Trail of Destiny (Hot on the Trail Book 5)

by Merry Farmer

  “Who’s Harry?” he asked.

  A lump caught in Alice’s throat. She swallowed it, smiled, and said, “My husband. He was killed in the war.”

  Franklin tilted his head to the side, staring at nothing, as if something suddenly made sense. He turned to Alice with a weak smile and said, “Thank you.”

  Doc Shaw left late in the morning of the second day. It was a reminder to Alice that now that their mission was complete, they should leave too. Jarvis agreed.

  “I’m still part of the militia, after all,” he told Howard and Ginny as Blossom and Thunder were saddled. “And I need to get Alice back to her father.”

  “Understood,” Howard nodded. His gaze shifted to Alice. “I am sorry to see you go, my dear.”

  Alice had to swallow her burst of emotion. “I’m sorry to leave,” she said, striding away from Blossom to give Howard one last hug.

  “How long does your service in the militia last?” Ginny asked Jarvis. She had a stubborn light in her eyes, a light that sent a bolt of excitement through Alice.

  “Well, ma’am, I’m not exactly sure,” Jarvis answered, his own smile growing. “A few more months at least. I signed up for two years, and it’s been about a year and a half.”

  “And what do you plan to do once you’ve served your time?” Ginny went on.

  “Marry Alice,” he answered, plain as day, sending Alice a smile that could light the darkest night.

  “Well!” Howard squeezed Alice tighter, planting a fatherly kiss on her forehead. “Imagine that.”

  “I saw that one coming a mile away,” Ginny chuckled, scolding her brother. “Anyone with eyes could have seen that, you old coot.”

  Howard grumbled and huffed, but his eyes smiled. Especially when Alice stepped away from him to take Jarvis’s hand.

  Ginny beamed at the pair of them. “And what do you plan to do with your new bride once she’s said ‘I do?’”

  “Um,” Jarvis began, sending Alice a look that was far too wicked for the middle of the morning.

  Ginny laughed. “After that, son, after that.” She went on to answer her own question by saying, “Because I’m more than certain we can find a place for you here, on the double-owned ranch, if you’re interested.”

  “Really?” Jarvis stood straighter, eyes bright.

  “Absolutely.” Howard nodded. “You’ve proven—both of you have proven that you’re more than up to the task of working and expanding this ranch to be quite an enterprise. Why, there could even be a chance to own part of it in the mix, if you work hard enough.”

  Surprise and delight filled Alice’s heart. Wyoming had felt like home—Howard’s farm had felt like home—since the moment she set foot on it. The chance to stay there and build a new life was enough to bring a whole new round of happy tears to her eyes.

  “I would have to see what my parents say,” Alice said, stumbling over her emotion.

  “Bring them out here for a visit,” Howard said. “Bring the whole family. We’ll have a right good time, and with a little luck, Elizabeth and Lucy will be here too.”

  It was so wonderful that Alice could only laugh at the idea. For so long, the trail had seemed dark and her load heavy. It was nothing short of a miracle that everything should turn out so beautifully now. Or perhaps it had been her destiny to belong to Wyoming, to belong to Jarvis Flint, all along.

  She glanced up at Jarvis, heart brimming, and hugged him. The past was the past, and this was her future. It was a future she would love and make the most of. With Jarvis by her side, her life was bound to be full of treasures.

  Epilogue

  The walls and buildings of Ft. Bridger gleamed white in the afternoon sun as Jarvis and Alice approached. They had been gone for nearly two weeks, but to Jarvis, the fort looked as it always had. The only difference was the dozens of wagons parked along the east side of the fort. A wagon train must have just pulled in. Pioneers and travelers buzzed around the fort, the adults restocking their supplies while children ran and played, enjoying a burst of freedom.

  “I used to feel like I was coming home whenever I rode up to the fort after a scouting mission,” Jarvis said. He smiled across to Alice as she sat astride on Blossom. She was a natural horsewoman, and the light of his heart.

  “Not anymore?” she asked, sunlight catching in her hair.

  Jarvis shrugged. “I miss the ranch already,” he said, “but truly, wherever you are, that’s my home.”

  Alice’s smile overflowed into a laugh. “Jarvis, that’s the sweetest thing that anyone’s ever said to me.”

  “Is it?” He chuckled and nudged Thunder to pick up speed. “Then I’ll just have to find something sweeter.”

  They rode on, into the midst of the busy pioneers. The fort was alive with excitement. Jarvis had to search to find a place where he and Alice could dismount, and had to work to flag down someone from the stables who could take their horses. By the time he had everything settled and put away, he and Alice had already been spotted.

  “Alice, my darling!”

  Alice turned at the call from an older woman. Her face lit into joy and relief, and she answered, “Mother!”

  The two women rushed across the fort’s yard to greet each other, meeting in a hug and cries of joy. Beyond them, Jarvis spotted Mr. Sutton rushing to join them, along with a younger, blond woman who, by the look of her, had to be Alice’s sister, Emma. A man walked with her, along with another couple. That woman had hair as red as copper.

  “We were so worried about you,” Alice’s mother squealed on, giving Alice another hug. Then she stepped back. “Oh my, just look at you. I haven’t seen you looking so well in… in I don’t know.”

  “Where did you find this lovely dress?” her sister saved her mother from embarrassment by asking about something that wouldn’t lead back to Alice’s mourning.

  “It’s a long story,” Alice laughed and hugged her sister. “I’ve had quite an adventure. Quite a wonderful adventure.”

  She turned to glance over her shoulder at Jarvis, starlight in her eyes.

  “Is this the young militiaman your father was telling me so much about?” Mrs. Sutton asked. Judging by the glimmer in her eyes, Mr. Sutton had spun quite a story.

  “Mr. Flint,” Mr. Sutton stepped forward to shake Jarvis’s hand. “I’m pleased to see you’ve brought my daughter safely back to me, and looking so well too.”

  “My pleasure, sir,” Jarvis said. His cheeks flared red at all that those words could imply, so he rushed on with, “Sir, I might as well just say it, but I’d like permission to marry your daughter.”

  A round of exclamations and gasps rose from their small group.

  “Well isn’t that a fine way to say hello,” the red-headed woman, clearly Irish by her accent, exclaimed.

  “It is a wonderful way,” Emma agreed. “But oh, we have so many introductions to make.”

  “And so many things to share,” Alice agreed. “But before any of that, Father, Mother.” Alice took a deep breath, smiling at her family. “How would you feel about the idea of staying in Wyoming instead of journeying on to Oregon? It’s just that Jarvis has had an offer for a job from the most wonderful brother and sister ranch owners. You would love them, truly you would.”

  A shocked silence followed, and then Alice’s mother and sister and the other young people with them burst into laughter.

  “As it happens,” Emma said, turning to the young gentleman next to her with a broad smile, “we were just discussing staying in this part of the West.”

  “Dr. Meyers.” Alice blinked at the man when Emma took his hand. “That is you. And your friends?”

  “This is Katie Boyle and Aiden Murphy,” Emma introduced them. “And if you think you’ve had an adventure, wait until we tell you about the time we’ve had.”

  “Pleased to meet you.” The dark-haired Irishman, Aiden Murphy, stepped forward to shake Jarvis and Alice’s hands, and the woman, Katie, after him.

  “I dare say that we wil
l have to stop here in Wyoming after the times we’ve all had,” Mrs. Sutton declared with exaggerated exhaustion in her voice. “I don’t know if my nerves could take any more.”

  “And it might be simpler to plan two… I mean three weddings if we stay right where we are,” Mr. Sutton added.

  “Three weddings?” Alice asked. “Emma?”

  Emma beamed, taking Dr. Meyers’s hand. “Yes.”

  It was all she had to say. Alice rushed to embrace her sister again. Jarvis watched them, a deeper contentment in his soul than anything he could have imagined. He’d left his home and his family to find a new place in the world, and right then he knew that he’d succeeded. He had a job and a new home waiting for him when his service was up, he had new friends standing by to learn all about, but most of all, he had the most wonderful woman in the world, ready and willing to be his.

  Alice broke away from her sister and crossed back to him, taking Jarvis in her arms and hugging him for all she was worth. Jarvis couldn’t help but kiss her right there, in front of everyone, promising that he would love her to the end of his days and beyond. As far as he was concerned, they were all exactly where they were meant to be.

  * * *

  Okay, you may have caught one teensy little liberty I took with history if you were paying attention. Wyoming was not actually given the name ‘Wyoming’ until two years after this story takes place, in 1865, and established as a territory until 1868. But Ft. Bridger was founded in 1842 and served as a stop along the Oregon Trail and later the Pony Express, and as an important outpost in the Utah War in 1858. During the Civil War, when the regular army left to go back East, it was, in fact, manned by the California Volunteer Cavalry and Infantry, headed by Col. Patrick Edward Connor. Also, right around this time, cattle ranching in Wyoming was on the rise, and as we all know, by 1868, when the First Transcontinental Railroad came along, men like Howard Haskell—and even women like Virginia Piedmont—made lives and fortunes for themselves from Wyoming’s bounty.

  Even though Alice and Jarvis, Emma and Dean, and Aiden and Katie’s trail journey ends here in Wyoming, there are more journeys to come! The Hot on the Trail series continues in June. It’s a new year on the Oregon Trail, Pete Evans is making his final journey west as a trail boss, and boy does he have his hands full! A pack of abandoned orphans, a professional card-player who wins a mousy schoolteacher at a poker game, Lucy Haskell, who makes her aunt Virginia seem tame, an absent-minded inventor, and Callie Lewis Rye’s old maid aunt Josephine, who sets her sights on Pete himself. The next cycle starts with Trail of Redemption, the story of Graham Tremaine, a wounded soldier heading to Denver City to see his sister Lynne, and Miss Estelle Ripley, a darkly mysterious Southern beauty with a secret that could ruin her. Sparks fly on the trail. I hope you’ll come along!

  Of course, if you’d like to read more about Howard Haskell and his family and how Alice and Jarvis, Emma and Dean, Katie and Aiden fare about ten years after settling in Wyoming, be sure to check out my new The Brides of Paradise Ranch series! As a bonus, the entire series will have a spicy version and a sweet/clean version. Get started with book one, His Perfect Bride (spicy version)/Corva: The Perfect Bride (sweet version) today!

  About the Author

  I hope you have enjoyed Trail of Destiny. If you’d like to be the first to learn about when the next books in the series come out and more, please sign up for my newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/RQ-KX And remember, Read it, Review it, Share it!

  Merry Farmer is an award-winning novelist who lives in suburban Philadelphia with her two cats, Butterfly and Torpedo. She has been writing since she was ten years old and realized one day that she didn't have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of her life. She then went on to earn not one but two degrees in History so that she would always have something to write about. Her books have topped the Amazon and iBooks charts and finalled in the prestigious RONE and Rom Com Reader’s Crown awards.

  You can email her at merryfarmer20@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter @merryfarmer20.

  Merry also has a blog, http://merryfarmer.net,

  and a Facebook page, www.facebook.com/merryfarmerauthor

  Acknowledgements

  I would never be able to do what I do without the help of some fabulous people. I’d like to thank my amazing beta-readers, Keira Montclair and Margaret Brashears for their amazing suggestions and advice. I have to thank my fabulous editor, Aven Rose, once again for helping me go beyond what I thought I was capable of. And finally, where would I be without the Mistress of Badass herself, my publicist Anne Chaconas, and the whole Badass Marketing team.

  And a special thank you to the Pioneer Hearts group! Do you love Western Historical Romance? Wanna come play with us? Become a member at https://www.facebook.com/groups/pioneerhearts/

  If you enjoy the Hot on the Trail books, you’ll love Callie Hutton!

  A Prescription for Love (Oklahoma Lovers #2)

  Guthrie, Oklahoma, 1903. Betrayed by his fiancée’s infidelity eight years ago, pharmacist Michael Henderson vowed he'd never risk his heart again. But he doesn't anticipate the tug of attraction he shares with his new employee.

  Heidi Lester flees her home, determined to prove to her overprotective parents she can conquer her debilitating asthma, to make a life of her own. However, her unscrupulous fiancé has no intention of letting her go. He has his own plans for Heidi and her inheritance.

  Will a scheme to ruin Michael's family force Heidi to marry her fiancé, or will assistance arrive from a surprising source to allow her to be with the man she truly loves?

  Available now on Amazon

  Other Works by Merry Farmer

  The Noble Hearts Trilogy

  (Medieval Romance)

  The Loyal Heart, The Faithful Heart, The Courageous Heart

  Montana Romance

  (Historical Western Romance – 1890s)

  Our Little Secrets, Fool for Love, Sarah Sunshine,

  In Your Arms, The Indomitable Eve, Seeks For Her

  Somebody to Love

  Hot on the Trail

  (Oregon Trail Romance – 1860s)

  Trail of Kisses, Trail of Hope, Trail of Longing,

  Trail of Dreams, Trail of Destiny,

  Trail of Redemption, Trail of Passion,

  Trail of Aces, Trail of Chances (coming soon)

  Trail Blaze – a prequel novella

  COMING SOON: The Brides of Paradise Ranch – Spicy and Sweet Versions

  (Wyoming Western Historical Romance – 1870s)

  His Perfect Bride (spicy version)/Corva: The Perfect Bride (sweet version)

  His Dangerous Bride (spicy version)/Eden: The Dangerous Bride (sweet version)

  His Unexpected Bride (spicy version)/Wendy: The Unexpected Bride (sweet version)

  Willow: Bride of Pennsylvania (Part of the American Mail-Order Brides series)

  Second Chances

  (contemporary romance)

  Summer with a Star

  One Night with a Star

  Catch a Falling Star

  Shooting Star (coming soon)

  The Advisor (Part of The Fabulous Dalton Boys trilogy)

  New Church Inspiration

  More Precious Than Gold

  Deeper Than the Sea (coming soon)

  Grace’s Moon

  (Science Fiction)

  Saving Grace, Fallen From Grace