Rose's Mail Order Husband - A Historical Mail Order Bride Story (Montana Brides) (16 page)

Mick stood up and walked over to Jake’s chair. He put out his hand, “Jake Hamilton, let me shake your hand.
You’re not the man I thought you were. You’re ten times the man I thought you were, and I’m sorry I misjudged you. I hope you can see clear to putting this misunderstanding behind us, and I hope you will forgive me for thinking you murdered Cornell. I should have minded my own business until all the evidence was on the table instead of runnin’ off half-cocked.”

Jake pushed himself up from his chair with his hands propped on the table. Then he shook Mick’s hand. “Let’s all put this nightmare behind us. When we first came home from Butte, we had a good idea of how to move forward and run this ranch together. Cornell dying threw a wrench in those plans. Now we can go ahead and build the life we all dreamed
of. We can make Rocking Horse Ranch the thriving concern we all want it to be. Let’s pledge ourselves to that now.”

Chuck and Violet came to them, and the six newlyweds shook
hands and embraced and reaffirmed their commitment to their shared future as a family.

After all the promises and all the tears of joy and relief, Mick and Iris made their way to the front door to take their leave. The three sisters threw themselves into each other’s arms all over again and wept at Iris’s departure.

“Don’t worry,” she told them. “I’m sure I’ll be down first thing in the morning to get some food for breakfast. I’m sure these men didn’t leave a crumb in the house for us.”

Chuck and Mick grinned at each other. “Of course we didn’t.”

Mick took Iris by the hand, and they strolled away toward the Fort House, waving over their shoulders and calling out, “Good-bye!”

Violet and Rose watched them go with tears streaming down their cheeks until Chuck stepped up and closed the door in their faces, preventing them from seeing Mick and Iris all the way to the Fort House door.

They laughed at him and cried some more, and then Jake took Rose by the hand and led her to the back door of the house.

Violet and Rose embraced, and cried more pitifully than ever at this last farewell. “Now promise me you’ll come down first thing in the morning, too. I want to see both you and Iris for breakfast.”

“I won’t promise that,” Rose replied. “I might want to spend just a little time alone with Jake tomorrow. But I’ll be down. You don’t have to worry about that. I’m not leaving. I’m just a few steps away. After this honeymoon is over, you’ll be able to come up and see me whenever you want.”

“How long is the honeymoon likely to take?” Violet asked.

Rose laughed. “How you do talk! What about you? You’re not going to want me and Iris barging in on you and Chuck at odd times. You might want to see us again, but you won’t want your house to turn into a jolly convention center, you know.”

Violet laughed and dabbed her tears away.

Then Jake took Rose’s hand again and refused to let her be drawn back in. Step by step, he pulled her up the path, waving good-bye to Chuck and Violet.

Rose glanced over her
shoulder and waved and sobbed, until Chuck closed that door, too. All of a sudden, Rose found herself on the outside of the Main House, closed off from her past life and consigned, for good, to the future.

Jake led her up the path and behind the hedge, but he stopped in the garden. “Here we are.”

“Here we are,” she agreed.

He took her in his arms. “Welcome home.”

The End

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This is a work of fiction. All characters, names,
places and events are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.