Chapter Eleven #2
“Nah. Ain’t no use if only one of us sleeps. Besides,” Maeve added with a teasing smirk, “how we know she ain’t gonna start crying the minute I leave?”
Jed immediately sat up. “I’ll take a cup, if ye’re already making a pot.”
***
“I don’t really remember the name we gave the town no more,” Jed explained, sitting in her father’s armchair with his cup in hand. “I just remember it were somewhere down south.”
“Still in Wyoming, right?” Maeve asked
Jed nodded, taking a swig of his tea before wrinkling his nose. Maeve hid her smile, certain he’d just scalded his tongue.
“Pretty sure it ain’t there no more,” Jed continued. “So something temporary, I bet.” He paused, glancing Maeve’s way with a curious frown. “You grew up here in this house, didn’t you? Did you ever travel anywhere with your folks?”
Maeve’s fingers tightened around her teacup.
She glanced Lila’s way, who was happily sitting on the living room floor with her blanket in one hand and a spoon in the other.
She really had become an anchor for Maeve, something to look toward when she felt herself beginning to spiral out of control.
The way Lila excitedly grasped at life was...
inspiring. It made Maeve want to fully embrace it as much as the little had.
That meant being more open and honest with Jed.
Being more open and honest with herself, and about her true feelings.
“There...weren’t really a chance fer traveling. Pa and I always had to stay close to the ranch, make sure we made enough to make it through the year.”
Jed’s expression softened. “This place ’s real important to you, ain’t it?
Now it was Maeve’s turn to nod. “It’s funny, thinking back. Right now’s the fullest this house has ever been, but it never felt that way when it were just Pa and me. He had a presence about him. If we could hold our souls in our hands, I’m sure his would’ve been like a blazing fire.”
The feelings she’d been repressing for months were finally working their way free. Maeve now found herself unable to stop herself from talking. “I...I never thought a place could feel so lonely. It were just him and me, but when he died...”
A cold shudder ran down her spine.
“I dunno. It...just struck me, there and then.”
She shook her head, trying to brighten her voice. “I know he’s up in Heaven with my Ma, and probably happier for it. And they’re watching me now, and—and I’m hoping they’re not too disappointed in what they see.”
Maeve blinked, suddenly aware that Jed was sitting on the couch beside her. When had he moved from the armchair?
“I think they both must miss you something awful, Maeve.”
Maeve blinked furiously. When had her eyes begun to sting so much?
“And, given what I heard about yer Pa,” Jed went on, “I reckon he’s awful proud of what you did on yer own.”
Was he? Truly? The thought had weighed heavily on Maeve’s mind, but this was the first time she really noticed it.
Her father’s approval... Yes, she’d spend all her life working to earn and maintain it.
They’d built up the herd and tended to the land together, and the realization that she’d be doing it alone, without his guidance anymore, soured the tea in her stomach.
But then she looked to Jed, whose expression radiated a sense of warmth and pride she hadn’t ever seen from her father. He genuinely believed she’d done wonders with her family’s ranch...and every fiber of her wanted to believe in that, too.
“I’ll tell you what, though,” Jed started. “When we get a bit more settled ourselves, you wanna plan a getaway?”
Maeve gave him a bemused look, desperately wiping her eyes so as to not break down in tears. “And where would you wanna ride?”
“Anywhere outside Bighorn,” Jed said. “It ain‘t right, living a whole life without seeing as much as it has to offer.”
Maeve lifted her cup, rolling the proposal around in her head.
It seemed like such a distant dream, and maybe in the past she would have scoffed at such lofty ambitions.
But now, with Jed being the one to propose it...
it held some real weight. And Maeve found herself enjoying the idea of having something to work toward.
“I think I’d like that. Once we’re all settled, that is. ”
“’Course. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
***
“Wait, no, what?!” Maeve covered her gasp with her hand, trying not to scare Lila where she was sitting on her lap. The toddler had spent the first half of the night fidgeting with her favorite spoon, but another of Jed’s stories about his past had her eyelids getting heavier and heavier.
Jed stepped carefully across the living room, scooping Lila up into his arms before setting her against his shoulder. He began to pat her back slowly and rhythmically, swaying from side to side while finishing his story. “He did. Swear on my life.”
Maeve shook her head in disbelief. “A bear pelt? Just hanging around his shoulders?”
Biggest bear pelt I ever saw,” Jed insisted. “Pretty sure it were the same one that tore his face up.”
Maeve audibly gulped. “An’ yer friend thought it were wise to cheat him outta his money?”
Jed grimaced slightly. “I never said his ideas was safe. Credit to him, the plan did end up working.”
Maeve made a terrific face. “It worked that time, I suppose. Can I be honest, Jed?”
Jed shrugged his shoulders, still swaying back and forth with Lila.
“Yer friend...” Maeve shook her head, trying to find the right words. “Well, I’m just struggling to see how you put so much faith in him. He sounds awful reckless to me.”
“He were,” Jed admitted. “But he had a sort of...how’d you phrase it earlier?
” He shifted Lila in his arms, patting her back firmly while his nose crinkled in thought.
“His soul were a bit like a fire too. Drew folks in like moths, only to burn ‘em if they weren’t careful. I just...didn’t realize I’d be one of those moths one day. ”
Jed suddenly froze. Maeve’s breath caught in her chest, worried that any reaction from her would break the moment. Whenever Jed spoke of his friend, she’d gotten the sense that he was holding back. Now, with just one sentence, the ‘friend’ was starting to become more and more defined.
“Did...did something happen between you two, Jed?” She was nervous to ask, but the question came out before Maeve could really think about it. And to Jed’s credit, his expression shifted to something a bit more thoughtful, as if he was genuinely considering telling her about it.
“Let’s just say...” Jed sighed lightly. He was really struggling to speak his piece about this man. “Let’s just say I was young and foolish. I didn’t have the strength to think on my own. And when I finally did, too much had happened between us to fix our friendship.”
Maeve stared at Jed for a beat.