Chapter Thirty
Maeve immediately pulled Lila into her arms as Jed flew out from under the covers. Neither one of them had bothered to change out of their daytime clothes, and unfortunately, Maeve knew that had been the right choice.
She moved to position Lila’s crib between their bedframe and the corner of the wall, flipping it on its side to create an impromptu ‘cage’ that the toddler couldn’t climb out of.
Lila protested loudly as she was set inside, but Maeve did her best to ignore it.
“I know, lilac, but it’s fer yer own safety. ”
Jed tore her father’s shotgun out from the closet and moved to the bedroom door. He didn’t need to tell Maeve to stay put, or be safe. It would be a waste of precious time, stating the obvious to each other. He did, however, give her a worried look over his shoulder.
“Get back quick,” Maeve demanded, doing her best to keep her tone even.
Jed nodded curtly, then slipped out the door without another sound.
Maeve immediately stepped up and did the newly-installed locks up with practiced precision.
With the only window in the room boarded up, she and Lila were officially sealed in for the remainder of the fight.
Her heart racing, Maeve moved back toward the bed and sat beside the crib, slipping as many fingers as she could through the gaps so Lila could grasp them tightly.
More gunfire peppered the air. It all sounded so unnervingly close, and Maeve couldn’t help but flinch with each shot that was fired off. A sulfuric haze burned the inside of her nose as the outside world fell into an all-out brawl, men shouting and crying out over a barrage of explosive shots.
The sound of horse hooves became deafening, kicking up clouds of dust that managed to filter in through the cracks of the bedroom’s boarded-up window.
Maeve pressed herself firmly against Lila’s crib, fighting back against the toddler’s angry kicks that shook the frame terribly.
She had to stay in there. She had to be safe, and this was the best way to ensure she didn’t run off and get into trouble.
“Mamaaaa!”
Maeve’s heart shattered at Lila’s wail. She shoved the crib aside and pulled Lila against her chest, squeezing the toddler tightly. The collar of her dress became soaked in seconds, and Lila’s tiny nails dug into Maeve’s arm while she continued to scream.
“Shhh, shh…” Maeve felt completely useless, but persisted in trying to calm the poor toddler.
She shifted her back into the corner of the wall, trying to make Lila both comfortable and safe.
Her hands pressed against the sides of the toddler’s head as the gunfight began again in earnest, each shot sending a pained ringing through Maeve’s ears. Even so, she began to sing quietly.
Lila had a Mossy cow
Mossy cow
Mossy cow
Lila had a Mossy cow
Whose hair was red and roan.
Lila’s wails diminished significantly. Maeve kept singing, shifting up onto her knees before beginning a painfully slow shuffle across the bedroom floor.
They sounded as if they had to be fighting right up against the bedroom wall, and Maeve had to make a choice.
Once she finally made it across the room, she shifted Lila’s weight into one arm while frantically undoing the locks with the other.
It was such a gamble, choosing to leave their fortified room. But if a stray bullet managed to pierce through the wall–if one came anywhere near Lila–Maeve would never forgive herself. She knew Jed wouldn’t either, and hoped he’d make a similar choice in this situation.
The cabin was swathed in an eerie gloam as Maeve finally managed to open the bedroom door. She stood up, though she kept herself hunched over to shield Lila from any unexpected attacks. The toddler had managed to settle into hiccupping sobs, trying her best to sing the song as well.
“That’s it, lilac. Just like this.”
And everywhere that Lila went
Lila went
Lila went
And everywhere that Lila went
The cow would also roam.
Maeve crept down the hall and peered around the corner.
The couch looked to have taken a few stray rounds, its stuffing spilling out from precise holes punched through its back.
Her father’s armchair hadn’t remained untouched during the brawl either, and Maeve couldn’t help but let out a strained cry at the sight of its torn upholstery.
‘It ain’t where Pa’s soul sits,’ she reminded herself, tightening her grip around Lila’s sobbing frame. ‘It’s just stuff, Maeve. Stuff that can be repaired.’
She pressed her back against the wall, standing as still as she could manage.
The gunfire had all but stopped, with the occasional shot now being some distance away.
It was possible Jed, and maybe the others, had been dragged into a wild chase around the neighborhood.
Whatever the reason, all fell still and quiet, leaving only the occasional whistle of wind tugging through tall stalks of prairie grass outside.
‘A weapon. I should get a weapon.’
Jed had taken both the shotgun and the service pistol borrowed from Joshua in the hopes that if he were to be disarmed once, he still had a second chance.
That left Maeve without any firearm of her own, but the thought of Lila accidentally getting her hands on it–or worse, a bandit managing to get the jump on them–was too great a risk.
She let Lila slide down her side and grasped the toddler’s hand.
The kitchen was the perfect place to get a knife, and the counters would serve as extra protection against stray bullets for Lila.
Maeve would be able to maneuver more easily as well, without having an extra twenty pounds on her hip to worry about.
She followed Lila off to school
Off to school
Off to school
She followed Lila off to school
Where cows were not allowed
Maeve crossed the kitchen, her free hand reaching out to carefully pull open the drawers. She grasped the first handle she felt before pulling out her father’s old butcher’s knife. The edge had just recently been sharpened, and Maeve’s thumb unconsciously throbbed at its promise.
But Mossy made the children laugh
Children laugh
Children laugh
But Mossy made the children laugh
And it made Lila–
An irregular knock came at the door. Maeve’s heart skipped a beat, and relief quickly flooded through her body. She set the knife aside and immediately picked up Lila, drying her face with the hem of her shirt sleeve. “It’s alright, Lila. Dada’s back. It’s all over now.”
“Dada?” Lila glanced toward the door, burying her head in Maeve’s shoulder as the knock came again. Somewhere, deep in the back of Maeve’s mind, a voice told her to stop. To listen to Lila’s odd reaction, to question why the knock had suddenly shifted by one or two beats.
But that all came too late, as Maeve had already opened the door to reveal Thomas’ smirking face.
Stars exploded across her vision, and Maeve went crashing to the ground. The world swam as she tried lifting her head, as the distinct tang of copper filled her mouth. Then, realization struck her harder than Thomas had: Lila wasn’t in her arms anymore.
“Lila–!”
The scream tore out of Maeve’s throat as she spotted the toddler just out of reach.
Lila had already gotten back up, had already begun to run haplessly toward the couch when Thomas shot past her.
Before she could blink, Thomas easily closed the distance and snagged Lila by her collar, producing a scream that froze Maeve’s blood.
“Let her go!”
The stars returned in earnest as Maeve lunged across the ground, her hands wrapping around Thomas’ leg and yanking back as hard as she could. Thomas’ balance lurched, giving Lila the chance to slip out of her dress and run behind the couch.
With a furious snarl, Thomas threw his other leg back, his foot connecting with Maeve’s face.
Another shattered collection of lights exploded in her vision, and the taste of blood was near suffocating in her mouth.
Maeve spat furiously, scrambling for something to grab, only for her fingers to snag the hem of Lila’s dress.
“Looking for this, Mrs. Mercer?”
Thomas stood on top of the couch, lording Lila over Maeve like a hunter who’d just shot down his prey. Lila screamed and kicked and thrashed, held upright by a large fistful of hair.
“S-stop–!” Maeve begged through a mouthful of blood. “Ye’re g-gonna hurt her!”
“What do you think, Mrs. Mercer?” Thomas asked, seemingly ignoring her desperate pleas. “Will yer thick-headed husband take me seriously if I hold his brat hostage?”
Maeve put everything she had into her arms, forcing her body upright as Thomas shifted Lila into a near-chokehold. “Stop–! S-stop, please. Take me if you want a bargaining chip! J-just put Lila down!”
Instead, Thomas pulled the shrieking toddler closer, locking her head in his arm and beginning to squeeze. “I reckon I’d still get my point across even if this brat’s not conscious. What do you think, Mrs. Mercer?”
Something flickered out of the corner of Maeve’s eye.
“Awful hard to hold an intellectual conversation with her screaming in your ear, right?!”
Something clattered in the kitchen, and as Thomas’ gaze flickered over to the sound, Maeve lunged. She tore Lila out of his arms and flung herself to the ground, knocking the wind clean out of herself. On her first gasp of air, Jed’s hands appeared around Thomas’ neck, and her husband squeezed.
A pained shriek clawed its way out of Thomas’ throat.
Maeve scrambled to her feet and slammed her shoulder against the front door, spilling out onto the porch beneath the nighttime sky.
She spun around, briefly catching sight of Jed’s face as he took Thomas by the throat and threw him out of sight.
Briefly, their eyes met, and Maeve hardened hers with a determined nod before breaking into a full sprint for the barn.
It’d been some time since she rode bareback, but tonight was as good as any for a refresher.