“Are you sure about this, Lou? It’s not too late to turn back.”

Sitting astride her horse, beside her new husband, Lou nodded her head. They were outside the gates to her past and she was positive she was where she needed to be. “I feel like I owe this to them, as well as to us.” The young newlyweds rode under the sign of The Double K and down the long road to the main house.

The decision to return had been a hard one, but when the Kid was assigned a special run to Denver, Lou decided to go with him. They would take the honeymoon trip they postponed after Noah’s tragic death. The time away from Rock Creek would give them both a chance to heal their wounded spirits as well as give Lou a chance to make amends for time gone by.

As they drew closer to the house, Lou turned towards the Kid. “Thank you for coming out here with me today.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’re in this together, always. That’s what we promised when we took our vows and I intend to keep up my end of the bargain.” Trying to keep her mood light, Kid gave his biggest grin and searched his wife’s face for her beautiful smile.

Lou granted him his wish, but tried not to let him see the apprehension in her eyes. What if the Malones wouldn’t see her? What if being on the ranch, surrounded by all of her memories, was too much for her?

Hitching their horses in front of the house, Lou couldn’t help but notice the stillness that surrounded them. It was Sunday and she knew the family would be gathered inside. She also knew there was a view of the road from the dining room.

Standing on the bottom step and looking back over her shoulder at the Kid, Lou voiced her greatest fear. “They don’t want me here.”

Moving to stand beside her, Kid took her trembling hand in his. “Lou, you’re just over reactin’. They’re probably just eatin’ supper. We’ll have to knock is all.”

Kid’s calm demeanor and uncanny ability to dispel her fears with just his presence always amazed her. Still holding his hand, she let him lead her up the stairs and to the front door. He gently kissed her as he raised his hand to knock and they both jumped back when the door swung open before he ever made contact with the hard wood.

Shannon Malone stood before them. She looked much like she had the last morning she and Lou spoke, but Lou noticed she no longer appeared tired and was no longer awash with grief and despair. In actuality, she appeared vibrant and rejuvenated. Before anyone could speak, two young children came barreling out of the door and halted before the visitors.

“Who are they Grandma?” asked the older of the two children as he looked up at the strangers on the porch.

She stooped to scoop her two grandsons into her arms she placed a big kiss on each of their cheeks. The two children were the main reasons for her transformation back to her old self. Smiling at the man and woman before her, she pushed the door open wide and welcomed them into her home. “They’re family and they’ve come home.”

Lou stood quietly on the porch, sipping her tea and watching Kid laugh as he gave young Stephen Malone and Riley O’Shea a ride on Katy. Both children were the spitting image of their fathers and Lou could only smile and imagine what a child made from the love between her and the Kid would look like. She couldn’t wait for the day when it was their son or daughter sitting atop the beloved paint mare as he led Katy in circles around the corral.

“They’re pretty as a picture down there, aren’t they?”

Lou jumped and nearly dropped her tea cup at the sound of Fallon’s voice. Even after three days at The Double K, it still shocked her to hear it out loud rather than just as a voice inside her head when she reminisced.

“The children are all so beautiful. I can’t believe Stephen is almost three and Riley already two. And Michaela! Charlotte and Shane will have their hands full with that gorgeous, little lady. She already has Kid wrapped around her finger and she can’t even talk yet!”

Fallon moved to join Lou at the rail and Lou set her hand on her friend’s swollen belly, like she had only a few years before.

“What do you think this one is?”

Fallon covered Lou’s hand with her own and smiled. “If Connor has any say, it’ll be another boy. One look at Michaela and he’s decided we can’t have any girls. He claims he couldn’t handle the heart attack!”

The two women laughed the easy laugh of friends who had seen and shared many times together, both good and bad. It was an immense relief to Lou that they were able to fall back to their old ways so easily. Shannon had immediately embraced Lou upon her return and so had the rest of the family. They offered instant acceptance to her husband and never questioned her sudden disappearance two years earlier or her sudden reappearance now.

Fallon turned to her young friend, “What do you think yours will be?”

This time, Lou did drop her tea cup. Bending to pick up the shards of porcelain, Lou couldn’t meet Fallon’s eyes. “How did you know?”

“A mother knows when there’s another one around.” Fallon smiled and reached out her hand to take the shattered cup as Lou stood and held onto the rail to steady herself. “It’s like a special power or something. You’ll see.”

Lou was too stunned to say anything. Walking to the steps she sat down and waited for Fallon to join her. “I found out when I went to town yesterday. I went to visit some people and just found myself at Dr. Peters. I’ve been suspectin’, but he confirmed it.”

“So you haven’t told Kid yet?”

“No. He means well, but he’s a worrier and he’ll just make us both crazy if I tell him now. We leave day after tomorrow and I figured I would tell him when we got home. He won’t let me ride home if I tell him now. You’d be stuck with me until my baby was born.”

“And that would be so bad?” Both women looked up and over their shoulders to see Shannon standing behind them, grinning from ear to ear.

“You knew too? Is nothing a secret around here?”

“Louise, listen to yourself.” Shannon took a seat on the other side of Lou. “Is it a bad thing that you’re expectin’?”

“No. I’m surprised it’s so soon, but I’m happy.”

“Will Kid be happy?”

“Elated.”

“Then don’t worry about it, lassie. Just enjoy it.”

Lou rested her head on Shannon’s shoulder and closed her eyes. It was so wonderful to be back with her and the rest of the family and she wasn’t ready to leave again.

Shannon sensed Lou’s reluctance and patted her knee. “We know you don’t want to leave sweetie, but it’s the right thing to do. You have a life to get back to in Rock Creek and a family that misses you.” It eased Shannon’s mind hearing all of Lou and Kid’s tales about their friends back home. She knew, without a doubt, that Louise was well taken care of.

“I know that, but being here, having you forgive me and take me in like this made me realize how much I miss all of you and want to be near you.”

“There was nothing to forgive, Louise. I told you, before you left, we would never think less of you for leaving. We missed you. I promise you that, but you obviously did what was right for you.”

“Besides Lou, thanks to you and your friends the mail delivery is certainly much quicker these days. We’ll have no excuses for not keeping in touch now.” Fallon stated the obvious, living up to her reputation as the brains in the group.

“I know, I know. I promise I won’t stay so far out of touch again.”

“You and Kid are always welcome here, Louise. Liam and I like him very much.”

Lou looked over at the woman who’s opinion meant so much to her and gave her a hug. “That means the world to me, Shannon.”

“Kid’s a good man, Lou. He obviously loves you a lot and he’ll be a good father to your baby. Flynn would be happy for you.”

Lou turned back to her friend and she felt the tears form in her eyes at the mention of Flynn’s name. He was a topic they’d all managed to avoid speaking about during the visit. “Thank you, Fallon. He is a good man and he’s also very kind and loving.” Lou knew Kid was exactly who Flynn would have wanted her to be with.

“And don’t forget handsome.”

Lou’s eyes shot wide open and Fallon covered her mouth in mock surprise. Both women collapsed into fits of giggles and Lou’s tears of sorrow turned to tears of joy. The memory of a similar comment about Connor, made just before Fallon’s wedding, sprang to their minds. The giggles intensified as Kid and Connor approached the house, each holding a very dirty little boy. There was no holding back the roars of laughter when Connor started up the steps and asked, “What did we miss?”

Lying in the soft bed, in the room that Lou had once called her own, Kid sleepily reached out for his wife. Cuddling together was their favorite way to welcome each new day. Finding her side of the bed cold and empty he sat up and searched through the semi-darkness. He was surprised to see she wasn’t anywhere in the room. Rising to his feet he walked to the window that faced the back of the house and pushed aside the thin curtains.

Looking beyond the immediate area of the house he focused on the grove in the far back of the cleared land. In the faint light of the coming dawn he could see a solitary figure standing beside two grave markers. Pulling on his clothes and boots, he grabbed his coat and silently slipped out of the house.

Lou stood and looked at the ground without seeing. She had managed to avoid thinking about Flynn during the visit by filling her days with the constant activity of the ranch, the children and her reunion with the Malones. It was the nights when it was hardest to avoid her thoughts and memories.

“I was wondering when you were going to come out here.” Kid walked up behind Lou and placed his coat around her shoulders. You shouldn’t be out here in just your nightdress, Lou. You’ll catch your death.”

Lou didn’t raise her eyes from the grave marker. “I didn’t realize I was coming here, until I was here. I couldn’t sleep.”

“You don’t have to explain, Lou. I know you need to be here right now. I’ll go back, but don’t stay out here too long, okay?” Kid turned to go back to their cold, lonely bed.

Turning to look after him, Lou called out to his retreating back. “Kid, don’t go. Stay here with me.”

Back at his wife’s side, Kid took her cold hand in his. He stood silently and looked at the markers with her. He would wait for her to speak when she was ready.

“I feel like I’ve finally said my good bye. Like coming back here with you was the final chapter in a book I just kept reading, but never finished.”

“You don’t have to push his memory out of your life, Lou. I know you’ve got room for both of us in your heart.”

“I know I have room, but it’s something that I needed to do. I needed to come here and let him know that he has his little piece, but that you have everything else. Telling you about Flynn was just as important as showing you all of this. It’s a part of me and I won’t forget my past, but we have so much ahead of us.”

“We do, Lou. I promise you that.” Kid was filled with hopes and dreams for their future together.

By visiting Flynn’s grave, Lou felt as if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. A calmness settled over her and she knew she had to share her good news with the Kid. Lou knew that sharing this secret would not cause the same explosive effect her last one had. She truly believed it would result in another, but better type of explosion.

Without looking at him, Lou tried to repress her smile. “Kid, I have a question for you. What do you think about the name Noah for a boy’s name or Emma for a girl’s?”

Lou wasn’t making any sense and Kid wondered if his wife’s brain had frozen in the cool mountain air. “What are you talking about, Lou?”

Turning to stand before him, Lou took Kid’s hand and placed it on her still flat abdomen. She looked up into his confused eyes and whispered, “Hi, daddy”.

Kid was stunned. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t think straight and for a moment he thought he was about to pass out, but when he was able to breath again he scooped Lou up and began to spin her around. Realizing what he was doing, he instantly stopped before he could hurt her. Questions came tumbling out of his mouth. “I don’t understand Lou! How? When? Are you sure?”

Lou could only shake her head and chuckle. “Well, Kid. I think you understand better than you realize because you were definitely a part of the ‘how’.”

Kid pulled Lou to him and wrapped one arm around her shoulders while placing the other hand back on her stomach. He looked down and cocking his head he gave her a secretive smile. “Okay, okay. You don’t have to be so smart about it. You enjoy the ‘how’ just as much as I do, but are you sure?”

“Sure as the sky is blue and the grass is green. Just about seven more months to go.”

Lou watched as Kid did the math in his head. She had done the same thing when Dr. Peters told her when she was due.

“That means…”

“Exactly. That morning in the clearing, when dawn was breaking, we weren’t only repairing our own lives, we were making a new one.”

Kid placed both hands on Lou’s rosy cheeks and leaned down to kiss her. At that moment he was the happiest man in the world. Pulling back from her soft lips, but not breaking his intense gaze he whispered to his lovely wife, “I love you, Lou. You know, this is the type of secret I don’t mind.”

Lou batted her eyelashes playfully and decided to use his euphoric state to her advantage. “Kid, on the way back do you think we can go through St. Louis?”

“St. Louis? That’s not exactly on the way, Lou. Why?”

“I have some more family I’d like you to meet.”

Kid knew he normally couldn’t resist any request she made, but today, with the news of their child still pulsing through his body, he knew he would deny her nothing. At the same time, he knew this stop would be a little different than their stay in Denver. “Pauline and Arnie?”

Lou nodded her head, “Pauline and Arnie.”

Lou knew she wanted to remember this moment forever. Not only was she standing in the loving arms of the man she cherished, but she was staying with a house full of people who were another branch of her family. She had Kid, everyone in Rock Creek and people in Denver and St. Louis. Her life could have turned out very differently and she knew she was a very lucky woman. She also knew in some way she had Flynn Malone to thank for her good fortune.

As dawn broke over the ranch, they walked back towards the house, hand in hand. Both Lou and Kid understood the place the dawn would forever hold in their lives. It would always symbolize new beginnings and today the dawn had done so again. This day marked the beginning of their very own branch to their family.

Kid stopped walking and adoringly looked at the only woman who would ever make him as happy as he was at that moment. He hugged her tightly and bent his head to look directly into her lives. “You know for two orphans, we certainly have quite a big family.”

Placing their entwined hands back on the life growing inside her, Lou nodded in agreement. “I hope we have room for plenty more.”

Lou looked to the rising sun and said a silent ‘thank you’ to her guardian angel as she prepared to start this new phase of her life.

~*~*~*~*~

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five

Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen Epilogue


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