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Four Years Later
“Mama, what are you reading?”
Celeste startled at the small voice, glancing up from the newspaper in her hands. Madeline, her four-year-old daughter, stood in the doorway, rubbing her sleepy eyes. Her golden curls were tousled from her nap, and she clutched her favorite rag doll against her chest.
Celeste hesitated before folding the paper, placing it face-down on the table. “It’s nothing, sweetheart.”
Madeline frowned, stepping closer. “It doesn’t look like nothing.”
Celeste let out a soft chuckle. “It’s just a grown-up story. Not very interesting for little girls.”
Madeline pouted but didn’t argue. Instead, she climbed onto her mother’s lap, tucking herself close. Celeste wrapped an arm around her daughter, letting her warmth settle her thoughts. The paper was still within reach, but she made no move to pick it back up.
She had waited months for it, even arranged for the St. Louis Gazette to be mailed to her. And now, there it was. The truth she had wondered about since the night Isaiah Kilroy disappeared into the darkness.
The article laid out everything—the Kilroy brothers’ past, the tragedies that shaped them, and their time riding with Black Moon, the renegade native who had turned them into outlaws. It told of the Black Moon Gang’s crimes across the southwestern frontier, how they built their reputation through blood and fire.
It was strange reading about Isaiah this way. He wasn’t The Stranger anymore. He wasn’t even just Isaiah—a man caught between past and present, trying to figure out who he was. No, here he was Isaiah Kilroy, outlaw, gunfighter, and one of the last remnants of the gang that had terrorized the frontier.
Celeste swallowed hard.
She had known the truth, at least in pieces. Otto Kilroy had spoken of Isaiah’s past before he died, and Isaiah himself had feared who he used to be. But reading it in black and white made it real. Permanent.
She exhaled slowly, forcing herself to look at her daughter instead of the newspaper.
“What did you dream about, darling?” she asked, brushing a loose curl from Madeline’s forehead.
The little girl yawned, snuggling closer. “Cowboys.”
Celeste smiled. “Oh? What about them?”
Madeline’s eyes lit up. “One was real big, and he had a shiny badge—just like Papa’s old one. And the other one was riding real fast, like he was running from something.”
A strange chill settled over Celeste.
She kissed her daughter’s forehead, pushing the unease away. “Sounds like quite the adventure.”
Madeline nodded sleepily. “But it’s just a story.”
Celeste pulled her closer, her heart aching. “Yes, sweetheart. Just a story.”
And yet, as she sat there, the folded newspaper beside her, she couldn’t help but wonder if somewhere out there, Isaiah Kilroy was still writing his own.
“Mama, will you read me a story?”
Celeste smiled as she carried Madeline into her bedroom, the soft glow of lamplight flickering against the wooden walls. The little girl rested her head against her mother’s shoulder, her small arms looped lazily around Celeste’s neck.
“Of course, sweetheart,” Celeste murmured, settling Madeline down onto her small bed. She pulled the quilt up to her daughter’s chin, smoothing it out before reaching for the well-worn book on the nightstand.
Madeline let out a sleepy sigh, watching her mother with half-lidded eyes. “Can you read the one about the lady and the lost prince?”
Celeste hesitated for just a moment. It was one of Madeline’s favorite stories—a tale of a prince who had been lost for years, wandering the world with no memory of who he was until a kindhearted woman helped him find his way back.
For some reason, the words on the newspaper still pressed against her thoughts, making her hands feel heavy as she turned the pages.
She forced herself to smile. “That sounds like a fine choice.”
Madeline nodded eagerly, shifting to rest against her pillow. “I like how she never gave up on him.”
Celeste swallowed. “She believed he could change,” she said softly, glancing toward the folded newspaper she had left on the table.
The St. Louis article had painted Isaiah Kilroy as an outlaw through and through. His past, his crimes, his fall from grace—all laid out in stark detail. To the world, he was just another gunslinger who had ridden with the Black Moon Gang.
But Celeste had seen more.
She had seen the man—not just the legend. The man who had risked his life to save hers. The man who had struggled to understand the weight of his past.
And the man who, in the end, had chosen to leave.
She let out a breath, brushing Madeline’s hair from her face.
“Go on, Mama,” Madeline urged, her voice barely above a whisper.
Celeste nodded and began to read.
“Once upon a time, in a land of vast prairies and golden hills, there was a prince who had lost his name…”
Madeline listened with rapt attention, though her eyelids grew heavier with each passing word. By the time Celeste reached the part where the woman found the prince and showed him kindness, her daughter was already drifting into slumber, her tiny fingers curled into the quilt.
Celeste’s voice softened.
“…and though the prince feared his past, the lady reminded him that he could always choose to be something more.”
She let the final words settle in the quiet, watching Madeline’s chest rise and fall in steady rhythm.
Isaiah had left Devil’s Canyon three years ago, but in many ways, he had never truly left Celeste’s thoughts. She had worried about what had become of him, had hoped he’d found some kind of peace.
The newspaper had given her answers—but not all of them.
Somewhere, Isaiah Kilroy still walked this earth. The world might remember him as an outlaw, but Celeste knew better.
Maybe, just maybe, he had become something more.
She leaned down, pressing a kiss to Madeline’s forehead before gently closing the book.
“Goodnight, my darling,” she whispered, standing from the bedside.
As she turned down the lamp and stepped out of the room, she cast one last glance toward the newspaper on the table.
Then, she let out a breath and closed the door behind her.
Celeste stepped back into the warm glow of the sitting room, the fire crackling low in the hearth. The house was quiet now, save for the occasional creak of wood settling in the cool night air.
Levi sat in his chair by the fire, polishing his old sheriff’s badge—an old habit he had never quite broken, even though he had long since left the position behind. He looked up as she entered, his sharp eyes immediately settling on the newspaper she had left on the table earlier.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” he asked.
Celeste hesitated for a moment before picking up the paper and folding it neatly. “I suppose I did.”
Levi set the badge down and gestured for her to join him. She settled into the chair across from him, staring at the fire as she gathered her thoughts.
“I read the article,” she admitted, running her fingers along the folded edge of the paper. “It told the whole story—the Kilroys, Black Moon, everything. I knew most of it, in a way. But seeing it all written down like that…” She trailed off.
Levi nodded, waiting for her to continue.
“It made it real,” she said finally. “Isaiah… he did terrible things. I don’t think he ever remembered them, not really. But reading it in black and white, knowing what he was a part of—it’s hard to reconcile with the man I knew.”
Levi exhaled, rubbing his chin. “The past has a way of catching up, no matter how far a man tries to ride from it.”
Celeste looked at him, searching his face. “Do you think he’s still out there?”
Levi was quiet for a moment before answering. “Maybe. Men like him don’t settle easy.”
Celeste’s lips pressed together. She had spent the last three years wondering, imagining where Isaiah had gone and what kind of life he had carved out for himself. The man in the article, the outlaw, the gunfighter—that was not the man who had sat at her dinner table, who had risked his life for her and her family.
She wanted to believe he had found peace. That he had taken her words to heart and chosen a different path.
Levi studied her, his expression unreadable. “You still think about him a lot, don’t you?”
She didn’t try to deny it. “I do. Not the way you might think, but… I guess I just wanted to know that he was alright. That he wasn’t lost anymore.”
Levi nodded slowly, his gaze drifting toward the fire. After a moment, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You know, when I first saw you two together, I wasn’t sure what to think.”
Celeste blinked in surprise.
“You were drawn to him,” Levi continued, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Not in a way that ever made me jealous, mind you. But I could see it—you saw something in him that no one else did.”
Celeste let out a breath, shaking her head. “I don’t know if that makes me foolish or just hopeful.”
Levi reached across and took her hand, his thumb tracing gentle circles against her palm. “Hopeful, I’d say.”
She squeezed his hand, feeling the warmth of it, the steady certainty of the life they had built together.
“I sent a letter to the paper,” she admitted softly. “I asked if they had any information about where he was now. If anyone had seen him.”
Levi raised an eyebrow. “And?”
Celeste exhaled. “Nothing. No arrests, no sightings, no bounty posters. It’s like he disappeared.”
Levi chuckled. “Maybe that’s a good thing.”
She tilted her head. “You think so?”
He nodded. “If he was still out there robbing and killing, we’d have heard about it. Maybe he really did take your advice and start over.”
Celeste considered that for a long moment.
Maybe Levi was right. Maybe Isaiah had found a place to start over, to become someone new.
She turned her gaze to the window, looking out into the endless stretch of night.
Wherever Isaiah Kilroy was, she hoped he had found peace.
She believed he had.
And that was enough.
She turned back to her husband and squeezed his hand once more. “Come on,” she said with a soft smile. “Let’s go to bed.”
Levi stood and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leading her toward the bedroom. As they stepped away, Celeste cast one last glance at the folded newspaper on the table.
Then, with a final breath, she let it go.
OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!
Grab my new series, "Blood and Honor in the Wild West", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!
Hello there, I hope you enjoyed my new western adventure story and the extended epilogue! I would be very glad to read your thoughts below.
I loved it that Isaiah changed his life around, and started new. I enjoyed reading a book with no cursing, and no sex! Thank you for a wonderful story! Margie Savage
Thank you, Margie! It means a lot to know the story touched you in a meaningful way. Thank you for reading!
Very good story—plenty of action and excellent character development! You left me wanting to know what happened to Isaiah, and enjoyed knowing Celeste was happily married to the former sheriff.
Thank you so much! I’m really glad you enjoyed the action and connected with the characters.