Page 20 of The Blacksmith in My Tavern: Tales of Bleakness

She cups my cheeks, her eyes searching mine.

Then she grins, that perfect, saucy grin. “Pa!” she calls. “Pa, I’m getting married!”

Another cheer goes up.

Epilogue

Betsy

We wed a few days after Heath’s proposal with my father and all my friends from the tavern in attendance. Soon after, he completed the sales of his workshop and business, and we set sail, bound for Hydornia and my husband’s former home.

Husband.

How I love the sound of that. How I love the man who is warm and patient and who rocks my world of a night. Every day, I learn new reasons to cherish the man who, as I discovered that fateful day, left his home and sacrificed everything to protect his wife and their son. He already had ties with the rebellion, and in exchange for the death of those who persecuted his wife, he agreed to relocate to Bleakness and fight for the cause in secret there.

It was only meant to be for a few years.

Then his wife died. Everything changed, and he found his purpose in raising his son and supporting the rebellion who hadhelped them in their hour of need… As if I did not already know he was a good man.

Who deserves happiness in this life, and who makes me happy in return.

Only now, as we leave the port on horseback, our destination, his childhood village, do I appreciate how it must have devastated him to leave this bountiful land with green forests and cheerful communities. After the bleak streets of Bleakness, a place that barely lumbers out of winter and exists under the shroud of Blighten control, Hydornia is like stepping into a vivid dream.

Then, we arrive at Blue Bell. The name is as lovely as the village itself, nestled among forests on either side of the River Bell, high street with shops, a tavern, and a church. As we ride down the high street, I see his joy. He points out changes and familiar things. Ahead is an open workshop, the clanging of a blacksmith hammer.

He grins and shares a look with me.

“Is that where you grew up?” I ask.

“Aye,” he says. “It is. The bakery, two doors down, always made the best beef pies. I wonder if they still make them?”

His happiness is infectious. Time has passed, and the reasons he was forced to leave have likewise disappeared. He is free.

The Foresters Arms is opposite the village green.

“We’ll stop here,” Heath says. “Take lodgings while we find our feet.”

We pull our horses up into the stables out the back. A young lad comes and takes the horses for a coin. And then we step inside the tavern. With its dark wood walls, glistening bar, shiny pumps, and neatly set tables and chairs, it is a little worn but homely. Being early, there are only a few patrons here yet.

The proprietor is friendly and remembers Heath and his late father. Callum, my dear friend Ada, and the shifter, Gray, livenot far away, he informs us, and have mated for life. “Aye, quite a to-do going on in the pack community,” he says, warming to the gossip. “Your pa’s old workshop is still thriving, but happen they don’t need a blacksmith. Are you looking for work?”

“Aye,” Heath says. “But a home is first order.” He wraps his arm around me and smiles down at me. “Betsy is with child. Due in the spring.”

“Congratulations,” the proprietor says, smiling. “Aye, pity, you are not looking to buy a tavern.”

My eyes flash to Heath.

He chuckles.

The proprietor looks between us, clearly confused.

“As it happens,” Heath says, taking my hand in his and squeezing it gently. “I have a bit of coin gathered over the years. I sold the workshop I had in the city. Betsy, here, has lived all her life in a tavern. Her father is a proprietor of one… and well, she might have mentioned a time or three how it has always been her dream to have a tavern of her own.”

I can scarcely breathe. It feels almost too good to be true.

“Well, this is fate!” the proprietor exclaims. “My daughter has been nagging me to go and stay with her. She and her husband have space for me and a brood of kids I’d like to see more of. Lost my wife ten years ago, and it would make me happy to spend more time with them. I’ll set a fair price. It’s been a bit of a bother, to be honest with you, looking after it now I’m getting on.”

We get down to negotiating then and there.

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