Travis took Scarlett’s hand and held the ring halfway on her finger.
“Scarlett, with this ring, I give you my promise that my arms will always shelter you. I will always listen to you, even when we don’t see eye-to-eye. I promise to laugh with you, dance with you, and hold you while you sleep. This ring is a symbol of my love, and my dedication. It’s a promise to always have your back, and to be the man that I see reflected in your eyes, forever. And I will do all those things, whether we’re here; safe and surrounded by friends, or we’re livin’ in a tent, with nothin’. Most of all, I promise to put my heart and soul into raising our children.
“And giving her more, right?” Chino shouted, prompting a wave of stifled laughter.
“Shut up,” Travis said with a flushing face. He slid the ring the rest of the way and smiled timidly.
Travis finally got to see the ring that Scarlett had made with Piper’s supervision. It was almost identical to her own, only the band was thicker, and the finish wasn’t as neat. Travis loved it. Scarlett felt his hand tremble when she held the ring on his finger.
“Travis, with this ring, I promise to hold your heart in mine. I promise to stay by your side, no matter what happens. It’s also a symbol of gratitude. I’m thankful to you for everything, most of all, for Hope and James. God knows I’ve made mistakes, but the one thing I can say I got right was falling in love with you. I have always loved you for the man you are; from the standoffish asshole you were when we met, to the loving and protective father, partner and friend you are today. I promise you that we will never lose each other again. I promise to continue making memories with you, disappearing into the woods with you, and to love you to my very last breath.”
Once Travis was wearing his ring, Piper beamed like a proud mother.
“You hear me?” Travis said.
“I hear you.”
“Give her some sugar, baby,” Piper grinned.
Without hesitation, Travis took Scarlett by the waist and kissed her. Their friends cheered their union and Vaughan could be heard shouting, “Is this the part where we drink now?”
* * *
The fairy lights twinkled in Scarlett’s eyes as Travis stared into them. He never wanted to stop looking at her, but Vaughan had returned triumphantly from the main building with his guitar. Travis made the monumental error of making eye contact with him.
“Come on, T,” he smirked, “you know what time it is.”
“Do we have to do this bit?” Travis asked Scarlett.
“It looks like it,” she answered, leading him closer to the campfire by his hands. “And you literally made a vow to dance with me.”
“I meant in private,” Travis smirked.
“We can do that too,” she purred. “After this, we can think about some other post-ceremony traditions that we can follow alone.”
She ran her hands slowly up his chest, relishing the contours of his body. Vaughan began playing Tom Waits’ Hold On, and Scarlett slipped her arms around Travis’ neck. He held her close, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking around at everyone else.
“They’re all watchin’,” he protested.
“Hey,” Scarlett said, drawing his gaze back to hers, “pretend they’re not. Remember when we first danced to this song, next to your old truck? Everyone else was sleeping; it was just you and me. Go back there; no one else is here, it’s just us.”
She leant her head on his chest with her arms around his waist, and Travis rested his head on hers and closed his eyes. They stayed that way; warm and close, revolving on the spot until Hope bounded over to join in. She grasped at Travis’ shirt and he picked her up with one arm. She cuddled into her parents and they continued to dance.
Jack was sitting alone, away from the frivolity and music. Scarlett joined him.
“Congratulations, Foxy,” Jack said. He nudged her arm, “Riley would be proud of you.”
“I wish he could have been here. And my parents.”
“I wonder what your mother would have made of Travis,” he laughed, taking a swig of his drink.
“Oh, she’d have hated him… at first. His foul mouth, his lack of table manners. But he’d have grown on her. She’d have seen who he really is eventually.”
“Like you did?”
Scarlett looked at Jack, “I always did.” She scanned the faces of her family, pausing when she saw Kate approaching.
“Alright, Hope and James are asleep in Quinlan’s room,” she said, talking to Scarlett, but looking at Jack.
“That must mean I can get drunk,” Scarlett said; an excuse to leave them alone. “I’ll see you suckers on the other side of my hangover.”
On her way to Piper, who was handing out some of her special homebrew, Travis caught Scarlett’s arm. He already had a drink for her, and she took it gratefully.
“Everyone’s pretty drunk,” he observed. “Wanna go to bed?”
Scarlett nodded, and they made for their cabin, hoping no one would notice they’d gone. Travis stopped her at the door and she turned to face him.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Ain’t I gotta carry you over the threshold or somethin’?”
“I think, given the circumstances--” Before she could finish, Travis hoisted her up by her thighs and leant her back against the door. He thrust his lips onto hers and Scarlett had to pull back to take a breath. “If I’d have known that this is what you meant, I’d have insisted on it.”
“Well, I guess I’ll just go right on ahead then.”
Travis continued his zealous attack on her mouth, simultaneously opening the door and carrying her inside. He closed it with his foot and walked her straight to the bed and they both fell onto it. Leaning over her, Travis stared into Scarlett’s eyes.
“Welcome home, Mrs. Young.”
“Mrs. Young?” she said, amused. She pushed him, rolling him onto his back to swap positions. “Are we not going double-barrelled? Alphabetically, of course: Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie-Young.”
“Shut up,” Travis laughed.
“Alright, have it your way.”
With his hand on the back of her neck, Travis pulled her closer to kiss her again.
Chapter Twenty-Five
An early morning in spring. The best time of year. The time of year when colour returned to the world and rationing was unnecessary. Hope was now a confident, capable, tall, eight-year-old. She and the other children spent their days learning to read and write, tutored by Scarlett, practising woodwork and archery with Travis, and the art of combat with Jack. Two days out of every week were spent studying medicine with Kate and Henry, while Bill beamed with pride whenever the children took an interest in crop-growing and cooking.
At four-years-old, James took after his father in many ways, not least for his shaggy brown hair and piercing eyes, but he was a mummy's boy at heart. He was a clever little boy, who had already begun learning the basics of tool use and safety with weapons.
Vaughan taught Hope, James and the other children music, often delighting the other residents with their talents around the campfire.
Homeside was thriving; their boundaries had been widened and reinforced over the years, and the distance from towns and cities meant that visits from Roamers were few and far between. A section of the forest had been fenced off and Travis used it for horses. So far, he had tamed five wild horses, and he doted on them like they were his four-legged children. Scarlett loved watching him interact with them; another reminder for her of the kind, paternal man Travis had become over the years.
Hope was a competent horse rider. She loved helping her father look after the beasts; feeding, cleaning and grooming.
The result of the stability was that Homeside’s plans to expand had become a reality. Scarlett and Travis were also trying to expand their family.
Shortly after sunrise, Scarlett and Hope were taking a walk through the woods, which were flourishing; greens, reds and browns formed a canopy over their heads and sheltered them from the
sun, casting playful shadows on their faces. Hope wore her father's old bow on one shoulder and his quiver on the other, while Scarlett still favoured her reliable, if a little worn, M48s for protection.
There was no particular purpose to their walk, but Scarlett enjoyed any time that she had one-to-one with her daughter. They’d packed a picnic of strawberries, peppers and cold chicken.
Travis took the time while his girls were out to ensure that James had the opportunity to do the things that four-year-old boys like to do; they dug for worms, played with water, and rough-housed in the garden.
Scarlett and hope were going over Hope’s training timetable for the day. Scarlett liked to count their walks as part of her education, convinced that time away from training was also a valuable lesson. She wanted her children to learn self-sufficiency, but also get to experience something as close to a normal childhood as possible. Hope was in love with nature and adored being outdoors, just like her father. She often rolled her eyes whenever Scarlett or Travis reminded her that it was probably because she was born outside.
“So, when we get back, I've got weapon handling with Aunt Jack,” Hope said.
Scarlett giggled, amused that eight years down the line, Jack had retained the title of Aunt.
“Go easy on him this time,” Scarlett teased. “You have to remember that Aunt Jack has a weak knee.”
Hope smiled absently, but she wasn't really listening. A few metres ahead, she had spotted a bunch of gorgeous wildflowers. The blues, purples and whites of their petals were the perfect combination, and Hope fell instantly in love with their beauty.
She crouched down in front of them and leant forward until her nose was among them, taking a long, satisfactory sniff. Her mother joined her, and they both sat on the ground to enjoy the fragrance.
Scarlett laid back in the dirt and sighed joyfully. She felt as though she’d waited years for moments like these. Moments where she was able to relax, enjoying the simple things in life. She was contented. But as Scarlett should have expected, that contentment was not going to last for long.
While her thoughts turned to counting the days since her last period, she felt Hope’s hand rest tentatively on her forearm, silently telling her that she’d let her guard down. Scarlett hastily sat up, and got to her feet even faster when she saw two bulky men approaching.
“When you’re trying to be at one with nature and two fat strangers appear, you know your day is about to take a turn,” she sighed.
Scarlett laid one hand on an axe, while the other yanked Hope behind her by her sleeve.
“Have you got food? Water?” one man asked, seemingly out of breath.
“Don’t come any closer,” Scarlett warned.
They didn’t listen and continued to approach cautiously. Scarlett could see that they were armed, and her eyes darted about, scanning the trees for more.
“Please,” the other man said, “we’re just thirsty. We’ve been walking for days without seeing another living soul.”
“Mama, we should help them.”
One of the many things that Scarlett admired about her daughter was her unfaltering faith in humankind. But it was also a trait which she feared would one day land her in danger.
“I’m sorry,” she insisted, “we don’t have anything.”
Scarlett looked down at Hope and mouthed the words, “start walking.”
“My daughter and I are going to leave. If you follow us, I will kill you.”
She turned back toward Homeside and started walking fast, keeping Hope in front of her. She was eager to return to Travis and growing increasingly suspicious of her new acquaintances, but hopeful that they were too weak to keep up.
Her concerns came all too late. With a thump to her head, Scarlett was out cold before she hit the ground.
Music:
Goodbye to Spring, My Favourite Regret & Orbit by Josh Woodward
https://www.youtube.com/user/joshwoodward
Coming Soon
Roamers III
Carrington Two
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Roamers (Book 2): Fear. Loss. Survival. Hope. Page 26