Page 40 of A Letter to Adaya
“Nathaniel Pickett, are you trying to sweet talk me?”
“Yes ma’am. I think I am.”
Their voices disappeared inside as Adaya melted into Beau’s embrace, relishing the invisible bond that now tied them together. When they finally broke apart, she took several gulps of air to steady herself.
“I love you, Adaya,” Beau said. “I wasn’t expecting you, and I don’t deserve you, but I love you. And I’ll love you for the rest of our lives.”
“I love you too, Beau.” She leaned up and kissed his cheek once more.
“Is this the young lady?” the judge asked, coming up to them.
Beau turned, keeping his arm around Adaya’s shoulders. “Yes, it is.”
“We want you to marry us,” Adaya exclaimed.
The judge’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he took a step back. “I don’t think that is a good idea right now,” he said, his voice soft but firm. He glanced away as Adaya’s eyes widened in shock and her lower lip trembled. She let out a single sob before she shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
She didn’t know why she was angry, but she couldn’t control the tears running down her face. Beau pulled her closer, taking a handkerchief from his pocket.
“Honey, don’t cry.” He wiped her tears with the cloth. “There isn’t any rush. We can wait until things settle down.”
The judge moved closer to where Adaya was standing, gently patting her shoulder with one hand while gesturing with the other one towards Beau. “There, there,” the judge murmured, looking into Adaya’s watery eyes with understanding. “That is exactly what I mean. You need to come to terms with everything. Beau, take her home and I hope to see you at the harvest dance, Miss Breckenridge.”
“I don’t know if I want to go,” she wailed.
“I think you should. It would do you good to be surrounded by community.”
“When they hang him, I won’t have a family anymore.” She knew that sounded childish, but it was a deep feeling inside of her.
“That’s not true. I’ll still be right here. Walter, too.” Beau kissed the top of her head. “Let’s go back to the ranch. You can focus on what we are taking to the dance and just forget about town. Go get your cloak from Carolina; and I need to speak to the judge for a minute.”
Adaya sniffled and walked back into the office to fetch her cloak. She found it lying on the bench near the door. Carolina and Nate were nowhere to be found, so she picked up the cloak and headed back outside, embarrassed about her emotional outburst.
Beau was shaking the judge’s hand as she descended the steps. “Ready?” he asked as she approached him. She nodded; finding words too difficult to say. He took the cloak from her and wrapped it around her shoulders, fastening it underneath her chin. “Let me get up first.”
Untying Fogg from the hitching post, he easily climbed into the saddle, and then leaned down to lift Adaya on his lap. He waited until she settled, before wrapping his arms around her and steering Fogg towards the edge of town.
Leaning back into his arms, she rested her head on his shoulder. “I guess I was a little silly back there.”
“No. Just scared.”
“You aren’t scared, are you?”
“I get scared, Adaya. Scared that Jesse might die. Afraid that I might lose you. Terrified that you might choose Jesse.”
“No. You were always my choice.”
She felt his lips brush against her hair. “You are my choice, too. The judge and Reverend Billings will be at the dance on Saturday. We can get married then.”
Leaning forward a bit, she looked over her shoulder. “Are you sure? Do you want to go with Jesse in such grave condition?”
“There will always be someone with him. Nate and Carolina are staying in town and Izzy will remain at the clinic. We need to celebrate the good times too, kitten.” He pushed her back against his chest.
“I’d like to go then.”
“Why don’t you close your eyes? It will be a bit before we are back home.”
Adaya nestled into the warm comfort of Beau’s embrace, feeling safe and at peace. As they rode on horseback towards their ranch, she rested in his arms and breathed in the scent of him - a mix of leather and sweat. The gentle jostling of the horse and the steady rhythm of its hooves against the dusty trail lulled her into a drowsy state.
