Epilogue
It took everything Maeve had to stay upright, to support not only the weight of her injured husband, but herself as well.
She watched as neighbors and lawmen alike surrounded Thomas, as Joshua himself put handcuffs around the crazed man’s wrists and shoved him toward his horse.
In that moment, it felt like she could finally breathe again, only to become acutely aware of how heavy her husband was getting.
“Maevey–!”
Samuel came sprinting to her side, immediately throwing an arm around Jed’s shoulder.
The moment his weight left her side, Maeve collapsed to her knees as everything hit her at once: the aching pain in her face, the throbbing sting under her chin, the large, wet spots staining her side from where she had pressed up against Jed,
“Jed!” A strangled cry escaped her as she turned to her husband, now slowly being lowered to the ground by Samuel. “Oh, Lord, please no! He stabbed him, Sam!”
“I know, I see it.” Samuel’s hand hovered over the porcelain shard embedded in Jed’s leg, then drifted toward the large stain of blood covering his side. “Uncle Wit came with us, Maeve. Don’t you worry. He’s gonna patch Jed up in a jiffy.”
That didn’t stop the tears from pouring down Maeve’s face. She was almost afraid to look at Jed, his face now pale and slick with sweat. His lips moved wordlessly, a chest-wracking cough making it difficult to tell what he’d attempted to say.
“Wh-what?”
Jed groaned, tilting his head to try and catch Maeve’s ear. She quickly lowered her head, pushing her hair aside to try and make out her husband’s words.
“L…Li…la?”
Maeve’s heart froze in her chest. Immediately, she sprang to her feet and took off for the barn, shoving past a number of men without so much as registering their faces.
Lila. She hadn’t been grabbed by Thomas when he’d followed them into the barn.
He hadn’t seen her before Maeve attacked him with the shovel.
“Lila!” Maeve nearly lost her footing as she went stumbling into the barn. The cattle greeted her with a chorus of panicked bellows, harmonizing with the furious whinnies of Golden Hour and Ash, who kicked at his stall door with his back legs.
“Ash, knock it off–!”
A familiar moo commanded the small space, bringing both the herd and horses to a quiet murmur.
Maeve felt her heart begin to beat again as she raced into Mossy’s stall.
There, the older cow stood rigidly upright, tail swishing furiously as her lowered head warned of an impending charge.
Immediately upon seeing Maeve, Mossy’s posture softened, and she let out an encouraging snort.
“Where’s Lila, Mossy?” Maeve begged. “Where’s she hiding?”
The older cow stepped toward her massive pile of hay, her rubbery lips pulling bits off the top. Maeve immediately flung herself towards it, frantically digging through the top layer until she caught sight of a head of black hair. “Lila–!”
Her hands dug underneath the hay, and she pulled the toddler out by her armpits.
Bits of straw stuck to Lila, with thick clumps tangled in her hair.
She let out a violent sneeze and rubbed her eyes furiously.
Then, still blinking, Lila stared at Maeve with a sour face, only for it to immediately sweeten as her vision seemingly cleared.
“Mamaaa!”
“Ooh, what a smart li’l flower you are!” Maeve sobbed hysterically, squeezing Lila tightly against her chest. The toddler let out a squeal of protest, and Maeve quickly held her outward, frantically inspecting her for any sign of injury.
Thankfully, nothing immediately jumped out, save for a few faint scratches from rolling in a pile of hay without any clothes.
“Dada?” Lila asked, her own eyes beginning to water. “Dada, Dadaa!”
“He’s alright,” Maeve promised. “He’s– Let’s go see him right now.
” She forced herself not to break into a sprint again, opting instead for a desperate jog out the barn and across the yard.
Uncle Wit had finally made himself known, kneeling beside a now-shirtless Jed as a curved needle flashed between his fingers and his patient’s skin.
“It’ll hold ‘til we can get into town,” Samuel explained, standing stiffly beside Uncle Wit as he held the doctor’s traveling medical kit open. “He’s gonna need pills to fight off any infection, but Doc don’t think any organs were hit. Jed’s gonna be alright, Maevey.”
Maeve hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath until it all spilled out at once. She carefully knelt down on Jed’s other side, holding Lila around the waist as the toddler continued blubbering.
“D-Dada,” she cried out, her hands gently rubbing across Jed’s sweat-ladened face.
“That’s…me.” A wheeze of laughter escaped Jed, and he lifted a shaky hand up toward Lila. Maeve grabbed it immediately, helping set it on top of Lila’s head. “That’s me, L…Lila.”
Maeve inhaled sharply, wiping her face with her dirtied sleeve as she wrestled to control her voice. “He’ll be alright, Lila. Dada just needs rest.”
Lila cocked her head toward Maeve, confusion settling against her brow as she tried to work out what her mother meant.
“Sleep, baby.” Maeve squeezed her eyes shut. “Like this.”
Lila’s brow relaxed as realization came over her. She then turned back to Jed, moving her hands over his eyes as she tried to force his eyelids shut.
“T-ss!” She demanded. “Dada, t-ss!”
Maeve couldn’t help but let out sobbing laughter.
“A-alright, Lila. I’ll sleep.” Jed closed his eyes, wincing as Uncle Wit tied a strip of linen tightly around his bleeding thigh.
“That’s the most I can do right now,” Uncle Wit explained as he stood up from the ground. “Samuel, go prep a wagon for travel.”
“What about Thomas?” Maeve asked as Samuel took off back to the barn. “Don’t he– I mean, ain’t he gonna bleed out before he makes it to town?”
“Do you care if he does?”
Uncle Wit’s question cut deeply to Maeve’s core. She stared at her pale-faced husband, at her still sobbing daughter as she nuzzled her face against his. A terrible part of her wanted to say no.
“He don’t get to take the easy way out,” she replied firmly after a moment. “He’s gotta face up to everything he did.”
Uncle Wit nodded, his hardened expression softening considerably.
“I looked him over briefly before I went to Jed. His ear’s been torn clean off, and he got one heck of a beating to the face.
But he’ll live.” He paused, adding in slight disbelief, “I didn’t know the Wright brothers were such terrifying crack shots. ”
“How’d you think Joshua got the job as sheriff?” It felt good to tease Uncle Wit. It helped pull Maeve further out of the terrible pit of worry she found herself currently trapped in.
“Wagon’s ready!” Samuel called out from the barn.
“You ready?” Uncle Wit asked.
Maeve nodded, gently taking Lila’s hand as she pulled her away from Jed.
“Dada…”
“It’s alright, baby.” Maeve bent down and slipped her arm around Jed’s. Then, with a rough heave, she helped Uncle Wit get her husband back onto his feet. “Dada’s gonna be alright.”
Her free arm scooped Lila up and set her against her hip. Then with a strength she still didn’t fully understand, Maeve began to walk her family toward the wagon.
THE END?
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