A Bride For Us

Beautiful

He knew her heart...

He didn't possess it yet, but he knew it. He watched it from afar, her loving kindness towards his children and her patience towards his rudeness. She had the ability to fight -he had experience it the night she threatened him into working on the farm- but she was willing to be patient. He did feel sorry for her, he felt sorry about the fact that she deserved love and his heart was dead to it.

She rose to her feet and turned back around. “Have I done a good job with my hair? I know it is most likely horrid, but it is all I can manage given the circumstances.”

He smiled then. He didn't realize he was moving until he was standing before her and brushing the back of his hand against her face. “You're beautiful.” He heard himself say.

Her hair wasn't perfect, but she was. He could admit that, he decided, even as common sense warred against his heart. He could admit to her beauty. He thought she was beautiful the first day he saw her, thinking she was beautiful didn't mean anything other than the fact that he found her physically attractive, did it?

“You think so?” Her blue eyes were filled with questions and it surprised him. She didn't know? Was she ignorant of her beauty, or did she just love it when it was he who acknowledged it?

His hand lingered on her face, much longer than he had intended. His eyes remained locked with her, and his feet stood planted on the spot before her. Something passed between them, something powerful, pulling him to her until he was leaning down and kissing her.

He kissed her with less hunger, and more care. They were soft kisses, one that caused a spark on his lips every time his lips connected with hers. He stood there enjoying the feelings he felt on his lips, until one of those sparks, seeming to have a mind of its own, traveled with the speed of light, down his lips and to his heart, completely changing the rhythm of his heartbeat.

He pulled away then, stunned. He was so stunned, he stared wide eyed at her. Sweat pricked his skin, his heart drummed loudly in his chest and he was unable to breathe.

Lily tried to touch him, or at least that was what he thought when he jumped back, away from her reach.

“You may go for the party.” He announced, as if his announcement would help return his heart to its regular rhythm. When it didn't, he pulled his eyelids shut and nervously ran his hand through his hair. “You may go for the party. I shall drop you and the children in town.” He spoke hurriedly.

Her mouth hung open slightly, her eyes searching his. He turned from her and to the fireplace, afraid she'd look into his eyes and see what he knew was plainly written there.

He was afraid, it frightened him enough to make him want to mount a horse and ride out of town. He fought it desperately, scolding his heart for seeking to turn on him. He tried anger, tried reasoning, tried fear...

Still, nothing he tried, no matter how hard he tried, he knew what he had felt and he knew it required just a little spark and a little more time, before it took over him completely.

When he finally turned around, he was just in time to find Lily making her way out of the room. She turned around to close the door and in that second, their eyes met. He felt his heart skip, the new rhythm beating wildly in his chest. When she finally pulled the door close, he could no longer deny what it was that was most likely going to consume him or the fact that it was too late to stop it...

Love.

!!!

Four days was all Lily had. Four days to prepare the children for the party they were scheduled to attend that weekend. After digging for several hours in the children's trunk, the only person who didn't need a new dress was Scarlet and even her old dress needed stitching and altering in several places.