Chapter 11 – Revelations
I don't think Doralice said two words to me all night. She did nod her head once, and I spent the whole night wondering if it was her father or me she was mad at. It wasn't until she hooked her arm through mine on the way home that I was sure it wasn't me. "You alright?"
"No," she answered, and then changed her mind. "I'm better than I was. I can't imagine . . . a father that would cause his child that kind of pain . . . for what? Money? A different life? What?"
"I can't answer that, Doralice. I know I sure couldn't do it."
"You're not that kind of man. I've seen you with kids; you love 'em and they're not even yours. You'll be a great father, I just know it."
She was right about that. I've always had a soft spot for the little ones, especially the girls. They're so sweet, so pure – I can't imagine a father that could abandon his little girl. That's why my heart was broken over Doralice's pain.
"I hope so." I didn't see it then, but Doralice smiled. We'd barely talked about marriage . . . we'd never talked about children. If she could see inside my heart – I loved 'em all, and wanted a whole passel of 'em. That would probably scare her to death.
"Does Maude know yet?"
"Yeah, Cristian was gonna tell her tonight."
The thought struck both of us at the same time. "They're not married."
"And she's gonna hafta divorce Donovan to get married legally," I pointed out.
Doralice muttered something that I didn't hear, and I asked her to repeat it. "Or kill him," she stated grimly.
"Knowing Maude, she's already thought about that and decided it wasn't worth it."
My beautiful blonde shook her head. "You don't know how much she suffered when she finally took me and left him. Us Donovan's tend to loveferociously, fair warning."
We stopped right there, at the front door to the house, and I pulled her into my arms. She offered no resistance. "So do us Maverick's."
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Voices were what woke me the next morning. Voices that I couldn't identify at first. A woman's voice, full of loathing and rage. "I can't kill him, remember? He's already dead." I thought about it for a minute and realized it was Maude.
"That's not funny. How do you think I feel about it? I waited my whole life for you, and he's just stolen you out from under me." That was Cristian, with an emotion in his voice that I'd never heard from him before – anger.
"Shhhh, you two, Bart's still asleep. Have some respect." Now that one I knew immediately.
"No, he's not anymore," I called out while I pulled pants on over my long johns. I'd gotten down to my underwear last night and gone no further. Much as there were things other than sleeping that I was interested in, Doralice thought I needed the rest more. Obviously she was right, since I remembered nothing past lying down while I waited for her to come to bed.
"Maude, Cristian, Beautiful," I greeted the three of them as I made my appearance. Doralice held a cup of coffee out for me, and I took it gratefully. "You must be talkin' about Luther . . . or Jedidiah. Which one is he legally, Cristian?"
That seemed to settle Cristian down a bit. "Legally, he's still Luther Donovan. There might have been a Jedidiah Pike, but it's not him."
"And how are the proceedings going to go tomorrow?"
Cristian sighed, but I'm sure he knew I was trying to defuse the situation. "The court clerk will read the original petition and the decision that awarded ownership of the property to Pike. That's when the judge will ask if there is any evidence to show why the order should be vacated and the decision reversed. That's when I will be allowed to present my case."
"And you feel there should be no problem with our evidence or witnesses?"
"I don't see how there could be." The reasonable, clear-headed attorney was back in place of the hot-headed almost-husband.
"I have a question, my love," Maude was much more restrained than before, and I feared there was still a storm brewing. I didn't have to wait long to find out. "Do I shoot him before or after I win the case?"
"Mother!"
Maude spat out through gritted teeth, "I have every right. He's hurt every single person in this family, and for what? Why would he do a thing like that? Is he crazy?"
She'd asked the very question running through my head. "Very possibly, Maude. I suppose we're just gonna hafta wait and see."
It's hard to stay angry when no one around you is angry, and Maude finally settled down. It was Doralice I was most worried about. She was calm and steady, but there was an undercurrent that I couldn't quite place. Somewhere between extreme relief and unbridled hate, she was as controlled as I'd ever heard her. "Do we all need to be there?" I asked Cristian.
Cristian looked directly at Doralice. "No."
I nodded. "The ladies can stay away?"
I didn't get the answer I was hoping for. "No, Maude has to be there."
"But not Doralice?"
"No, Doralice doesn't have to be in court."
Very quietly from the kitchen I heard, "Yes, I do have to be there. I have to see him. I have to be able to look him in the eye and make him feel small. It's important to me."
It only took me a minute. "Then you will be." I might still try to talk her out of it, but the final decision was hers. She was a grown woman, but she was the woman I loved, and I didn't wanna see her hurt any more than she already had been.
"Maude's will be closed tomorrow. That way nobody has to think about work. I want this skunk taken care of, and then we can go on with our lives." Maude turned to her attorney, her lover, her should-be husband. "And get married all over again."
Cristian smiled. Then groaned. The rest of us laughed.
