A Life Of 'Shine - Lem Fike

11

"Ah good, you're here." Maggie smiled as the two walked in, no longer hand in hand as both had let go a while before they arrived at the moonshine shack. Nora smiled at the elder woman, a lot more cheerful than usual which Maggie had noticed straight away.

Lem too was also far more joyous in his actions, a slight smirk on his face as he walked around the living area to sit opposite Nora at the dining table. She had the sinking suspicion of something happening between the two and knowing Lem as well as she did, she quickly realised just what it was they were hiding from her.

She inwardly smirked, already thinking of a way to tease them about it without being direct but at the same time she cursed herself for not noticing the signs sooner. Even though they never acted as cheerful as they did now she had realised just how obvious the signs were after she reflected on their actions with one another.

When Nora had brought Lem home from the prison transfer, she noticed how he leant against her more than he needed. Or how he always offered to help her load the wagon when she didn't necessarily need help. She remembered the night Hixon died and Danny-Lee ran away that Lem had quickly apologised to Nora once the disaster was over, his hand on hers to make sure she was okay after the explosion.

The signs were obvious, both had fallen for eachother hard and neither acted on their feelings until now. Knowing Lem as well as she did, Maggie realised that he would have bottled this up until the day he died, making sure to keep his feelings locked away to not ruin the friendship the pair already had.

"You two planning on telling me or were you going to leave it for me to figure out?"

Nora and Lem looked up at Maggie, shock clear across their faces. The wise woman only laughed at their expressions, waving her hand dismissively in the air.

"I know Lem well enough now, can't hide something this big from me. So, when's the wedding?" Nora choked on the whiskey she'd been sipping, not expecting to meet this side of aunt Maggie so soon all while a bright red Lem frantically shook his head in astonishment.

"I'm only teasin'. Take it from me, don't get married unless you know it's what you want- now get on outta hear, it turns out I don't need your help for today." Quickly shuffling out of the moonshine shack, Maggie watched them with a smile on her face, the occasional chuckle as they frantically walked out of the house.

"She knew? Strange woman." Nora commented on the situation after the two walked a great distance from the moonshine shack, several minutes passing since the encounter. Her companion however had remained quiet, saying not a word to her since they left.

"You okay, Lem?" She looked up at him, holding onto his hand to stop him from wandering off. She made sure to pull him from the roads, standing in front of him on the grass to make sure he was ok, even though he didn't look like it.

"Lemuel?"

"Sorry. J-Just shocked, stupid isn't it?"

"No. I'm surprised too."

"She's a strange woman indeed, but a good one at least. I- you sure you'd want to marry into that?" Before he could even stop himself he had already said it, his aunt already putting ideas into his head that the female did not miss.

She chuckled, nodding.

"Already proposing the idea of marriage Lem?"

"I've loved you for a long time. I think maybe a wedding is a bit to soon, I only just told you that I loved you this morning."

"I told you, you kissed me back."

He chuckled, gently grabbing her arms for pull her closer to him. There lips gently brushing against eachother before he eventually leaned in, smiling at the contact. She reciprocated the kiss of course, staying next to him before having to pull away with the sound of hooves on the path drawing closer. Looking up she recognised the rider at the front all too well.

"Mornin' Miss Nora." Arthur greeted, slowing to a halt by the two in order to converse. Next to him was the unmistakable faces of Sean MacGuire and Javier Escuella who had also joined him in the middle of the road. She looked to Lem, mouthing an apology in his way as she stepped closer towards the enforcer at the Van Der Linde camp.

"Thought I'd not see you again for a long time." She confessed, remembering the odd looks she had received during her once in a life time visit and how uncomfortable she felt the entire time. It was still nice seeing Sadie after this time, heartbreaking to hear the news of Jake Adler who had once shown her great kindness.

"I hope I did not interrupt anything here." Arthur smiled, looking down between her and Lem as they stood awkwardly on the side of the road. He took note of Lem trying to avoid making eye contact, looking down at the grass as if there was something interesting and more important for him to be captivated by.

"Not at all, Lem and I were headed towards Valentine. Where were you boys headed?"

"Back home. Got stuff we need to deliver." He was vague but even the female knew they had recently succeeded in a robbery, by the hint of gold peeking from Sean's saddle bag that he hadn't bothered to hide properly. She smiled, nodding her head of course without mentioning the Irishman's poor job at hiding the item but she did think to be helpful, walking over to said man's horse to properly make sure the gold was hidden.

"Well, you take care boys alright? Write to me when your return home." She joked chuckling to herself as she watched them ride off, a soft wave of her hand before she couldn't no longer see them. It was once they left did Lem speak once more, asking a question. "Who was they?"

"Some friends I met a while back, weird fellas but nice none the less. Sean, the ginger one, I met last year and helped him with a few jobs- nothing too serious." Lem nodded, turning away from the female before holding onto his hand.

"Shall we head to Valentine now my dear?"

"We shall."