Page 17 of Small Town Hero
Epilogue
One Year Later Christmas Eve
“T his is an amazing house,” Becky said. She and Ellie had just arrived from Chicago for the holidays, having flown to Flagstaff, picked up a rental car and driven to Copper Ridge and then to the ranch. Both of them glowed with well-being.
They’d be staying for a full week, and Susannah was thrilled.
“I couldn’t believe the view,” Becky enthused, peering out into the semi-darkness. “The sunsets must be spectacular!”
The Christmas tree was huge, lit up and sparkling in the twilight, and there were piles of beautifully wrapped gifts beneath it. Ellie, now fourteen, was subtly scoping out the loot, much of which was tagged with her name.
“So are the sunrises,” replied Susannah. “Just wait until morning; on the other side of the house, you’ll see the whole landscape draped in glittering snow.”
They were standing before the wide, floor-to-ceiling window overlooking much of the ranch, and Susannah rested one hand on her sizable baby bump, smiled with quiet joy and, yes, a touch of pride.
She and Ian had designed the place together, spreading huge sheets of paper over the kitchen table down in the original place and making changes and refinements until they finally agreed the design was as perfect as they could make it.
And both of them had carefully overseen the construction phase.
Somewhere along the way, the visits to Chicago had dwindled to the occasional weekend. Copper Ridge, and the ranch, were home to both of them.
Now, the house was finished, with a huge master suite and a sizable home office, among other features, for Susannah, who had continued her web-design business, though she was no longer flipping houses.
Between work she enjoyed, a gratifyingly happy marriage and a much-wanted pregnancy, she was plenty busy.
She was thinking about these things when Ian came in from the new and very spacious barn, where he’d been feeding the horses. He’d kept Ragamuffin, and by now, she was part of the family.
Dub, who’d been nestled in for a snooze on a nearby window seat, with Nico close by as usual, jumped down and trotted over to greet him, and Ian crouched to ruffle the dog’s ears. The affection between the two often touched Susannah so deeply that tears burned in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Becky turned to grin at her brother-in-law and joked, “I guess you two have literally come up in the world.”
Ian chuckled, his eyes fond. “Hey, Becky. Ellie.” He greeted the welcome guests, crossing the large living room, with its rafters and skylights and gleaming hardwood floor, to hug both of them, then proceeding to kiss Susannah’s cheek and cover her hand, where it rested on her swollen middle, with his own.
Ellie was growing up to be an exceptionally pretty young woman and, like her mother, she was thriving in their new life in Chicago. She was getting good grades, taking riding and dance lessons, and studying Spanish.
Best of all, she had plenty of friends. Good ones.
Becky was doing well in both nursing school and therapy, and she was dating a very nice guy named Charles King.
Susannah and Ian had met Charles during one of their stays in Chicago, and they’d liked him.
He was an RN and he and Becky had met at one of many training sessions at a local hospital, felt an instant connection and, after spending a lot of time together outside the school/work environment, they’d fallen in love.
Susannah understood instant connections. It had been that way for her, and for Ian, too. The moment she’d met her now-husband, she’d been struck by the intangible substance of him, the innate strength and goodness of a man who made caring for the injured and sick his life’s work.
And when Ian wasn’t serving as a paramedic, he was helping neglected horses recover from trauma. He was a dedicated father to his two stepdaughters, Vivian and Mabel, loving them with all his heart, and eagerly looked forward to their summer visit.
Susannah smiled to herself. She’d gotten lucky, she knew, and Ian insisted that he was the lucky one. It was a thing they pretend-argued about.
Ellie beamed at him. “Can I ride Ragamuffin, Uncle Ian?” she asked. “I’ve been learning a lot, taking lessons and practicing like crazy.”
Ian grinned, gave his niece a one-armed hug. “Yes,” he said. “You can ride Ragamuffin. She’s a lot stronger than she was before.” He paused. “Actually, your Aunt Susannah and I have been talking about it, and we’ve decided she ought to be your horse. You can ride her whenever you visit. Good idea?”
Ellie let out a shriek of glee and hugged him.
She visited Ian and Susannah often, mostly during school breaks, and she was especially fond of Ragamuffin, maybe because she and the little mare had much in common; both of them had been through a lot of pain and trouble and come out as winners.
“Really?” Ellie cried, evidently still grappling with the surprise. “I get to have my very own horse ?”
“That’s the plan,” Ian confirmed, turning to Becky. “Is that okay with you?”
Becky looked almost as pleased as her daughter. “Of course it is!” she replied happily. Tears glimmered in her eyes as she looked from Ian to Susannah. “You two have been so good to us—”
She was referring, Susannah supposed, to the emotional and financial support they’d given her and Ellie, so they could begin living as they deserved to, and as far as Susannah was concerned, the investment was entirely worthwhile.
“Thank you.” With a half sob, Becky moved to hug her sister, bumped into her prominent stomach, and laughed as the two of them bounced away.
Susannah laughed, too. And cried.
Hours later, when they’d shared a lively FaceTime call with Vivian and Mabel, far off in Miami, enjoyed a delicious supper together, watched a holiday movie on TV and watched as Ellie hung a giant felt Christmas stocking, made by Susannah, it was time for bed.
They’d be up early, as they were every day, with chores to be done, chores they shared, although Ian did all the heavy work.
“Susannah?” Ian said, as his wife snuggled close to him.
Beyond the big windows, fat flakes of snow danced and swirled.
She tilted her head just far enough to kiss the underside of his chin. “What?”
“Merry Christmas,” he answered. “And a happy Forever.”
She smiled in the darkness. “Merry Christmas, darling. And as long as I can be with you—hopefully forever—I’ll love you just as much as I do now. Incredibly. Fathomlessly.”
He laughed quietly. “Next year, we’ll be a family of three,” he said. “What shall we name our firstborn son, Mrs. McKenzie?”
“Well, Mr. McKenzie, I was planning to surprise you in the morning, but I guess I’ll tell you now.”
Ian rose up and rested his head in one hand, studying her face as best he could, with all the lights out. “What?”
Susannah giggled, traced his lips with the tip of one index finger. “As you know, I saw my OB guy a few days ago. Turns out, the earlier sonograms were inaccurate.” She paused, letting the moment stretch just a little too far.
“Susannah.” Ian’s tone wasn’t exactly terse, but it was clear he was getting frustrated.
She relented. “We’re having twins, Ian. Both boys.”
Ian gave a shout of joy that probably awakened both Becky and Ellie, who were on the other side of the house, sharing the largest guest room.
Then he drew her to him, firmly but very gently, and kissed her in the same thorough way he always did.
“Twins!” he rasped, as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Twins,” she confirmed, with a happy sniffle.
“Joshua,” he suggested presently, in a very solemn tone.
“I kind of thought we agreed on that already,” Susannah murmured. “We need a second name. How about ‘Ian’?”
“No,” Ian protested immediately. “People would call him Junior, and both names start with ‘J’. I don’t want our sons to feel like extensions of each other, twins or not.”
“I guess we’ll just have to keep thinking.” Susannah sighed.
Ian kissed her again.
And both of them forgot about everything and everyone except each other.