Topic: Good News For The Brambles

Marin

Date: 2012-05-21 08:17 EST
((Scene contains situations of an adult nature. You have been warned.))

The Brambles was bustling with activity. Though still only occupied for now by three couples, Marin had just received some news that was going to change that state of affairs for the better. And after almost two full weeks of stress-induced nausea and fatigue, not to mention some singularly localised aches, good news was definitely welcome. The diminuitive redhead barrelled down from the porch of the house, waving a letter wildly as she ran through the orchards closest to the house, yelling for Evan with a beaming smile on her face.

Evan was busy at work in the orchards, checking the trees for buds, trimming dead branches, and cleaning up old debris and leaves left from the long winter. He felt content in his life at the Brambles, happy to fill his days with hard work and spend quiet nights wrapped in his wife's embrace. It still seemed so unreal that he had married again, that he had met someone he could love as much as he'd loved his Ellie, and it seemed that each day his love for Marin only grew stronger.

He threw an armful of dead branches onto a pile, with the intention of using them for firewood later, and turned when he heard Marin's voice calling his name. He pushed his hat back from his face, adjusting the brim to shield the sun from his eyes as he watched her hurry toward him.

All flailing arms and flyaway hair, Marin slammed straight into her husband with a loud laugh, out of breath and still beaming as she waved her letter about. "We got it, we got the grant from the Small Business Fund!" she declared excitedly. "We have to do some planning and talk to their people, but I can pay off Rogier and we can hire hands! Isn't that wonderful?"

He caught her in his arms, smiling warmly down at her, both amused and heartened by her exuberance. That exuberance, that love of life, was one of the things that he loved most about her. He seemed to take this in stride, like he took most things. There was a little something different he'd noticed about his young wife lately, though, that she had not yet mentioned, and he wondered if she even knew. "Sooner you pay him off, the better. I don't trust him far as I can throw him. And that ain't too far." The word far came out sounding more like fur, the Texas accent still notable in his voice.

Marin flung her arms around Evan's neck, deliberately making him lean far down so she could kiss him with smiling lips. "Jodie's so excited, she's broken open the cookbook and thrown me out of the kitchen," she admitted laughingly. "And she sent Carla into town to buy ginger tea, because apparently that will help me stop feeling sick all the time, but if the stress is gone, the nausea will be, too, don't you think?" She was so pleased with their acceptance that her basic grammar was suffering badly, but she didn't seem to have noticed.

Gray-green eyes smiled down at her when she kissed him, leaning forward to press his lips against hers. He was sweaty and grungy from work, but it was honesty work, and he was happy for it. "Ginger tea might help," he agreed, locking his fingers at the small of her back, wondering if he should tell her of his suspicions or let her figure it out on her own. He guessed Jodie already knew, but was waiting for Marin to realize it herself. He couldn't help but tease her, feeling as though he knew something she didn't. "Might take another month or so before you start feelin' better."

"What?" Confused by this knowing tease, she leaned back to look up at him with bemusement painting her blue eyes, her fingers automatically curling into the folds of his vest as they always did. "Another month' You really think it's going to take that long to get the money to pay that scoundrel off?" It seemed as though Marin was perhaps the only person at the Brambles who wasn't aware of her own condition, but apparently this was a lot of fun for everyone else who lived there.

Oh, this was too much fun, even for someone as normally serious as Evan. He'd tell her....eventually, but not before having some fun with her first. "Well, I reckon you don't really need a husband no more since you got your loan now." He tried very hard to hide the smirk on his face, but couldn't quite manage it. "'Less you can think of some other use for me around here."

The distress that flared in her eyes at the thought of him leaving, even if it was only a tease, was genuine enough to leave her a little green around the gills. She was right about stress making her nausea flare up, but he'd guessed the ultimate cause. "Oh, you ..." She couldn't think of an insult, resorting to just slapping him mildly in the midriff with a soft hand. "You know I need you around. Anyway, don't you want to stay and make beautiful babies with me?"

He chuckled when she smacked him, hitting solid muscle, lean and muscled from years of hard work. "Oh, I reckon I could manage to stick around a while longer," he teased. "How many you reckon you want?" He lifted a hand from her waist to gently push a stray curling tendril of red away from her face with a gloved hand.

"How many you think'll fit in the house?" she countered in a passable impression of his accent, blue eyes twinkling teasingly herself as she leaned into him. For all her fastidiousness about regular washing and shaving and generally not smelling awful, there were times when she genuinely didn't notice the evidence of Evan's hard work, just like now.

He caught the way she was trying to mimic his accent and he tried to hide an amused smirk. "Six," he replied, straight-faced. "Three girls, three boys. 'Course, I already got one, but that don't count. And I reckon you're already starting on the first one." He drew both arms back around her in case she passed out when she realized what he was hinting at.

"Six?" Marin started to laugh, before what he hadn't quite said sank in. She sobered quite suddenly, fingers gripping his vest as she stared up at him with wide eyes. "What?" she said in astonishment. "You really think ....what?" She paused, focusing her gaze on the pulse in his throat as she counted under her breath the weeks that had passed by, and then ...."I'm late!"

"You ain't had your monthly since I got here," he pointed out helpfully. Yes, he was that observant. He'd been married once before, after all, and knew what signs to watch for, but he wasn't going to make a list. She'd figure it out for herself soon enough. He smiled softly down at her, gray-green eyes warm with affection. "'Spect I'll just have to stick around a little longer, now that we're starting a family together."

"You really think I'm ....You think ...?" She couldn't quite say it. Despite the pale cast of her face, there was a rich smile rising on her lips, lighting up the deep blue of her eyes as she lifted her gaze to meet his once again. "We're going to have a baby' So soon?"

Marin

Date: 2012-05-21 08:21 EST
He pulled her close only to scoop her up into his arms, as if she weighed next to nothing, cradling lovingly, his face alight with happiness. "If I were a betting man, I'd bet on it." And then, he was carrying her off, heading away from the orchard and back toward the house, without warning.

She let out a soft yelp of surprise as he swept her off her feet, falling into quiet giggles at the thought of how much worse the mothering and coddling was going to get now that she was in an apparently 'delicate' condition. Jodie barely let her sweep the floors now; gods alone knew what she'd be allowed to do over the next few months. Marin curled her arms around her husband's neck, nuzzling a kiss to his cheek. "I suppose it would be silly to ask if you're pleased about it, wouldn't it?"

"Pleased?" he echoed with a grunt, halting his step for a moment to answer her. "Do you really wanna know how pleased I am, Mrs. Lassiter?" He was beaming from ear to ear. It had taken all his self-control not to tell her already, not to whoop with happiness so that the whole world knew it. He'd been waiting for her to tell him herself, but it seemed he'd finally lost his patience. "I am the happiest, luckiest man alive. And I am taking you straight to bed." He fell back into step, a long stride taking them both back toward the house.

"Evan!" Marin was laughing as he strode beneath the trees, a gust of wind shaking what little blossom there was down over them as they went. "It's the middle of the day!" Not that she really had any objections beyond that; not since Bill had accidentally caught them in the apple loft a couple of weeks before. Embarrassing though it had been at the time, at least now Marin wasn't turning crimson at every knowing smile and laugh anymore.

"You said Jodie is making supper, and what chores I got left can wait 'til later. Can you think of a better way to celebrate than spendin' a lazy afternoon in bed" I can't. 'Sides, you need all the rest you can get." He was taking no chances in anything happening to her or their baby, and it was an excuse to have a few minutes of quiet alone with her before everyone arrived back for supper.

Marin's smile turned a little cheeky. "Are you going to try and keep me in bed for the next nine months, Mr Lassiter?" she asked laughingly. "Because that's just not going to happen, and we both know it." Despite apparently accepting his word for it that she was pregnant, she hadn't added up that word with the inevitable changes to herself. No doubt there would be a few arguments in the months to come over what she could and couldn't do.

"If you are as far along as I think you are, more like eight months, Mrs. Lassiter," he smirked back at her, not letting her cheekiness get the best of him. He had become accustomed to her sense of humor and wasn't afraid to dish it back at her. A long-legged stride took him up the porch stairs, catching the door with the toe of a boot to pull it open. "Puttin' the missus to bed for a while!" he called to Jodie in the kitchen. "Be down in time for supper!"

"I'll do you a tray, if'n you'd rather!" Jodie called back through a loud chuckle. "Congratulations, by the by!"

"We just might take you up on that!" he called back to Jodie and up the stairs he went, boots clomping, taking them slowly, one at a time.

Marin dissolved into giggles, letting her head tip back so she could wave at the older woman before she was whisked up the stairs and out of sight. "You do realise that keeping me in bed that long will involve you being in bed as well, don't you?" the redhead asked her husband in a merry voice.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Evan turned down the hall to the master bedroom and on inside, kicking the door closed behind him. "You got any objections to that?" he asked, assuming she hadn't.

"Well ..." Marin mused teasingly, finally dropping the letter from the SBRF onto the dresser as the door banged shut behind them, lifting her hand to pluck the hat off Evan's head and put it on her own with an impish smile. "I might get difficult if I'm not allowed to walk anywhere."

He grunted in reply, knowing he couldn't keep her in bed for the entire term of her pregnancy, but he intended to spoil her as much as he could, while he could. He knew from experience that having a baby was a serious matter, and he wanted the best for her and their child. He carried her over to the bed and leaned over to very carefully lay her down against the pillows. "Hat looks good on you. Maybe I should get you one." He pushed the hat back, a gloved hand touching her cheek as he pressed his lips against hers, his heart afire with love and affection.

Evan was going to have to learn a few facts about childbearing, and if Jodie couldn't do it, there were doctors a-plenty in the city who could. But for now, Marin didn't mind his over-protectiveness as, curls escaping from her loose braid with every movement of her head, she lifted up to meet her husband's kiss with slow tenderness. Her fingers trailed down his arms to his hands, gently unbuttoning his gloves with practised ease to draw the thick suede-leather from his fingers.

He kissed her slowly, lovingly, thoroughly, as if he meant for the kiss to last forever. As soon as she peeled the leather gloves from his hands, he plucked the hat from her head, tossing it aside onto a chair, reaching around to undo all the effort she'd gone into plaiting her hair, pulling it loose to tumble over her shoulders, his fingers trailing through the freed curls.

He seemed very attached to the wild tumble of fiery curls that crowned her head, always looking for ways to run his fingers into the warm tangle no matter where they were or what they were doing. Marin arched up beneath him, trailing her fingertips against the gentle rasp of his bearded jaw even as her knee rose to touch against his hip, ignoring the fact that her boots were leaving grass and mud all over the coverlet.

After a long moment, he gently drew away from her lips, looking down at her with adoring eyes, fingers tenderly caressing her cheek. "I love you, Marin. And I love that you're having our child." It was he'd been wanting to tell her for a few weeks, ever since he'd begun to notice the changes in her. He settled himself on the bed beside her, resting a calloused but surprisingly gentle hand against the tiny swell of her abdomen, hardly enough to notice yet, except to one who had her body memorized.

"I love you back." She looked down at his hand against her abdomen. The little swell in his palm was invisible except at this moment, when she was laying on her back. Her own hand lowered to curl over his, a soft smile touching her lips as she looked up at him. "I can't believe I didn't notice," she murmured quietly. "I mean ....the feeling sick, and the boob tenderness, and being late; how did I miss all that?"

Marin

Date: 2012-05-21 08:26 EST
He tangled his fingers with hers, linked hands resting protectively and lovingly against the place where, over the next few months, the seed of their love would grow into a son or a daughter. He had no preference whether boy or girl; he would love either one the same. He turned quiet as he sat there beside her, in wonder once again that all of this was happening.

"Reckon you been too busy with other things to notice." He rubbed his fingers gently against her tummy, quietly searching for the right words to tell her what he was feeling, how happy he was. He was a quiet man with quiet ways, and even though he might not yell and hoot and hollar, he felt like his heart would burst open with happiness.

The gentle stillness that had settled over them told her everything he wanted to say without the need for words. Marin knew Evan well enough now to know that if he was unhappy with something, his silence became awkward and uncomfortable. Just the fact that she felt safe, protected, content in this silence proved that he was happy to be on the road to becoming a father for the second time.

Her free hand rose to curl against his cheek, tenderly caressing him fondly as Marion's wedding ring turned on her finger. "Reckon I won't be too busy for it from now on," she promised, once again teasing him with a sweet impersonation of the man leaning over her.

He smiled softly as she imitated his accent for the second time, turning his head toward her, one hand still resting gently against her belly. "You pokin' fun at me, Mrs. Lassiter?" he asked, eyes glistening suspiciously, her teasing shifting his mood away from quiet reflection. "You ain't upset about it, are you?" he asked, needing to know. Neither of them had anticipated or expected this just yet, and he realized she must have gotten pregnant almost the first time they'd made love. "I hope it's a girl, with red hair like her mother," he told her softly, tears prickling at the backs of his eyes at the thought of it, though a son would be just as welcome.

"No, I'm not upset," Marin promised him, pushing herself to sit up and touch a gentle kiss to his lips. "Surprised, but not upset. I didn't think it would happen so soon, but I won't say I'm not glad it did." She touched another soft kiss to his lips, nuzzling close. "I don't care if it's a girl or a boy," she whispered. "So long as it's healthy."

He wasn't sure what the medical practices where here, but back home having a baby was serious business. Women died from childbirth back home. Children didn't make it to term. He sighed, knowing he was going to worry about them both for the rest of his life, but it was worth it. He moved off the bed, just long enough to untie her boots, loosen the laces, and pull them from her feet, brushing the dirt and grass from the bedclothes.

Marin had been born and raised in Rhy'Din; she had no fear of childbirth at all, knowing that between magic and technology no one died giving birth any more unless something went seriously wrong. But she could appreciate that Evan didn't know that, and probably wouldn't believe her even if she tried to tell him. As he drew her feet free, she sat up properly, crossing her legs comfortably as she held out her hands to him. "Don't worry about it, Evan," she told her husband fervently. "Things are very different in Rhy'Din."

"Can't help but worry a little," he admitted reluctantly. "I know things are different, but..." He shrugged his shoulders, sighing again, and reaching for her hands as he settled himself back on the bed beside her. "I don't wanna lose you the way I lost my ma, the way I lost Ellie." He had never mentioned his mother to her before, the memory of her old and faded and he never spoke of his father at all. "I swore to take care of you, and that's what I'm gonna do."

"I know." Her assurance was warm and soft, and fierce in its unspoken, unquestioning faith in his ability to do exactly as he said he would. She twisted, shucking off her cardigan and tossing it aside before turning her attention to removing his boots from his feet. "What happened to your parents, Evan?"

He reached over to finger the pendant she always wore about her neck. He'd never thought to ask about it, where she'd gotten it, who'd given it to her. He knew it must be precious to her, as she rarely if ever took it off. He wondered if it had belonged to her mother. He had nothing left of his. He shrugged, not really wanting to talk about his parents, but not wanting to lie to her either. "Never knew my pa. He left before I was born. Didn't wanna be shackled by a wife and son, I reckon. Heard he got himself killed a few years back over a gambling debt."

His socks followed the boots in being peeled from his feet, and Marin slowly crawled up to kneel beside him, beginning the complicated task of undoing all the buckles that held holsters and harnesses around his waist and over his shoulder. "I'm sorry, sweetheart," she murmured quietly, her gaze flickering to meet his in gentle half-way understanding. "But you're not him. You never will be."

"No, I ain't him. Swore I'd never be like him. Promised my ma on her death bed. Can't understand what she ever saw in him, but if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here, so I guess I should be thankful for that." He fingered the heart shape that lay at the base of her throat while she went about undoing his buckles. "Where'd you get this?"

She hadn't even noticed his quiet fascination with her pendant; indeed, Marin had worn it for so long, she barely remembered it was there anymore. It was just a part of her. Gently setting his revolver, holster, and belt aside, she settled against him, trailing her fingertips up over his wrist as he fingered her pendant. A faint smile touched her lips.

"It belonged to my mother's sister," she explained gently. "She was Marina, I was named after her. She died before my parents even got married, but my mother kept her pendant and gave it to me when I was ten. It's all that's left of my mother's side of the family."

He frowned, a hint of sadness in his eyes, sympathy and compassion for her story. So, untimely deaths happened here, too. All the more reason to live every day to the fullest. "I'm sorry. It's good you have something to remember her by, even if you didn't know her. Something from your ma's family." He smiled as she touched his wrist and he settled himself against the pillows, slipping an arm around her shoulders to pull her against him. "Pretty name, Marin. Pretty name for a pretty woman."

She smiled, easing into his embrace trustingly as her arms slithered about his waist. "It means 'from the sea'," she admitted quietly. "My dad only ever saw the sea once, he said, and he jumped at the name when mom told him she wanted to name me after her sister." She giggled softly, shaking her head. "I got lucky in looking like him, though. If I'd taken after my mother, I would have ended up six feet tall and mousey blonde."

He turned to face her, a brush of fingertips beneath her chin to tilt her head toward him. "Prettiest thing I ever did see," he told her quietly and solemnly. And he meant it. As pretty as Ellie had been, she was different from Marin entirely, and while he'd loved Ellie, she was gone, and his heart now burned for the delicate flower that was his wife.

Marin

Date: 2012-05-21 08:29 EST
((Skip this post if you're easily offended by sexual situations. :grin: ))

Blue eyes locked to his as a flush of sweet pleasure painted her cheeks blossom pink. She'd never known anyone who liked to give out compliments the way Evan did, each one perfectly sincere and well meant, and each one touching deeply to the place inside her where she stored every smile and kiss and special moment they shared. "Then it's just as well I married you," she murmured softly, unable to offer her own compliments in anything other than clumsy words after his seared her to the core. "You're the best man I've ever known."

There was that frown again that hinted at a past he didn't want to remember, a past full of regret. All that was behind him now and it no longer mattered. She'd never known that side of him and hopefully, she never would - the side that was capable of killing without thought or remorse, that acted first and asked questions later. She'd seen a hint of it with Rogier and his lackey, and he hoped she'd never have to see it again. "I ain't never been happier in my whole life than I am here with you." He'd known happiness briefly once before - taken from him far too soon. He wasn't going to let that happen this time, no matter what.

Innocent of the darker turn of his thoughts, Marin nestled close to her husband, warm and constantly reassured of his affection for her. "I feel as though you're the other half of me," she murmured quietly. "As though I've spent all my life waiting for you to show up and complete me." And now, beyond her wildest expectations and hopes, she was expecting their first child, binding herself ever closer to the first man she had truly loved in her lifetime. "Love of my life and heart of my heart," he murmured softly into her hair, holding her protectively in his arms, heart full of warmth and contentment. This was what bliss felt like and they hadn't even made love yet. "Love you forever, my sweet darlin', Marin."

How could she answer that' He'd said everything she could have said, in better words than she could ever have found. Marin was far better with music than words and always had been. Her head tipped back to touch her lips to his, pouring her heart into a kiss that set her to trembling, breathless with the exhilaration of him.

Evan didn't think he was very good with words. He was no poet, though he'd read some poetry. He could read and write and do basic arithmetic, but he wasn't really school learned. Still, his words came from the heart, not from some book of poetry, and though a man of few words, when he spoke, he spoke volumes. Her kiss, as tender as it was, set his heart on fire, and he turned to face her, laying her back against the pillows to lean over her and deepen that kiss.

Eased down into the soft embrace of the pillows, Marin couldn't help a soft moan as her fingers splayed against his cheek, her lips parting and moving with his as she drew her husband to her. "I love you," she whispered against his lips, "so much."

He murmured a reply against her lips, too lost in the moment to respond. Actions spoke louder than words anyway, and if she didn't know he loved her by now, she never would. Marin never could work out, in all the years they were together, how Evan could make her forget even her own name when she was in his arms.

No one before had ever given her such undivided attention, and indeed, Evan was reaping the benefits of his particular style. Never a loud lover, nonetheless Marin was vocal enough, the gentle tone of her soft voice often husky and loving, throbbing with tender need and desire under her husband's minute ministrations. Caught up already, she writhed against his hands, her fists clenched in her skirt as her back drew into a high arch from the bed, drawn higher and higher by knowing lips and tongue until she cried out in her own tender fashion, sweet release shuddering through her body.

He groaned with desire when he heart her cry out, feeling her tense beneath his ministrations and then relax as she shuddered with sweet release, his own arousal throbbing with maddening urgency. Yet for all her pleasures thus far, Marin had her own agenda for her husband. He'd not yet allowed her to go all the way with what she obviously had in mind, and she couldn't help but find this amusing in itself. For a man who was all about patience with her, he had very little of it when the tables were turned.

He tensed involuntarily beneath her touch, back straightening as he sucked in a breath, a shudder of desire running through him. Until this very moment, he hadn't submitted himself to her this way, hadn't allowed her to do with him what she would. Perhaps it was a matter of pride or maybe it was simply that her pleasure was more important to him than his own. Whatever the reason, he felt torn, unsure whether he should stop her or let her do what she would. "God, Mare..." he whispered, pleading for sweet release, eyes closing, hands coming to rest against her shoulders, feeling as though he'd die without her touch.

Was this something that, in his time, only whores did? Had he not felt this sort of attention from a woman in his lifetime unless he'd had to pay for it' Marin didn't know; she just wanted him to know what it felt like to submit so entirely to the person you loved. Her hands tightened on his hips as she looked up at him, gently tugging to draw him down onto the bed. "Lie back," she whispered to him, leaning close to help him ease down with a slow kiss to his lips. "Stop me, if you need to."

It was in good part that - he'd never had this from Ellie or anyone, he'd never allowed it, never allowed anyone to get that close, not even his Ellie. To give yourself up to someone so utterly and completely. "Mare, I..." He started to protest, but broke off, struggling with his own inner demons. He felt something give way inside him, surrendering to her, trusting her. He lost himself completely to her kiss as she helped him relax, easing down onto his back, trembling with yearning.

She knew he was struggling, she could feel it in the tension that flickered through him as he lay back beneath her, understanding that there were some things her Evan just could not do, and hoping that this was not one of them. His breath grew shallow, his body tensing with every touch and taste. He wound his fingers in her hair, eyes closing as she played his body. Never had he felt such exquisite pleasure as this, so different from being inside her, and yet just as pleasing. His fingers tightened their grasp on her hair and he arched his back, unable to hold back a groan as he felt himself cresting, heat rising deep inside and rolling outward like a tidal wave of fiery pleasure.

Marin

Date: 2012-05-21 08:32 EST
Sweetly thorough with him, she gave him no chance to regret that impulsive, involuntary cresting wave as it rose through him, clean in her acceptance of what she had brought him to. Yet even when she was done, Marin let her lips brush his skin, retracing the same route she had taken to return to his lips, leaning over him with a warm, wicked little smile. "Did I done good, Mr Lassiter, sir?"

He exhaled a deep, satisfied sigh, eyes fluttering open, unexpected tears brimming in his eyes of grayish green. He reached out to touch her face, fingers caressing her cheek, pushing her hair back from her face. "Marin, love..." He wasn't finished with her yet. This was just a brief respite. A moment of quiet contentment. He smiled through his tears, not understanding what it was that brought them to his eyes. He'd surrendered himself to her utterly and completely, heart, body, and soul, trusting himself to her for the rest of his days.

She wasn't worried by the wetness in his eyes, her thumb gently stroking those tears away as they escaped to roll over his cheeks. She came to rest against his side, propped up on one elbow as the fingertips of that same arm teased in and out of his hair. "It wasn't so hard, was it?" she asked him gently, nestling her cheek into the curl of his fingers, for once oblivious to the sounds of movement in the rooms below. Right here and now, her world had narrowed down to Evan entirely, the gift he'd given her in those moments just passed.

"I never..." He found himself at a loss for words again as he tried to explain what she'd done meant to him. All the pain and the heartache life had handed him seemed to be washed away with those tears, at least, for now. If only he had Maggie with him, he felt his life would be complete. He smiled at her through his tears, caressing his cheek with a thumb. "I love you," he told her quietly, as if those three words encompassed everything he was thinking and feeling.

Bluer than blue eyes gazed down at him from within the tangle of fiery red curls that crowned her head as she smiled gently. "I know," she whispered to him, leaning down to touch her lips to his once, twice. Her hand smoothed from his cheek to his chest, palm resting over his heart as her lips captured his a third time, parting languidly for a kiss that shared what hadn't been said.

It was unlike him to take to bed in the middle of the day, to not be working at one thing or another, but this was a special day and a special moment that might never come again. "I wish Maggie was here." He hadn't wanted to mention Maggie, now that they were going to have a child of their own, but she was still his daughter and he wanted her to know Marin and be part of their lives and their family.

Marin's smile softened; she'd been waiting for him to mention his firstborn, so far away from where he had settled now. Her fingers stroked over his heart lovingly. "We could go to visit her," she suggested quietly, as gentle as every other occasion on which she had made this suggestion. "Or someone could bring her here to visit, and her aunt and uncle, too."

"Mare..." He had tried to explain once before, but wasn't sure if she'd understood the gravity of the situation. "I killed a man. If I go back there, they'll arrest me and hang me." It didn't matter whether the man deserved killing or not. Murder was murder, and he was a wanted man. Her touch, though comforting, did little to soothe his troubled heart on this matter.

He'd told her as much before, and for all that he wanted to believe her delicate and in need of protection, Marin didn't flinch from hearing it again. "You killed the man who killed Ellie," she affirmed sternly. "What's to stop Bill from going to fetch them here" They could stay in Rhy'Din, where you could protect them the way you protect me." She didn't know how to convince him of the sense in this plan; he had a stubborn block on listening to the reason in her words when it came to Maggie.

"All of them?" he asked, arching both brows. He wasn't sure Emma would ever agree to leaving the homestead behind and moving to Rhy'Din just so that he could spend time with Maggie. "What do you think she'll say when he tells her he's come to bring them to Rhy'Din?"

"She'd probably think he was insane." Yes, Marin did know that it sounded crazy, even to someone who knew about Rhy'Din. She shook her head, rolling onto her back to stare up at the ceiling. How could she help him with this when everything she suggested was so easily shot down"

"She's happy with Emma," he thought aloud. "She's good for her." But that didn't soothe the empty place in his heart that belonged to Maggie. "She can't have children. It would be cruel to take Maggie from her." He frowned, feeling they were at an impasse. There was no easy solution to the problem.

"I didn't -" She stopped herself before she could make this an argument, closing her eyes with a low sigh. "It doesn't matter, you know what?s best for your daughter." Her hands slid down to lay over her womb, over the tiny swell that betrayed itself only when she was on her back. She couldn't help wondering if this baby would ever known its older sister.

He heard her sigh and his frown deepened. He could think of no good solution to the problem. He was risking his life to go back there, and what good would he be to Maggie or Marin or the baby then" Emma would never let Maggie go without good reason, and he worried Marin would think he cared more about Maggie than the baby. It was perplexing. He didn't want to hurt Maggie or Emma or Marin, and his own heartache was of little consequence. He slid an arm around her to draw her up close against him into his arms. "I don't want you worrying about nothing."

Her head turned toward her husband, blue eyes studying his profile in silent consideration of him. "Let's not argue about it," she murmured as he drew her close, rolling to nestle into his side. Her lips touched his shoulder lovingly. "We'll think of something."

He smiled faintly, nestling her against him, his fingers buried in her hair. He bent his head to press a loving kiss against her forehead. "Is that what we were doing?" It didn't seem like much of an argument to him; more like a discussion.

"We almost did," she confessed reluctantly, curling to him in trusting affection as she smiled at his kiss. "I don't want to lose my temper with you, though. I might send you running for the hills when you find out how explosive I can be." She laughed softly, obviously teasing as much as warning him.

Marin

Date: 2012-05-21 08:37 EST
He chuckled a little at her warning. "I'll consider myself warned." He settled her against his shoulder, one arm wound around her, content to spend a lazy afternoon in bed with his wife for once in life. Life was too short, and work would wait until tomorrow. "Reckon it'll be a boy or a girl?" he asked, assuming there was no way of knowing for sure until the baby was born.

She laughed, too, relaxing from the edge toward tension that had inflicted her during their discussion of his daughter's future. "I hope it's a boy," she said softly, tracing her fingertips in unknowable patterns over his chest. "I'm the first girl to be born on my father's side in four generations, but my mom's side haven't had any boys in something like eight generations."

"A boy," he echoed, smiling, his fingers tracing lazy circles against her bare shoulder. "Long as we don't name him after his father." The thought of having a son eased some of the pain he was feeling at missing his daughter. Though he longed to have them all together as a family, he knew how it troubled Marin and he promised himself never to mention it again.

"Is there something wrong with naming your son after yourself?" she asked through an amused smile, rising onto her elbow to look down at him once again. "I happen to like Evan. I'm not so keen on Ambrose, but I do like Evan." Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she spoke.

He rolled his eyes. "Ain't so keen on Ambrose neither. It was my pa's name." He turned onto his side to face her, one hand resting against her shapely bare hip. "You're biased." He smiled, eyes matching the sparkle in her own.

She leaned in close, mischievous eyes still sparkling as she touched the tip of her nose playfully to his, unconsciously shifting closer as his hand took hold of the generous curve of her hip. Her own fingers trailed down over his side enticingly. "I should hope so," she murmured impishly. "Doubt I'd be naked in bed with you if I wasn't."

That brought the rumble of a chuckle from him, a smile lighting his face. Whatever dark cloud had been hanging over his head had passed by, once again, at least for now. He rubbed his nose against hers, reminded of having done that with his daughter. Eskimo kisses, they'd called them. "I ain't done with you yet, Mrs. Lassiter."

"Oh no?" Somehow, from somewhere, Marin had managed to dredge up the most innocently sweet expression of surprise to have ever yet graced her features under the smiling chuckle that rumbled up from his chest. "Should I yell down to Jodie not to serve up for us, then?" She batted her lashes innocently, the effect utterly ruined by the suggestive curve of her lips.

"I am the master of the house, ain't I?" he asked, with a smirk. He really didn't like lording that over anyone or even using the title. He felt himself on equal par with the others who lived there, or even beneath them. He was nothing and nobody. A hired hand, a soldier, a gunslinger, a drifter, and now a farmer. "Reckon she can send us up a tray when it's ready."

Giggling, Marin leaned closer, her arm rising to loop about his neck as her lips hovered over his. She knew he didn't like to openly admit to being the master in this house; indeed, he liked it as little as she did being mistress of the house. They were all in this together as far as Marin was concerned. "You really think she'd bother to knock when it comes time to bring a tray in?"

He grinned merrily up at her, moving to his back as she came close. "If she don't, she might see more than she wants to see of both of us." An arm slid around her waist, his eyes drifting to the ample curves that were pressing against his chest.

She rolled over him, her knees falling to straddle his thighs as her hands fell into comfortable indents in the bedsheets either side of his head. Her hair tumbled down over one shoulder in a mass of copper-bright curls to pool against his chest as she grinned fondly down at him. "I don't have anything she hasn't seen before," she giggled, leaning down to tease him with a kiss that never quite came to fruition. "You, on the other hand ..."

Laughter faded to passion, softened to loving silence, as owners of the Brambles fell back to reaffirming their bond with one another, as much in celebration of their love as for the good news of a future to look to, together.

((Many thanks to Evan's player!))