A Newborn’s Cry at the Healer’s Door – Extended Epilogue

Three Years Later

Josh rode back to the ridge in the late afternoon, trying to hurry home and help Thalia. He’d spent the last two days in town helping Daniel with a case. His brother had somehow managed to finish law school and build himself a healthy practice.

Every now and then, Daniel needed someone to track down a witness or deliver papers to the outlying homesteads. That’s when Josh stepped in. He helped when he could. It was honest work, and it got him off the ridge. Especially when Thalia complained that he was underfoot.

The cabin came into view, and he slowed Thunder to a walk. It didn’t look much like the place where he’d first met Thalia. He’d added on three rooms, a proper porch, and a chicken coop that didn’t lean anymore. He’d started laying the foundation for a barn too, but he was waiting for Daniel and Niwot to free up and lend a hand. No sense building a crooked barn.

Smoke curled from the chimney. A horse he didn’t recognize was tied out front.

Josh dismounted and tied his own horse beside it. Inside, he found Thalia in the kitchen, grinding herbs with her mortar. A woman from town sat at the table holding a fussy child. The little boy’s cheeks were flushed, his eyes halfclosed.

“Give him the willow bark tea,” Thalia was saying. “Small sips. Keep a cool cloth on his head, and let him rest. He’ll be right as rain in a couple of days.”

The woman nodded, tears in her eyes. She thanked Thalia over and over. As she was leaving, Josh recognized her from years ago. She was one of the same women who stood on the sidewalk in front of the general store shouting witch when Thalia walked by. Now she’d ridden all the way up the ridge to bring her sick child to the healer.

Josh shook his head. It hadn’t happened all at once. The first year after Wallace’s trial, only a few people came. The second year, a rancher’s wife had shown up, desperate, after her husband was gored by a bull. Even Josh thought the man was a goner. But Thalia saved him.

Word spread. And now people came by the wagonful.

Thalia hadn’t forgotten what they’d done, but she’d finally forgiven them. She said she’d stopped letting it poison her. “Holding hate in is like drinking bad water and expecting someone else to get sick.” His wife was wise, as well as beautiful.

The woman left with her child, and Josh finally got a good look at his wife.

Her belly was huge.

At nine months, the baby was due any minute. She’d been on her feet all day, and it showed in the way she leaned against the table for a second before straightening.

“You need to rest,” Josh said.

Thalia ignored him and went right back to grinding herbs. “I will later.”

“The herbs can wait,” he said.

“Sickness doesn’t wait for babies to be born,” she told him.

Josh crossed his arms. “You either rest. Or I’m going to tie you to the bed.”

She didn’t even look up. “You’re welcome to try.”

From the garden, Béébei let out a loud laugh. She was pulling weeds, only a little slower than she used to. But make no mistake, she was no less sharp. Josh looked at her and shook his head. The stubborn woman refused to live anywhere but with him and Thalia. He thought she might leave after Lily went away. But she didn’t. Josh had simply resigned himself to the fact.

A few minutes later, a rider came up the trail. It was Daniel, with Lily perched on the saddle in front of him. The girl was almost four now. She was darkskinned, brighteyed, and wild about the ridge. She was also crazy about Thalia. Lily slid down before Daniel even stopped the horse and ran straight to Thalia.

“Auntie!” she yelled.

Thalia bent down with a grunt and hugged her tight. “I can’t pick you up anymore, héétce’no’. Not till our baby gets here.”

Lily nodded, still pouting. “All right. Can I have a lemonade?”

Josh chuckled and looked at Daniel. He was watching them, his lips pressed tight as he shook his head. “Spoiled rotten,” he murmured.

Emmeline followed behind Daniel on her own horse, her second pregnancy just beginning to show. She dismounted carefully and walked over to embrace Thalia. The two women who shared a daughter had become true friends—something neither had expected.

Daniel came inside and clapped Josh on the shoulder. “I got a letter from Vernon.”

Josh raised a brow. “How’s he doing?”

“He moved to Denver,” Daniel said. “He’s working as a clerk in a legal office. He’s been sending money to Lily’s fund every few months.”

“Really?” Josh was shocked. “What’s he want in return?”

“So far, he hasn’t asked for anything in return.” Daniel scratched his mustache. “That could change at any time, I suppose. But let’s hope for the best.”

Josh nodded. Vernon had changed more than any of them expected. And the man was family. Thalia’s family. Even though he knew she struggled with their relationship. She wanted so badly to give him her forgiveness. But it was just out of reach.

“Thalia wrote him back last month,” Daniel added. “First time.”

Josh glanced at her. She didn’t look up from Lily, but he saw the faint flush on her cheeks. His wife was tired. They should have put this supper off until after the baby came.

“Well?” Daniel asked expectantly. “What’d she say?”

“She told him she didn’t forgive him yet,” Daniel said. “But that she was still working on it.”

“What’d he say?”

“That her working on it was more than he deserved.” Josh watched Lily take a drink of her lemonade, and his mouth watered. “Want some lemonade?”

Before Daniel could answer, another pair of riders appeared on the ridge. Hannah and Niwot. Hannah’s belly was round too. She was due next month. They stood on the porch and watched as Niwot helped her down with the tenderness of a man who still couldn’t believe his luck.

Josh had to hand it to the man. Winning over the Croft men wasn’t easy, and he never figured anyone would manage it.

He looked at his sister, who was now walking toward them. Hannah was different now. Quieter, but happy. Settled, he supposed. He reached out and tugged her to him, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“You look good, kid,” he teased. “What have you been up to?”

“Well,” Hannah said, looking thoughtful. “I’m learning Arapaho.”

“Really?” Daniel asked, surprised.

“I sure am,” Hannah said defensively. “I’m not very good at it, but I have a patient teacher.” She turned and smiled at Niwot.

He smiled back, then moved his gaze to Daniel and Josh. The smile quickly fell off his face.

“How’s Thalia?” he asked, almost threateningly.

Josh blinked, and Hannah giggled.

“Oh, leave him alone, Niwot,” she said, nudging him aside and walking into the house. “Let’s go find Thalia.”

Josh was still recovering from his brother-in-law when he heard, “Ho! Where is everybody?”

Elijah Croft had ridden up last. His pa was whitehaired and proud. And he loved his daughter-in-law.

Thalia came waddling out of the house to greet him. “Elijah!”

He kissed Thalia’s cheek and told Josh he’d married better than he deserved.

Josh laughed, but he knew it was true. “I know I did.”

Not long after, they all sat down to supper. Thalia had made some stew, baked some bread, and roasted a few vegetables outside in the campfire. And somewhere between cooking supper, treating patients, and making herbal remedies, she’d also made an apple pie and a bread pudding for dessert.

Josh said grace, something that was now second nature after almost dying and losing his entire family at the old mines. Then they all dug in.

The table was loud with talk and laughter. Lily climbed into Josh’s lap, chattering about a bird that kept landing on her windowsill and how her and her daddy were going to catch it. She was going to keep it on a leash in her bedroom and feed it hoecakes, if he understood her correctly. Josh only caught every third or so word. But he thought he was grasping the main points.

Thalia had gone to the kitchen to fetch the pie and was just sitting down when she gasped. She gripped the edge of the table and groaned.

Josh was on his feet in an instant, handing Lily to Niwot. “Thalia?”

She looked down and he followed her gaze to the puddle of water spreading beneath her chair.

“Well,” she said calmly, “I don’t think the baby’s going to wait for dessert.”

The room exploded into motion. Chairs scraped. Béébei barked orders. Emmeline grabbed blankets. Hannah hurried to boil water even though Thalia told her that wasn’t necessary.

Josh stood frozen for half a second, staring at his wife.

She met his eyes and gave him a tight, strained smile. “Don’t panic,” she said. “Just help me to the bed.”

He snapped out of his daze and moved to her side, slipping an arm around her as another contraction hit.

The ridge had seen storms, fires, and danger of every kind.

But nothing as scary as this.

The next several hours were madness and calm at once. Josh had never seen anything like it. Béébei took charge the moment Thalia’s water broke. She moved around the room with the confidence of a general.

Emmeline, he guessed, was second in command for no other reason than she’d at least birthed a child before. She followed all of Béébei’s instructions to the letter and seemed to know most of what needed doing. Hannah was in charge of holding Thalia’s hand and running errands when someone forgot something.

Josh figured out quickly that his role was to not irritate Béébei or Thalia. It was a difficult job, but he thought he could do it. Maybe.

He thought about Daniel and Niwot who were keeping Lily distracted in the other room, telling her stories about brave princesses and mountain lions who learned manners. Lily shrieked with laughter every few minutes, which helped cut through the tension.

Elijah waited on the porch in the rocking chair, his hands folded in his lap, looking about as useless as a man could look at a time like this.

Finally, the time was near, and Béébei threw him out. “This is not for men,” she insisted. “This is women’s work.”

He wasn’t happy, but he left the women to it. He poured himself some water and joined his father on the front porch.

It didn’t take long for Josh’s nerves to get the better of him. He paced. He tried sitting. He tried leaning against the post and staring out at the horses. Nothing helped.

“I should be in there,” Josh muttered.

His father shook his head. “No, you shouldn’t, boy. There are certain things men are supposed to do and other things women are supposed to do.”

“Like what?” Josh asked. “What are men supposed to do that women can’t?”

His father thought for a moment. “Make water standing up.”

Josh blinked. “That’s ridiculous, Pa.”

Elijah shrugged. “That’s just one thing. There’s other stuff, like bringing in the harvest, driving cattle, and starting a campfire. That’s all men’s work. Cooking, cleaning, and birthing babies is women’s work. You see?”

Josh struggled not to roll his eyes. “Yes, sir. I see now.” He sighed and dropped into the chair beside his Pa. He might as well sit there and be miserable. It was as good a place as any.

Near midnight, a cry split the air. It was loud and furious. Alive.

Josh froze.

Then Béébei’s voice came from inside. “Josh!”

Josh didn’t remember getting to the doorway. One moment he was on the porch, the next he was kneeling beside Thalia’s bed. She lay back against the pillows, exhausted and radiant, her hair damp with sweat. In her arms was a tiny, redfaced baby with lungs like a storm.

Béébei adjusted the baby more securely in Thalia’s arms. “This one’s little, but strong,” she said. “Just like her mother.”

Josh stared at his daughter and didn’t speak. He couldn’t speak. His throat closed up. His eyes burned. He reached out and touched the baby’s cheek with one trembling finger.

Thalia looked at him, her smile soft and tired. “What should we name her?”

Josh swallowed hard. “I’ve been thinking about that.”

Thalia raised an eyebrow.

“Well,” he said, “I thought we might want to grow our flower garden. We have a Lily. Seems only right we have a Rose.”

Thalia’s eyes filled with tears. She looked down at the baby. “Rose,” she whispered. “Yes. She’s our little Rose.”

Béébei wiped her eyes and pretended she wasn’t crying. “That’s a good name,” she said gruffly.

A minute later, Emmeline brought Lily in to meet her new cousin. Lily stared at the baby with wide eyes, then asked, “Can I keep her?”

Everyone laughed. Even Thalia managed a tired chuckle.

Later, after each of them had a chance to meet Rose, everyone found a place to sleep. Josh had never been so glad that he’d followed his gut and built on to Thalia’s tiny house. Daniel and Emmeline slept in one room, Hannah and Niwot in another. Elijah was snoring by the fire and Béébei in her chair. That left Lily, who was curled up in the nursery with her favorite doll.

Josh stepped out onto the porch for some fresh air.

The night was cool and the stars were bright. He sat on the top step and let the quiet wrap around him.

Inside, Thalia was nursing Rose. Through the open window he could hear her singing. That Arapaho lullaby Josh loved so much. It was the same one he’d heard that first night years ago when he’d been broken and lost. And a woman’s voice had pulled him back to life.

He closed his eyes and listened, thinking about how far they’d come.

Thalia, the healer who’d once been an outcast, now had people riding hours to see her. She’d built a life out of nothing but grit and kindness.

He thought about himself, the man who’d been engaged to the wrong woman and found the right one by falling off a horse like a fool.

He thought about Lily, the baby who was supposed to disappear and instead wound up with two mothers and a family that stretched across two worlds.

He thought about Hannah, abducted, hurt, and nearly broken, who came back and found love with a man who put her back together without ever asking for anything in return.

He thought about Daniel, who came to search for his sister and ended up with a wife, a daughter, a law practice, and a life he’d never planned.

Even Vernon, somewhere far away, was trying to become a man worth his salt.

Josh let out a long breath. The ridge felt strong beneath him. Solid.

The door opened softly behind him.

Thalia stepped out, Rose asleep against her chest. Her hair was loose, her face pale with exhaustion, but she looked beautiful in a way that made Josh’s chest ache.

“Why are you still awake?” she asked.

“Just thinking,” he said.

“About what?”

He looked at her, at the baby in her arms, at the home behind them filled with people they loved.

“About how a man can fall off a horse,” he said, “and land in a whole new life.”

Thalia chuckled and eased herself down beside him. “I’m glad that you fell.”

He put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, warm and tired, humming the lullaby again under her breath.

They sat like that until the first light touched the ridge. They were husband and wife, father and mother, two people who had fought their way out of the dark and found something beautiful and worth keeping.

And for Josh, it felt like everything.

THE END