“Misty, I know I have been away for a bit. I’m sorry for that.”
Misty smiled, squeezing his hand. “Don’t be. You had a lot happen, so I would understand if you needed some time to think.”
And time he did need. When he got back to the house that fateful night, there was no sign of his sister. He had known she had been incapacitated at the time, so he didn’t think she could get far. But when he and George searched the property, he had only found Henry unconscious in the barn. The next morning, they searched and searched, but found nothing. He had contacts in other towns, asking if they had seen her; it was as if she had disappeared. As much as he was about justice, he also didn’t think he would be able to arrest his sister. He was secretly glad she was gone and had hoped that she would stay gone for as long as she lived.
“No, I shouldn’t have left you either. You had something horrible happen to you as well, and I should have been supportive of you.”
Misty smiled, shaking her head. “It’s flattering that you worry about me, but you don’t have to. I’m fine. We made it out alive, and that’s all that matters.”
He loved her resilience. She didn’t seem to let anything affect her. But even now it was unnerving. He wanted to know what her thoughts were, and if she felt the same as him. Because all he was thinking about was pulling her close and telling her how much he loved her. But instead, he decided to talk more, to calm his nerves. “I heard that Mary went back to Georgia.”
“Yes, she’s going to study to be a midwife.”
“You must be proud of her,” he said, with a hint of a smile.
“Yes, she’s chasing her dreams.”
“Have you ever thought about what you are going to do? Mr. Higgins has complained that you aren’t going back to the hotel.”
“I didn’t think it would be right to return since my life has changed so much.”
“That doesn’t answer my question about what you are going to do now?”
Misty smiled, walking in closer to him. “Well that depends on what your plan is?” she said, her eyes twinkling in the sunlight.
John knew that this was his chance to tell Misty how he truly felt and see if they had a future. “Misty Henderson, I promised you would be my real wife. And I hope that you are still interested in keeping that post. I love you, Misty. Ever since you took your first step off that train platform I knew you were meant to be mine.”
She paused and looked up at him, her face glowing. If he couldn’t kiss her soon, he didn’t know what she was going to do. “John Henderson, I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you. Of course, I will remain your wife. Nothing would make me happier.”
John was so happy, he grabbed Misty and swung her around, kissing her long and hard. When he finally set her down, she looked as if she had stars in her eyes. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life loving you.”
She smiled at him, throwing her arms around his neck. “As long as you promise we start that life right now.”
John smiled, leaning in again to steal her lips. “I think I can manage that. Let’s go home and seal that promise.”
Epilogue
Samantha insisted on throwing John and Misty a reception at the hotel. The town gathered to wish the newlyweds well and to hear the story of how Samantha’s steer with the blue bow led to the cattle rustlers.
As the chime of glasses being pinged by the silverware rang out, John leaned down and kissed his new bride with such force Samantha could feel the electricity from her seat. She could feel the tears coming from her eyes as she looked back at Seth sitting next to her. “Don’t they look beautiful up there?”
“Yes, of course they do, dear,” he said, absentmindedly. She smirked. She knew that Seth wasn’t truly as into the reception as she was, but she felt very invested in the new couple’s relationship and was glad that they were finally together. She was happy for Misty, as she had hoped that one day she would be attending her wedding, but the reception would suffice.
She heard cooing next to her. She turned and saw her Uncle Colin playing with little Joseph. “Did you wake him up? Now I won’t be able to get him back to sleep.”
Colin turned back to her sheepishly. “It was very noisy, so he woke up on his own,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.
Samantha rolled her eyes. She knew he was lying to her, as her son was more than able to sleep through loud noises and commotions going on around him. She worried as he would get older that this would become an issue when she would have to rouse him from bed. But she knew she would have to wait to see. She prayed that the child would grow out of it, though for now she was happy that she could take the boy anywhere and he would merrily sleep, as if he wasn’t sleeping enough already.
The couple walked down the aisle hand in hand, with the people in attendance finally standing up to follow them out. She turned to Uncle Colin, as she followed Seth out of the church to congratulate the happy couple. “When is Lily coming in to town?”
“She had some affairs to take care of back in the city, but it should be soon,” he said, as he tickled Joseph’s nose. The baby blew some bubbles from his small mouth and Colin chuckled. Lily was her uncle’s secretary.
“Affairs?” Samantha asked, before she could stop herself. She could see Seth shoot her a warning glance from where he was in front of her. They had talked about Samantha’s over enthusiasm into other people’s affairs, but Samantha honestly couldn’t help it; she was just an inquisitive person.
“Yes, it seems that there were some loose ends with her old fiancé,” Colin said absentmindedly.
Samantha was now intrigued. Lily was her uncle’s secretary when he practiced in Philadelphia. She was supposed to be getting married to a rich and powerful businessman, until something went wrong with his business and he decided to end his life. Lily was devastated and the stigma of what had occurred never left her.
Samantha had always liked Lily; she was someone who became a dear friend when her mother had died. Even though she wasn’t that much older than her, she thought of her as a motherly figure. Maybe even an older sister she never had. And she was very grateful that she had brought Misty into her life at a time when she really needed someone there for her.
“That must be terrible,” said Samantha, as they made their way out of the church. “I’m glad she is finally closing that door in her past. I think it’s time that she looked at her prospects. There are quite a few eligible men here I would love to introduce her to.”
Seth groaned at her side. “Samantha, we talked about this. You shouldn’t meddle in other people’s affairs.”
“I don’t think it will be necessary,” Colin added with a steely tone. “She’ll be so busy with helping me set up my practice that she won’t have time to do anything other than take notes and file papers.”
Samantha looked at her Uncle Colin as he gave Joseph back to his father’s arms. Did she detect some jealousy in his tone? Samantha smiled to herself, even as she looked up to see Seth give her that knowing look. She could hear it in her head: Don’t interfere Samantha. It is not your place.
But as she turned to the happy couple who were laughing and thanking the congregation, she couldn’t help but think about how everyone needs a little nudge in the right direction sometime.
The End
I hope you have enjoyed Misty and John’s story. It is my favorite in the series so far. I cannot wait to see what happens to Lily and Colin and learn what becomes of Clover and Emma!
If you would like to learn more about the Black Hills Brides series, upcoming books, multi-author projects, readership opportunities, and sneak peeks, please visit my website. While there, be sure to sign up for my newsletter and receive a direct-to-kindle copy of Her Secret Past, Samantha and Seth’s story of love and how far parents will go to protect their daughter.
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