A HOME FOR THE HUNTER

  "Great idea." She yawned. "Now please. Rest." He kissed the crown of her head. "Shh. All right."

  At the foot of the bed, Buzz lay purring. Jack Roper, home at last, closed his eyes and went to sleep.

  * * *

  Epilogue

  « ^

  Jack and Olivia were married in Las Vegas the next day. When they called to tell the family about it, they learned that Eden Jones had delivered a baby girl, Sally Louise.

  In the following spring Regina Jones had a daughter. They named her Anthea Jane.

  Also in the spring, the calico cat that Olivia had befriended produced four kittens. Two of them bore a startling resemblance to Buzz.

  The Hole in the Wall and the Mercantile Grill reopened eighteen months after the fire. Six months after that, Olivia became head chef there.

  Jack found a job at the local sheriff's station as a deputy. When the county sheriff retired, Jack ran for his job and won.

  At one hundred and three years old Oggie Jones was interviewed by a reporter from the Sacramento Bee.

  "To what do you attribute your long life, Mr. Jones?" the reporter inquired at the end of the interview.

  "Fortitude, orneriness and having known the love of a good woman—not necessarily in that order. Anythin' else you want to know?"

  "No, Mr. Jones," the reporter replied. "I think that just about says it all."

  * * * * *