A Western Tale of Rivalry and Love – Extended Epilogue

It was a bright Sunday morning when Bella woke up with a start. It was going to be an exciting day. She was immediately wide awake and turned over, surprised to see Damon was still asleep next to her.

She slid out of bed and went quickly down the stairs after pulling on her robe and sliding her feet into the warm slippers under her bed. At the top of the stairs, she could smell the cake baking in the oven downstairs.

Excitement slid through her. It was the day of the big party. Reece’s eighteenth birthday party. He was already living at their ranch and was expected there bright and early by seven o’clock. She giggled, remembering him complain that he wasn’t even allowed to sleep in on his birthday. It had been in jest. Reece was the kind of young man who couldn’t sleep in. He woke up at 6:30 every morning whether he liked it or not.

He told them he had a big announcement to make at his party, but she hadn’t been able to pry out of him what it was. She’d even asked the staff and some of the ranch hands if they knew what the secret was. If they did know, they didn’t tell her.

She walked through the foyer and into the dining hall, looking at Clara, who was leaning over the oven.

The older woman looked back at Bella and gave a wide smile, her teeth shiny white. Bella smiled back.

“That already smells delicious, Clara. I’m so excited for the party today. I wonder what my brother is going to announce.”

Clara chuckled. “Well, ya won’t get it out of me, Missus, even if I knew what it was. I wouldn’t tell ya. Not my business to say.”

Bella laughed with the woman. “I know, Clara. I wasn’t hinting. I’m just excited to know, that’s all.”

“He’ll be here soon enough. Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll get you a cup of coffee?”

“Thank you, that sounds lovely.”

Bella sat at the table, even though she wanted to run around the house or do something energetic. The time wouldn’t pass fast enough if she was just sitting there doing nothing.”

“I am nervous,” she murmured, tapping her fingers on the table as if to prove her statement. “He is usually so open with me. I haven’t found out anything, even though I’ve been spying and prying everywhere.”

Clara gifted her with another chuckle and a shake of her head. The woman poured coffee into a mug and brought it over to the table, setting it down in front of her. “Here’s the sugar bowl.” Clara pushed the bowl closer to Bella, who gave her a grateful smile. Black coffee was too strong for Bella. She liked a little milk and sugar in it.

“I just don’t know if I can wait for him to get here. I feel like getting my horse and heading over there instead.”

“Now you just be patient,” Clara said in a soothing voice, patting Bella on the shoulder. “He’ll be here. Just be patient.”

Bella tried to stay calm, watching Clara as she went about making a big breakfast for the family. The smells mixing in the air made Bella’s stomach growl with hunger. She followed behind Clara a few times, snatching a piece of bacon here and a slice of toast there, much to Clara’s chagrin.

Bella laughed each time Clara playfully slapped her hand away from the food. Bella jumped back and skipped away from the woman.

Finally, the door swung open, and Reece came through. Bella was impressed by how much he’d grown in the last two years. His high cheekbones and long face made him look like a sculpture. His skin was smooth and clear, his eyes dark and brooding behind long lashes.

“Sister!” he said loudly. “I am here!”

“Reece!” Bella ran to him, throwing her arms around him. “Happy birthday! You’re finally eighteen. Do you feel any different? Do you feel old like me?”

Reece laughed, shaking his head. “You aren’t old. You won’t be old till you have grandchildren. And you don’t even have any children yet.”

“It’s so good to see you. Sit down. Eat some breakfast. I snagged a couple of extra pieces of bacon and hid them under this napkin for you.”

Bella lifted the napkin, showing him the bacon slices. She glanced at Clara, who winked at her. Bella felt a wave of affection for the woman pass through her. Reece looked hungrily at the bacon.

“I think I love you, Bella.”

The women laughed as Reece consumed the slices of bacon in a few seconds. He rubbed his stomach, looking at the cook. “You really are the best, Clara. I wish I could take you for the other ranch. But then I can’t do that to my sweet sister and her husband, can I?”

“You’re a tease, Reece,” Bella said, smiling sweetly. “Come on, sit down. Let’s talk. I know you wanted to make a big announcement today but …”

“Bella, don’t ask me what it is,” Reece said, sounding amused. He sat at the table across from her where he had always sat when they first moved to Three Sides. She took her seat.

“Can I ask you a few questions, though?” she asked. He looked up, a thoughtful look on his face.

He shrugged. “I reckon you can.”

“Okay,” Bella had to think quickly. “So, how am I going to feel about this announcement? Am I going to be happy?”

Reece pulled in a breath, glancing at Clara. Bella saw Clara move toward the back of the kitchen and disappear into the pantry. She stayed in there, apparently giving the brother and sister time to talk. Bella looked back at Reece.

“Okay, you scared off Clara. Tell me. Tell me something. Please.”

“I don’t know how you’re going to take it, Bella,” Reece said in a serious tone that almost stopped Bella’s heart. The joy she’d been feeling dampened in her soul. She swallowed and bit her lips together.

“Well, am I going to be happy?”

Reece looked directly at her. “I … I think you’ll be happy for me.”

Bella cleared her throat and looked away from him. Clara had still not come out of the pantry.

“Okay but not for me?”

Reece didn’t say anything. He continued to look at her with a contemplative look. He moved forward suddenly, taking her hands in his. “Look, I’m just going to tell you so we can get through this day happily, okay? I didn’t want it to ruin the day, so I wasn’t going to tell you till later, but I’ll tell you now because it’s gonna bug you all day. Okay?”

Bella braced herself, nodding.

“I’m … I’m not cut out to be a rancher like dad was, Bella. I want to be in business. I’m going abroad to study. I want to come back with a thriving business and buy up some land around here, start building structures all over the United States. There’s money to be made in buying up land, Bella. I don’t want to be stuck in one place when there’s so much land out there that needs to be developed.”

Bella listened to him in silence, taking in his words with awe. She’d known Reece was smart. She hadn’t know he was incredibly ambitious, too. Her heart sank a little. He was going to leave. She didn’t know how she felt about that.

“Those books I’ve been reading steady since I turned sixteen, they weren’t all about the ranch. I used to walk around here with business development books, and no one ever noticed.” He grinned. “I guess I got paid for some time when I shouldn’t have.”

Bella frowned slightly. She began to run through the past year, trying to think of what could have been done to make Reece not want to stay. “You were paid just like everyone else?”

Reece nodded. “Sure. Damon said it was to make sure I developed a knowledge of fending for myself if that ever happened. Thinking back, he probably was scheming at the time to get rid of me. But that was a good thing he did. It taught me a lot. I have a lot of respect for the way he brought me up after Pa died. I know it was only a few years, but they were important ones.”

Bella’s heart softened its beating. She gazed lovingly at her brother and sighed. She was happy for him. But she was sad for herself. She’d been taking care of him so long. Now he was a man, going off on his own, ready to make his own decisions. “Oh, Reece, I am happy for you. I’m happy for me, too, because I get to be the proud big sister of such an important man, but I am sad that my little brother is leaving. I don’t know what I’ll do without you here to lean on. You’ve been so strong.” She shook her head. “You’re an important person to me.”

Reece snorted. “I’m not important.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, of course you are. You are to me, right now, always. But I have a feeling in the future you’ll be important to a lot more people.” She couldn’t help sighing again. She wanted to put on a brave, happy face for him so she tried to smile. She knew it was weak and was disappointed with herself. “Promise you’ll come back and visit.”

Reece laughed. “Of course, I will. But no worries. I plan to come back and take over my ranch when I’m ready to settle down. I still want a family, you know. I’m not selling the ranch or anything.”

The door pushed open, and Damon stuck his head in first. He spied Bella and Reece and smiled widely at the two of them.

“Hello, good morning and happy birthday! Is this a good time for me to interrupt?”

Bella smiled at her husband, releasing her hands from Reece’s and waving him over. She was relieved to see him. She was going to need him to get through this happy day, all the while knowing her baby brother was venturing out into the world.

“Of course, my love, it’s always a good time for you. Come and hear Reece’s news.”

Extended Epilogue

Damon swung open the door and ushered Reece in quickly. He knew his face had to show the tension he felt. Reece stared at him.

“Calm down, brother,” Reece said, his voice much deeper than it had been three years ago when he moved away from Shallow Creek. “She’s gonna be all right. You’ve been stressing out. You need to sit down and breathe.”

“I am breathing,” Damon said, his voice coming out irritated. He shook his head. “I’m not annoyed with you, Reece. You’re right; I’m tense. But I haven’t been through this before, you know.”

“Neither has she,” Reece said in an encouraging tone. “And she needs you to be strong for her right now. I know you’re both anxious to see who the kid looks more like, but you’ve got to let this competition take a back seat for a minute.”

Damon stared at Reece, trying to figure out what he meant. The words sorted out in his mind and let out a quick chuckle. “Okay, okay. Good one. I’ll try to be calm. It would just be better if she wouldn’t sc …”

His words were cut short by the sound of Bella’s shrieks behind the closed bedroom door.

Reece and Damon shared a look. Damon leaned forward without taking his eyes from his brother-in-law. “She keeps screaming like that, and it’s scaring me to death. I think I might have a heart attack.”

“She stops pretty abruptly, too. Is that normal?” Reece gave him a terrified look. He shrugged. He was afraid for his wife, though the doctor said she was in excellent health and the midwife in the room with her assured Damon Bella was in great shape to successfully have a baby.

Despite their encouragement, Damon was still anxious, his muscles tense, his nerves tingling with anticipation.

He wanted to hear the sound of the baby crying. It had been several hours, and she was still crying out in pain.

“I’m glad you’re here, Reece,” Damon said, leading the man to a bench just outside the door of the birthing room. “I’m real glad you’re here.”

Bella shrieked again. Damon winced, turning his eyes to Reece. “That’s just the most frightening sound a man can here, Reece.”

Reece shook his head. “I don’t envy you, Damon. But I do think you’ll find the rewards will outweigh the fear you feel now. You and Bella will be wonderful parents.”

Damon gave him a small, tense smile. Reece slapped him on the back several times.

“Come on, Damon. You know everything is going to be fine.”

“I know,” Damon responded, waiting to hear the scream again, bracing himself for it. “But right now, she’s in a lot of pain. I can’t take that pain away, and I can’t make it better for her. I just have to wait and listen to how much she hurts. And I think it really, really hurts her. You know?”

Reece lifted his eyebrows. “Yeah, Damon. I hear it really hurts.”

Damon wrinkled his nose at his brother-in-law and was about to respond when Bella gave out another scream and it was followed by the cry of a baby.

A cold chill ran over Damon from his head to his toes. He was suddenly tense and then completely relaxed. He looked at Reece with wide eyes, and their smiles covered their faces from ear to ear.

“Go in!” Reece said excitedly, standing up and grabbing Damon’s arm. “Go in and see your baby!”

“I gotta wait till they let me in!” Damon said, staring at the closed door of the bedroom. He could feel Reece pushing him from behind, but he resisted a bit, afraid to just open the door and waltz in.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” The pitch of Reece’s voice had raised an octave. “Go on!”

Finally, the door opened, and the midwife looked out at him, a big smile on her face. “Okay, Mr. Beeson. Come on in and meet your son!”

Damon turned his wide eyes to Reece. “Did you hear that, Reece? It’s a boy! I’ve got a son! I’ve got a son!”

“I heard, I heard!” Reece laughed as he responded. “Go see him.”

As Damon went past the midwife, he heard Reece behind him saying, “Can I come and see him, too?”

To which the midwife responded, “Of course, Mr. Whittaker. I know your sister wants to see you, too.”

Damon crossed the room and bent over the bed, touching Bella’s matted hair and sweaty forehead, kissing it, her lips, and her cheeks.

She was gazing up at him with pure happiness on her face.

“Oh, Damon, he’s so beautiful. Look at him!”

Damon turned his face to see the most beautiful sight he’d seen since Bella became his bride.

He stood up straight as the midwife brought the child to his parents. She laid him on Bella’s chest and stepped away from them.

Damon had never felt such love in his life. He gazed down at his wife and son, knowing in that moment he would never be alone again in his life. This was only the first of their children. Bella was a strong, healthy woman. The doctors said she was prime to have plenty of healthy babies, as many as she wanted.

Damon had taken great pleasure in teasing her about how many they would really have. A dozen, he’d said. Two dozen!

Bella lifted up from the pillow slightly and put a soft kiss on his cheek. He turned his eyes to her.

“You are the most wonderful husband a woman could ask for,” she whispered, looking so deeply at him that he felt he could see in her soul. “You will be an amazing father for our children. And I’m blessed to be your wife. Do you want to hold your son?”

Damon looked down at the tiny creature wrapped in a blue and white blanket. He moved his eyes back to Bella’s.

“I won’t crush him, will I?”

Bella giggled. “Not if you’re careful. And you will be. You’re his daddy. You’ll never hurt him.”

Damon slowly took the child from her arms and lifted him up to cradle him.

“You haven’t chosen a name, have you?” Reece asked from behind Damon. Damon turned around, having forgotten Reece was in the room. He closed the distance between them and held the baby in Reece’s view.

“Look at your nephew, Reece. What do you think?”

Reece gazed at the boy, seeming to study him closely. He looked up at Damon and then at Bella. He took one more go round of them all before settling his eyes on Damon.

“Sorry, buddy,” he said. “That baby is all Whittaker. You’ll have to try again.”

Damon laughed along with Reece, though it seemed to startle the baby, and he wriggled in Damon’s arms. A streak of fear slid through Damon, and he almost clamped down on the child but caught himself in the nick of time.

“Oh dear,” he said softly, leaning down close in the child’s face, rubbing his large nose on the tiny one in his arms. “Little boy, you’re so fragile now. Someday you’re gonna be big like your uncle Reece. Like your pa. You’re gonna be big and strong. Even like your ma.” Damon grinned at Bella, who smiled back at him.

“What are we going to name him, Damon?” Bella asked, pushing herself to sit up just a little more in the bed. Damon noticed when she grimaced. He looked at Reece and gestured with his head for the young man to follow him back to the bed.

He lowered the baby and slid him back into his mother’s arms. The boy folded his body on his mother’s chest and closed his eyes. His breathing was immediately steady, and he snored just slightly. The sound made Damon’s heart melt in his chest.

He pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down, leaning out to rest his hands on his wife, just wanting to touch her. It made his uneasiness at what she’d gone through lessen with every moment.

“A name. We need a name.”

“He’s going to be strong and mighty,” Damon said. “We have to give him a strong name.”

“You could call him Sampson,” Reece suggested, standing at the foot of Bella’s bed. Damon looked at Bella, but she had no real reaction to the name. They gave each other doubtful looks before Damon shook his head.

“No, he doesn’t really look like a Sampson. He looks like a gentle soul but with a warrior heart.”

“You can see all that in that tiny little face?” Reece asked, his voice genuinely curious. Damon looked at him before returning his eyes to the tiny creature lying on his wife’s chest.

“I can see it. I’m his father. Of course I see it.”

He met eyes with Bella. The corners of her lips lifted, and she whispered, “You have a name, don’t you? Go ahead, Damon. What’s the name you want to give our firstborn son?”

Damon sighed softly. He rested his eyes on the child’s face and said, “His name is Joshua.”

Bella’s eyes moved to the baby’s face and smiled. “Yes. Joshua. I like that.”

“Joshua it is,” Reece said. He leaned over the bed and whispered, “Welcome to the world, Joshua. Hope you like it here.”

THE END

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