A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust by Sally Garcia

"Mr. Shepherd, you worry too much," Uriah said with a chuckle. "Mavis has never been scared of these things. She's got guts, always has. If she was ever afraid, she sure didn't learn it from me."

"Whether or not she's scared is her business," Norton replied, glancing up at Uriah, "but as a man, it's your job to look out for your girl."

He gestured around them. "Look around, Uriah. Every guy here is taking care of his girlfriend or wife."

"Women deserve to be protected, that's all there is to it. Especially someone as pretty as Mavis. She ought to have someone by her side."

Uriah's jaw clenched. He shot Norton a furious glare, but when he looked around, he realized Norton was right. All around them, women of every age were being shielded by the men with them, from grandmas to teenage girls to little kids.

Uriah noticed Mavis' attention had drifted to Norton again. The two of them were chatting, laughing about something, and Mavis was smiling brighter than he'd seen in a long time.

It made Uriah feel prickly and left out, but there wasn't much he could do now except hover nearby, stewing in jealousy. He wished he'd gone to her sooner, but it was too late for that now. The crowd had gotten so thick, even Norton was getting pushed to the side.

Elsewhere, Calliope was hanging out with Silas, the two of them watching the festivities and exchanging quiet comments.

along, but as more people poured into the street, they got separated and pushed into the heart of the

his group stumbled into what looked like a sacred circle around a priest, who was blessing baskets of bread and cheese, an old town ritual that

You just disrupted the blessing!" someone

you

visiting, that's fine, but show some respect for our

"You're out of line!"

and his group were surrounded by angry locals, their faces

We

stammered. "Really,

leave

never meant any disrespect

We

town, the annual