Chapter Seven #2
“Let’s not waste any more time then!” Sadie grinned, grasping Maeve’s hand and pulling her toward the barn. “Time to hitch up the wagon and get on the dusty trail! Daylight’s burning, and all that!”
Maeve found herself smirking as well, letting her chosen sister drag her across the property.
She did take one more glance over her shoulder, watching as Jed jokingly straightened the hat on Lila’s head.
It, as expected, fell right over her eyes, but the little girl seemed just as excited as before.
‘It’ll be fine,’ Maeve reasoned to herself. ‘Everything will work out just fine. You watch, Ma an’ Pa. Everything's gonna be alright.’
She frowned slightly. Sadie was right; she did use that word quite frequently.
***
Though she’d never admit it out loud, Maeve found herself thoroughly enjoying her time in town.
She hadn’t often lingered here when her father was still alive.
Usually the pair would just purchase the supplies they needed before setting right back off to the ranch.
Sadie was a wanderer, though, fully taking in the sights and sounds of the town she’d been born and raised in.
“You act like you just arrived today,” Maeve chuckled.
Sadie pulled herself away from the specialty store’s window, gesturing excitedly at the collection of springtime dresses on display.
“I’ll have you know that these designs weren’t here yesterday, Mrs. Mercer.
” She put extra emphasis on Maeve’s new surname, giggling impishly before tugging on her friend’s hand. “Come on, just a quick peek inside!”
“Where’ve I heard that line ‘fore…?” Maeve mused.
“I promise to actually be quick this time. Besides,” Sadie added with a knowing smirk, “I seem to remember a certain someone talking about Lila’s dreadful clothing situation?”
Maeve made a slight face, then stepped closer toward the building as a couple passed them by.
Even now, a strange feeling of tightness got to her whenever she visited Bighorn, itching beneath her skin.
There were so many people walking about, all with their own lives, their own worries, their own destinations to reach.
Maeve wondered if, perhaps, she would enjoy watching the people from an outsider’s perspective as long as she wasn’t in the thick of things.
Being in the center of it all felt entirely too overwhelming at times.
“How do you think Jed and Lila are doing?”
Speaking of feeling overwhelmed… “I reckon he’s doing just fine, on account of him being the reason she’s with us in the first place.”
Sadie’s brow quirked curiously. “For someone who talks about sharing spirits with her, you seem strangely determined to keep your distance from Lila.”
“W-Well, it ain’t gonna do me any good to fall in love wit’ her, what wit’ her going to live at the orphanage an’ all.”
Sadie’s brow furrowed further. “You know, Maeve…you and Jed don’t have to give Lila up. I know it’s only been a week or so, but it seems like you and him enjoy having her there.”
That struck an uncomfortable chord in Maeve’s chest, and she frantically shook her head. “No! No, it wouldn’t work. I can barely wrap my head around having a husband. Adding a little girl to the mix... It just…”
It just reminded Maeve too much of her and her father.
She blinked furiously, squeezing Sadie’s hand as she ended up pulling her inside the dress shop. “Come on, then! You said you’d be quick. If I find Lila’s things before ye’re done meandering about, I’m leaving you behind.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Sadie laughed.
Relief spread through Maeve as the two slipped inside. At least for now, Sadie seemed willing to drop the subject, and Maeve tried to focus instead on enjoying the rest of the day with her best friend.
***
Evening wrapped its somber blanket around Maeve as she rode up the last hill toward home.
As much as she had enjoyed spending time with Sadie, it felt good to leave the constricting atmosphere of brick-and-mortar buildings behind her.
The sky above her began dusting with starlight, and Maeve breathed it all in with a deep sigh of relief.
Tomorrow was a new day, a new chance to build a stable life her parents could be proud of.
Her gaze wandered around the countryside, catching the distant flicker of lights far off in the distance.
Fellow ranchers still up after dark, or–though the thought wasn’t pleasant to have–more bandits stalking the night in search of their next target.
Maeve’s grip tightened around the reins, and she became acutely aware of all the supplies she had stored in the wagon.
“Any chance ye’re a champion sprinter?” she asked Jed’s stallion.
He replied with a flick of his tail.
Maeve did her best to push the thought aside.
She was almost home after all. Almost back behind the walls of the cabin her father built by hand.
She could just barely make out its outline as she crested the hillside, following the pasture fence before her eyes settled on a flickering lamp hanging over the front porch.
Then, the shrill screams of Lila assaulted Maeve’s ears.
She wasn’t sure when she jumped out of the wagon.
She only came to her senses when her foot pressed against the cold grass; one of her boots must’ve fallen off when she’d made her leap.
Maeve practically flew across the front yard, one hand slamming against the cabin door as the other wrestled for the knob.
But it was locked.
Of course it was locked. Jed seemed like a man with at least an ounce of sense to him.
Locking the house up for the night only made sense.
It didn’t change Maeve’s desperation though, didn’t ease her distress as Lila continued to cry out inside.
Her fists pounded against the frame, her heart skipping at the sound of padlocks being unlatched.
She nearly stumbled face-first into the house as the door swung open, revealing whatever catastrophe was going on inside.
In that moment, as the state of the cabin came into view, Maeve reconsidered her previous assumption of Jed having any sense whatsoever.