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Five Years Later
“Emma! You better slow down before you drop your eggs!” Ezekiel called from where he sat on the porch.
“I’m okay, Pa!” his three-year-old daughter yelled back. “I’m going to find all the eggs before I—oh no!”
The little girl dropped the basket she’d been carrying, and three of her eggs rolled into the grass. She bent forward, right where she stood, nearly dropping the egg she held in her other hand.
Ezekiel laughed, shaking his head as he watched. He held baby Caleb in his arms, letting his infant son sleep while he supervised his young daughter trying to bring in the eggs from the hen house.
“Are you gathering the eggs or making them harder to find?” Jonah asked when he walked up the path leading from the gate to the porch.
“Uncle Jonah! I dropped the eggs!” Emma volunteered as Jonah walked toward her.
“I see that. Do you want some help?” he asked.
“Yes please,” she chirped, polite as ever. “Ma needs the eggs for what she’s going to make me later.”
“What’s she going to make?” Jonah asked, intrigued.
“A cake,” Emma said with enough confidence that Ezekiel laughed.
Evelyn made cakes for special occasions, but it seemed that Emma could come up with an occasion to make a cake daily. She loved helping her mother bake n, and she often announced what they were going to make that day without asking her mother what was really on the chore list.
Evelyn opened the front door to see what was happening outside, and she laughed when she saw Jonah helping Emma put the eggs back in the basket.
“I thought getting the eggs was your chore, not your uncle’s!” Evelyn called.
“She says you’re making us a cake,” Jonah yelled back. “That true?”
“Emma, you’d have cake every day if you had things your way,” Evelyn said with another laugh. “What do we need a cake for?”
“It’s a good day,” Emma said with all the simplicity in the world.
“She’s right about that,” Jonah said as he brought the eggs back to the porch.
“Oh?” Evelyn asked. “What’s so good about today?”
“I’m going to ask to court Miss Winston,” Jonah said.
“You are!” Evelyn cried, and Jonah looked sheepish.
Ezekiel nodded approval, though he couldn’t help but smile at the way Jonah looked nervous out of the blue.
“I’m going to try to,” he said. “I’ve been meaning to for some time now, and I… I don’t know. I just need to find the words.”
“Yes, you do,” Ezekiel said. “She’s a pretty girl, and if you waste too much time, she might get asked by someone else.”
“You’re not helping,” Jonah said, shooting Ezekiel a look that made Evelyn chuckle.
“You know he has a point, though,” she said. “And I feel the same way. We love Emily, and she’s only going to become part of our family if you ask her if she’ll court you.”
“I’m just nervous she’s going to turn me down,” Jonah admitted.
“Well, don’t,” Evelyn said with another chuckle. “You’re such a sweet man. And everyone sees the way she looks at you. She’ll be thrilled if you ask her. Won’t she?”
Evelyn looked at Ezekiel for his reassurance, and he nodded. “Absolutely she will be. Your sister’s right, Jonah. You need to ask.”
“You two make it sound so easy because you’re already married,” he said with a shake of his head. “I’ve never courted anyone. I don’t know what I’m doing!”
“Just keeping doing what you’ve been doing,” Ezekiel said with a chuckle. “She likes you already. Don’t make it harder than it needs to be.”
Jonah gave him another look, but this time, it was grateful. He could see that Jonah appreciated the encouragement, even if he was still nervous.
“Tell you what,” Evelyn said, “if you ask her to court you, then I’ll make a cake this afternoon.”
“Well, you’re not going to know until tonight, so…” Jonah said.
“So should I make that cake?” Evelyn asked playfully.
All eyes turned to Jonah, and though he looked almost annoyed to be put on the spot, he nodded. A small cheer sprang up from the porch, waking baby Caleb in Ezekiel’s arms. The infant started fussing, and Ezekiel rose with his son in his arms.
“You hear that, we’re having some of your ma’s best cake tonight,” he told the boy.
“Yay!” Emma cried as she ran up onto the porch. “And I’m going to stir the eggs.”
“Yes, you are,” Evelyn said as she took Caleb from Ezekiel. “And you had best not be working late tonight. From the sound of things, we’ll have lots to talk about over supper.”
“A lot indeed,” Ezekiel said with a nod. “I have that meeting with the board today.”
“I forgot about that!” Evelyn cried. “It’s going to be fine. I know it is.”
“I’m sure it will be,” Ezekiel said. “It’s just a matter of talking about what the people in town want verses what the railroad is doing.”
“It doesn’t sound like it should be the sheriff’s problem if you ask me,” Evelyn said with a shake of her head. “This is something a mayor ought to be handling.”
“Well, when we get a mayor, I’m sure he’ll handle it,” Ezekiel teased.
“You should be mayor next,” Evelyn told him, but he only laughed.
“Why not make Jonah mayor?”
“I can’t even ask a girl to court, and now you want to turn me into the mayor?” Jonah called from inside the house. Evelyn and Ezekiel laughed once more, then Ezekiel leaned in and kissed Evelyn gently.
“I’ll make sure I’m home on time tonight,” he said. “And like I told you, I don’t think this meeting will be an issue. Marshal Turner is supposed to be there, and I’m sure he’ll do most of the talking.”
“At least he’ll be able to give us an update on how things are going in the area,” Evelyn said. “He’s always been good about that.”
“At least he’s good for something,” Ezekiel said with a nod, and Evelyn playfully slapped his chest.
“Be nice!” she cried.
“I’m just saying!” Ezekiel replied. “I don’t think he did much at all as a sheriff, and I’ll always think that.”
“Well, I’m not going to argue. You’ve been far more cut out for the position than he was,” she admitted. “But he does make a good marshal.”
“And I’m the one who was an outlaw,” Ezekiel said.
“Don’t remind me!” Evelyn cried, and he laughed again.
“Alright, alright, I’ll stop,” he said. “Emma! Come give me a kiss, I need to go to work!”
His daughter came back outside and jumped into his arms. He tossed her into the air before kissing her, then he dropped a kiss onto Caleb’s forehead before kissing Evelyn one last time.
“You three be good,” he said, giving Evelyn a look that made her blush. “Make that cake, and I’ll be back tonight.”
“And we’ll celebrate,” Evelyn said, her tone filled with promise, “a new member to the family!”
“We hope,” Jonah interjected as he walked by. His own voice was filled with apprehension, but there was hope interlaced through his tone as well.
The couple laughed once more, but neither argued with him. Ezekiel had full confidence in how the afternoon would go for his friend, and he looked forward to hearing the story that night. Even more, he looked forward to the dessert his wife would make.
And he couldn’t wait to share it with his family.
***
“Pa’s home!” Evelyn cried as Ezekiel walked through the door that evening.
“Pa! Pa!” Emma ran from where she had been playing with Caleb on the floor. She threw her arms around his legs, and he hugged her as Evelyn pulled the cake out of the oven.
“Smells like heaven in here,” he said. “How was your day?”
“My day always becomes the best day ever when you walk in,” Evelyn told him, putting the cake down and stealing a kiss. “How did the meeting go?”
“You know what? It was great,” Ezekiel said.
He didn’t tell his wife that there were plenty of arguments floating around. He didn’t tell her that they were going to have to find a new solution to the railroad problem. And he didn’t tell her that Marshal Turner said there were some gang sightings in the area.
Ezekiel didn’t consider those things to be bad. Not when he considered where he had come from. They were little town problems that would be solved in the way they solved everything. Folks would come together and talk. They would find a solution that worked for everyone.
They would prioritize peace, and they would make sure no one like Harlan Pike could ever get into power again. Everyone had learned from the past, and they were taking steps now to make sure such things couldn’t be repeated.
And Ezekiel was proud. He didn’t think of those things as problems.
Instead, he thought of each of those things as part of the life he had built. He felt blessed to come home that night to his family, with the biggest problems on his mind being how to deal with the railroad coming into town in a way that would benefit those who already lived there.
Gone were the days when he worried about violence and bloodshed. Instead, his day was filled with keeping the peace between a railroad and a fiery mercantile owner.
He’d seen Rosa Delgado that day. He’d seen Dr. Fletcher with her new assistant. He’d seen the Braddock family, and he’d seen new faces that he didn’t recognize. He’d waved to the young schoolteacher who had stolen Jonah’s heart, and he couldn’t wait to hear how Jonah’s afternoon had gone with the young woman.
His life had become entirely different than it had been just five and a half years before, and he was still trying to wrap his mind around the change.
Ezekiel still thought about Cole Morgan from time to time, but he didn’t miss that man. He was glad Cole had died in the train wreck so long ago, and that Ezekiel had taken Cole’s place.
Cole never would have been a good father, or a good husband, for that matter. He never would have been sheriff and he certainly wouldn’t have cared what happened to a town full of people like Red Rock Basin.
But Ezekiel cared about all those people, and Ezekiel was proud to be the one to keep the peace in the town. He’d traded a life of violence for a life that was quiet, almost boring.
And he had never been happier.
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.
Enjoyed the story. I like a western with action. Some writers present their main character as a wimp who is afraid to shoot. Give me a man like Ezekiel.
Thank you—I’m glad you enjoyed the story and the action. Ezekiel is the kind of man I enjoy writing about as well—someone who steps up when it matters. I appreciate you reading and sharing your thoughts.
Love your stories.
Thank you, I’m really glad you loved the story. I appreciate you reading and taking the time to share that.
I go along with Ken I like westerns with lots of action and suspence. Ezekiel
Was a person who stood up without hesitating went it came to action. Great
Story that Austin doesn’t let his readers down