*Author's Note*
Thank you for all the follows, favs, and reviews.
The Midnight Ride
Roseanna POV:
I was home alone doin' up the dishes as rain heavily poured down. Johnse never came home for dinner, but since the weather's a rainy mess I suppose that he's waitin' it out at his still. I was puttin' away a platter when a knock sounded out on the door. It was muffled by the pourin' rain, but I still heard it. Quickly, I left my kitchen an' went over to get the door. I was shocked to see Bud soaked to the bone standin' on my porch when I opened the door. "What're you doin' out in this, Bud?"
Takin' off his hat and holdin' it tightly, my brother blurted out, "I came t'see ya cause Tolbert an' our brothers got Johnse and Shaw up at our Uncle Harmon's old place."
"Oh my god…Bud, are ya serious?"
Bud nodded. "Tolbert's gonna kill 'em come dawn; have our brothers help."
"Get inside and warm up. I'm gonna go for help." I told Bud before rushing by him and over to the barn to saddle up my horse.
Quickly, I saddled my horse and rode off. I needed t'go tell Mr. Hatfield so he could rescue Johnse and Shaw, but first I needed to see Jessa. Her house was on the way to the main Hatfield house and I knew she needed t'know 'bout what was happenin'. I couldn't keep her in the dark 'bout Shaw bein' taken by my brothers, I cared 'bout her too much to do that. She wasn't just my friend or my cousin-by-marriage, but she was like a sister t'me.
Unmeasured Amount Of Time Later…
I was soaked right down to the bone when I reached Jessa's cabin. The lights were on, shinin' thru the sheer covered windows, an' I knew she was either cleanin' up leftovers from dinner or was tendin' to her chil'ren. Quickly, I hitched my horse to the post by the porch and ran up the front steps. "Jessa! Jessa, it's Roseanna! Open up!" I frantically shouted, smackin' on her door.
"Roseanna, what's wrong?" Jessa asked me as soon as she opened her door.
"We need to get help from Mr. Hatfield, Tolbert and my brothers got Johnse and Shaw; are plannin' on killin' 'em come dawn." I frantically told my dear friend.
"Holy shit…I knew something was wrong." Jessa sighed with fear in her eyes. Lookin' over her shoulder at Todd and Mary, she ordered, "Watch the kids, McCoys kidnapped Johnse and Shaw; I gotta ride with Roseanna to Devil Anse's for help."
"Go, we'll be fine." Todd told Jessa, wavin' at her to indicate she needed to go get help.
Jessa POV:
I didn't say a word, just nodded at Todd before shutting the door and rushing down the porch. Oh my god, I can't believe that Tolbert's going to kill Shaw and Johnse. I know that he's not fond of Johnse and hates Shaw, but kidnapping and murdering them is over the top. It's insane. "Go ahead, I'll catch up once I saddle my horse." I told Roseanna, pointing between her horse and the road before running off to the barn. I didn't catch her reply over the loud sound of the thunderstorm, but I guess she agreed to my order.
God, I felt sick to my stomach as I burst into the barn. Fear had a tight hold on my heart as I quickly grabbed a saddle from one of the beams used to store them on and made my way into a stable. God, I still couldn't believe that Tolbert had snapped; was going to kill Shaw and Johnse. Last I knew he was fixated on the pipe dream of us getting back together and running away to Oklahoma. His new insane stunt was going to get him hung or shot, not help him head west. Hell, I wonder if he even planned on going anywhere or if that was just some sweet words to try and win me back with?
Once I saddled my horse, I led it out of the barn, mounted it, and quickly rode off. It only took me a couple of minutes to catch up to Roseanna. She looked at me as she heard me ride up and admitted in a worried cry, "I'm scared, Jessa."
"I'm scared too." I admitted before spurring on my horse to gallop faster. Roseanna didn't say a word, just smacked her horse with a riding crop to get it to move faster.
We were running on borrowed time, every second was one that could be used to find and save the men. Dear god, I know that I'm not with Shaw anymore, but as the father of Silas and Lydia I only want the best for him. Being kidnapped with the looming threat of getting murdered by Tolbert wasn't for the best.
"Mr. Hatfield! Mr. Hatfield!" Roseanna loudly screamed over the downpouring rain as we rode up to the main Hatfield house.
As we quickly got off our horses the front door slammed open. Devil Anse stood in the doorway holding a rifle in his hands (he had hastily put his pants on before answering the door since he had a suspender loosely hanging one of his shoulders) while Levicy stood right behind him holding a lantern while clutching to the maroon shawl she had wrapped around her shoulders. "What's wrong?" Devil Anse asked as we started to make our way to the porch.
"My brothers got Johnse and Shaw! They're gonna kill 'em come dawn!" Roseanna cried as she froze a few feet away from the steps.
"Oh Jesus…" Levicy sighed out in shock and fear.
"Where are they?" Anse asked, hiding the fear I knew he felt behind his steel curtain of a poker face. Hell, I'd hate to play Texas Hold 'Em with him, he seemed to mask his feelings very well.
"Please promise-" Roseanna began to say only for me to loudly cut her off with, "Harmon McCoy's old cabin.", as I ushered her over to the porch steps.
"Please, don't hurt my brothers." Roseanna pleaded as we made our way onto the porch.
"If my son and cousin's unharmed then no harm shall come t'your brothers. You have my word." Devil Anse swore to his daughter-in-law in a solid, but honest tone in his deep rumbling voice.
"Go get dressed; I'll get your boots." Levicy quickly told Anse, smacking his shoulder and pushing him into the house. Looking over her shoulder, she told us. "Come in outta this mess; I'll get ya'll some warm clothes.", before following her husband into their house.
Silently, we walked into the warm house. While Anse and Levicy were running around like chickens with their heads cut off, me and Roseanna sat down at the table. It only took a couple of minutes for Devil Anse to dress, grab his guns, and take off into the middle of the night to round up a rescue posse. Levicy, true to her word, had gathered some dry dresses for me and Roseanna to change into. The woman fussed over Roseanna since she was pregnant with her grandchild and didn't want her catching a chill or anything that could harm the baby. Me tho, well she wasn't fawning all over me. I didn't mind tho, I wasn't really in the mood to have somebody hovering around me.
Sully POV:
When Devil Anse came knockin' on my door in a middle of a rainstorm I swear my heart stopped beating for a second. I knew what this midnight ride was about. Johnse gets kidnapped by Tolbert and his brothers since they were angry about their sister being knocked up. Well, since Johnse and Roseanna were married and expecting a child in wedlock I was a bit confused on why the midnight ride was still taking place. Well, I was until my cousin told me that the McCoys were holding not just Johnse, but Shaw too at Harmon's old place with the intent to kill them come dawn. Oh my god, what did my son do? He must've provoked Tolbert somehow. Damnit, and I thought he straightin' out his life in order to get his family back.
Uncle Jim claimed to know a shortcut to Harmon's old place, which would save us time. Of course, we still needed to round up everyone (minus Abel since he was married to Nancy and we didn't want her tippin' off any McCoys), which is why Anse split us up to cover more ground. I was sent to fetch Cap (and then after him Skunk Hair and Alex Messer). I was sprintin' up his porch, prayin' that we'd be able to gather everyone and make it in time to save my son. I know that Shaw wasn't perfect, but he was my kid. I wasn't there for him growing up til it was too late; something he ragefully let me know after he completed Jim's detox regimen.
"Cap! Cap, wake up! Wake up, family emergency!" I loudly shouted while banging relentlessly on his door. The sound of his newborn crying filled the air and I knew that the entire house was up. Oops, can't worry about waking a sleeping baby when lives are on the line.
The door flung open only to reveal a tired looking Cap with Allie standing behind him, bouncing their wailing newborn on her hip. "What's the family emergency?" Cap asked, his brows knitted in a worried expression as he leaned a hand on the doorjamb.
"McCoy boys led by Tolbert kidnapped Shaw and Johnse. They're holdin' them at Harmon's old place; gonna kill them come dawn." I told Cap the problem that had fallen on our family.
"Goddamn…fuckin' McCoys…" Cap shook his head. "Give me a minute t'dress." Cap told me before rushin' off to his room.
Allie looked whiter than a sheet and seemed a bit nervous too. She wouldn't look me in the eye either and for some reason I got the impression that she knew why my son got kidnapped. She knew what change was made to spark the midnight ride incident.
Meanwhile Over At Harmon McCoy's Old Cabin In The Kentucky Woods…
Shaw POV:
I was still tied up to my chair while Johnse was sitting next to me untied and eatin' a bowl of stew. The McCoys were staring at us like we were a big game changing play in the Superbowl. I hated them staring me down, felt fuckin' creepy. Johnse was just eating like a starved man, ignoring the stares on us. I narrowed my eyes at Tolbert, silently promising him that I'd get him as soon as I got freed.
Calvin took a seat next to Johnse and gave him a sympathetic look. "Normally, we wouldn't kill ya, but ya happened t'be wit' Shaw an' we gotta kill him."
"Why's that?" Johnse asked, lookin' up from his bowl after eatin' a spoonful of stew.
"Cause Tolbert's crazy ass told them so, that's why." I scoffed at my cousin, causing Calvin to look like he'd swallowed his teeth. Looking at Calvin, I chuckled, "You always blindly follow people or just your brother?"
"Shut up, Vance. Tolbert's got a good reason t'kill ya." Calvin remarked, causing me to roll my eyes at him. Johnse had a confussed look on his face. It was clear to me that he wasn't connecting the dots; couldn't figure out that Tolbert wanted me dead so he could run after Jessa. "See, once yer dead he'll be able t'marry Jessa an' claim the baby." Calvin told me as if I was a small child that couldn't understand what was going on.
"Havin' a man killed and takin' his baby ain't honorable." Johnse pointed out as he wiped some stew from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
Giving Tolbert a pointed look, I flatly informed him, "Tolbert, you're a goddamned dumbass. She'll never marry you whether I'm dead or not."
"Shut up, ya Vance Bastard!" Tolbert shouted, his face red and shakin' with anger. Hmm, seems I truck a nerve with him.
Instead of shutting up, I carried on with the hard truth of, "It's the truth, Tolbert. If she wanted you so bad she would've married you years ago. She didn't, in fact she came runnin' back to me."
Pointin' at me, the ginger roared, "I said shut up!"
"No, I ain't shuttin' up." I told Tolbert, causing him to narrow his eyes hatefully at me. I could feel all of the other McCoys staring at me too as I bluntly went on to say, "In fact, Jessa planned on leavin' you a month or so after she had my son, Silas, but that shady fuck Brenton Landon just had to open his mouth about my knocked up whore of a housekeeper and she decided to stay with you cause she was upset at me about accidently knockin' up Lydia's birth mom."
Tolbert's stormy eyes were ablaze with rage as he shouted on top of his lungs at me, "Yer a liar! She'd nev'r leave me after givin' birth!"
"I ain't lyin', Tolbert. She always wanted me, but seemed to settle with you til it was possible for us to be together."
"Shut up!" He ordered in a loud shout.
Raising a brow at him, I sarcastically asked, "Or what, are ya gonna beat my brains out if I keep talkin'?"
Tolbert's face twitched and moved angrily as he bolted up out of his chair. Well shit, looks like I pissed him off. What else's new. He stormed over and stopped right in front of me. He didn't say a word, just furrowed his brows at me. Tolbert was trying to scare me, but it wasn't working. I worked part time on one of the biggest ranches in Tulsa, did some after dark work (shady illegal stuff to benefit the ranch) too, so I wasn't scared of some hot-headed ginger that needed to eat a handful of happy and chill pills.
Tilting my head towards Johnse, I asked the fuming redhead, "So, can I get some of that stew? I mean I did miss my family dinner cause ya kidnapped me."
Tolbert's jaw twitched angry and before I even knew what hit me, he punched me across the face. Getting into my face he chuckled, "Told ya t'shut up."
Lifting me head up, I scoffed, "You're a lil bitch, Tolbert. Hittin' a man that's tied up and defenseless."
"I'm sick of yer lies! Shut up!" Tolbert screamed before hittin' me again.
Well, looks like I pissed him off real good.
Jessa POV:
"You're worried sick your new baby won't ever meet his father." Levicy stated, not asked, as she took a seat next to me in front of the fire place. I gave her a wide-eyed look that was full of shock. How did she know I was pregnant? Handing me a steaming hot cup of tea, she told me, "You keep restin' your hand on your belly." I did? As I took the cup from her, she added in as an afterthought, "Many expectant mothers do it without even realizin' it."
Sipping on my tea, I sighed, "Oh…"
She placed a reassuring hand on top of mine. "I'm scared too, but Anderson's a good man and I know he 'rounded everyone up in plenty of time and right now they're ridin' over to Kentucky to rescue both Johnse and Shaw."
Looking into my teacup, I revealed softly, "I had this gut feeling all night that something was wrong. I knew that Shaw wouldn't miss dinner on purpose, especially tonight since he wanted to talk 'bout the baby."
Giving me a tender look, Levicy squeezed my hand and assured me in a motherly way, "Don't worry, sweetheart, you'll be able to talk with him about the baby once my Anderson and the others get him to safety."
I looked at her with distressed indigo eyes. "But how can you be so sure that they'll be okay? Tolbert hates Shaw; I doubt he'll wait til dawn to kill him."
"I'm sure cause as a mother and a wife I have to have faith that my husband will bring my boy home 'long with your man cause we're family." She told me with such resolve in her syrupy tone. Shaking my hand, she went on to say, "Family unity is strength and it's all that we have right now."
"Oh, Levicy, I knew from the moment that Shaw walked out the door after breakfast that something was gonna go wrong. I just had a feeling; I should've stopped him from leaving." I rambled in a guilt-ridden way, feeling as if everything was my fault.
Levicy shook her head while softly telling me, "Oh, no, sweetheart, this ain't on you. All of this trouble's on the McCoy boys and nobody else." God, this is all my fault. Tolbert hates Shaw, I should've slammed the door in his face when he came knocking. I should've known that getting close to Tolbert would put Shaw in danger.
Her words had done nothing to soothe me. I just shook my head and cried, "But I had a feeling and ignored it. Shaw wanted to talk about the baby this morning, but I blew him off cause of a dull headache. If I would've just talk to him…"
"The McCoys would've just taken him and Johnse later then, but I'm sure that no matter what they would've been kidnapped cause the McCoys were on a mission t'do so." Levicy reasoned in a hard set tone, trying her damnedest for me to accept her logic. Pushing some hair behind my ear, she told me in a motherly way, "Don't worry yourself none, it ain't good for the baby. Shaw'll come home safe and sound; ya'll be able to reunite for the baby and fix what's broken 'tween ya for your family's sake."
It was at that very moment I realized that my fate was sealed. No longer could I be single, but because of this stunt Tolbert pulled I'd now have to marry Shaw. I couldn't very well reject him, not after he was kidnapped and almost killed by McCoys, cause it'd make me look bad and suspicious. I needed to become Mrs. Eldridge for survival; to keep my kids safe too. I had no choice, I needed to cement myself with Shaw in order to get out of the coming storm alive cause I'm sure that the Hatfields are going to be raining hell down on Tolbert, the McCoys, and anyone they view as allied with the Kentuckians.
"Yea…" I nodded, causing Levicy to pat my shoulder in an assuring way. Sipping on my tea, I asked, "Where's Roseanna? Is she resting?"
"She's on the sofa. She tired herself out wit' worry; just dozed right off while I was makin' the tea." Levicy told me, subtly nudging her head towards the sofa.
"Oh…"
"Roseanna's a sweet girl, but she doesn't have the inner strength that you do. The strength it takes to live with a man tied to a feud; raise chil'ren an' mend wounds wit'out sheddin' a tear."
Blinking my eyes, I asked in awe, "You really think I'm strong enough to handle this hard feud life?"
"Yes." Levicy told me, causing me to nod. Giving me a knowing look, she explained herself with, "You've been thru so much and never crumbled; I see you to just keep pushin' on and survivin'."
Meanwhile Over At Harmon McCoy's Old Cabin In The Kentucky Woods…
Shaw POV:
"One more hour to go." Tolbert taunted in a bored tone as he lazily held his pocket watch up for me and Johnse to see.
A tear slid down my cousin's cheek, making me feel bad for him. He was carefree and friendly; didn't deserve to be held hostage and murdered by McCoys. It was me Tolbert wanted dead not Johnse so him bein' mixed up in this shit was tragic. I narrowed my eyes (well one eye since the other was swelled shut from a beating I took from the ginger a few hours ago) at Tolbert. "Let him go, Tolbert. He's your kin by marriage and the father of your sister's unborn baby, he doesn't derve to die by your hand."
"Can't let him go, he's a witness." Tolbert told me in an eerily calm tone.
"You're a heartless bastard, Tolbert. It's me you want dead, but you'll kill an innocent man just cause he was ridin' with me."
"Nothin' innocent 'bout bein' a Hatfield." Th ginger sneered.
"You mean bein' a Vance, dumbass. We share the same grandma, Delize Vance." I informed my enemy with a smirk.
"Shut up!" Tolbert ordered in an angry roar while his brothers just looked at him like he'd grown another head.
Meanwhile Somewhere In The Woods By The Kentucky/West Virginia Border
Jim POV:
Our posse was huge an' we were ridin' as fast as we could thru the backwoods trails. I was leadin' the posse since I knew a shortcut to the shithole my nephews were bein' held at. I was flanked by Devil Anse an' Sully, who wanted t'save their sons more than anythin' in the world. I too wanted to save Johnse and Shaw.
Goddamned shit turd McCoys, kidnappin' and plannin' t'execute my nephews at dawn. Bastards all needed shot, but I'm sure Anse wouldn't condone that. No, my nephew'd just scare 'em an' threaten them.
By god, I hope we ain't too late. I don't wanna be bringin' my nephews home dead to their families instead of alive an' fairly well since I'm sure they've taken a beatin' or two by the hands o'McCoys.
AN:
So, help is on the way, but will it reach Johnse and Shaw in time? Seems that Shaw sure does know how to push Tolbert's buttons. Do you agree with Jessa's logic, is she stuck with Shaw cause of what Tolbert's done?