Chapter 7
Epilogue
Suzanne smiled when she heard her men ride in early the next afternoon, although she was surprised. She had been cleaning dishes in the kitchen and came out to the porch, drying her hands on her apron. Her husband smiled at her as he and both their sons climbed down out of the saddle. Heath came toward the porch, and Suzanne noticed right away.
"You're a day early - and you're limping! And look at that cut on your forehead!"
"He fell in a hole!" Nicky said immediately.
Heath grinned sheepishly. "The floor in the saloon gave way and I went down into the basement. Twisted my knee, but my older son here fixed it up for me."
Suzanne looked surprised. "He fixed it?"
"Uncle Nick taught me how," Little Heath said, as if it were no big deal.
Suzanne caught the inflection. "Well, that's good. Are you hungry? I have some stew left over from last night."
Nicky ran into the house, but Little Heath said, "Go on, Papa. I'll see to the horses and get something when I'm done."
Heath let Little Heath take the horses, and he climbed up onto the porch. He hugged his wife and gave her a kiss. "I've missed you," he said.
"How was your trip? Other than falling through the floor," Suzanne said.
"Oh, pretty eventful," Heath said as they walked into the house together.
"Be careful of that stove!" Suzanne yelled to Nicky, who was in the kitchen looking for the stew. "I'll put some food on for you as soon as I sit your Papa down and look at his head."
"It's all right," Heath said as he sat down at the kitchen table and Nicky came to sit beside him. Heath smiled at him. "My boys took good care of me."
Suzanne gave the cut on Heath's forehead a look. "So it seems. Nicky, you go into the watercloset and wash your hands."
Nicky popped up and headed for the WC. Heath smiled, watching him go.
"What else eventful happened?" Suzanne said and sat down at the table with her husband.
"Our boys did a bit of growing up, especially our older one," Heath said. "Nicky got lost and I had to go looking for him. When I got hurt, they didn't know where I was. Heath found Nicky and kept him calm and then the two of them found me. Heath took care of my knee and cooked dinner for us and cared for the horses, all without one bit of complaint or acting like he couldn't do it. Our boy took a big step closer to being a man."
"I noticed he hasn't shaved either, and he actually needs it."
Heath chuckled. "I was real proud of him, Suzanne – and of Nicky, too. Nicky was scared, but he calmed down good and we were all all right before we fell asleep last night."
Suzanne smiled. "I have to admit, I was worried about you, being in that rundown town. I'll bet it's a lot worse than when we were there."
"You bet right," Heath said. "It was kinda sad to see it, even though I knew it would happen. But telling the boys about how it used to be was good for me, and watching them do so much growing up in a couple days – that was like watching a miracle happen. I can't tell you how great it felt to be a father. How great it still feels. You and the boys – you're the best things that ever happened to me."
They leaned toward each other and kissed. "I'm so glad you're home, safe and sound," Suzanne said.
"Me, too," Heath said. "And I'm hungry, too."
Suzanne got up. "When Nicky comes out, you go wash your hands, too. I'll put the stew on."
"Biscuits, too, if we have any," Heath said.
"We have plenty. I had the feeling you'd be coming back with a couple more man-sized appetites."
Heath smiled. "Yeah," he said quietly.
The End