Epilogue
"Laurie, I am not helping you make a snow angel, you know what Rudy said!" Rick shook his head at his wife.
"Rick, if you would just hold me and fall backwards into that snow bank, we could make one together!" Please?", she teased him. Rick sighed; there was no way he could tell her no. After the two days she spent in the hospital, he had been afraid to let her out of his sight for very long. Amazingly, she had had only one bad night, and that had been a nightmare Robin had. Laurie had sat with her, calming her down and stayed with her for an hour until she went to sleep. She had been so restricted in her activities until today, he wouldn't break her happy mood for the world.
"Come here, my silly girl!" he told her, then grasping her around the waist, let himself fall back into the 4 feet of snow in back of the barn. After the first shock of wet, cold ice, he took Laurie's hands in his and the two of them moved their arms up and down. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it darling?" she said in his ear, then kissed him, cuddling next to him in her warm fur suit. . "No, except now I'm all wet and you're not!" he mock-grumbled, nuzzling her neck with kisses. Gently pushing her into a standing position, he scrambled up from the snow then turned to see the deep-set pattern of an angel. "Happy, sweetheart?" he asked, enfolding her in his arms as Mike dashed around them, barking.
"Yes, darling." she smiled, then her voice was serious. "Except for our Robin, I wish she could find someone else who would appreciate her. I guess there were too many differences between her and Ian."
"Darlin', I'm sorry for her too, but she's going to find the right person soon, I just know it!" Rick reassured her, hugging her tightly.
Suddenly she grinned, "Rick, look at my uncles out there, I can't believe they're ice fishing! You call me silly, I don't just get trying to catch frozen fish!"
Gazing over the field toward the ice-covered creek bordering their ranch, he could see Oscar and Rudy sitting, watching their lines.
Abruptly he heard a gasp, then whirled to see Laurie staring straight ahead. "Sweetheart, what is it?" he asked, startled.
"Rick, call to them, tell them to get off the ice, it's going to break!" she said, "Please!"
At once Rick cupped his hands, yelling "Oscar, Rudy, get off the ice!" He saw them turn, then Rudy stood up off his stool and waved.
Frantically Rick started to run toward them, making a motion with his hands as he went. As he approached them, he yelled again, "Off the ice, it's going to break!"
He saw their expressions register shock, then immediately both men backed off the ice. As he drew near to his friends, the tackle box Rudy had left disappeared from sight, as the lake swallowed up the patch they had been standing on.
Panting, he got to them and spent, put both arms around his uncle. "Thank God you heard me, thought I'd wouldn't get here!" he told Oscar and Rudy.
"Thanks, son, I don't know what to say. We both tested the ice, it was hard like a rock. I guess we cracked it or weakened it when we set the stools down!" Rudy replied, putting an arm around him.
"How did you know, did Laurie have a premonition?" Oscar wondered, walking toward the ranch.
"Yeah, scared me too, she started gasping then said for me to call to you, that the ice was going to break." he returned thankfully. Looking toward where he'd left her, he was relieved to see her waving at them.
Making their way over to the snow bank, Rick saw Laurie stumbling over the snow and he quickened his pace, afraid she might fall.
"Rick, darling, you did it!" she cried as she fell into his arms. "Laurie, you saved them! Here they are now," he told her, as Oscar and Rudy caught up to them and embraced her.
"Honey, thank you, we wouldn't have made it if you hadn't warned us." Rudy assured her, seeing the worry in her eyes. "Yes, baby, I know it's not easy to have these visions, but you protected us, honey!" Oscar added, taking her from Rick and holding her tightly.
"Oh, I love you both so much, now I know I can handle it!" she beamed. Just then Mike rushed up to them, barking and wagging. Laughing, Rudy picked the dog up as Rick insisted on carrying his wife back to the house.
"Darling, I can walk, I'm not tired!" she tried to tell him, Only for Rick to silence her protest with a kiss.
Oscar shook his head as Laurie finally came up for air, then breathlessly said "Yes, Rick."
As they came around the barn, they were astonished to see Ian Whitecloud standing in front of the house.
"Rick, what's he doing here, do you think?...." she wondered aloud. "That he came to make up, don't know!", Rick answered, confused.
As they got closer, they could hear the performer yelling, "Robin, I'm not leaving until you answer me. I'm sorry, please forgive me!"
There was silence, then Laurie saw Robin at the back door, as if looking for them. Seeing her mom in her father's arms, she ran toward them. "Mom, what happened, are you all right, Uncle Rudy, Uncle Oscar, what are you doing here?"
Having Rick set her down, she embraced Robin and explained, "I'm all right, but your uncles nearly went through the ice on the creek. I wore myself out struggling through the drifts. Now, honey, why is Ian out front and why won't you answer him?"
"Oh, Mom, he says he's sorry, but I don't want to go through life with someone who's so resentful of my family!" her daughter replied.
"Then, honey, you tell him that and if he agrees to try to work through this, give him another chance. He's got some growing up to do, if he's willing to try, if you love him, do it!" Laurie urged.
Hesitating a moment, Robin looked at her family, then turned and walked thru the snow to stand facing Ian.
As much as Rick wanted to see what took place between the two, he took his wife's arm and led all of them inside to get warm. Going to the living room, Laurie watched through the front window as her daughter spoke to her friend, then saw Ian respond, walking to Robin with his hands outstretched.
Feeling warm arms going around her, Laurie leaned against her husband, as he quietly said, "Think she's going to give him that chance?"
Sighing, she answered, "I hope so, everyone deserves another try. At least she won't have a "what if" in the back of her mind. Robbie's not going to like it though, you hurt Robin, you hurt him."
"I know, he's like me, my family is my end-all", he kissed her neck, "be-all."
"I will always be your "end-all", she breathed, snuggling into his embrace and kissing his ear.
After a few moments, Rick and Laurie saw Robin embrace Ian, then kiss him. Taking him by the hand, Robin started to lead him into the house, only to have her brother pull in at the same time and park by the gate.
"Oh, oh, Rick, look at Robbie's face. Maybe you'd better go out there and referee!" she said, seeing the angry expression her son had.
Suddenly they saw Robin turn, talking to her brother, then Ian. The two men stared at each other, then surprisingly shook hands.
Letting out a deep breath, Rick grinned at Laurie, then seeing Rudy and Oscar's relieved looks, went to the front door and opened it. Robin came up the steps and smiled at her dad. "Thanks, Pop, for giving us some space. Ian has something he wants to say."
Coming up behind his daughter, Ian swallowed hard and told Rick, "I'm sorry I was such a jerk to Robin when her mother was in trouble. I'm not good with sharing the people I care about, and, well, I realize that's something I'm going to have to learn to do. Please forgive my rudeness and the way I treated Robin."
"That's a step in the right direction, Ian. Now, you can come in and see Laurie, then I expect you to take my daughter out and have her back at a reasonable hour. Is that ok with you, honey?" Rick looked at Robin.
Beaming, she hugged her father, saying, "Sure, that's ok! I promise I won't be home too late, after all, I do have to work tomorrow!"
"And Ian," Laurie added, as he came forward to greet her. "It would be nice if you could come for Christmas Day. Do you have a performance tomorrow?"
"Yes, Mrs. Simon, I do, so, I would like to come for Christmas Day. Robin says she's making breakfast?" he replied, a relieved look on his face.
"Yes, it's our tradition! We'll see you about 8 am, now go and have a good time and be careful on the roads!" Laurie gave him a hug, then embraced Robin.
"Thank you, Mama, you were right!" she told her. "Well, honey, I got a second chance for happiness, why shouldn't you!" Laurie whispered.
As she released her daughter to say good by to her uncles, Laurie saw the resigned expression on her son's face. Catching his eye, she opened her arms to him and he came over to her. "Mom, Pop told me what happened, Are you all right?"
"Yes, Robbie, just need to get my stamina back, those snowdrifts wore me out. I have to tell you how very proud I am of your backing off on Robin and Ian, I know it wasn't easy, but I love you for at least giving her the room to make her own decisions." she said, softly.
"Oh, Mom, I was ready to belt him one, but she told me how she trusted me to help her make the right decision, and that Ian deserved another chance. After what we've been through, well, she was right and he did promise to work on learning to share!" Robbie explained, kissing her cheek.
"Well, all I can say is I'm grateful we have two children who are willing to go the extra mile for each other." Rick said, coming up and hugging his son. Laughing, Robbie shook his head.
"Extra mile, more like ten, that's because the road's not been cleared just before Silver Rock. I think we'd better plan on 2 more for dinner!"
"Tell you what, Rob, you pull some steaks and fish out of the freezer, then after your mom has a little rest, we'll barbeque on the patio, sound good?" his father offered.
"Sounds great, Pop!" he smiled, seeing him swing his mother up into her arms, surprising her.
"Rick! I'm ok, I can get things ready for dinner." she started, then Rick kissed her.
Taking a deep breath, she said, "On second thought, I could close my eyes for a few minutes!" Giggling at the comical expressions of her family, she put her arms around her husband's neck and let him carry her to their room.
As the door closed, Oscar grinned at the others. "Why don't I make us some coffee while we defrost dinner, guys, something tells me we'll be the chefs tonight!"
"Laurie, I am not helping you make a snow angel, you know what Rudy said!" Rick shook his head at his wife.
"Rick, if you would just hold me and fall backwards into that snow bank, we could make one together!" Please?", she teased him. Rick sighed; there was no way he could tell her no. After the two days she spent in the hospital, he had been afraid to let her out of his sight for very long. Amazingly, she had had only one bad night, and that had been a nightmare Robin had. Laurie had sat with her, calming her down and stayed with her for an hour until she went to sleep. She had been so restricted in her activities until today, he wouldn't break her happy mood for the world.
"Come here, my silly girl!" he told her, then grasping her around the waist, let himself fall back into the 4 feet of snow in back of the barn. After the first shock of wet, cold ice, he took Laurie's hands in his and the two of them moved their arms up and down. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it darling?" she said in his ear, then kissed him, cuddling next to him in her warm fur suit. . "No, except now I'm all wet and you're not!" he mock-grumbled, nuzzling her neck with kisses. Gently pushing her into a standing position, he scrambled up from the snow then turned to see the deep-set pattern of an angel. "Happy, sweetheart?" he asked, enfolding her in his arms as Mike dashed around them, barking.
"Yes, darling." she smiled, then her voice was serious. "Except for our Robin, I wish she could find someone else who would appreciate her. I guess there were too many differences between her and Ian."
"Darlin', I'm sorry for her too, but she's going to find the right person soon, I just know it!" Rick reassured her, hugging her tightly.
Suddenly she grinned, "Rick, look at my uncles out there, I can't believe they're ice fishing! You call me silly, I don't just get trying to catch frozen fish!"
Gazing over the field toward the ice-covered creek bordering their ranch, he could see Oscar and Rudy sitting, watching their lines.
Abruptly he heard a gasp, then whirled to see Laurie staring straight ahead. "Sweetheart, what is it?" he asked, startled.
"Rick, call to them, tell them to get off the ice, it's going to break!" she said, "Please!"
At once Rick cupped his hands, yelling "Oscar, Rudy, get off the ice!" He saw them turn, then Rudy stood up off his stool and waved.
Frantically Rick started to run toward them, making a motion with his hands as he went. As he approached them, he yelled again, "Off the ice, it's going to break!"
He saw their expressions register shock, then immediately both men backed off the ice. As he drew near to his friends, the tackle box Rudy had left disappeared from sight, as the lake swallowed up the patch they had been standing on.
Panting, he got to them and spent, put both arms around his uncle. "Thank God you heard me, thought I'd wouldn't get here!" he told Oscar and Rudy.
"Thanks, son, I don't know what to say. We both tested the ice, it was hard like a rock. I guess we cracked it or weakened it when we set the stools down!" Rudy replied, putting an arm around him.
"How did you know, did Laurie have a premonition?" Oscar wondered, walking toward the ranch.
"Yeah, scared me too, she started gasping then said for me to call to you, that the ice was going to break." he returned thankfully. Looking toward where he'd left her, he was relieved to see her waving at them.
Making their way over to the snow bank, Rick saw Laurie stumbling over the snow and he quickened his pace, afraid she might fall.
"Rick, darling, you did it!" she cried as she fell into his arms. "Laurie, you saved them! Here they are now," he told her, as Oscar and Rudy caught up to them and embraced her.
"Honey, thank you, we wouldn't have made it if you hadn't warned us." Rudy assured her, seeing the worry in her eyes. "Yes, baby, I know it's not easy to have these visions, but you protected us, honey!" Oscar added, taking her from Rick and holding her tightly.
"Oh, I love you both so much, now I know I can handle it!" she beamed. Just then Mike rushed up to them, barking and wagging. Laughing, Rudy picked the dog up as Rick insisted on carrying his wife back to the house.
"Darling, I can walk, I'm not tired!" she tried to tell him, Only for Rick to silence her protest with a kiss.
Oscar shook his head as Laurie finally came up for air, then breathlessly said "Yes, Rick."
As they came around the barn, they were astonished to see Ian Whitecloud standing in front of the house.
"Rick, what's he doing here, do you think?...." she wondered aloud. "That he came to make up, don't know!", Rick answered, confused.
As they got closer, they could hear the performer yelling, "Robin, I'm not leaving until you answer me. I'm sorry, please forgive me!"
There was silence, then Laurie saw Robin at the back door, as if looking for them. Seeing her mom in her father's arms, she ran toward them. "Mom, what happened, are you all right, Uncle Rudy, Uncle Oscar, what are you doing here?"
Having Rick set her down, she embraced Robin and explained, "I'm all right, but your uncles nearly went through the ice on the creek. I wore myself out struggling through the drifts. Now, honey, why is Ian out front and why won't you answer him?"
"Oh, Mom, he says he's sorry, but I don't want to go through life with someone who's so resentful of my family!" her daughter replied.
"Then, honey, you tell him that and if he agrees to try to work through this, give him another chance. He's got some growing up to do, if he's willing to try, if you love him, do it!" Laurie urged.
Hesitating a moment, Robin looked at her family, then turned and walked thru the snow to stand facing Ian.
As much as Rick wanted to see what took place between the two, he took his wife's arm and led all of them inside to get warm. Going to the living room, Laurie watched through the front window as her daughter spoke to her friend, then saw Ian respond, walking to Robin with his hands outstretched.
Feeling warm arms going around her, Laurie leaned against her husband, as he quietly said, "Think she's going to give him that chance?"
Sighing, she answered, "I hope so, everyone deserves another try. At least she won't have a "what if" in the back of her mind. Robbie's not going to like it though, you hurt Robin, you hurt him."
"I know, he's like me, my family is my end-all", he kissed her neck, "be-all."
"I will always be your "end-all", she breathed, snuggling into his embrace and kissing his ear.
After a few moments, Rick and Laurie saw Robin embrace Ian, then kiss him. Taking him by the hand, Robin started to lead him into the house, only to have her brother pull in at the same time and park by the gate.
"Oh, oh, Rick, look at Robbie's face. Maybe you'd better go out there and referee!" she said, seeing the angry expression her son had.
Suddenly they saw Robin turn, talking to her brother, then Ian. The two men stared at each other, then surprisingly shook hands.
Letting out a deep breath, Rick grinned at Laurie, then seeing Rudy and Oscar's relieved looks, went to the front door and opened it. Robin came up the steps and smiled at her dad. "Thanks, Pop, for giving us some space. Ian has something he wants to say."
Coming up behind his daughter, Ian swallowed hard and told Rick, "I'm sorry I was such a jerk to Robin when her mother was in trouble. I'm not good with sharing the people I care about, and, well, I realize that's something I'm going to have to learn to do. Please forgive my rudeness and the way I treated Robin."
"That's a step in the right direction, Ian. Now, you can come in and see Laurie, then I expect you to take my daughter out and have her back at a reasonable hour. Is that ok with you, honey?" Rick looked at Robin.
Beaming, she hugged her father, saying, "Sure, that's ok! I promise I won't be home too late, after all, I do have to work tomorrow!"
"And Ian," Laurie added, as he came forward to greet her. "It would be nice if you could come for Christmas Day. Do you have a performance tomorrow?"
"Yes, Mrs. Simon, I do, so, I would like to come for Christmas Day. Robin says she's making breakfast?" he replied, a relieved look on his face.
"Yes, it's our tradition! We'll see you about 8 am, now go and have a good time and be careful on the roads!" Laurie gave him a hug, then embraced Robin.
"Thank you, Mama, you were right!" she told her. "Well, honey, I got a second chance for happiness, why shouldn't you!" Laurie whispered.
As she released her daughter to say good by to her uncles, Laurie saw the resigned expression on her son's face. Catching his eye, she opened her arms to him and he came over to her. "Mom, Pop told me what happened, Are you all right?"
"Yes, Robbie, just need to get my stamina back, those snowdrifts wore me out. I have to tell you how very proud I am of your backing off on Robin and Ian, I know it wasn't easy, but I love you for at least giving her the room to make her own decisions." she said, softly.
"Oh, Mom, I was ready to belt him one, but she told me how she trusted me to help her make the right decision, and that Ian deserved another chance. After what we've been through, well, she was right and he did promise to work on learning to share!" Robbie explained, kissing her cheek.
"Well, all I can say is I'm grateful we have two children who are willing to go the extra mile for each other." Rick said, coming up and hugging his son. Laughing, Robbie shook his head.
"Extra mile, more like ten, that's because the road's not been cleared just before Silver Rock. I think we'd better plan on 2 more for dinner!"
"Tell you what, Rob, you pull some steaks and fish out of the freezer, then after your mom has a little rest, we'll barbeque on the patio, sound good?" his father offered.
"Sounds great, Pop!" he smiled, seeing him swing his mother up into her arms, surprising her.
"Rick! I'm ok, I can get things ready for dinner." she started, then Rick kissed her.
Taking a deep breath, she said, "On second thought, I could close my eyes for a few minutes!" Giggling at the comical expressions of her family, she put her arms around her husband's neck and let him carry her to their room.
As the door closed, Oscar grinned at the others. "Why don't I make us some coffee while we defrost dinner, guys, something tells me we'll be the chefs tonight!"