"You get to talk to him then?" Wild Bill asked his mother. They were allowing him another visit only because of the whole situation and its needing to be sorted out quickly.
Mrs. Wharton nodded. "I did." She confirmed.
"Purdy ain't he?" Billy hummed, the corner of his mouth flinching upward in a dirty grin.
"You had absolutely no right to do what you did to that poor boy, Billy." Elmira glared daggers at her son.
"Aw now Mama, come on. I didn't do nary a thing that boy didn't love." Wild Bill defended himself.
Elmira Wharton frowned and she stopped typing up the will she'd been working on for her son. He didn't want to do it himself. Said she was better with words than him.
"Where did I ever go wrong with you?" She sighed, running a hand over her face. "I just don't understand..."
"Keep typin'." Billy urged her. "Gotta get this thing laid out right or else Bobby Lucas is gonna be over buggin' ya all the time to take Ol' Red like a damn buzzard!"
"Calm down, son...I wouldn't give that horse to anyone but family." Elmira assured him. "You know that."
"Don't give him to nobody." Billy told her. "He's stayin' with you so little man can learn to ride him."
Mrs. Wharton bit her lip. "Son, I don't know that I'm going to be gettin' to see little man very much. Maybe not even at all." She admitted.
"Hey now don't say that." Billy frowned. "I thought ya got to talk to his mama?"
"William Henry Wharton, this child was not under any circumstance conceived in love!" Elmira erupted, no longer to hold her emotions back.
Wild Bill's eyes widened. He was shocked that his mother was raising her voice. Especially to him.
"Now how do you know that?" He asked his mother.
Mrs. Wharton could have smacked him, but she didn't. Whatever he was, or whatever controlled him to make him do such ghastly things, he was still her baby. She couldn't hit him. Never could.
"How do I know that?" She asked, as calmly as she could. "How do I KNOW that? Billy! You raped that poor boy! Do you really think he's going to let ME see his child!?"
Billy Wharton was, for once in his life, at a loss for words.
Elmira gnawed at her lip as she went back to typing.
"It was love for me." Billy finally grumbled to her.
She turned her head up, staring at her son with sad, pain filled eyes.
"You've never loved nobody you're whole life." She whispered, her own heart breaking as the words rolled off her lips. "When you love someone the last thing you ever want to do is hurt them."
"I love you, Mama..." Billy told her.
"Don't lie to me." Elmira stopped him. "If you loved me at all you wouldn't do the things you do."
Wild Bill frowned at her. "That boy. He's just like me." He said with a chuckle. "I'll tell ya somethin' Mama. I woulda married that boy had I ever got the chance."
Elmira looked back down to her type writer. "What do you wanna do with your part of the livestock?" She asked, a tear dripping down her face.
"Give everything I got to my son." Billy answered, lounging back in his chair as best he could with the handcuffs on him.
Brutal came up to the table and grabbed Wild Bill by the arm. "Sorry mam." He apologized to Elmira. "Times up."
Mrs. Wharton looked at her son then to the guard and back to Billy once more.
"Behave." She told him, standing to approach him. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before Brutal took him back to his cell.
She then sat back down and hid her face as the river of tears flooded over again.
"Mam?" Paul asked softly, placing a reassuring hand on Mrs. Wharton's shoulder.
"He's going to hell, isn't he?" The woman sobbed.
Paul sighed and knelt down beside her.
"It's not you're fault." He assured her. "You understand that right? You gave it everything you had but nothing took. He was just born to be this way. Some folks are. No matter how good their folks teach them."
Outside the door, Percy stood, listening, watching.
He felt the baby kick and he sighed. He hated Wild Bill Wharton with every fiber of his being. He wanted him to burn in hell. But the poor woman who had raised him didn't need to suffer any more than she already was. It wasn't her fault. It really wasn't at all.
Percy knew what he had to do.
...
Elmira Wharton had just sat down with her cup of tea in the front room of her little farm house to listen to the radio.
Then came a gentle knocking at the front door.
"Coming!" She called as she stood up to get the door.
She was shocked to see Percy's face when she opened it.
"Mam?" Percy started to ask.
Mrs. Wharton gnawed at her lip in silence. What could she say?
"I was hoping that we..." Percy started before trailing off. He shouldn't have come. What possessed him to, he'll never know.
"Why don't you come in?" Elmira offered. "I've got some nice hot tea ready."
Percy nodded and stepped inside slowly.
Elmira brought him a cup of tea and sat him down on the couch across from her arm chair.
"I'm sorry to barge in so late." Percy apologized.
"No. You ain't troublin' me none, honey." The tired looking woman replied, voice soft and gentle. If it wouldn't have been for the obvious physical resemblance, Percy would never have guessed she could be Wild Bill's mother.
"I wanted to talk to you." Percy said, taking a sip of his tea. "About...well...you know."
Elmira's eyes went to Percy's rounded belly.
"How far along are you now?" She asked, her voice becoming much more timid. She didn't want to upset him.
Percy looked down to his bump. "Seven months." He told her, looking back up to meet her eyes.
"And you...you're gonna keep him?" She asked then.
Percy was silent for a moment but he slowly began to nod after giving the matter another moment's thought.
There was pleading in Mrs. Wharton's dark brown eyes. Percy wasn't that much of a fool. He could see it plainly.
"How'd you find me?" She asked him, suddenly quite curious. Had he really gone to the trouble of tracking her down.
"My Uncle's lawyer gave me your address." Percy replied.
Elmira nodded. "So...Have you thought about it? What I asked you before?"
Percy nodded.
Mrs. Wharton took in a shaky breath. "William has hurt the both of us." She said, trying to hold back the tears threatening to escape her eyes once more. "Maybe we can help each other to heal?"
"Maybe." Percy nodded, placing a hand against his belly when he felt the baby kick.
Every child should know their grandmother. This, Percy couldn't deny.
Elmira was a good woman as well, and she'd been dealt hell, having to deal with her devil of son for nineteen long years. Maybe having a little grandchild, one that was good, to fuss over would help mend her broken heart.
As for Percy's fears that his child would grow into another Wild Bill, they were put to rest. Wild Bill Wharton had two very loving and wonderful parents, yet somehow he turned into the monster that he was.
So if a child so evil could come of two people so pure, it gave Percy enough hope to think that someone good could come of a wicked father.
...
Percy turned his head when Dean came into Paul's office, a smile on his face as he held a large box in his arms.
"What is it?" Percy asked.
"Commere." Dean told him. "Got somethin' for ya."
Percy laid the files he was organizing down on the desk and approached Dean, peering down into the box as the other young man opened it up.
Inside were a bunch of little baby outfits of all colors and styles.
He looked up at Dean, not sure what to say.
"Wish I knew if it was a girl or a boy, but I guess it don't matter. There's plenty of stuff in here for either." Dean explained.
"Dean where did...?" Percy started to ask.
"Me and Brutal got three little ones of our own." Dean reminded him. "And our closet at home is full of their old baby things. Reckon they should get some use."
Percy gnawed at his lip. He'd been so awful to Dean and to Brutal. Why on earth would they treat him with such kindness?
"Don't you have a baby now?" He asked Dean. "Couldn't she still use some of this?"
Dean shook his head. "We got plenty." He assured Percy. "This is all for your little fella."
Dean was shocked when Percy hugged him.
"Thank you." He whimpered, trying to hide his tears.
"Don't mention it." Dean smiled, patting his back. "Now anything else you need, just give me a holler."
Percy dried his eyes and nodded.
Maybe these guys weren't so bad after all.
Maybe they could even be friends?