Five years later
Summer picnics had become a tradition at the Jameson Estate. They’d spend the afternoon fishing, playing in the wildflowers and napping, while the evening was spent chasing fireflies and listening to stories under the stars.
Glory ate up every moment of it, thankful for every day that she spent with her family. In the wilds of Montana, her life in South Carolina seemed to have happened to someone else.
“Momma, look!” Edward called from the rock he stood on at the edge of the river. He held up his fishing rod and Emily squealed as she tried to reach out and grab the fish, but kept getting scared off by the flopping of the poor fish. Zane laughed as he helped her.
The twins had been with them every day of the past five years. Their mother kept in touch, but the papers to make them her and Zane’s had been filed after their marriage. Today was their wedding anniversary, and they celebrated every year with their family around them.
She waved and called out encouragement before turning her attention back to Caroline and her baby. The girl babbled up at them both.
“She’s going to be a talker,” Clara predicted, her own daughter sat gurgling on her knees as Clara bounced her up and down.
Able’s deep laugh drew her attention as he tossed his nearly five-year-old son over his shoulder. “No one can talk more than this one.” The boy giggled and shrieked as Able pretended that he was going to toss him into the river.
Hunter and Emmy walked in the wildflowers with their own children in tow, while Emmy’s younger sisters, both teenagers, dipped their feet into the cold water.
Castillo drew Glory’s attention as he sat down beside his wife and pulled her into his arms. They’d moved back from Boston after Caroline had finished her studies. Castillo worked with Hunter and Zane, building up their horse ranch, while Caroline had built a clinic in Helena. She and Glory had joined forces. The women Glory helped in her boardinghouse were able to gain work experience at the clinic.
Now that the boardinghouse wasn’t attached to a brothel, she’d even found a schoolteacher able to work full-time to teach the women other skills. The boardinghouse had become a secondary training school that women in need could attend free of charge. Glory hoped to expand the courses offerings even more in the future. She still had her real estate which earned them a comfortable annual income in rents, and the horses had started to pay off. People all over the country had heard about the Jameson stock. Orders for foals came in often before the horses were even mated.
Emily squealed as Edward chased her with a worm, her laughter carrying across the field. Emmy’s children joined in. Zane came down beside Glory on the blanket. His arm moved around her waist, tucking her back against him.
“What are you thinking?” he whispered against her ear.
There’d been a time when she’d thought that good things rarely came along unexpectedly. She’d been right, but Zane was definitely one of those good things. He’d changed her life in a million different ways, all for the better. “That I love you.”
He smiled and kissed her shoulder, his mouth warm through the fabric of her dress.
Life was better than she’d ever imagined it could be.
* * * * *
If you enjoyed this story
check out the first two books in the
Outlaws of the Wild West miniseries
by Harper St. George:
The Innocent and the Outlaw
A Marriage Deal with the Outlaw
Keep reading for an excerpt from A Lady in Need of an Heir by Louise Allen.
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