Lucy
Years Later

Time moves differently in Perish Prosper. I feel like I’ve lived three lifetimes since I moved here. Yet I never have enough time with the ones I love, despite spending most of my days with them. I guess you could say I’m greedy for every second. 

“Momma, when does festival begin?” Little Knox shouts. 

“Tomorrow, baby.” I smooth his dark brown hair. He looks so much like his father, but there’s a touch of me in him. “Today we have to mind the animals in the petting zoo.”

“I already fed them and took the eggs,” he says confidently. “You’re going to have to milk them, though. Old Goat Ester gets real prickly when you’re late.”

“That she does.”

In the small boutique area we opened in Motel Wither, we’ve started selling things made at the hotel, and goat soap is a huge seller. Local honey also sells well, but I leave Dale to tend to that. 

The air is frosty, and I pull my scarf up to take the icy edge off. Winter is beautiful in Perish Prosper, but it gets a little nippy at times. 

I pull over the milking stool and get to work, my bulging belly causing me to have to widen my legs. 

“Hey there, pretty lady,” Dale calls over the fence, leaning into it. He’s still just as handsome as he was when I first met him, even with a little gray at his temples. 

“How’d breakfast go?”

“People complaining of belly aches while coming up for third helpings,” Dale brags. “Same as always.”

He always says he only knows a few recipes, but consistently knocks people’s socks off with his homemade meals. 

“You need to stop cooking so good or we’re going to have to charge more for the buffet.”

“About that, the Prospers have a lot of cast and crew for that show they’re filming, and they were wondering if I could cater lunch a few times a week.”

“Will it be too much for you to handle?”

“Shouldn’t be, and with the amount they’re offering to pay for the service, I should be able to hire on extra help when needed.”

“Sounds promising.”

I finish filling the pail, and exit the pen, storing the milk in an outside refrigerator. 

“You need to make some of that honey goat milk ice cream again. Karmen’s been craving it, and you know how she gets. We won’t know a moment of peace until it’s delivered to her door.”

“Then you’d better buy me another goat.”

“Done.”

“Daddy’s going to buy another goat!” Knox enthuses, bouncing on his toes. 

“How about I get two goats—” Dale starts. 

I cut in. “But only if Little Knox agrees to care for them.”

“I’ll feed them, brush them, give them treats.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “And what about the goat poop?” 

Knox’s eyes dart to Dale. “Daddy will take care of the goat poop.”

Dale’s brow raises. “Will I?”

“I can ask Auntie Ellie too,” Knox offers.

Dale and I burst into laughter, imagining the fit Ellie would throw. 

“Oh, I’m sure she’d love to help,” I tell him. “You should ask her.”

Little Knox frowns. “The guests can do it. Like they do during festival.”

Several times a year, we host camps for children, and they take up the chores. The parents love when we have them do the gross ones. The kids love it too. 

We head inside to where a dozen children have gathered in the common room, early for the lesson they have scheduled. 

Little Knox loves helping with the lessons, and the kids love that he dresses up like a little cowboy. 

Tess, who runs the town daycare, pulls into the driveway. Her husband Randy works with the Prospers, and they’re like family to us. Always offering to help with Little Knox when we need it. 

“I just thought I’d drop off the new coupon books for your guests,” she says, handing over a canvas bag. Frankie stands a few paces behind her, acting shy. 

Several of the ‘hens’ put together discounts to encourage spending, and it’s worked well. Just about every shop in Perish Prosper is included in it, and since it’s been created, we’ve seen a ten percent increase in tourist spending. 

Tess and I hug, and I turn to Frankie. “Would you like to walk through the petting zoo?”

He looks at Tess. “Please?” 

“Of course.”

They see themselves as I ready the coupon books, placing them in the welcome bags guests get. 

My phone buzzes with a text. I open the box and see a picture of Knox’s new baby. I heart the picture, sending him all my love. 

My heart warms at the thought of new life. Of new people to love. Carlton just had his first, and Donald might have gotten his girlfriend pregnant, though it hasn’t officially been announced. 

Needless to say, Papa Wither is thrilled, even if he is several behind Papa Prosper. 

After Dale and Little Knox are done with the kids, we bundle up and go for a walk. 

Detroit never made snow look this beautiful, and I find myself stopping often to take in the view. 

The snow crunches beneath our boots as we make our way down a hill. Dale’s gloved hand finds mine, giving it a tight squeeze. 

“Have you made your Christmas list yet?” Dale asks. 

“Christmas?” I count down the days in my head, realizing there’s only twelve left. “It really snuck up on us this year, didn’t it?”

Dale laughs. “Snuck up? We put the tree at home up right after Thanksgiving, and the one in the motel a week after that?”

I giggle. “I guess I just have baby brain.”

“Wouldn’t be the only time,” he teases. 

We stop for a time, and Dale helps Little Knox build a snowman. Watching them together, their ear-to-ear grins, their laughter, fills me with peace. 

We make it back before the dinner crowd arrives and fall into the same rhythm we do most nights. It’s calm, comforting. 

The night manager arrives, and we walk the short distance home, to our sanctuary. 

I read Little Knox a story while Dale does some tidying. Afterward, we sit down in front of the fire with mugs of hot cocoa. 

“Expect Papa to go all out this Christmas,” Dale says. “He’s over the moon about the new baby.”

“Then I hope the fact that there are two doesn’t give him a heart attack.”

He arches a brow. “Pardon?”

“Clint heard two heartbeats. I still have to confirm with a real doctor, but Clint knows his way around this sort of thing.”

Dale shoves his fingers through his hair. “Dad’s gonna rub this in Papa Prosper’s face—it could start a new family rivalry.”

I giggle. “I think your siblings are going to have to work a little harder before we’re in any danger of that.”

Outside, snow drifts lazily past the window, and I’m reminded of our time spent in that cabin, years ago. The place that set us free. And I know with absolute certainty that for as long as I live, I have a protector—a guardian who will do anything to protect his kin. 

And God help anyone who ever threatens what’s his.

The End

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