23

I washed the dishes glancing back at Luda Mae who just sipped her drink in silence and I sighed some and looked through the window above the sink. Thomas was dragging the bodies inside the barn and closing the door behind him. I sighed some.

"I'll go clean up the living room. Lord knows we can't have guests in a dirty house." Luda Mae said almost in a trance. I shook my head and turned to her.

"No Luda Mae, let me." I replied and she waved off my words.

"A woman's gotta do something to get this horrible morning out of her mind. I'll do it." she pressed and I nodded not wanting to get her worked up. I turned back and began to finish the dishes. Charlie came back in and just sat down sighing some as he was in his officer's uniform pants and white t-shirt.

"What did Tom say?" I asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know." he said as if teasing me. I rolled my eyes and put the dishes away in the cabinets. "He of course invited us to dinner, wanting to bury the hatchet between us." There was silence now. I looked away for a moment before in his direction, but not directly at him.

"And what did you say?" I asked.

"I told him our family was perfectly fine, we ain't got no issues with our other kin. If anything, the offense was pointed at us and started with them. It's going to be getting cold at night and colder during the day. We need enough meat and clothes to survive the winter. And that means everybody will be relying on everybody. So they are going to come over tonight for dinner and you'll keep the peace and they'll keep the peace. Got it?" he asked. I huffed some and nodded.

"Yes. Of course." I replied.

"Besides, we may need Ned in the long run." he said. I huffed loudly now.

"Yeah I guess we need a doctor for support." I muttered, and he laughed now.

"Naw we gonna need him to for deliverin' babies." he said and I paused in my movements and just turned and looked at him.

"Which one of our kin is pregnant?" I asked, and he motioned his head at me.

"You, soon, if you two keep going at it like wild animals." he said. I looked down in utter shock. I honestly did not even think about a child growing inside me. And he's right, Thomas and I have not been holding back and it was only a matter of time until I got pregnant. Could I be pregnant now? Could I handle a pregnancy? The thought honestly scared me. I shook my head.

"We'll deal with that road if that time comes." I replied and Charlie laughed.

"Not when. If." he said coolly and I just looked off from him in thought. After Luda Mae and I fixed breakfast, the day went on as if nothing happened, as if I didn't just shoot a man in the head. I was officially a murderer no longer a victim or hostage of this family. Charlie left in his police car to hunt down more people. Luda Mae was in her room napping from the earlier events and Thomas was down stairs in the basement. I had just finished a shower and was standing in the mirror staring at my stomach. Imagining another human being growing inside me, was just hard to imagine. It didn't even matter if I questioned myself on if I wanted kids. My hands gently trailed over my stomach and I tried to picture myself round and aching from the baby's existence. If I kept this up with Thomas I was sure to get pregnant. Did he want kids? Is that something we should talk about? I heard large footsteps coming up the stairs and knew it was Thomas. I wrapped a towel around myself and moved out into the hallway. He was just about to close the door on the other side of the hall until he saw me and paused.

His eyes were curious as he looked at me and grew worried when I didn't smile or show emotion to his presence. He moved back into the hallway and over to my room and I opened the door so he could enter. He just stood in the middle of the room and I moved over to the end of my bed and sat down. He stared at me with a tilt of his head. Blood stained his apron and hands and he just waited for me to speak.

"Do you… want children?" I asked. His head leaned back some, eyes becoming somewhat unreadable as he looked down at the ground in thought. Bits of his hair rolled over his eyes face, his cloth tight around his mouth. I felt nervous now thinking maybe he didn't want any and was trying to find a way to let me down easily.

"With you." he answered in a mumble, and I looked up at him with hopeful eyes. He walked over to me and got down on his knees before me and I opened my legs so he could fit between them. His eyes remained connected on my stomach and I removed the towel so he could see me. He gently raised his hands and placed his palms over my stomach. "No one… only you." I smiled softly at his words and leaned down so our foreheads could touch and something in me felt confident that if I got pregnant, I'd be ready. I gently raised my fingers and pulled the cloth slowly down under his chin and he looked up at me with his usual soft features. I leaned in and kissed him gently.

I could see it in his eyes, that Thomas was tired and so we separated so he could sleep. After a few hours, Luda Mae was back up and making some meat stew in the kitchen. So they were coming over. All four of them. I could only imagine how this would play out. I took Charlie's truck into town and this time came back with numerous dresses and blankets. They weren't really my style, but they were warm to wear so that's what I needed. I even found some nice sweaters to go over the dresses and blankets as well. I felt like I was in the old west or something. I chuckled to myself as I was drying back to the house.

When the sun began to go down, I knew it was only a matter of time until our company arrived and they did.

Mary Jo glared daggers at me, her face now healed, but mild scaring remained. I just smirked triumphantly. Tom was sitting beside her, and beside him was Leanne then Ned. At the head of the table was of course Charlie. Sitting beside me was Thomas and on his right Luda Mae. We were eating in silence now and I seemed perfectly fine with that. Thomas didn't touch his food and I glanced up at him. He just sat there, hands on his knees just staring at his food with unreadable eyes. I was happy he felt comfortable enough to eat with us, but with these people here, there wasn't a chance in hell. I could sense his uncomfortableness. Since my hand was beneath the table, I lightly reached over and placed my hand over his. He looked up at me and I nodded.

"Well, Luda Mae, I must say this soup is delicious." Ned said kindly and Luda smiled.

"Well thank you Ned. Always the sweet one." she said. Ned gave a happy smile, his brown mustache moving perfectly with his lips. Leanne just shot glances at me. She had a small neck brace protecting her neck. I would love to see Thomas break it in front of me.

"Well let's get down to business. We want to keep the peace we should say our peace and put this foolishness behind us." Charlie said. immediately Leanne looked at me.

"You're a monster." she started. I just stared at her with a mild grimace.

"Momma." Tom warned sharply.

"You don't even belong to this family by blood." Mary Jo added.

"Then why don't we change that then." Ned said causing everyone to look at him. Charlie wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"And how do you suppose that?" he asked curiously. Ned shrugged.

"I marry my oldest son to your youngest daughter. Just like the old times." he said. Now everyone looked in Ned's direction in shock, his smile remaining pure and innocent. That's when I knew there was more to this weak husband then I thought.

"WHAT!" Both Leanne and her children snapped. But the icing on the cake was the table immediately being lifted and thrown into the wall, food going everywhere. Thomas was on his feet huffing and growling in anger as he stared down at Ned. I just nodded.

"I agree with Thomas." I merely answered.