A Bride for the Mining Heir – Extended Epilogue

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One Year Later

“Is this your desk, Pa?” Abel asked as he stood beside the massive piece of furniture in the mining office.

Briar knew just how much that title meant to Landon. He’d never get tired of hearing it, and she’d never get tired of the soft glow it brought to his face. Every time the children said it, he looked just as awed and moved as the first time they’d ever used it.

“It is.” Landon’s throat bobbed as he swallowed thickly. He brushed his fingers over the beautiful wood grain desk. “It was my father’s before me.” He pointed to the engraved nameplate in the corner of the desk. McCord.

Their true last name.

One of the first things that she and Landon did in the weeks following his arrest and release, was to file the paperwork to make the twins’ adoption legal. She didn’t think that any such thing was necessary, but Landon didn’t want to take chances. After the awful day of trials that they’d come through, she’d seen the wisdom in leaving no legal loose ends.

“It’s a big desk. How do you even reach the floor in a chair like that?” Susie pointed to the chair, which seemed just as voluminous as the desk. “Or anything?” She scrambled up into the chair and wriggled around until she was seated. Her feet hovered comically out in front of her, a good few feet from the floor. She extended her arms out in front of her, and she still couldn’t even reach the desk.

“You grow into it,” Landon assured her. He pushed the chair in and brought the big ledger book forward. Susie still couldn’t reach the pages. She laughed, the sound echoing through the quiet office.

“Can we see inside the mine?”

Briar smothered a sigh. She knew that Abel wouldn’t be distracted for long.

They’d arrived on the train the day before, and though it had been a journey full of wonders, the twins were often bored. They were happy to reach Nevada and enjoyed the wagon ride to the mining town so much more. Briar found herself breathless at the grandeur and size of Landon’s home. The whole past year, Landon divided his time between the ranch and the mine in Nevada. It was necessary for him to be gone in order to set up an overseer at the mine, and a few new managers to keep everything running. He’d paid Alonzo and another man Briar didn’t know, to ensure that his house was looked after.

Landon helped Susie out of the chair and ruffled Abel’s hair. “That’s something we’ll have to save for when you’re both older. The mine always has to be treated with a great amount of respect. It’s bored deep into the earth. It’s the ground giving up its past and its treasure. We have to respect the land, the earth, and the danger that making a tunnel so deep represents. We can look at the shaft’s opening, but I don’t want either of you going deeper.”

“Can we hold some silver?” Susie asked, not the least bit disappointed that she couldn’t crawl into the mine. She pointed to the shelf on the far well that was lined with various rocks.

“Of course.” Landon took down a smaller piece. It was lovely, a grey blue with white clouds tracing through it. It didn’t look like silver did, but that was probably because it needed some refining. “This is what it looks like when it comes out of the earth. I know it’s not fancy, but it’s really something at the end of it all.”

Footsteps echoed up the steps of the office. The door opened and Peter appeared. When Landon said that he’d need someone he could trust to run the day to day operations of the mine, the first person he’d thought of was Peter. The man had more than enough experience and knew every single thing about silver that there was to know. It took some convincing, but Landon offered to buy Peter’s plot of land, and to give him a generous salary so that he could relocate.

“It’s good to see you all again!” Peter had cleared out the office to give them privacy for their visit, but Landon told him they’d only need fifteen minutes.

Landon clapped the old miner on the back. Peter looked better than ever. He had a nice suit, and he was freshly shaved, which made him look a good decade younger. Working indoors, in an office, seemed to agree with him. He didn’t seem half so stooped and even his eyes looked better behind a pair of spectacles.

“It’s good to see you too, Peter.”

“I’ve been looking forward to your visit.” He grinned at the kids and offered Briar his hand. “My goodness, the kids have shot right up.”

“I haven’t,” Susie protested glumly. She wasn’t keen on the fact that Abel had outgrown most of his clothing while she was still the same size.

“Ahh, I’m sure you’ll catch up in no time,” Peter declared.

“I have to grow fast,” Abel told Susie, giving her a bit of a stink eye. “I want to get big enough to be able to ride Jet.”

Landon had the horse put on the train and brought to Wichita on his first visit back to Nevada. He’d ridden him out to the ranch, and ever since, the twins had been in a state of delight where the horse was concerned.

They spoiled all the horses something fierce, but Silver and Jet were their clear favorites. It wasn’t hard to see why. They were magnificent animals, fast and strong, and beautiful.

“We get to ride with Pa all the time,” Susie stated, scowling. “You don’t have to be in such a hurry for everything to happen.”

The twins never did more than argue for a moment, and within a heartbeat, they were grinning at each other again. It was no secret that Abel was in a big hurry to grow old and do all the things that Landon did. He made sure to always include Susie, so that she never felt left out when it came to the horses or the cattle. It was her ranch too, and she was learning how to run it, the same as Abel.

“How would you both like to see the entrance to the mine? Your pa’s already given me permission to show you, as long as you promise to stand right beside me.”

“Yes!” Abel yelped, racing for the door. He slowed himself, abashed, and came back to take Susie’s hand and be polite to Peter. “We’d like that. Thank you.”

Peter guided the twins out, leaving Landon and Briar with a quiet moment in the empty office.

Though she’d had a year to prepare for their trip, she’d harbored some small, secret doubts about how she’d feel at finally seeing the other parts of Landon’s life. She had been a little bit discomfited to realize how fine his house was, and how grand even the mining office was, the stables, the whole operation. It still overwhelmed her to think that all of this belonged to her husband, and yet…

He’d chosen her and the twins.

He could have moved them back to Nevada. She’d told him, on one of those first hard nights after his arrest, that she’d follow him wherever he saw fit to take them, and that the twins would also come. They could always find someone else to run and grow the ranch for them instead. The most important thing was that they stood together. Landon knew her heart, though, even when they still really didn’t even know each other all that well. He saw down to her soul, and he knew that leaving the ranch would be hard for her. She could fit in anywhere, and the twins were young enough to adapt to anything, but the ranch was in their blood. She’d argued that mining was in his, and he’d agreed, but he’d stated unequivocally that he’d rather be on the open plains with the endless skies, growing and building something together. He’d always have the mine, whether he was sitting in the office or helping run it from a distance.

“What do you think?” Landon asked.

It was a strange thing to see her husband, so strong, burnished gold from the sun, muscles dense and quilted from hours of hard labor, look almost shy.

He stepped closer, so handsome in the suit she’d made him just for this journey, that the breath caught in her throat. She gasped when he wrapped his arms around her from behind, drawing her against him. It was a painfully intimate position when anyone could walk in the door, but she figured no one was going to be coming until they left. She wanted this moment with Landon. Any moment, quiet or loud, with this man, was a moment she’d treasure forever.

He tucked his face into the crook of her neck and kissed her sweetly. She was thankful he was holding her up, because her legs went weak as heat flooded her body.

“I think it’s all lovely,” she breathed. “It’s incredible, what your parents built.” She shook her head, knowing that she should be fully honest. They’d made an unspoken promise to each other, that they always would be from the second they left the tiny jail together. “I have no real doubts, truly I don’t. I think, if anything, seeing how grand your house is and how large of an operation the mine is, meeting the people who know you and respect you, and care about you- I feel even more blessed that you chose Kansas.”

“I chose you.” Landon’s deep voice rumbled through her, stealing her breath all over again. “I’ll always choose you, Briar.”

“But you could have had this life too.”

“You said it best when you pointed out that this is the life my parents built. My father wanted to give something to me, but he operated the mine the way that made him proud to do so. He always cared about people first, and though that made him a fortune, wealth was always secondary. He loved my mother, and he loved me more than any of it. If he was alive right now and I told him that I wanted to go ranch and raise a family, he’d see me off with his blessing. What’s more, he’d tell me he was right proud of me. I’m certain of that. The life I’m building with you is exactly the one I want. We’ll always have the mine, and I appreciate that we have that extra money coming in so that we’re secure no matter what happens on the ranch, but that’s just practical. I appreciate the men running this place more than I can say, but ownership from a distance is enough for me. It didn’t take almost losing my freedom and my life to make me realize that I loved you. I already knew it. The whole thing just made me even more certain to cherish every single moment of every day, even the ones that are hard.”

Briar turned so that she could stare deep into those brown eyes that she knew so well and loved so deeply. The creases at the corners of Landon’s eyes had deepened with his tan, but only because he smiled and laughed so often. Her husband was a man who was unafraid to love. He made no secret of his affection for her and for Susie and Abel. She’d never known such tenderness and goodness was possible. The intensity of her love, both for Landon and the children, sometimes still caught her off guard, but only because she was surprised that there could be more than the depth of love she already felt.

She cupped Landon’s face. “I’m so happy you brought us all here to see the other part of our lives.” Not just his. This was now her life as well, even if she always lived on the ranch. She cared about the mine because Landon always would. It was a rare thing to be able to come and see it, to understand, to gain a new appreciation for the whole working of it and for all the people.

When she said us, she meant us. Landon hadn’t just offered to bring her and the kids. He’d extended the invitation to the Deckers and to Hallie as well.

With Sally’s help and recommendation, they’d found a few hands to watch both the ranch and to take care of Hallie’s place, and Elijah and Della’s small farm so that they could all spend a few weeks in Nevada. It was clear to everyone that Elijah was crazy about Della, but after that desperate, frightening day, she’d softened. She realized, just as Briar had, how short life could be, and how easily people could be taken. When Elijah Decker asked to court her, she’d obliged him, and within a few months, they were married. They’d surprised everyone by asking Landon if they could buy Peter’s small plot of land from him, and he’d been only too happy to gift it to them for their wedding, so they could start their new life together.

No one expected repayment for what they’d done that day, and Landon didn’t make a gift of the place because he felt obligated. He did it out of love, because Della, Hallie, and Elijah Decker were family.

Hallie, Della, and Elijah were due in on the train that afternoon, and by tomorrow night, they’d all be sharing dinner in Landon’s big house. He’d invited Peter, as well as Alonzo. Landon’s best friend had taken up the sheriff position that Northcutt and Orville’s arrest had left vacant. After helping Landon escape their clutches, he’d found that he had a taste for seeing justice done. It wouldn’t be just a meeting of friends. It would be their chosen family, all together, happy and healthy.

“The fact that you’re here, at my side, beautiful, loyal, faithful, and more loving than I ever understood was possible, still amazes me. I know that I’m the luckiest man in the world. You’ve given me a family, Briar. A true home.”

When she could finally speak again, she took Lanon’s hand and guided it down to her belly. “Our family is going to be a little bit bigger soon.”

Landon froze. He frowned, but then a look of pure wonderment spread across his face as he realized exactly what she meant. “Briar?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “We’re going to have a baby.”

He let out a whoop and scooped her up in his arms, spinning her around the room before he remembered herself and lowered her down to the floor. His was red all the way down his neck.

“Sorry. I just-I’m so… You’ve made me happier than I can even say.”

“I wanted to tell you here.” She took his hands in hers. “Here, because this is where you probably feel closest to your parents. I know how much they meant to you. They raised you, they nurtured you, they gave you your beautiful, generous spirit and shaped how you see the world. I treasure that so very much. I know I’ll never meet them, and that makes me so sad, but I can imagine, through seeing your happiness, how happy they would have been.”

“Yes.” Tears glistened in the dark depths of his eyes. “They would have been so happy. You’re right. They raised me, and I’ll carry on their legacy. Their love was unlike anything I’ve ever known, and if I can offer you even a fraction of that, and be half the man my father was…”

“Shh.” She whispered when he trailed off. She pressed her finger to his trembling lips, then stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. “You’ve offered me an entire world and your whole heart. You’ve promised to grow with me, to go through life at my side, to protect me and the twins. That’s the greatest gift I have ever been given. I know that the rest of our lives will be just as wonderful, because we’ll stand together, and our love will only grow and deepen over the years.”

She was moved to tears, but even if she couldn’t blink them away fast enough, Landon knew they were happy ones as her emotions spilled over. He swept them from her cheeks then draped his arms around her and pulled her close, kissing her sweetly, letting her know just how much he loved her in a way that needed no words.

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OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 5 FREEBIES FOR YOU!

Grab my new series, "Brides of the Untamed Frontier", and get 5 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!

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