The Christmas Groom’s Secret Past – Extended Epilogue

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December 15, 18

Two weeks to Christmas and the evening was perfect. Snow had begun to fall just after dusk, soft and slow, drifting like feathers shaken loose from heaven. Anna stood near the parlor window of the farmhouse, one hand braced on the sill, the other resting over the gentle swell of her belly. She was larger than she had ever been in her life, but Tyler swore every day that she had never looked more beautiful. She took his praise with a skeptical tilt of her head, but tonight she let herself believe him just a little. It was Christmas Eve, the lamps were glowing warmly, the hearth crackled, and her world, after so many dark years, felt full of light.

Behind her came the hum of comfortable voices. Rebecca and Abe seated together on the settee, heads bent close, fingers twined; Margaret by the fireplace, finishing the last stitches on a small blanket she insisted Anna would need “any day now.” The smell of cinnamon and roasted ham still clung to the air from supper, mingling with pine from the garland draped along the mantel. The house felt alive, full, not merely with sound but with peace.

Christmas. For the first time, Anna wasn’t bracing herself for it.

She closed her eyes briefly and exhaled, letting the warmth of the room seep into her bones. She had loved her father dearly, but the holidays after her mother’s passing had always been complicated as they had battled their grief and loss. But this year, the ache did not sting. It had softened, sweetened by the knowledge that her father would have been proud. He would have adored Tyler. He would have doted on Anna Belle. He would have kissed Anna’s forehead and told her he was grateful she had finally found a home where she was loved just the way she was.

She pressed a hand more firmly to her belly. “He’d be so happy,” she whispered to the window, to the falling snow, to the tiny life moving within her.

Arms slid around her waist, warm and familiar, and she relaxed instantly into Tyler’s embrace.

“You’re supposed to be sitting down,” he murmured against her temple.

“I will,” she answered, leaning back against him. “I just needed a moment.”

He hummed softly, hands spreading over the curve of their child. “Baby’s busy tonight.”

“He or she is excited,” she said quietly. “It’s Christmas.”

Tyler laughed under his breath. “Or hungry again already. Either’s just as likely.”

Anna turned her head to give him a playful look, and he kissed her cheek before guiding her toward the dining table where the others had gathered. Anna let herself be lowered into her chair, the cushion soft beneath her aching back. Rebecca rose immediately and fetched an extra pillow, tucking it behind her with sisterly insistence.

“You’ll thank me later,” Rebecca said, patting the pillow as though it were a child itself.

“I already thank you,” Anna replied with a smile.

Abe lifted his mug of cider. “To Christmas,” he declared.

“To Christmas,” everyone echoed, glasses and mugs clinking.

To family, Anna thought silently. To peace. To starting fresh.

Anna Belle climbed onto the chair beside her, legs swinging, a ribbon still slipping loose from her curls. She had grown so much. She had gained color in her cheeks, joy in her eyes, a sturdiness in her stance. Safety had transformed her; love had anchored her.

Anna touched her daughter’s shoulder gently. Daughter. The word still warmed her as much as the fire in the hearth.

“Did you like the ham?” Anna asked her.

Anna Belle nodded enthusiastically. “It was even better’n last year.”

“That’s because Tyler didn’t nearly burn it this time,” Margaret said dryly from across the table.

Tyler put a hand to his chest. “I’ll have you know I have become a very respectable cook.”

Rebecca snorted. Abe coughed to cover his grin. Anna hid her smile behind her mug.

The conversation drifted from food to gifting traditions to winter memories. The familiarity of it all—of shared stories and teasing and warmth—wrapped around Anna like another blanket. She listened more than she spoke, her thoughts content to wander.

She thought of the past year: the wedding, the first months of marriage, filled with laughter and learning; Anna Belle’s adoption becoming official, the signing of papers marked with tears and celebration, Rebecca and Abe’s summer wedding, the most joyfully chaotic event the territory had ever seen, the discovery in early autumn that Anna was carrying a child.

Her life had been reshaped again and again, each time into something better.

She was pulled from her thoughts when Tyler leaned toward her. “Thinking mighty hard over there,” he murmured.

“Just remembering,” she said softly. “Everything. How far we’ve come.”

Tyler’s expression gentled. “A long way from the scared young woman who rode hard and saved my life.”

“A long way from the man who wanted nothing to do with people,” she countered lightly.

He huffed a laugh. “Maybe so.”

Her gaze lowered to their joined hands, her thumb brushing over the callouses on his knuckles. “It’s been a good year.”

“One of the best,” he agreed.

“And next year…” She swallowed, emotion unexpectedly tightening her throat. “Next year we’ll have a child.”

Tyler rested his hand on her belly, eyes softening with quiet hope. “If it’s a boy,” he said, voice low, “I’d like to name him after Wes.”

Anna felt her heart swell. She had never met the man who had been Tyler’s partner, but she had felt the grief of his loss woven into Tyler’s story, into the bones of the man he’d become.

“I think that’s perfect,” she whispered. “Wes,” she tasted the name on her tongue, trying it out in its new shape, and found that she liked it very much.

Across the room, Margaret glanced up from her knitting. “Speaking of perfect…” she said, arching a brow. “I believe we’re due for the weekly update on George’s misfortunes.” She grinned over the rim of her mug. “I know Tyler got a letter.”

Tyler groaned. “I can’t even have one quiet Christmas without that fool’s name coming up?”

“That fool,” Abe corrected dryly, “tried to escape again.”

Anna’s eyebrows rose. “Again?”

Rebecca nodded with dramatic exasperation. “Apparently he charmed one of the kitchen helpers into sneaking him a key.”

“He’s always had that effect on women,” Tyler said, rolling his eyes. “Got him plenty of trouble back in the day. Guess that hasn’t changed.”

Rebecca snorted. “Well, it surely fooled Margaret.”

Margaret, sitting primly, flushed a deep shade of pink. “I told you, I learned my lesson,” she muttered. “I will never—ever—trust a smooth talker again.”

Rebecca leaned across the table. “Good. Because the only thing George is charming is time off his life. I heard they added years to his sentence for the escape attempt.”

“Deservedly,” Abe added.

The room hummed with nods and agreement. Anna felt no fear at the mention of the man anymore, only distance, like remembering a nightmare that could never touch her again. Their lives were far removed from those days now.

The warmth of conversation continued, laughter rising and falling in pleasant rhythms. After everyone took a slice of Rebecca’s spiced apple pie for dessert, Anna Belle climbed onto Anna’s lap carefully, mindful of her round belly. She tucked her head beneath Anna’s chin, still holding the small wooden horse Tyler had carved for her early in the evening.

“Sleepy?” Anna asked.

“A little.” The child hesitated, fingers tightening around the toy. Then, almost too quietly to hear: “Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?”

Anna leaned in closer. “Just between me and you, I think it’s a boy.”

Anna Belle grinned. “I think so too. I can’t wait to have a little brother.”

“You’re going to make an excellent big sister, whether it’s a boy or a girl.” Anna said, and she knew that she was right. 

The moment lingered sweetly until Rebecca cleared her throat and stood, tugging Abe up with her.

“We have an announcement,” she said, her voice bright with barely contained excitement.

Anna blinked, brushing a tear away. “Another one? I thought the escape attempt was enough news for one night.”

“This is better,” Rebecca said, glowing. She took Abe’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “We’re expecting.”

For a beat, the room was silent. Then overwhelming joy broke over the room like a wave.

Anna gasped, her free hand flying to her mouth. Abe’s grin was wide and unabashed, pride radiating from him like sunlight. Rebecca’s cheeks were flushed, eyes bright with happiness.

“Oh, Rebecca,” Anna breathed. “That’s wonderful!”

“It is,” Rebecca agreed, laughter in her voice. “We’re thrilled. And I thought—well—our children will grow up together. Just like we did.”

Anna Belle sat up a little, still tucked against Anna’s side. “Like best friends?”

“Exactly like that,” Rebecca said warmly.

Abe ruffled the girl’s hair. “Best friends, and partners in mischief, mark my words.”

The room erupted with laughter again. Anna felt her heart expand until it nearly hurt, so much love in one place, so much hope. After a lifetime of uncertainty and fear, she was surrounded by a future she never could have dreamed of.

The night drifted into a gentle close. Margaret packed away her knitting and bundled herself into her shawl. Abe and Rebecca helped tidy the dishes despite Anna’s protests. Tyler carried Anna Belle, who had fallen fully asleep in his arms, down the hall to her room, and Anna followed slowly, one hand on the wall, the other on her belly.

They tucked the little girl under her quilt, and Anna leaned down to brush a curl off her forehead. “Goodnight, sweetheart,” she whispered.

Tyler rested a hand on Anna Belle’s back, his expression tender. Then he stepped back and looked at Anna in the soft lamplight, his gaze drifting to her belly, then to her face.

“Happy?” he asked quietly.

Anna nodded, tears pricking once again. “More than I ever thought possible.”

Tyler cupped her cheek gently, brushing her skin with his thumb. “Me too.”

They stood together for a long moment, listening to the distant crackle of the hearth, the soft breathing of their daughter, and the quiet hush of snow falling beyond the window.

Their home. Their family. Their future.

Anna reached for Tyler’s hand.

“Let’s go,” she whispered. “I want to sit with you by the fire.”

He smiled. “You got it.”

They moved down the hall hand in hand, the warm glow of the hearth waiting for them, steady, bright, and full of promise.

For the first time in her life, Anna truly felt the world settle into place. And as she leaned against Tyler on the sofa, feeling their child shift within her and hearing the muffled laughter of loved ones saying their goodbyes, she knew one thing with absolute certainty:

This was the life she had always meant to find.

And she was finally living it.

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OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 5 FREEBIES FOR YOU!

Grab my new series, "Hearts Across the Frontier", and get 5 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!

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