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“I’m glad to meet you, too.”
Regan said, “Anna, this is my sister, Portia, and her husband, Kent.”
They both offered smiles and hellos.
Then it was Colt’s turn. “Pleased to meet you all,” he said. “Welcome to Wyoming.”
Regan smiled inwardly at the skeptical look on her aunt’s face as she looked Colt up and down. Eddy asked, “Is she keeping her bedroom clean?”
“Aunt Eddy!” Regan yelled,
Colt laughed so hard, Regan thought he might fall over. “Traitor. Stop laughing.”
By then, everyone was laughing, even Anna.
Her family stayed for five days. There were nightly dinners filled with food, laughter, and tales of the past. They took rides around the countryside to meet Spring and Ed Prescott who loaned the family horses. They saw Anna’s school, went into town to see Colt’s office, and felt the coming of winter as the temperature cooled and the first leaves began to turn red and gold on the trees.
And then came the morning they were scheduled to head home. The hired coach that would be taking them back to Cheyenne to the train depot arrived at dawn. Shivering in the cool morning air, Regan hugged each of them tight. Anna received farewell kisses from her great Aunt Eddy and great Uncle Rhine, and tight hugs from her Aunt Portia and Uncle Kent.
As Regan and Portia shared a final parting hug, they whispered their love for each other and their wishes that both be happy. “Take care of my niece,” Regan said, wiping her tears. Portia would be having a baby after the new year, and when Portia shared the news, Regan had cried with joy and reminded her sister that growing up, they’d pledged to have only girls. Now she was shedding tears of farewell.
Eddy said, “Colton, I hope you and Regan and my Anna will come to Arizona when the weather warms.”
“Yes, ma’am. We will.”
They piled into the coach and Colt put his arm around the teary Regan and gave her a soft kiss on her cheek. “We’ll see them again, soon. Promise.”
As the wagon rolled away, Regan and her family watched until they were out of sight.
Three days later, Regan and Colt were cuddled together on the bench outside their bedroom watching the moon rise.
“Still missing your family?”
“Yes, but it was wonderful to see them.” She wished they all lived closer but she knew Colt would never leave the Territory and now that it was in her blood, she wouldn’t want to live anywhere else either.
“Ben stopped by my office today. He and Odell found One Eye’s body up near his cabin. Said the way the cat’s stomach was distended, he must’ve eaten some bad meat.”
Regan chuckled softly at the awful joke. “Dun Bailey had to be rancid.” She then told him, “Anna said Felicity and her mother are moving back East next week.”
“Hopefully, for Felicity’s sake, they can make a new start.”
“And hopefully, one day, I’ll forgive Colleen for keeping Dun’s whereabouts a secret.”
“Me too. Did your sister share any further news about your mother?”
“Yes. Our mother sent a note by the Pinkerton Aunt Eddy hired and it said she had a new life now, didn’t want further contact, and not to bother her again.”
“How’d your sister take it?”
“Not well. She said she wept. But I’m hoping now that she and Kent have a baby coming, she’ll let go of the past and focus on their child and the future.”
“And you? How do you feel?”
“I’m just glad the door is closed. I’ve already gone on with my life. Speaking of which, can I share a good secret?”
“Yes.”
“I’m having a baby.”
