Hope's Heart

Chapter Thirteen: Epilogue

A/N: The last chapter! I just want to say thank you to everyone who read, voted, followed, and reviewed this story; you've all helped me tremendously. Thank you so much!

Chapter Thirteen

All my love,

Hope

Hope finished writing and put her pen down, looking out the window of the boarding-house. It seemed like years had passed since the dramatic near-gunfight on Main Street, but in fact it had only been a few days since the Carson brothers had been tried for murder and robbery by the circuit judge and taken to the Fort Laramie prison. Calvin had ridden shotgun on the stagecoach as a guard as per request of Sheriff Wyatt. Even though the two men would probably never see eye to eye, there seemed to be a fragile truce between them for the moment.

Hope sighed. Even though she had mostly recovered from being held hostage, the fact that Calvin had barely spoken to her since the attack was worrying her. He hadn't been round to Nellie's since the day of the gunfight, and she had almost not seen him at all since he'd come back from delivering the Carson brothers to Fort Laramie. It was frustrating and worrying in the extreme.

Pushing her anxiousness to the back of her mind, Hope folded up her letter and slid it into the envelope. After quickly writing down the address, she headed downstairs and out onto the main street where the stagecoach was preparing to leave.

"Got anything to send, ma'am?" The driver asked as she came up. He was a kid, barely twenty years old, with excitement in his eyes and only a shade of a moustache on his upper lip. 

Hope held out the letter and he took it. "Godspeed," she called.

He smiled and tipped his hat. " Likewise, ma'am. See you next month!" With one more call of "All aboard!" the stagecoach dashed off, raising a cloud of dust worthy of a tornado in the street.

Hope turned, ready to walk back to the boarding-house, when she caught sight of a familiar figure walking down the street. "Calvin!" she called.

He turned, a slight smile on his face as she came up. "Afternoon, Hope."

She stared up at him. "I haven't seen you in a while. Are you alright?" Her dark eyes were concerned.

Calvin nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just tired, I guess." He glanced at her. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

She nodded. "Sure."

They walked on in silence, heading towards the meadow that fringed the church, but stopped on the bridge that crossed the small brook that led out of town. Hope turned to Calvin, but when he said nothing, she spoke.

"I wrote a letter to Adam's parents today." She smiled. "I figure they've worried about me enough, and besides, Maggie deserves to know her grandparents."

Calvin was silent. 

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Hope asked.

There was a silence, and then he turned. "I'm sorry, Hope."

She frowned. "For what?"

"For bringin' you into all of this. For gettin' you held by the Carson gang. I'm sorry."

"Calvin--" 

"If I'd never made that shot the day the stagecoach was bein' robbed, you wouldn't have gotten into trouble. If I'd--"

"Calvin!" Hope's voice rose, cutting him off.

She stepped closer to him, her eyes serious. "If you hadn't killed the leader of the Carson gang that day, Maggie and I would probably be dead. I would never have come to Sweetwater, never met Nellie and Angel and Luc---never met you. You have nothing to be sorry for. I know I'm not."

"Why?" Calvin asked. "For all you know, you could've been in Montana by now, married to some big shot rancher with acres of land." There was a slight teasing note in his voice.

Hope smiled. "That's never going to happen."

"Why not?"

She stared at him. "Because I love you."

Calvin stared back, the words slowly sinking in. I love you. Joy bloomed in his chest and he couldn't help but smile. "Is that true?"

She nodded. "As true as it's ever been."

"Then in that case, Mrs McClellen," his dark blue eyes were sparkling, "I love you too." 

And then he kissed her.

~

A/N: It's over! I know this probably seems like an abrupt ending, but this is what I wanted for Calvin and Hope and I hope you like it :) This story's been a real roller-coaster for me, but I've enjoyed every moment, and I will be back with more!

Signing off (for now),

Cassie xoxo