Near as I could tell, almost every girl in the Tug River Valley had their sights set on Johnse Hatfield since the day they were old enough to walk, and I was no different. I suppose, lookin' back, I really ought to be embarrassed about that, given how everything turned out. But at the time, the thought of what might have come my way, had fate, or divine intervention, or whatever else you want to call it not intervened never once crossed my mind. It never crossed any of our minds.
I imagine if it had, not a one of us would've gone within an inch of him without sufficient provocation.
Common sense wasn't a particular friend of mine in those years, of course, though I'd be lyin' if I were to pretend its absence didn't serve me well in some respects. Had I been a child of logic, I might have simply accepted my daddy's choice in husband, and let that be that. But pride, or vanity, or whatever else you wanted to call it simply wouldn't let me go quietly into that particular sort of matrimony, and now, here I am.
Absolutely nothin' on this green earth will ever make me say I regret it.
Although I was never the woman that won the heart of Johnse Hatfield, I do consider myself proud to have him as a dear, dear friend, the memory of some of our antics as the years went by even now having the ability to make me shake my head and smile. Likely, both our mothers would've called us damned fools time and time again had they known exactly what we were capable of—though of course, like any proper ladies, they would have refrained from doin' so in polite company.
With a sigh, I close my eyes and lean back against the doorway of my family's home, savoring the cool night breeze as it rustles my hair and skirts, and brings with it the far-off scent of pine needles and wood smoke. That scent, of course, brings with it the faintest sounds of laughter and good-natured shouts, signaling that perhaps these moments are to be the last peaceful ones I will have for the remainder of the evening—
Lord knows I would be a liar if I pretended that that was a complaint.
Jolted into action by the sound of those shouts growing closer, I remove myself from my place against the doorframe and run my hands over the fabric of my skirt, the gesture only halting as the palm of my right hand brushes against the small bump beneath the fabric. Unbidden, a smile rises to my lips, roughly in time with the emergence of the small figure bolting towards me from the tree line, blond hair flying out behind her until she collides with my frame and very nearly bowls me backward.
"Mama, Pa found a bunch a' rabbits down by the creek, an' Andy got a nice catch a' fish, an' then I found some mushrooms near the water—"
"Slow down, sweetheart, you're out of breath enough as it is" I caution; running my hands through my daughter's flyaway blond hair, and savoring the manner in which she almost automatically settled a bit, with her arms slung about my waist "Where's your Pa an' your brother, hmm?"
"Right here, Mama."
Almost as soon as the words are spoken, my daughter extracts herself from my embrace to run back towards her father, blue eyes wide with excitement and mischief as she nudges her brother away before taking his place at my husband's side. Though he shares a smile with me, I find myself rather more than a little pleased that our daughter still commands the attention of the man I love beyond reason, her words coming a mile a minute as they move past me, and into the house while my son bumps gently against my side in search of a hug of his own. Of course I give the embrace freely, before movin' back inside myself, with Andy in tow—
Even in the face of how we had been through hell to get here, I couldn't help but feel grateful that this life was very much my own, and I knew as soon as the thought came to mind that I would go through hell over and over again if it meant I could keep my family safe.
…
Hello there, my lovelies! And welcome to yet another story for yet another fandom! Apparently, I can't be trusted with Netflix, since I keep stumbling upon new shows to get hooked on, and consequently, to start writing stories for…but hopefully that isn't entirely a bad thing, right?
What I was going for here was to set up a brief look into things at the end of the conflict, before going back and writing the story through to that point in hopes of generating at least a little bit of interest in how things got to where they are in this particular snippet. I'm very hopeful that this technique worked, so I'm going to go ahead and abandon my pride to beg for feedback. I'd love to hear what everyone thinks of things so far, and if they'd be interested in the story going forward! After all, I'd hate to continue writing something that no one wanted to read!
My heartfelt thanks go out to each and every one of you that took the time out of their busy day to give this guy a chance! I truly hope that you enjoyed what you found, and I cannot wait to hear what you think!
Until next time, with a longer chapter if that's what my lovely readers want!
MJR