Miss Orléans / Arthur Morgan x OC

16: Doubt and Insecurity

"My mother always told me find a man that makes your heart beat evenly, not faster," Elizabeth hummed out of nowhere, green eyes gazing at the beautiful mountain scenery before her. A serene smile on her face that matched the calm expression she wore.

Next to her, Arthur sat with his journal in one hand and a pencil in his other, sketching the mountain top view.

Looking up from his drawing, the Outlaw gave her a questioning look, "How come?"

"Says they'll be the ones to keep you straight, make you feel balanced. The ones that make your beat fast, well that will only end fast."

"Did your heart beat fast when you was still with John?"

"Beat too quickly and it...hurt a lot. What about you? Your heart beats for anyone?"

"It does...for the longest of time and it still does."

"Does it beat fast or even?"

"Beats even I suppose."

They both didn't say it, but at that moment, their hearts were calm. Beating a steady pace as they sat at the mountain top, side by side, enjoying the view.

*****

"Moma!" Rosie cried cheerfully when the women came into her line of sight. Ditching her fishing road on the floor she ran quickly to the women who crouched down with open arms.

"Rosie!" Elizabeth laughed joyfully as she had to regain her balance when Rosie all but through herself at her. Soon James came scurrying to the pair of them, a big smile on his face as he jumped into his mother's other arms, "James! I missed you both so much," it's only been a few hours since she was gone, but it felt like an eternity to her and the twins.

"Mama!" Rosie suddenly gasped, remembering something as she hurriedly gestured to the person behind her, "Mr. Morgan found a dog!"

Next to the Outlaw, who was awkwardly scratching the back of her neck was a golden retriever who sat obediently sat next to him. Large tail wagging in excitement with their tongue sticking out from the side of their mouth, wide brown eyes staring curiously at Elizabeth. Arthur only coughed to clear his throat, "We was gonna go fish and he came out of nowhere and decided to join us. Wouldn't stop following us and Rosie really likes him and all..." he wouldn't admit, he tried to get the dog to go away but the moment he saw Rosie's glum expression he suddenly welcomed the mutt with open arms.

Raising an eyebrow at him, Elizabeth only chuckled slightly, "You got a name for him?" Her voice sounded somewhat like she was teasing the Outlaw.

"His name is Crooks!" Rosie stated loudly and proudly, not caring if the question was directed towards Arthur, "He's a person in one of James books."

"Is that so?" Elizabeth chuckled, staring fondly at her two kids, heart swelling with happiness as she looked at their happy expression. Any doubt she had of herself today left forgotten with James and Rosie's adoring self. The day had not been kind to her but she knew the night would If it was spent with her kids, "You three must be hungry, let's get you all cleaned and fed. We'll figure something out for Crooks," gently she pushed the twins towards the house. In the distant stood Thomas, waving as the kids caught sight of him and ran towards them, leaving Arthur and Elizabeth alone.

Walking next to the women, Arthur watched Crooks as he ran up to be with the twins, already being a good guard dog. Blue eyes shifted to look down at Elizabeth, who looked fondly at her kids, "Did the meeting go well?"

"Yeah, Cornwall's leaving the city and hopefully will bring the Pinkertons with him. Probably would have been dead if Sadie wasn't on the rooftop," Elizabeth hummed slightly, feeling the weight of her mother's revolver against her leg, "Which will give us an opening to get Liliana."