Epilogue
She was holding Luther’s hand, and the sunlight was dancing across her skin. Victoria breathed in the fresh smell of the Columbia River with her heart lighter than it had been in some time. Birds were twittering in the sunshine, and the air smelled of fresh rain. Luther was watching her. The expression on his face was palpably content.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked her.
She was gazing at a narrow beam of sunlight as it fell on his hair. It illuminated the lines from the comb he had used earlier, and made each strand shine as though it had been gilded. She paused and bent down to pluck a daisy from beside the path. Twirling it in her slender fingers, she said, “I was thinking about the house.”
Luther quirked his eyebrow at her. “The house?” he murmured in a tone that suggested that Victoria was fooling him somehow. “What for?”
Victoria sighed, and tucked the daisy behind her ear. Its soft petals kissed her cheek. “I know Jaxsom built it, but it seems rather silly to continue to live there when I’m no longer married. It’s rather large for one person.” She peeked up through her dark lashes at him, teasing him. “Perhaps I should attempt to run a home for wayward children… or—”
“Where would you like to live?” Luther asked suddenly. “If you could live anywhere?”
Victoria cocked her head to the side in thought. “Anywhere?” she gazed around at the dew-drenched grass. At the sparkling trees, and the gentle flow of the river. “I suppose,” she whispered, “That anywhere you are would be quite alright with me.”
Luther’s responding grin could have illuminated even the cloudiest of mornings. “I was hoping you’d say that,” he said.
They moved off down the narrow dirt track.
“You spoke to Virgil?” he said suddenly.
Victoria’s face crumpled. “I’m afraid he wasn’t altogether pleased,” she murmured, “But I do think that he understood.”
Luther nodded. It was an odd sort of moment, broken only by the caw of a crow perched in a pine tree overhead. “I must confess,” he said after a moment. “I feel rather sorry for the fella.”
“I put him through an awful lot of trouble,” Victoria responded, her eyes downcast. Poor Virgil had moved all this way to marry her, and he had tried so very hard to help her in the hopes that she would agree, only to find out that she had already given her heart to another.
“That is not what I meant,” Luther grinned. “I feel sorry for him because,” he hesitated, as though deciding whether or not to trust Victoria with his thoughts. “I feel sorry for him because he does not have you,” he finished after a time. “The man must have taken one look at you and fallen head over heels.”
“What nonsense!” she cried. She broke away from Luther and jogged ahead, laughing. “It would take a madman to fall in love with me.”
Luther chased after her. A moment later, he caught hold of her waist and swung her into his arms. “A madman, you say?” he chuckled and bent his head to hers, and Victoria squirmed in his embrace as he said, “Then I must be mad, Vicky, darling. For I love you so.”
She beamed at him. “You love me? Truly?”
Luther took her hands. “I want to give you the world,” he breathed. “I love you. Truly.”
Victoria slid her arms around his waist and looked up into his blue eyes. They were the exact color of the sky over their heads. “I love you too,” she said and then she giggled. “What shall we do about that?”
Luther’s gaze fixed on her lips, and his fingers rose to stroke along the lower one. Her breath caught. “There are any number of things I would like to do,” he murmured. “Perhaps we should start with this…” He tilted his head a bit closer to hers, and Victoria closed her eyes in anticipation of his kiss. When it didn’t come, she opened them in surprise, looking around, and found that he had sunk onto one knee before her.
“Victoria?” he asked, holding out a solitary diamond ring that sparkled like his eyes in the sunlight, “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Her face flushed with pleasure, but she tilted her finger to her chin for a moment, teasing him once more. “Oh— I suppose that I should, shouldn’t I?”
And then she bent down and stole a kiss from his lips.
They walked the river path for a long time after that.
“Once we’re married,” Luther said when they finally turned back toward town, “I can move my office into the house.”
“Lily Jo will be pleased,” laughed Victoria. “She has been giving me such long-suffering looks each time you take clients in the café.”
Luther chuckled. It was clear that he was heartily enjoying his position as the one and only lawyer in Silverpines. His face was smooth, and his brow was unmarred by the worry lines that had been ever-present in the beginning of their somewhat atypical courtship.
Victoria was just thinking that perhaps they could make their way past Tobias and Elena’s house to tell them the happy news when Marshal Sewell accosted them.
“Evening, love birds,” he said cheerfully. “Sorry to interrupt, Luther, but I’ve something for you at my office. Do you mind?”
Luther shrugged at Victoria and together, they followed the Marshal down the street and stepped into the cool shade of the jailhouse. The cells were empty now, apart from a single man who seemed to be sleeping off his drink.
Victoria glanced at him, and then up at the Marshal as he passed a heavy envelope across his desk to Luther. “The county finally sent it along,” he said, beaming. “Open it up.”
Inside, was a letter, thanking Luther for his service to Oregon, signed by the state commissioner, and a check for three-thousand dollars. Victoria’s mouth fell open at the sight of it. She had almost forgotten.
Luther grinned. “Perfect,” he said. “Give me just a moment.”
Without a word of explanation, Luther shot out of the jailhouse and jogged off down the street. Victoria and the Marshal exchanged dumbstruck looks when he returned with a wad of bills in his hand.
“Marshal,” he passed the money to him. “This is to replace the money that Abernathy Foswick managed to steal from Silverpines. This bit—” he handed a smaller stack of bills to Victoria, “You can put in your reticule, darling. We may be needing it to pay for our wedding!”
The Marshal was stuttering, and Victoria had tears in her eyes. Not caring that Marshal Sewell could see, she threw her arms around Luther’s neck and kissed him. “You’re the most unusual man I have ever met, Luther Garrison,” she said as she pulled away.
“I quite agree,” said the Marshal. His expression was akin to someone just having been punched in the face. “But you might want to hang on to this…” he winked and passed the money back to Luther. “You see… Silverpines is in need of a new Mayor.”
About the Author
Josephine Blake is a historical romance author who enjoys a quiet life on the outskirts of Portland, OR. Her debut novel, Dianna, hit the shelves in August of 2016.
Before publishing her own work, she worked as a freelance fiction and ghostwriter for numerous clients.
Josephine Blake is happily married, and freely admits that her husband is the inspiration for every bit of romance she ever writes.
She lives with her delightfully charming husband, and two Persian kitties called Velvet and Ruby. All three are equally feisty.
When she's not writing, Josephine enjoys graphic design, chasing her nieces and nephews, spending time with her family, or thinking about what to write next!
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