Epilogue
Ten years later, Elainalooked down at the babies suckling at each of her breasts. The girls were perfect and identical to one another. Jed, her firstborn, was out helping his father on the ranch, and Cynthia sat beside her in a rocker. “Do you need anything?”
Elaina shook her head. “How could I? I have a husband who dotes on me, a friend who helps me with all the chores, and six children who make me crazy with their antics. Well, I assume these two will in a year or two.” The infants were only a month old, and they hadn’t yet learned to pester their siblings and make them yell.
Cynthia smiled. “My two boys are out there with Jed. Your three younger boys are up in the treehouse, where you told them not to go.”
Elaina sighed. “Their father can deal with them. If only he’d built a ladder to go up into the house like I asked and not those easy steps they can all climb...”
Cynthia laughed. “They just get to play in it longer this way!”
“That’s true.” She looked down at little Hope and Grace. “At least I got two girls finally. I thought I’d end up with a dozen boys and no girls. Of course, Steven says we need another couple dozen children.”
“I’m glad I’m too old for more,” Cynthia said.
“I have a good seven or eight years of childbearing left. I guess I could lock Steven from my bedroom...”
The door of the house burst open. “I heard that!” Steven said from the doorway. “You need to watch what you say when the windows are open!”
Elaina laughed. “You need to watch what you listen to!” She knew Steven wouldn’t believe she would ever do such a thing, and the look of mock-anger on his face made her laugh all the harder.
Steven walked to her, his eyes on the babies in her arms. “Thanks for giving me two beautiful girls to spoil.”
“And to bake you gingerbread houses?”
“That too.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll be back in a bit. Jed and I are going to town to get more nails. Repairing fences is a never-ending project around here.”
“You wanted the life of a rancher.”
“And I love every minute of it.” He raised his hand in a wave as he headed out the door, wrapping an arm around the shoulders of their son, Jed. “Someday, you’re going to be as blessed as I am, son.”
Elaina didn’t hear anything else Steven said to their son, but she looked down at her daughters, hoping one day they would be as blessed as she was. Love surrounded them.
