Chapter Twenty
Maeve laid in bed with a half-asleep Lila, watching as the afternoon sun peeked through the drawn curtains.
It was the second time in her life that she had willingly taken to resting, mainly thanks to Sadie’s insistence on doing so that was hard to ignore.
As she’d suspected, Maeve had scared the daylights out of her poor friends, both of whom had rushed Lila into the house in fear of a sudden bandit attack.
Coming out of the barn, Samuel had nearly shot her on the spot, immediately turning even more anxious and frantic from nearly hurting his ‘little sister’.
“I owe him a lot more than a pie this time,” Maeve mused under her breath.
Lila rolled onto her side, a loud snort escaping her as she settled into a deeper sleep. Her little face was now turned toward Maeve’s, and she couldn’t help but brush a stray strand of dark hair out of the toddler’s face. Tools… She’d broken down that badly over some tools?
Maeve let out a gentle sigh, shifting in bed to get a bit more comfortable.
‘It ain’t like Jed’s never seen me look weak before,’ she reminded herself.
Brief memories of her fall off the gate came bubbling up, warming her face with a tinge of embarrassment.
But it was true; Jed knew full well that she wasn’t some unstoppable force.
She had her moments like anyone else, both good and bad.
The important thing was that, so far, he’d stuck by her side through it all.
Another sigh slipped out as Maeve’s eyes fluttered shut. A small part of her still ached with the loss of her father’s tools, but Jed had sufficiently softened the blow. Through his words and his actions…it was becoming obvious he cared about her, even while carrying his own weighty secret.
‘I’ll give him more time,’ Maeve resolved before nodding off. ‘He must not be telling me for a good reason.’
And that reason would be respected, no matter how long it took for her husband to reveal it.
***
The first two weeks of July had come and gone, with the ranch having sufficiently recovered from the bandit attack. If the pasture fencing’s new height didn’t deter bandits, the heavier meshing of barbed wire would.
The barn had similarly been reinforced, especially the doors.
Jed had even managed to repurpose some old hunting traps, taking bells and ropes and stringing them along the property’s edge to warn of any intruders.
Given Lila’s need for support while walking, Maeve doubted the toddler would get far enough to trigger any of the traps accidentally.
Not that Lila would ever be left to wander on her own.
The sky was turning a nice shade of pink when a familiar-looking wagon came rolling up the hill.
Maeve got up from her seat on the porch, taking her time crossing the front lawn as Lila impatiently stumbled along.
One hand remained tightly grasped in Maeve’s hand while the other reached out toward Sadie.
“Ooh, there’s my favorite little flower!” Sadie nearly fell off the wagon with how fast she moved, giving Samuel a visible fright. But she was quick to catch her balance, dropping to her knees as Lila freed herself from Maeve’s grasp.
“L-Lila–!” Maeve went to grab the toddler but froze, watching as Lila managed a few steps on her own before crashing into Sadie’s outstretched arms.
Sadie gasped, immediately locking eyes with Maeve. “W-Was that the first time she walked by herself?!”
Maeve nodded, her eyes still wide with shock.
Samuel climbed down from the wagon as Sadie scooped Lila up for a hug. “Ooh, Lila! You’re such a smart girl!” Her eyes lit up, catching Maeve’s gaze once again. “We should go into town together, you and me! Lila deserves a nice present, don’t you think?”
“You saying I’m a bad gift giver?” Samuel asked.
Sadie gave him a spectacular scowl, one that briefly caught Maeve off-guard. Samuel’s expression fell for a moment, then suddenly he began to nod with a bit too wide of a grin. “Oh–oh! Yeah, ye’re right. Makes more sense, ladies picking out another lady’s gift an’ all.”
Maeve raised a brow at him. “Samuel Wright, that don’t make a lick of sense.” She stood there scrutinizing her friends as her suspicions deepened. “Y’all are acting funny. What’s going on?”
“Nothing! You worry too much, you know that?” Sadie rolled her eyes, wrapping her arm around Samuel’s and giving it a noticeably tight squeeze. “He’s just tired from all the back-and-forth. Right, Sam?”
Samuel’s face remained tight despite his large grin.
Maeve’s brow furrowed further.
“I wouldn’t mind you two switching places either.” Jed suddenly appeared behind her as he spoke, setting a gentle hand on her shoulder. “There’s gonna be a lot of heavy lifting tomorrow, and having Samuel’ll be a huge help.”
“I reckon I can lift just as much as he does,” Maeve pointed out. “And unless y’all bought new planks of wood, I ain’t sure what needs lifting.”
She stared at Jed long and hard, trying to catch any strange expression on his face. After a moment, she caught the corner of his lip twitching as if he were trying to hide a smile.
‘The only reason I can think of wanting me gone is ‘cause they got something planned for me,” Maeve reasoned to herself. But her birthday had long since passed, so unless they wanted to have a make-up party for her, that didn’t make any sense.
Eventually, Maeve shrugged. She was already putting her trust in Jed, so why not continue the pattern? At the very least, it seemed as if he and her friends were planning something nice. “Suppose I’d rather help pick out Lila’s gift than get all sweaty lifting wood all day.”
“Great!” Sadie exclaimed, a bit too enthusiastically. “We’ll leave first thing tomorrow, then.”
***
Sadie had truly meant it when she said she planned to leave ‘first thing’ tomorrow.
Maeve let out a large yawn as she shifted in her seat, the wagon bumping gently underneath her as they made their way up the road.
The sun had barely gotten up itself, still tucked cozily in between a thick blanket of gray clouds.
She frowned, wondering briefly if they would get rained on.
“Maybe we should get Lila a shawl fer her gift?”
“Oh, that’s no fun,” Sadie complained. “We should get her something she can play with! Something to inspire her to keep walking by herself.” She shifted the reins into one hand, using the other to tap her chin thoughtfully. “Maybe a pull toy? Ooh, or a rubber ball!”
“Let’s wait until we see the price tag,” Maeve cautioned.
Sadie scoffed loudly. “As if I would ever be stingy with Lila’s gifts!”
They eventually made it to Bighorn, passing down the main street toward the market district. As they did, Maeve took note of performers milling about handing out colorful fliers, their faces painted white with dramatic expressions.
“I think Pa mentioned a circus was setting up farther down the way.” Sadie gasped, an excited grin crossing her face.
“Maybe that could be Lila’s present! You three did miss out on the Independence Day festival, after all.
For important reasons,” she added hastily.
“But still, it’s a shame you missed out on the fun. ”
“It weren’t all bad,” Maeve assured her. “I mean, I wouldn’t wanna go through it again, but me and Jed became awful close afterward.”
“Close like a husband and wife might be?” Sadie crooned.
Maeve shot her friend an embarrassed frown.
She made a good point, though; after the scare with Lila and resolving their arguments, Maeve really did consider Jed her proper husband.
Not just a stranger she married out of convenience, but a close friend she enjoyed spending time with.
Someone she looked forward to greeting in the morning, eating breakfast beside, and planning the day with.
‘Is that all a husband is?’ she wondered to herself.
It had always felt so much more complicated than that…
Then again, it didn’t help that she’d never seen her own father and mother interact.
Did they start out madly in love? Or, like Maeve, did her mother slowly grow an interest in her father?
There were so many questions she’d never thought to ask.
Now she would have to wait until God called her home to get any answers.
Once, that thought might’ve saddened her deeply, but now Maeve hoped it would be quite some time until she joined her parents. There was so much she still wanted to see and do, and she was willing to admit to herself that it was more or less because of Lila.
“Oh, hey!” Sadie gave the reins a tug, bringing their wagon to a sudden stop. Maeve lurched forward, catching the edge of the seat with her hands before she could tumble clear off the wagon.
“Sadie, I nearly–!”
“Look, it’s Ms. Miller!”
Maeve’s head swiveled toward where her friend was pointing. Sure enough, Ms. Miller had indeed appeared around the street corner, with a small line of older-looking children following behind her. They were far older than Lila, talking and laughing loudly with each other while they passed folks by.
“You think they’re going to check on the circus’ progress?” Sadie asked.
“Maybe.” Maeve found herself sliding off her seat and hopping down from the side of the wagon, quickly closing the distance between her and Ms. Miller while Sadie called out in confusion behind her.
Something inside her urged Maeve toward the orphanage owner, and as she approached the older woman, an apology had already begun to form on her lips.
“Excuse me. I’m so sorry ‘bout your last visit, Ms. Miller. I–I were awful rude to you that time, and you weren’t deserving of any of it.”
Ms. Miller looked as if she were about to greet Maeve, only to stop and listen to Maeve’s impromptu apology. A bemused smile crossed her face, and she gently waved a hand to her line of children, causing them to stop in place just behind her.