The Wagon Train Fugitive – Extended Epilogue

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Five Years Later

“What do you think, Kate?” Eliza watched with joy as her three-year-old daughter ran up and down the new covered porch on the front of the house.

“I like it!” Kate announced. She ran up to her mother, stopping just outside of arm’s reach before she turned and dashed back to the other end again.

Eliza had to agree. The porch was a lovely addition to their home, and it showed just how far they’d come. What she liked even more was seeing her sweet daughter with a smile on her face. She sat down in one of the rocking chairs Sam had built and sighed happily.

“Does it ever get confusing?” Becca was next to her, also looking quite calm and pleased as she watched David and Rachel out in the yard.

“What’s that?” Eliza asked.

“Her name,” Becca replied.

“Oh, that. Not really.” Eliza pushed back with her heels, wondering if she’d ever been this comfortable in her whole life. Even the fancy house and expensive furniture that she’d left behind so long ago in Boston had never been this enjoyable.

The name Kate had remained a joke between Sam and Eliza. He’d accidentally called her by that name a multitude of times in the first year or so that they’d been together. Eliza couldn’t blame him. That was how she’d introduced herself, and she’d been Kate to him for a couple of months before he’d discovered the truth.

Those slips of the tongue didn’t happen anymore, but they both knew the name had to come back into their lives when Eliza delivered a baby girl. It hardly required any discussion. It was just right. “In a way, it makes me feel as though my mother got to escape that old life in Boston, too.”

“That’s so lovely, and I’m so glad that you managed to escape it,” Becca said genuinely. She touched Eliza’s arm affectionately. “I never truly felt as though I had friends or family here. Then you and Sam came along. I got a brother and a best friend, and it makes my heart so happy.”

The sound of hammering came ringing through the front door and out to the porch.

Becca started laughing. “I think Wei has found a friend, as well. I hope he’s not been bothering you.”

“By coming over here and helping us expand our home? Not in the least!” Eliza quickly protested. “As a matter of fact, I’ve been worried that we’re taking advantage of him. This house was just a little square when Sam and I got started!”

“And if you let him keep going, Wei will have it taking up half your ranch before you know it,” Becca retorted with a laugh. 

Eliza watched carefully as Kate navigated the porch steps and went to join her cousins in the yard. “I’m surprised he’s interested in it at all, considering that he’s building all day long for work.”

“Yes,” Becca admitted, “but that’s different. There, he has to just put together whatever his boss asks for. His opinion and his knowledge don’t really matter as long as the buildings go up quickly. Here, Sam listens to him.”

Both women turned as the sound of booted feet echoed out through the door, and Sam and Wei emerged.

“You don’t think it’ll be a problem with the roofline?” Sam asked.

“Not at all,” Wei assured him. “Once we get the materials in, the two of us could have it up in no time.”

“What are you adding on now?” Eliza asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Another bedroom.” Sam leaned down and kissed her.

She couldn’t miss the passion and heat in that kiss, nor the warm look in his eyes. “Whatever for?” she asked innocently. “With our room and Kate’s, we’ve got enough.”

His thick fingers trailed along the back of her neck, playing with a strand of hair that’d come loose. “Maybe if we’re lucky, there will be another little Morrison who comes along and needs a place to stay.”

She touched her belly. Eliza had been wondering the same thing. All the signs were there, but it hadn’t yet been long enough for her to be certain. In a couple more weeks, she very well might be telling Sam just how badly they needed that extra room. “Possibly.”

Sam’s head jerked up. “Were we expecting company?”

Eliza looked down the road, where a cloud of dust was being kicked up by a wagon. It was Sunday, and they always visited with their family whether it was here or at the Chen home. She and Sam had friendly neighbors and had gotten to know quite a few people at church, but nobody had mentioned anything about coming by. 

“Not that I know of.”

Sam stiffened. “Wait a minute.” He watched for another moment, and as the rig drew nearer he shot off the porch and across the yard. He whooped as he took off his hat and waved it in the air.

Curious, Eliza followed him with Becca and Wei in her wake. She came to the edge of the yard, unable to imagine who it might be.

The wagon was much closer now, and she could see the small family that sat at the front. His eyes and hair were a little lighter, and there were a few more lines on his weathered face, but the features were very familiar. The woman next to him, though she looked careworn from the journey, looked around with bright and eager eyes. The boy she held on her lap had to be about six years old. 

Could it really be them?

“Thomas!” Sam cried, and then there was no more question.

As soon as they reached the barnyard, Thomas jumped down from the wagon. The brothers embraced and clapped each other’s backs, which sent little clouds of dust flying up from Thomas’s shirt. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” Sam asked after a moment, pulling away and studying Thomas. “And when did you get so old?”

Thomas laughed. “You don’t exactly look the same way you did when you left the ranch, Sam! And you must be Becca!” He moved past his brother.

Becca readily embraced him. “It’s so good to finally get to meet you, although I feel like I already know you through your letters!”

Eliza went to the wagon and reached up for the boy. “You must be Danny, and you must be Sadie.”

“Eliza!” Thomas’s wife exclaimed, as though she’d known Eliza her whole life and had missed her terribly. “Sam wrote about how beautiful you are, and he wasn’t exaggerating!”

“You’re too kind. Oh, my! This must be your little one!” Sadie had come down from the wagon now, and she waggled her fingers at the girl. 

Kate was shyly clinging to Eliza’s skirt. “Who’s that, Mama?”

“This is your Aunt Sadie and your cousin Danny,” Eliza explained, hardly believing that she was saying these words. Never had she thought she’d get the chance to meet this distant family. 

David and Rachel trotted over. “Hi!” David said. “Want to go play in the creek?”

It didn’t take any convincing for all four children to run off to play together, whether they understood that their blood tied them together or not.

“This is my husband, Wei,” Becca said, introducing him to the newcomers and inspiring another round of hugs and handshakes.

“You should come inside and wash off the dust from the road,” Sam said, leading the way to the house. “I know what that journey is like.”

“Yes, but I really don’t think you warned us enough about the dust!” Thomas told him. “Granted, our trip wasn’t nearly as adventurous as yours. Old Henderson promised it would be as boring as he could make it.”

Sam stopped at the top of the porch steps. “Jake brought you?”

“We couldn’t possibly have ridden with a different wagon master after all he’s done for you,” Thomas replied.

Sadie giggled. “We had to make him promise not to send word ahead. There were a few times when I thought he might pay for a telegram when we weren’t looking, but we really wanted this to be a surprise.”

“It certainly is,” Eliza told her as they entered the house. She was still marveling as she fetched pitchers of fresh water for their unexpected guests and gave them space to wash up and change.

Thomas let out a low whistle as he and Sadie emerged a few minutes later into the living room. “This is a nice place you’ve got here. It’s even better than you described it in your letters.”

“Wei deserves the credit for that,” Sam replied. “He’s the master builder.”

“That’s good to know, because I’m going to need one,” Thomas said.

Eliza waited for what was coming next. She had a good idea, because it was no small thing to load up your family in a wagon and travel across the country, but she still wouldn’t believe it until she heard it with her own ears.

“We’ve decided to sell the ranch,” Thomas announced. “In every one of your letters, you made California sound so wonderful that we could hardly stand being at home anymore. I was doing well, but the Jenkinses were interested in buying me out. I knew I’d never have that opportunity again. Sam and Becca, you’ll each get a share of the proceeds. It was the family ranch, after all.”

Sam dropped into a nearby chair. “You’re staying?”

Eliza moved next to him and took his hand. She couldn’t remember seeing him ever look so flabbergasted, and it was rather adorable.

“As long as you don’t mind a new family in the neighborhood,” Thomas replied. “I thought about telling you ahead of time, and I apologize if this is too much of a surprise. It was a bit of a surprise to me, too. I never thought I’d do such a thing, so I guess I wanted to be sure it was really happening.”

“I’d say it is, if everything you own is in the wagon!” Sam laughed. “Have you made any arrangements yet?”

“We were hoping we’d have a few experts who could guide us toward some good land.” Thomas looked at his brother and sister pointedly. “In the meantime, we’ll need to see if any hotels have room.”

“There are, I’m sure, but you can stay right here,” Eliza offered.

“We couldn’t impose,” Sadie hesitated.

“Nonsense! You don’t need to spend your money on a hotel when you’ll need it for your land and a house. It’ll be a wonderful chance to get to know each other. Becca and Wei don’t live very far, so it’ll be like an extended family reunion!” The more Eliza thought about it, the more she liked the plan.

Sam must’ve agreed, because he was nodding along as she spoke. “That’s right. We’ve already come a long way and worked hard, which means you shouldn’t have to. The two households that are already here are used to helping each other out, and a third would be wonderful.”

“Absolutely.” Becca was getting excited, too. She took Sadie’s elbow in her hand. “Eliza and I can show you the best merchants in town. Oh, and think! Our family will take up a whole row in church!”

The plans continued as the women went to the kitchen to make supper and the men walked the ranch and discussed parcels of land that were available. Eliza could feel the enthusiasm among all of them as they sat down to eat.

“Eliza, I can’t thank you enough for inviting us into your beautiful home,” Sadie told her. “Everything here seems too good to be true, and I worry that we’re taking advantage.”

“Never! Just look.” She bobbed her head toward Sam, who was holding Danny on his lap as he talked to Thomas about the differences he could expect in ranching here instead of Missouri.

Meanwhile, little Kate was patting Thomas’s knee. Already a natural father, he opened his arms without even pausing his sentence and allowed the girl to climb up into his lap.

Sadie giggled. “I suppose you’re right! I worried a lot about leaving the only life we’d ever known and starting anew, but it’s all going to be worth it.”

Eliza smiled at her sister-in-law. She’d always thought of their wagon train journey as being the biggest adventure of their lives. But it was really just the beginning of a lifetime of love and family in the golden hills of California.

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OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!

Grab my new series, "Grit and Glory on the Frontier", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!

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