Chapter Five #2
Maeve nodded, though a small part of her couldn’t help but feel on edge.
Everyone had a good side, and folks were more inclined to show that first. Jed was still a stranger, someone who hadn’t the slightest inkling as to the blood, sweat, and tears that’d been poured into the Bennet ranch.
What if he was just good at playing polite?
What if he tried to take what little control she had of her family’s ranch?
‘Pa, are you an’ Ma happy I found a husband?’
Or were they both disappointed that she’d broken so easily?
“Maeve?”
Maeve blinked, focusing back on Joshua. He was giving her a quizzical smile, his free hand in mid-gesture toward Jed. She followed it, catching the startling bright green of her soon-to-be husband’s gaze. He looked as uncertain as she did, as worried as she was about their future together.
And yet, as he gingerly moved his hands to take hers, the grasp held a familiar firmness.
They felt calloused and rough, built up from a life of hardship and hard work.
Someone who, perhaps, had walked a similar path as Maeve had.
Someone who was similarly putting their trust in a complete stranger.
“I know we don’t know each other well,” Jed began, “but I promise to do all I can to help in this new life ours. Yer ranch, li’l Lila-” He glanced behind Maeve, and she followed his gaze to the chairs, where Sadie had freed the child from her makeshift sling and held her carefully in her lap.
“I promise to handle it. All of it. Whatever you need from me, I’ll do wit’out complaint.”
His grasp around her hands tightened briefly, bringing Maeve's attention back to his face. It really did look like it was shaped from stone: unflinching, difficult to read, but clearly sculpted with careful consideration.
“I-” Maeve swallowed, trying to find the right words to say. She didn’t feel ready to be so...open. So vulnerable. “I’ll hold you to it, husband.”
Jed’s expression made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
“Then, with God as our witness…” Joshua gently closed the Bible, holding it against his chest while offering them a warm smile. “I now pronounce y’all Mister and Missus Mercer.”
Sadie erupted in frantic applause, only to hastily stop as Lila grumbled groggily in her arms. Samuel made sure to clap politely in her place, and Maeve felt something deep inside her soul shift. She was no longer a Bennet. She’d lost yet another piece of her father in one fell swoop.
“You may now kiss the bride,” Joshua added.
Maeve immediately turned to Jed, completely frozen in place. It was tradition, yes, and they were legally man and wife at this point. But exchanging a kiss on the lips—something about it sent a skitter of nerves down the length of Maeve’s spine.
Jed’s face remained still, seemingly deep in contemplation. Then, he slowly eased himself toward her, placing barely a whisper of a kiss against Maeve’s cheek.
Maeve blinked, watching as her new husband quickly pulled away with a short nod. It could have been the warmth in the air, or the poor fit of his jacket, but Jed’s face looked unusually red.
‘He really ain’t got a clue,’ Maeve marveled to herself.
Sadie’s promise briefly slipped into her mind, and she wondered if the same applied to her and her new husband.
Would they be able to navigate the unknown territory of marriage together?
Or would the unknown prove to be too much for either of them?
Before she could spiral any further, Lila’s loud crying caught everyone’s attention. She flailed her limbs angrily in Sadie’s lap, her face flushed and already stained with tears as she bawled continuously.
“O-oh, gracious!” Sadie tried to bounce the fussy toddler on her knee, but to no avail. “Sorry, everyone! Sorry, Maeve! I—I shouldn’t have clapped like that. Ooh, and she was so peaceful while she was napping...”
“I suppose we should have something to eat before heading back home?” Jed asked.
Home. It struck Maeve there and then; she wasn’t going home alone after this. She had a husband, a child… A sense of claustrophobia draped itself over her shoulders, and her family’s once too-spacious cabin suddenly seemed too small.
‘This ain't a mistake...is it?’
Maeve couldn’t help but grimace at the thought.
Even if it was—even if she was reconsidering the entire arrangement—it was entirely too late.
Under God’s watchful eye, she had become Maeve Mercer.
And it wouldn’t honor His name to break that vow after having just made it.
She watched as Jed moved to take Lila out of Sadie’s arms before she rushed to the cabin while teasing Samuel about being too slow.
Fast...everything was suddenly moving so fast.
“’S a big step fer anyone to take.”
Maeve glanced beside her, uncertain as to when Joshua had joined her.
He fidgeted with the cover of his Bible, his smile softening as he watched the others make their way into his brother’s cabin.
His gaze then turned to Maeve, a mischievous glint behind his dark eyes.
“You know, it’s usually the older brother who’s supposed to get married first.”
Maeve raised a brow, feeling a bit of her old self beginning to resurface. “Joshua Wright, if we all waited fer you to get married, I’d have more white hairs then the pelt of’fa winter fox.”
Joshua laughed heartily, dropping his hand atop Maeve’s head before playfully pushing down on it. Maeve made a noise in protest, giving the older Wright a good shove against the arm.
“Sadie’ll skin y’alive if you mess up my hair!” Maeve cried out.
“Sadie’ll have to detach herself from my brother first,” Joshua pointed out.
Maeve turned back toward the house, noting how closely Sadie had pulled the younger Wright brother to her side.
“I reckon I maybe could’ve waited ‘till those two finally got together,” Maeve mused.
Joshua delicately slipped his hat back onto his head, offering Maeve a genuine grin. “I’m real glad you didn’t, though. Knowing someone like Jed’s keeping you safe at home...it really does my mind good, Maevey.”
Maeve managed a smile of her own. Then, taking Joshua’s arm, she allowed the sheriff to escort her to her first proper meal as Mrs. Mercer.