Epilogue

“There won’t be any peas left if you keep eating them,” Frankie told Jason.

“I made sure we picked extra.” Ruth picked up a basket and set it on the table. “Help yourself.”

Jason took another handful, and grinned at Frankie, who said, “Ruth is going soft. When I was a kid, she would’ve told me off.”

“That’s not true. You got away with stuff all the time.” Ruth shook her head at Frankie. “Jason and Jenny will think I’m an old dragon.”

“Never,” Jenny replied, her eyes wide. “We’ve seen the dragon. She’s scary.”

Michael entered the kitchen and set a bucket down on the table. “Fiona’s not that bad.”

“Bucket off the table, please,” Ruth told her new husband in her best schoolteacher voice. “Or I’ll turn into a fire-breathing dragon myself.”

Michael lifted the bucket and set it down on the floor. “Who wants to come and help me feed the deer?” That got everyone’s attention. Jenny and Jason immediately left their seats.

“Are these the secret treats?” Jason asked, kneeling beside the bucket, which Michael had covered over with an old feed sack.

“They might be,” Michael replied, winking at his wife, who smothered a smile.

“Are you ever going to tell us what the secret recipe is?” Jenny asked hopefully. She’d fallen in love with the deer that visited the forest and had given them all names.

“Why aren’t you keeping it a secret?” Ruth asked theatrically.

“I am,” Michael told her. “But it’s a family secret.”

“Not fair,” Jenny replied. Michael chuckled and winked at Ruth.

Frankie looked up, as she slid the peas out of a plump juicy pod. “What’s going on?”

Ruth’s eyes went wide. “Nothing.”

“Oh, come on, you two should never consider a career in acting, you’re such hams.” Frankie then asked enthusiastically, “Do I get to know the secret recipe?”

“Yes, since you are family.” Michael looked down at Jason and Jenny.

“So, you’re going to tell Frankie, but not us?” Jason asked bluntly.

“No, I’m going to tell you as well.” Michael nodded at Ruth.

“But we aren’t family. Not yet,” Jenny answered. The adoption process had been tough on the two children, stretching on for months. Their excitement and enthusiasm had slowly been eroded, leaving them impatient to start their new lives.

“Aren’t you?” Ruth asked, sliding a piece of paper onto the table.

“You’re kidding?” Frankie’s face lit up as the news hit her. “I’m an aunty!”

“You mean…” Jason looked stunned, and Jenny threaded her fingers through his, needing his presence to give her strength.

“Really?” Jenny’s sweet voice asked before a sob erupted from her small body. “We get to stay here. With you?”

Ruth’s eyes filled with tears, tears filled with happiness for the two lost souls before her. They were anchored in her heart, just as Michael was. The four of them belonged together. The journey might have been filled with sadness and loss, but the four of them, together, could put that all behind them.

“Want to see your rooms?” Michael asked.

“Now?” Jason replied eagerly.

“Dean and Elizabeth brought all your stuff over this afternoon. They thought you might like to sleep over tonight. Tomorrow, we could go into Bear Creek and buy them a thank you gift.” Ruth put the peas from her pod into the bowl on the table. “Want to go see?”

“Yes.” Jenny nodded, her eyes wide, her hand still clutching Jason’s.

“Is this for real?” Jason asked, and Ruth’s heart ached for the young boy. He might believe in fairies now, but he wasn’t ready to believe things could work out for him and Jenny.

“It’s for real.” Ruth picked up the piece of paper and passed it to him.

Jason took it and stared at the words on the page for a couple of minutes. Then, slowly, a smile spread across his face. “Can we call you Mom and Dad?”

Ruth glanced up at Michael, his eyes were misted with tears. “We’d like that.”

She’d been a mother to her siblings, but she’d always been Ruth, their sister. With Jason and Jenny, she truly was a mother.

“Shall we go and see your rooms?” Michael asked, his voice hoarse with unashamed emotion.

“No.” Jason shook his head. “Not until we know the family secret.”

Michael laughed, a deep belly laugh, that infected them all. “Well, since we are all family.” He lifted the bucket up and removed the cover. The children, and Frankie, all looked at the contents eagerly. “You can try some if you want?”

“What is it?” Frankie asked, her nose wrinkling up.

“Pecans and blueberries. The deer love them.” Michael looked around the room. “Just like I love all of you.”

Ruth went to her husband and wrapped her arms around him. “Lucky bear strikes again.”

“I need a name change,” Michael told her, his lips brushing against her cheek. “Call me happy bear.”

Ruth nodded. They were happy. In that moment. Which was all that mattered. One moment, one breath at a time, that was how she wanted to live her life. Especially since she planned to fill each of those moments, each of those breaths with love.

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Silverbacks and Second Chances

Book One