Daughter Of An Outlaw

Starting New

After I moved everything into Henry's place, he introduced me to the owners of MacFarlane's Ranch. Maddie and Jeremiah tagged along. Maddie was excited about living here, but Jeremiah wasn't. I was nervous, but felt like it would be a good place for us. Henry led us up to the big house and knocked on the doors.

A young woman opened the door and smiled. "Mr. William," she stepped outside, "what can I do for ya?"

"Good evening, Miss MacFarlane," he ushered me forward, "just thought I'd let you know that I have a few people moving here. This is Bria, and our two kids, Maddie and Jeremiah."

"You're not my father." Jeremiah said from behind me.

I looked behind me at my son. Henry did the same, confused. I sighed and crouched down. "Honey, listen to me-"

"He isn't my father."

"I know he's not, baby, but-"

"He never will be!" He turned around and walked down the steps. He plopped down on the ground outside the gate and crossed his arms.

I stood and looked up at Henry. "I'm so sorry-"

"Don't worry about it," he said nonchalantly before looking back at the young woman, "is your father in?"

"Uhm, yeah." She turned and headed inside.

I pressed my fingers to the bridge of my nose. I wasn't sure how to approach this. I looked down at Maddie who reached her hands up. I bent down and picked her up.

"Is Jeremiah okay?" She questioned.

I nodded. "Yeah, he's okay."

"He looked mad."

"I know," I kissed her forehead as an older gentleman stepped out onto the porch.

"Ah, Henry," he shook his hand, "what can I do for you?"

"I have a few people with me."

"I see that," he looked over my shoulder to where Jeremiah was sitting. "Are these your children?"

"Just Maddie," he said, scratching the back of his head, "this is Bria and that's her son Jeremiah." He pointed to where my son was sitting.

"It's very lovely to meet you." He held out his hand.

I shifted Maddie and shook it with my free one. "Thank you for letting us stay, Mr. MacFarlane."

"Of course. Anyone is welcome here." He looked over at Henry. "I got some things to take care of with Bonnie. But thanks for letting me know about them."

Henry nodded as he closed the door. I handed Maddie to him. "I'm gonna go take a walk with Jeremiah."

"Alright." He lightly kissed my forehead and followed me down.

Once they were out of earshot, I looked down at Jeremiah. "Come on, let's go walk."

"I want to go home."

I sighed and scratched the back of my neck before sitting down next to him. I folded my hands in my lap and looked down at him. "This is our home, Jeremiah."

"I want to go back with Pawpaw and Nana and Auntie Abigail and Uncle John."

"I know, sweetheart," I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "I wanna go back too. But Pawpaw and Nana are moving soon. So we're staying here with Henry."

"I don't want to stay with him, I want to go back."

I sighed and leaned my head against his. "You wanna go see Uncle Jack?"