“It’s so pretty!” She says, hopping lightly.
Her dress jumps up with her movements and I tug her closer into my side. I look around and see a few other guys staring at my girl and licking their lips. I glare at them until they turn away before I help my princess into the truck. I hop behind the wheel and she shifts in her seat so she’s facing me. Her shiny dress slips higher on her thighs and I shift in my seat, trying to hide my growing bulge.
“Are you happy, princess?” I ask.
She looks away from her ring to beam at me.
“Yeah, I am. I love you, Campbell.”
I smile back at her before I start the truck up.
“Are you hungry? There’s more places to eat here than if we head back to our town.”
“I could eat.” She says as her stomach growls
I laugh at her reaction.
“What are you hungry for?”
“Hmm, Tacos!” She says excitedly as she sees a sign for a little restaurant up ahead.
I steer the car into the parking lot and lead Salem into the restaurant. We seat ourselves and the waitress comes over to get our order. We both order some tacos and nachos with water. We spend the rest of our lunch talking. I ask her about the year that we didn’t see each other and tell her about my parents buying a home in Florida and moving a couple of months ago.
We finish lunch and make the drive back home. I look over at her as we get closer and see her frowning as she stares out the window.
“What’s wrong, princess?”
“Nothing.”
“Come on.” I say as I nudge her with my elbow.
“It’s just, this feels like some kind of dream, like I’m going to wake up at any moment
and be back in that house. You’ll be gone and I’ll be alone again.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Salem. We’re married now. That means until death do us part.
I won’t let him take you from me. I won’t let anyone take you from me. I promise, princess.”
This seems to help calm her and she settles back in her seat. I hold her hand for the rest of the trip. We’ve been gone most of the day and I know that I’ll need to head out to the barn to check things out and make sure that everything is ok. I pull down the long driveway and park outside the house. I help Salem down and unlock the door. She plops down on the couch and I want to join her so badly but I know I need to go check on things first.
“I need to head out and make sure everything is alright. I’ll only be gone a little bit. Did you want to come with me?”
“These shoes are killing my feet. Is it ok if I just stay here?”
“Of course, princess. I won’t be gone long anyways. Stay here and relax.”
I kiss her forehead before I head out the backdoor and jog out to the barn. I walk in and everything looks in it’s place. I run into my foreman, Paul, and he tells me what they did today. Paul tells me about a calf that we might need to keep an eye on and how the new foal is doing. The vet left and said that Delilah was just a little dehydrated. We’ll have to keep an eye on her.
I thank Paul for running things today and he tells me congratulations. I smile back at him. I should have known that word of our marriage would have already spread. Everything seems to be running smooth on the farm so I tell him I’ll see him tomorrow before I head back to the house. I hear raised voices as I get closer and I immediately start to run towards the house.
I round the corner and see Salem standing there with her father. He looks pissed, his face red and frozen into a murderous scowl. He’s got his hand wrapped tight around Salem’s upper arm as he tries to drag her out of the house. Her eyes meet mine and I can see the terror and pain written on her face then. She is terrified of him and my blood starts to boil as he pulls her out of the house.
I sprint towards them, getting to them in seconds and ripping his hand off of my princess.
“Get your hands off my wife.” I snarl and his eyes flare as they turn to me.
“She is my daughter. She did not have my permission to marry you. I’m taking her home. Not get out of our way.” He shouts back.