Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 385

Chapter 385: Decisions, decisions
Ford emerged into the light, following Martin, with Mia in tow.

He regretted, immensely, that there hadn’t been the chance to talk to Mia privately about the change between them. He wanted to put any worries she had to rest, but was that within his power?

What did she even worry about?

He knew what he would worry about, but then again, she had happily married parents. Ford’s father had wooed his mother and left her in the worst possible state.

Mia knew that wasn’t the kind of man Ford was, didn’t she?

Surely… but he would still like to tell her so, himself. Grandpa and Seth wouldn’t think he was that kind of person, or they wouldn’t have given him the kind of advice they had.

Good counsel, in the hands of a manipulator, was dangerous. They had faith in him enough to trust that he would act well. Faith enough to let him hold Mia’s hand, and go off relatively alone with her to scout…

Had kissing her violated that faith?

He swallowed. The promise to Seth not to pursue Mia until after they returned home rang in his memory, and guilt flooded through him. Seth, while he had allowed Grandpa to give him advice on how to treat a woman well, how to ultimately be a good husband, had not explicitly released him from the vow.

Clamping his eyes shut for a moment, his heart thundered.

Grandpa told him that when a real man messed up, he owned his failure, confessed it to the person he wronged, and asked forgiveness.

Ford was suddenly grateful that Martin had interrupted before he could kiss Mia a second time. One failure was bad enough to confess to Mia’s father, but two?

Should he warn her that he was going to, or just handle it? Maybe he should ask Grandpa to be present to mediate.

Ford almost chuckled to himself at how different he was than a few months before. From selfish, and cursing himself for bothering to save other lives at the risk of his own, to gathering the humility to ask forgiveness for a broken promise.

Was he even the same person?

It didn’t quite feel like it. He wasn’t even sure that he would be friends with the man he had once been. Bitter, hate-filled…

He’d even hated Mia. That baffled him now, with how much he loved her.

He tripped, and almost fell. Even in the midst of kissing her, the word ‘love’ hadn’t entered his mind until now, but that’s what it was. It couldn’t possibly be anything else. There was no framework in his childhood for love, for marriage, for a forever.

But now, there was no alternative. He needed Mia with him forever, and that… was marriage.

Ford knew he wanted to proceed, but at the same time, he had no idea how. He knew that there was a question involved, a proposal, but very little on details. Procedure. He knew how to mine, how to reinforce rock with timber in a way that would all but guarantee safety.

Thanks to Grandpa’s guidance, he knew how to whittle, how to care for a horse, how to fish, and a number of other skills, but for this… he was absolutely drawing a blank.

If he asked poorly or incorrectly, would she say no? Would Seth?

The thought was a crushing one, but he was not the bitter pessimist anymore. He could learn, could be better. Most of all, he could be patient.

Ford glanced over his shoulder. Mia smiled at him. A shy smile with a blush in her cheeks that set his heart racing. She wasn’t angry he’d kissed her.

For her, he could wait forever. She was far prettier, far kinder, far better than he could ever deserve, but for some reason, she clearly cared for him.

So he would work hard to be worthy of it, even if it took the rest of his life.

The family came into view, and looked at the three expectantly.

“Birds are still there,” Martin announced to no one in particular. “We’d get eaten going above ground.”

Ford appreciated the man taking the attention for a moment. He didn’t release Mia’s hand, and she didn’t pull away, but Anaisa’s keen eyes looked between them with a significant glance.

“So you’re suggesting we go underground?” Grandpa filled in the implication of Martin’s words, and the miner shrugged.

“Unless you think Ford can keep you all invisible long enough to get around that bend.”

“I can’t,” Ford shook his head. “It’s too far, and there are too many of us.”

“Are there any additional drawbacks to going under?” Seth looked at Martin squarely.

“If you want to be faster, we can’t take the horses. My tunnel through isn’t big enough. If you expect me to make it big enough for them, that could take a day or two, for the length we’re going.” Martin glanced at Harper. “I have to say, I enjoyed not using my own feet for a while, but exhausting my magic on this little project isn’t my idea of a good time.”

“If we go on foot, how long before we get to the castle—to Trace?” Anaisa’s question was tinged with deep emotion, but her face remained impassive. Martin chewed the inside of his cheek as he thought over his answer.

“Not all that long. I just left there days ago, and wandered a bit getting my bearings, and hid from some of those bizarre things I talked about. Assuming all goes well, a few days.” Martin clucked his tongue. “Come to think of it, the trees over there aren’t exactly edible to the horses. We’d have to leave them behind soon enough anyway. Now’s probably as good a time as any.”

Mia didn’t like that. Didn’t want to leave her beloved horse behind…

“So we either split up, and someone stays behind to care for the animals,” Seth frowned, “Or we release them, and lose our main method of transportation back home. Is that about the size of it?”