Happily Ever After
“Now class, repeat your sums as they are written on the board,” Mrs. Hope Lawless instructed as she stood in front of her class of twenty-five students. The students answered in unison, and she smiled proudly at them as they read off the addition problems in loud, clear voices.
It had been almost a year since she and Judah had married and moved to Morganville, Kansas, and while it hadn’t been easy for either one of them to say goodbye to the children, it had been for the better. Now that he was gone, the Pembrokes had been welcomed back into the community, and Anna had taken over as the schoolteacher. Ginny wrote Hope once a week, and she was still excelling at her lessons because Anna was an exceptional teacher—though Ginny insisted not as good as Miss Tucker.
Anna had sent an invitation to Hope asking her to attend her wedding to Brady, but Hope hadn’t taken her up on the offer. Since Mr. Canton had won the school board president election, Anna was allowed to marry and keep her position. Of course, Mr. Stewart had remained superintendent of schools, which was contentious for everyone, but he seemed to accept Anna Wilcox Howard much better than he ever had Hope, likely because of her family’s influence in town. From all accounts, the school was doing quite well. As for the Howards, Nita had written to Hope, and they were on friendly terms again now, but if she went the rest of her life without seeing Doc or Brady again, that would be fine with Hope. It was a shame the situation had ended up the way it had, but Hope had learned some important lessons from both of Nita’s sons, lessons that were sure to stay with her for some time to come.
The house Judah built for Hope in Morganville was far larger and more elaborate than anything she’d ever dreamt of, but then, she hoped one day they’d fill it with children, and then it would make sense for it to be so big she had to holler at him from the kitchen if he was in the front of the house. He was busy putting up all sorts of buildings around their thriving town without a worry at all about what rumors might be spread about him. Folks here knew nothing of his past, but Hope had a feeling even if they did, there wouldn’t be any speculation of fault on his part without Paul and his need to lay blame where none was due. She prayed for Paul Pembroke every night, hoping he’d find some solace in his sister’s memory and leave his bitterness behind. Now that Judah wasn’t there as a constant reminder, there was chance Paul might finally find some peace.
It had been difficult saying goodbye to her parents again, but they were much closer in proximity now than they were when she was in Texas, and she’d traveled back home for her sister’s wedding and planned to go back at Christmastime. Maybe by then she’d have some news to tell her folks, and they’d be a step closer toward filling that large house.
Her students finished with their arithmetic just as it was time for dismissal. “All right, class. That’s all for today. Please make sure to practice your reading tonight, and if I’ve assigned you mathematics homework, please make sure you do that as well. I shall see you on Monday!”
Her students all rose from their seats and went about gathering their belongings, the older ones helping the younger ones into their coats as it was a chilly fall day. Hope waited for the last one to go and then began to straighten up her classroom, feeling blessed to have such wonderful students to teach. No matter what schoolhouse she found herself in, all of her students worked their way into her heart.
She’d just finished sweeping the floor and gathering up her books and lunch pail when a familiar sound caught her attention, and she couldn’t help but smile. A beautiful melody sailed in through the autumn air, and she began to sing along as he hummed. “I’ll twine ‘mid the ringlets of my raven black hair....”
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Lawless,” Judah said, pausing his song as he stepped through the door.
Despite being his wife for over a year now, he still took her breath away, and the twinkle in his blue eyes let her know he still felt the same. “Good afternoon, Mr. Lawless. How is the construction site today?”
“Busy as ever. But I am done for the day, and ready to take you home for the weekend. I thought maybe we could do some apple picking tomorrow, maybe go for a horseback ride....” He moved closer to her, and Hope left her items on her desk and went to meet him.
“That sounds lovely. So long as I’m with you.”
“Well, I had planned on accompanying you, if you don’t mind.”
“No, I don’t mind at all,” Hope replied as his arms wrapped around her. His breath was warm on her face, and she bit her lip, eager to have his mouth on hers.
“Good, ‘cause you can’t get rid of me now, Mrs. Lawless, no matter how hard you try.”
“Good, ‘cause I ain’t tryin’ to, “ she replied, and Judah brought his lips down to hers, taking every last trace of her breath. She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning into him. When he finally released her, they both smiled, thankful just to be together.
Judah began to sing again, twirling her around the front of the classroom, occasionally bumping into the students’ desks, and Hope laughed, singing along in her high soprano. Following her dreams of adventure in the frontier hadn’t been easy, but they’d led her here, and as her beloved spun her around in his strong arms, Hope was certain there was nowhere else in the world she’d rather be.
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