Samantha, and Beth sat on the porch while the children tried their hand at horseshoes. Samantha had built the pits last month, hoping to get Kirby involved in some local tournaments. It worked, and they had won the first tournament they’d entered. They made a great team together and they were trying to get Beth involved with the sport, too. Jake was already proving to be good at tossing the shoes. Even though they were a little heavy for him, he still managed to either hit the pegs or get the shoes close enough to score. Julia struggled a little, but her brother told her he’d teach her how to play, which brought a smile to the young girl and the adults watching them.

Each adult reflected on the past year of their lives and how things were for them now.

 

†

 

Beth had never wanted to buy the old farmhouse, but her ex had insisted on it. Now she had a wonderful friend in Kirby McLennan, who had been the partner of her late sister, Reese, and a friendship with Samantha Parker whom she’d had an interest in, but had never actually met until Jackie introduced them, during high school. After the incidents with Jackie and finding out that Kirby was once her sister’s partner, she had started coming over to Kirby’s cabin and sitting on the porch with her. She felt a calmness, sitting there with the other woman, her new friend.

 

†

 

Samantha thought about the first time she’d seen Kirby in town. She knew Kirby had bought the cabin by the lake but knew nothing else about the woman. She had made the initial contact with Kirby and introduced herself when they were on the sidewalk by the hardware store. After that, Sam had started talking with Kirby every chance she had, and slowly began falling for the woman until finally, she had made progress, and Kirby began responding. It had taken almost a year but now they were married, and Samantha couldn’t be happier. She had found that being with Kirby calmed her soul and she would never find a better love.

 

†

 

Kirby remembered the day of the crash less and less, the nightmares finally fading away. But the one thing she would never forget was the love she had, still had, for the woman who had been the love of her life…Reese Redmond. And now, she had a new love. A love that wouldn’t replace the love she had for her late partner, but a love that would add to the greatest loves of her life. Kirby had been reluctant at the beginning to let Samantha inside, and then, she really didn’t think she’d ever been ready to move on. But Sam had been persistent and had broken through the wall Kirby had built. She was thankful for that. Samantha loving her had turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to her. Oh, she knew tragedy could happen at any time, life had taught her that, but she felt like she was truly living now with this wonderful woman at her side.

Kirby and Sam sat on the porch every morning and every night, just like Kirby had done even before Sam had come into the picture, and watched the deer come out to eat or the fish capture a bug that had landed on the water or listen to the birds singing in the trees. The cabin in the woods by the lake was an area that was so serene that it could calm any turmoil that might happen in your life or inside your soul.