Twenty-Two

Home.

When had Azure Springs become home?

Em gathered her few belongings and moved toward the door, ready to get off the train. Finally the doors were opened and she set foot on Azure Springs soil. Everything looked welcoming to her. The buildings were just how she had left them. The trees had begun to change color but were right where they belonged. The saloon was noisy as she passed it. And there was the jail. Did she dare stop there first?

“Just knock,” she told herself. And she obeyed—knocking, then waiting. Her heart pounded as the seconds ticked by. She raised her fist to knock again.

“Is that a stray?” she heard someone ask from behind. Turning, she saw Caleb strutting her way. There he was. Just as handsome as she had remembered.

“I am no stray.” Waving her arms about, she declared, “This is my hometown and I don’t plan to go anywhere.”

He nodded as he looked her over. Then he put a hand to her forehead. “You all right, Em? Last I saw you, you weren’t sure where you belonged. I’ve been worried about you.”

Pushing his hand away, she stood a little taller. “It’s one of those happy days and your teasing won’t change that. I woke knowing I was coming home and haven’t stopped smiling since. And it’s Emmeline, but you may call me Em for short.”

“Emmeline, is it? That’s a beautiful name.” Then he stepped closer and took her hand in his. His touch sent her heart racing. “Beautiful name for a beautiful girl. The answer to your question is yes. Yes, there are men who will see you as beautiful and there are men who will think a lifetime is not enough time to spend with you.”

Her breath caught in her chest. Her question. He’d answered it.

She stared at him with her mouth open. He thought she was beautiful! He reached over and pushed up on her chin. “Don’t look so surprised. Tell me something, have you seen Mae and Milly yet? Or did you come here first?”

Em shook her head. “No, I haven’t been there yet.”

“Well, they cried buckets of tears when I came home without you. Let’s go and see them. I owe them a story. And I think today is just the day to tell it to them.” He took her bag and led her to the Howells’ house.

As they walked, he asked her about her weeks in Beckford. Em stopped thinking about his perfect answer to her question and told him about the letters from Lucy and the letter from her mother.

“I loved it there in Beckford. I loved Walt and Olive. I loved feeling close to Lucy, but something in me told me it was time to go. That I needed to find something other than the past to cling to.”

He nodded. “So you came back here.”

“It was hard for me to though. I was so afraid I would lose Lucy all over again when I left, and it did hurt walking away from her little grave, but I think she is here with me. I think she would want me to tell Mae and Milly more stories and create a life for myself.”

“I think you’re right.” Standing in front of the Howells’ door, he asked, “Are you ready to be pounced on by two overzealous twins?”

“I am. I am very ready.”

He raised a hand and knocked. Before the door opened, he bent over and whispered in her ear, “I missed you, Emmy.” And then he kissed her cheek.

When she brought her hand to her cheek, she felt as though the kiss were still there. A sweeter welcoming gift she could not imagine.

“You’re back!” the two girls were screaming when the door opened. Instantly, they were on both sides of Em, pulling her inside and into the front room. They asked questions, hugged her, and laughed all at the same time.

“Hold up, girls. I know you have lots to say to Miss Emmeline, but I promised you a story and today is the day I’m going to tell it. Sit, you three, and listen.”

On command they sat.

“This is a new story. It’s a story about a prince. This prince received a decree from his father to find a fair maiden to marry. The prince looked far and wide hoping to find the fairest maiden of all to please his father, the king. There were several pretty girls in his kingdom. He looked them over, wondering which one he should offer his hand to.”

“Did they have rosy complexions and fair skin?” Mae asked.

Caleb tried to keep a straight face. “Yes, there were lovely ladies just like that in the town. This prince tried to decide which of them was the fairest, but could not decide. For there was another that caught his eye. This maiden was different. She had a magical kind of beauty. The kind that can only be seen if you know how to truly look at a person. At first the prince had not seen it. He had thought her too plain.” He looked up and caught Em’s eye. He winked at her. “He thought her skinny and plain.”

Mae interrupted again. “Why didn’t he see her magical beauty?”

“He hadn’t seen it because he had been misled by evil men who told him beauty had to look a certain way. But once, when he was high in a tree, he looked down at the girl and saw a sparkle in her eye. When he saw her again, he looked harder, trying to figure out what it was that made this maiden so different from all the rest. She laughed this time and the sound echoed through his mind. It was like the sound of birds singing to the morning sun. It was perfect. Every time after that, he found something else beautiful about the girl. He found that she was strong, honest, and brave. Did you know goodness is the fairest of all the beauties?”

Milly looked at him with dreamy eyes. “Am I good?”

“Indeed you are. And someday I am certain a man will see that goodness and carry you off to his castle. Now where was I?” He glanced at Em. She was sitting next to Mae with a far-off smile on her face, her hand absently running through the girl’s hair.

“Ah, yes. He was finding more and more beauty in this girl. He discovered talents he’d not known she had. This girl could catch frogs and shoot guns.”

“Guns! What kind of a story is this? That is not what princesses do,” Mae said.

“It’s very different from Em’s stories. Are you sure this is a princess story?” Milly added.

“Let me finish. Shooting guns and catching frogs may not seem like what princesses do, but you’ll have to believe me when I tell you this girl was a princess and the very fairest of all. One day everything changed for the prince. When he looked at the other maidens, they no longer held any charms. Only she did. And he knew that she was his true princess.”

“Did the prince marry her?” Milly asked.

“The prince was scared because he loved her so much. He had to leave her for a time and feared he would never see her again,” Caleb said. “He was miserable the entire time they were apart. He dragged his feet all over town, downtrodden and self-pitying.”

“If he is afraid, how will he ever live happily ever after?” Milly questioned.

“He had been granted a gift. Three questions. Two were gone, but he had one remaining. These questions were special. If he asked them, the princess had to answer. He decided to save that final question, and when he was certain he could not live without knowing if the fair maiden would be his queen, he got down before her and pleaded with her to marry him.”

“What did she say?” Mae asked, impatient for a happy ending.

Abigail entered the room. Or had she been there all along? “Em, I’m so glad you’ve returned. And I can’t wait to hear all about your trip. But I think I’ll ask all about it after dinner. Girls, follow me into the kitchen.”

“But Mama, we want to hear the end of the story,” they both said.

“You’ll hear it. But not until later. Come along now.” Abigail gave them a look that told them not to question her.

The girls stomped out of the room, resigned to their fate.

Caleb knelt in front of Em. “I have one question left. I’ve saved it. I was too afraid to ask it. When you were gone and I feared you would never return, I vowed to use it if I ever saw you again.”

Em tried to blink away the tears that were already coming to her eyes.

“You are the princess. The only girl who holds any charms for me. My third question is, Will you marry me? Live on the land with me, climb trees with me, dance with me. Will you be my wife?”

“Why?” Em reached out and put her hand to his cheek. “Why me?”

“Because when I think of what beautiful is, now I see you. I see freckles and yellow hair. You will always be what beautiful is to me. When your hair is gray—that will be my definition of lovely. No one else will ever be right for me. I want to grow old with someone I can laugh with. I don’t want a woman who always says the right words and has forgotten how to have fun. I want a future with you. You told me you had decided to live. Live with me. Marry me, Em. Let me look for rays of sunshine with you.”

The words from her mother’s letter floated through her mind. Live and love. “Yes. My answer is yes. I will marry you.” A little laugh escaped despite the tears. “My very own prince.”

Two little heads crept from around the corner. “You are the princess, Em! I always thought you were the most beautiful and wonderful. You are a princess. And you get to marry the prince!”

Taking Mae in her arms, she twirled her around. “You are a princess too, little Mae-berry.”

Setting Mae down, she planted a kiss on the top of Milly’s head. “You too, Milly-girl.”

Milly looked at her and said, “Now you will live happily ever after.”

Caleb’s voice boomed above the others. “We will. We will live happily ever after.” He took Em in his arms then and kissed her. Closing her eyes, she felt just like she always dreamed a princess would.