Chapter Twenty-One #2
Jed almost couldn’t believe he was watching.
On one hand, it was nice to see Edgar making connections in Bighorn.
On the other hand, he wasn’t entirely sure how deep the man’s relationship with Ms. Miller might become.
And, admittedly, he was getting a touch embarrassed to watch what might well have been the beginning of a courtship.
“Well, if you’ll excuse us,” Maeve began, “we gotta find some food before exploring. Li’l Lila ain’t gonna have a fun time on an empty stomach.”
As if to prove Maeve’s point, Lila stuck her entire fist into her mouth and began gnawing on it incessantly.
“Goodness me!” Ms. Miller laughed, giving Lila a gentle pat on the head. “Don’t let us keep you, Mrs. Mercer. Edgar, didn’t you mention wanting to see the equestrian act?”
Edgar’s face lit up immediately. “Oh yes! We should make our way to the ring so as not to miss it.” His gaze briefly caught Jed’s, but he only offered him another slight nod and a smile before escorting Ms. Miller down the road.
Jed and his small group watched them quietly for a moment, until Sadie finally broke the silence. “Did anyone else feel like Mr. Caldwell was courting Ms. Miller?”
Maeve broke out into a sudden fit of laughter. “Then it weren’t just me thinking it!
“No, it was so obvious!” Sadie giggled. “I’m all for it. Mr. Miller passed such a long time ago, and Ms. Miller deserves a nice gentleman like Mr. Caldwell to spend her later years with.”
“You two’re crazy,” Samuel said. “Just ‘cause they’re acting friendly don’t mean they’re courtin’ each other.”
“Ooh, you’re such a stick in the mud!” Sadie grinned. “Isn’t there a single romantic bone in your body, Sam?”
“I reckon I could pull one out,” Samuel said. “You should keep yer nose out of folk’s business, though, so you can see it fer yerself.”
Jed raised a brow at this, though before he could reply, Maeve was suddenly at his side. She took his arm with her free hand and held it loosely, giving both Samuel and Sadie the opportunity to walk ahead.
“Those two are something else,” she whispered manner in Jed’s ear, in a manner that was almost conspiratorial.
He tried his best to hold back a snort. “Think Sadie’ll ever notice how much Sam likes her?”
“And we tease him for being so blind,” Maeve giggled.
It wasn’t a long walk before the party found a space full of benches and tables surrounded by several candy butchers filling the air with sweet, tantalizing smells.
Jed found a larger table for them and sat patiently with Lila, occasionally taking her fist out of her mouth, much to the toddler’s frustration.
Her face soon lit up as the others came back with a whole host of foods to choose from: buttery popcorn, salty peanuts, and a wide array of pulled-sugar sweets.
Jed immediately reached for a large cup of lemonade, finding the July heat finally getting to him. He took a deep swig, then carefully helped Lila take a sip of her own.
“Ooh, look!” Sadie had barely sat down before she immediately sprung to her feet, pointing excitedly at a small group of musicians slowly making their way toward a large fountain that sat square in the middle of the space.
A large space had been mysteriously left void of benches, and now as a fiddle began to twang in the hands of its performer, Jed realized it had been purposely done for folks to come and dance.
“Come on, Sam!” Sadie squealed. “Let’s go before it gets too crowded!”
Samuel had only managed to grab a handful of popcorn when Sadie yanked him back onto his feet.
He hastily stuffed it in his mouth before frantically wiping his hands against his nice slacks.
Then he took Sadie’s hand properly, and the two began spinning around the water fountain.
A few other folks joined in on the revelry, and Jed couldn’t help but smile at the spontaneity of it all.
As he moved to feed Lila a peanut, Jed felt Maeve’s eyes on the back of his head. He turned to catch her gaze, and she quickly buried her face in her cup of lemonade.
“Maeve?”
She took a deep slurp of the drink, making it impossible for her to reply.
Jed shifted Lila against his hip to offer his wife his hand. “We better get on up there before there’s too many folks.”
Maeve’s eyes lit up, and she immediately set the drink aside to grab Jed’s hand.
The three quickly found their way through the moving crowd, with many folks having linked arms with strangers, creating a number of chains around the fountain.
Lila squealed loudly, her hands flailing at the jetting water, and Jed shifted his grip to let her palm brush against it.
Another delighted squeal followed, and Lila leaned farther toward the pool to try and touch it.
“Oh no you don’t!” Maeve’s laughter floated up into the sky with the rest of the music as she ducked around Jed to secure her arm around Lila’s waist. The two then worked together to hold Lila a safe distance from the fountain’s water, enough that her stubby fingers could just brush the droplets without her ending up drenched.
And as the trio circled the fountain alongside the other dancers, Jed felt as if he were walking on air itself.