Epilogue
Elle
About A Year Later
“You’re overrun by girls,” my mother giggled as she greeted me with a gentle side hug, careful not to smoosh the baby attached to my chest.
Jeremiah had Amelia and Grace, and I had baby Charlotte. We were the proud parents of three adorable little girls. Amelia and Grace were growing so fast at two months past their first birthday. Charlotte was not much older than when I came into the twins’ lives. It was almost like having triplets at times, and we certainly had our hands full.
But our hearts were just as full.
Jeremiah had a girl on each hip, but my mother took Charlotte from me, coddling and cooing. She treated all three girls like her granddaughters, and as far as we were concerned, they were our family. They called me mama, and I loved them as much I did my own. One day they would learn about Lauren, when they were old enough. Because even though I didn’t like the woman very much, in the end, she did the right thing for everyone. She did what was right for her babies, even though it cost her her life.
I took Amelia from Jeremiah, and he wrapped his free arm around my waist, dotting a kiss on my forehead as he held me close.
“Mayor Schaeffer, are you ready to go on?” a young staffer asked me.
“Oh, yes, of course,” I said, handing Amelia back to her father. She reached for me, wanting me to continue holding her.
“Mama.”
“I’ll be right back, sweetie. Mama has to go talk to these fine people.”
I kissed the tip of her nose and made sure all my girls were fine before heading up to the podium.
I was dedicating a large section of Liberty land at the base and in the mountains as a city park. I was also announcing our conservation efforts to keep the lands pristine and untouched – one of the main points I ran on with my election.
I stepped up to the podium and saw my family smiling back at me.
Josie was there with her husband Cyrus and their children. Other familiar faces too. Piper and Grant, with their little family. Lucy, who had once been my assistant editor and now ran the paper. I’d left her in charge, since being mayor and mother was hard enough. And so no one could accuse me of being biased in my own campaign, not that I had anyone running against me since George Holt was in prison. Felicity was off by herself, near the back, standing outside the doors of her diner. Her property butted up against the new city park land, and she was one of my biggest supporters.
We all loved this town, and now I was in charge of protecting it.
For my family and all of theirs.
My speech was fairly brief, talking about the initiatives we had planned along with conservation efforts and activities we would bring to Liberty.
I ended the speech with, “I’m dedicated to protecting Liberty, the town we’ve all lived in and loved. I grew up here, I came back here, and I intend to stay for the rest of my life. I will raise my children here, and while I will support economic growth and development for the small businesses that make our town so special, I will never let that tarnish the beautiful town we call home.”
The applause was deafening, and I could see my baby girl starting to fuss from all the noise. I was mayor, but I was also a mom and my family would always come first. They were the reason I discovered my new passion: politics.
I hurried from the stage and scooped Charlotte into my arms, and as soon as she was with her mother, she quieted down.
“She has the magic touch,” Jeremiah said with a wink to my mom.
“That she does.”
My speech might have been over, but the event was just getting started. People from outside Liberty had also come out to the event, journalists from other parts of Utah and even national papers too.
I’d made a name for myself. Not only from running for mayor, but publishing an article, and later a book, about the Holts and the entire case and how an innocent man had almost gone to prison. It was a cautionary tale for other towns that might be blinded by the money.
And it was a best-seller all over the world.
I’d peaked with my writing career, in my opinion. I turned down offers from People and Time to write for them – turning my attention to being more active in politics, no longer content to be just a passive observer and reporter.
And this was only the beginning for me.
Jeremiah stood back with Amelia and Grace, and my mom had taken Charlotte as I talked to the press, keeping them out of the public eye. That was something we agreed upon, and I made it clear to anyone who wanted to talk to me – my daughters were off-limits for photos.
I answered a few questions, then excused myself to spend the rest of the time with my family. Being in the public eye was exhausting, but I was better suited for it than Jeremiah.
“It’s clear we’ve made the right choice in who ran for office,” Jeremiah whispered into my ear.
I chuckled. “Damn straight we did.”
Jeremiah was still working, but only when he wanted to. We had a nanny part-time, but mostly we raised our kids ourselves. Jeremiah worked from home a lot, and he seemed to like caring for the girls himself. I was home as much as I could be, making sure I never neglected my family for my career. Liberty was a town that understood family came first; it was never an issue. I was almost always home for dinner, and I would always put the girls to bed with Jeremiah. Some things were non-negotiable.
Jeremiah enjoyed building things again. He worked with Kellen and Grant, and they had a woodworking business making cabinets and furniture and whatnot. It made him happy. Happier than working as the mayor.
Jeremiah captured my attention by brushing against me since his hands were full of almost toddlers. “Come here, I want to show you something.”
We slipped away from the prying eyes of the press and the people, behind some trees and near the small stream that ran down from the mountains. Somehow, Jeremiah had found a private little alcove, a piece of Heaven.
“This is beautiful,” I said, walking over to the stream. “Look at this, Char.”
I turned the baby so she could see the stream, her little eyes taking it all in.
“That’s not what I wanted to show you,” Jeremiah said from behind me.
“Then what-” I turned around.
Amelia and Grace each held piece of paper in their tiny little hands. The two combined spelled out, “Will you marry our daddy?”
My heart nearly exploded in my chest. Jeremiah and I had talked about marriage someday. Life had just been so crazy that it kept getting put off.
He held up a box .
“Are you- Really?” I felt like a teenage girl. My knees went weak and I felt like this had to be a dream.
“Of course, Elle,” he said. “You’re the most beautiful woman, inside and out. You accomplish everything you set your mind to, and I’m so proud of you. We have a beautiful family, and even though we technically live like husband and wife, I thought it was high time we made it official. So what do you say? Will you marry me?”
Tears filled my eyes, and I rushed over to him. I stopped as he opened the ring box. My mother’s engagement ring. He’d gotten permission from my mother, and she’d given him the ring my father had given to her. The ring that had been on her hand for as long as I can remember.
If I hadn’t been crying before, I was now. Full on sobs, but they were tears of happiness. Complete and utter joy.
Jeremiah slipped the ring on my shaky finger. “So is that a yes?”
All this excitement, and I had forgotten to answer him. “Of course,” I said, sniffling as I saw the diamond glistening on my hand. “I mean, yes. Of course I’ll marry you.”
We hugged as best we could with three babies, and Amelia and Grace even got into the act. They might not understand the meaning behind it yet, but they could sense our excitement. Grace tried to eat the paper with the engagement on it, which I had to carefully pry it from her hands. But that was life with three kids under the age of two.
It was wild and crazy sometimes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The End