*Author's Note*
Thanks for all of the follows, faves, and reviews.
Worried Sick
Cap POV:
I was leanin' my arm 'gainst a tree, takin' a piss, whenever I heard footsteps come up from behind. Aha, so the plan to lure that deputized bounty huntin' scum worked. "William 'Cap' Hatfield?" I heard the man ask from 'hind me in his hard and ragged tone.
"Yep." I popped my tongue, turnin' 'round with my hands raised. I cocked my head to the side mockingly at the man.
Mr. Miller's face skewed up as he barked, "Button your dick, you vulgar bastard." Yea, well, dumbass, I wouldn't be freely hangin' out if ya didn't interrupt me waterin' the tree. I cut my mismatched eyes at him, lookin' at his as he took his gun from his holster. As he cleared his throat, I saw Uncle Jim sneakin' up 'hind him, a hatchet in his hand. "I'm arrestin' you for the unlaw murders of Tolbert, Pharmer, and Bud Mc-Oomph…" Mr. Miller told me before gettin' a hatchet smashed in the back of his head by Jim, causin' him to crumbled dead to the ground.
Noddin' I walked over to the man and finished my piss, finished it right on him. Jim tilted his head at me, and I just shrugged while holdin' back a smirk. Looks like one less piece of shit to hunt down my family. I was rightin' myself whenever Jim spoke up with the rough tongued suggestion of, "We ought'a bring him back to his employer. Let that bamboozler know his deputy's done wit' his duties."
I just nodded. "Sure, what's the plan."
"One that'll make you catch a whole lotta hell once ya get home from the Missus." Uncle Jim told me, givin' me serious look as he traced the edge of his hatchet with his thumb.
"Nova'll be fine when I tell her what happened, now what's the plan?"
"We take him 'cross the Tug into Pikeville an' lean him up 'gainst Perry Cline's office door as if he's passed out drunk. When Perry goes to wake 'im he'll fall over dead wit' his head split right open, sendin' that lawyer a message he'll never forget." Jim explained, his eyes bright an' twinklin' with mirth.
"A'ight, let's do it." I agreed to the plan. "I'll get our horse, just stay here an' watch Mr. Miller." I instructed Jim 'fore takin' off to retrieve our horses from a hitch post out front of the tavern.
"Will do." Echoed Jim's voice, causin' me to just shake my head. Looks like I got a late night out tonight.
Novella POV:
I had been pacing the floors for hours now like a frantic wreck. Cap hadn't come home when he should, which is frightening considerin' he has a price on his head. At first, I wasn't bothered, but once an hour turned to three, I was worried. I had made up a little lie for Anna so she wouldn't be worried, I had told her that pa had to work late helping her Unca Jim do watch duty at the family saw mill. It wasn't true, but the simple fib fooled my daughter and prevented her from askin' any questions.
Unfortunately, since I was the one that made the fib I wasn't fooled. No, instead I was worried out of my mind. With all these bounty hunters lurkin' about anythin' could've happened to my husband. I mean I was so worried that I never changed for bed after tucking my daughter in. Hell, back when I was married to Tolbert, I shrugged off the nights he came home at an ungodly hour or not at all, chalkin' it up after a while to be a norm, but that wasn't the case now with Cap. I knew what kind of man Cap was, even tho we'd only been married a couple of months; I knew that he'd never stay out too late on his own merit. He took his family responsibilities to heart, he wouldn't shirk them.
I was in the middle of pacin' the floor whenever I heard the door open with a slight creak. I spun 'round on my heel only to see my husband walking thru the door, his heavy bootsteps thunkin' against the floorboards. "Where the hell have you been?! I've been worried sick outta my mind." I snapped at Cap as he closed the door and removed his guns, hanging them in the rack by the door.
"Me and Jim had'a bring Mr. Miller back home. He got into some trouble at the tavern." Cap said, a slight chuckle in his deep timbre, as he removed his hat and coat and hung them on the hooks.
"Cap, Mr. Miller's a bounty hunter. Hell, my brother told me this mornin' the man's a deputized one." I told my husband, givin' him a narrowed look, as I started to walk over to him. "What did you do?" I asked as he began walkin' towards me.
Meetin' up with me in the middle of the main room he smirked while takin' my hand in his. "Me and Jim split his head open, then escorted him back to his employers' office."
"Are you nuts?!" I asked in loud snap, yankin' my hands outta his calloused ones. "You killed a deputized bounty hunter and then took him to Pikeville, which might I add is crawlin' with more bounty hunters that want you dead, in order to drop him off at Perry Cline's doorstep." I rambled, relayin' the actions that my husband did since I couldn't believe it. "That's insane and risky. What if you were caught, you'd had been killed?"
"I weren't caught now was I. Hell, I did what had'a be done."
"No, what ya did was scare me half to death by not comin' home. I thought somethin' bad had happened to you, ya big asshole." I snapped, lettin' my pent up emotions out on my husband.
"Ain't nothin' gonna happen to me, I can take care of myself an' handle anythin'." Cap arrogantly remarked, a smirk on his face.
I countered my husband's arrogance with a shriek of, "How can you say that? You can't be that cocky to think that you can walk into the lion's den over and over to always come out unscathed."
"Nobody's put a bullet in me yet, have they?" Cap rhetorically asked 'fore goin' on to order me in a rollin' deep tone of, "Now stop your fussin', woman."
How dare he speak to me like that. Oh no, he don't get to do that. I put up with bullshit with Tolbert and I refuse to do it with Cap. "Don't you dare talk to me like that. Callin' me woman, who'd ya think I am? Huh, one of those whores you used t'keep company with or one of the wiltin' violets ya failed to court? I'm your wife, don't talk down to me."
Cap rolled his mismatched eyes and let a huff tumble out of his lips, his mustache archin' up with the movement. I shook my head at him and narrowed my cornflower blues 'fore spinnin' on my heel and makin' to go my bedroom. I never got more than a couple steps across the floor, Cap grabbed my upper arm in a firm grip and spun me 'round to face him. His face was as hard as stone, but his icy eye and it's milky twin held so much resolve in them as he stared down at me. His scruff covered jaw was firmly set as he told me in his deep timbre, "I don't mean no offense, sweetlin', but I can handle myself wit' a gun. I'm the best shot in the Tug, fastest draw too." His eyes softened a bit as he went on to tell me, "I apologize for comin' home late, but not for why. I did what had'a be done to send a message to Cline, get him to stop sendin' his scum over here to hunt us."
Noddin' I softly told him, "I know, but don't mean I gotta like what ya did or why." Cap let me arm go, lookin' at me as if he was waitin' for me to start beratin' him 'gain. I wasn't tho, instead I told him the sad reality of, "Perry Cline won't stop, or at least not til we're all jailed or dead. He's too clever to just pull his men off us, he'll find somebody that ain't easy taken out to hunt our family."
"Well, if he does then I'll keep cuttin' 'em down. All us men will, only way to keep ya women folk an' chil'ren safe." My husband said in an overly cocky tone, standin' tall with his chest puffed out in a show of strength.
"Just don't do anythin' you don't have to do. Don't go puttin' yourself into danger. Okay, Will." I ordered him, my flowin' voice soft, but firm, as I gave him a serious and hard look.
Cap's brow rose haphazardly as he questioningly trailed off, "Will?..."
"What, it's your name ain't it?" I asked in a snap, tryin' to cover my tracks since I never really used that name for him.
A genuine smile split his rugged face as he mused, "Ya care a lot for me, usin' my real name an' all."
"Of course, I care a lot 'bout ya. We're married and 'fore that we were t'gether for a time." I honestly told Cap, revealin' my bottled up feelin's. "You're a good man, how couldn't I care?" I rhetorically asked, takin' his hand in mine and lightly squeezin' it.
Cap nodded 'fore makin' a confession of his own. "I feel the same way 'bout ya. It's why I do what I do when it comes to these bounty hunters. I gotta take 'em out to keep ya safe, Anna too."
So, it was all out on the table now. We truly cared for each other, maybe felt somethin' more, but weren't ready to say it out loud just yet. Who knew that bickerin' 'bout him comin' home late would turn into us revealin' to each other that our marriage was real an' wasn't one of convenience or show.
Moses POV:
The sun had just risen and instead of bein' in my bed sleepin' in like God intended on a Saturday mornin' I was walkin' with my Uncle Perry to the law office. Yea, I was stuck goin' to work on the damn weekend. Eh, not what I wanted to do. Hell, that useless ex-whore of a housekeeper wasn't even up yet so I didn't even get any breakfast. As I followed behind my uncle, who had his satchel slung 'cross his shoulder, I noticed that a few shopkeeprs were up tidyin' up their storefronts. One shopkeeper in particular stuck out to me since he kept on sweepin' up the same small area over an' over while subtly lookin' over his shoulder at my uncle's law office, which was 'cross the street from him. Odd, very odd.
Once we reached the front door of the office, I understood why the shopkeeper 'cross the street was actin' so odd for. Leanin' 'gainst, well more like crumbled up on, the door frame was that deputized bounty hunter Mr. Miller and he was as dead as a doornail. How'd I know he was dead was cause his skin was pale an' ashy, the rigor was takin' over his body.
My uncle, bless his snotty black heart, had no idea that his minion was dead. Nope, he wasn't bright 'nough to figure it out. He thought the man was passed out drunk or asleep. "Miller! Wake up Miller!" Uncle Perry shouted in a bellowed command as he stepped up the front porch of his law office. My uncle left out a frustrated huff as I made my way onto the porch. Marchin' over to the slumped over man he snapped, "I said wake up Miller!" Uncle Perry nudged Mr. Miller's shoulder as he stood next to him, only to jump back with a startled shriek whenever the deputized bounty hunter fell over on his side, dead. The lifeless man's hat fell his head, revealin' the deep split in his skull that no doubt killed him an' was done by an axe.
"That one of your deputies ya sent over?" Bad Frank sarcastically asked from his spot by his horse at the hitch post 'cross the street. How observant, the vile ex-pinkerton figured out what was goin' on. He deserves a shot of bourbon for bein' so bright. Not…
Uncle Perry looked over his shoulder and told me, "Go to the undertaker down the street and tell him to come collect Mr. Miller's body. Then come right back here, we got work to do when it comes to takin' down the Hatfields."
Noddin' I simply told him, "Okay, Uncle Perry." I turned 'round and walked 'way from the office while I heard the door open, indicatin' that my uncle was enterin' the buildin' behind me. Slowly I walked up the street to where Mr. Goodpasture's funeral parlor was at. Can't say I'm too upset 'bout the change up in my Saturday mornin' routine, in fact I don't mind havin' to go to the undertaker's cause it means my sister and her family's safe. I'm not stupid, I know who took out Mr. Miller and have the balls t'drop him off at Uncle Perry's off, Cap and Jim Vance. Good for them, they rattled my uncle's cage.
Novella POV:
The slight ray of early mornin' light wasn't what woke me up, but instead the churnin' feelin' in my stomach had my eyes openin' wit' a sudden pop. Cap was still sleepin' next to me, his head buried in the pillow as one of his arms was lazily draped ov'r me in a loose an' protective hold. As I sat up in bed, in an attempt to soothe my sudden bought of acid reflex an' sour stomach, my husband's arm slid off of me. He continued to sleep, obviously tired an' needin' rest after the long events of last night, as I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down.
After a few moments I felt my stomach settle a bit, tho it was still queasy, and I knew it was time to get up an' start breakfast. I got out of bed, quickly dressed, and then went out to collect some eggs from the coop and some bacon from the smokehouse out back. Once back inside the house I went into the kitchen, fired up the stove, and started breakfast.
I was halfway down with fryin' up the bacon whenever suddenly I smelled a waft of the pork that made me sick in a snap of a finger. Quickly I ran out the backdoor, heavin' up bile in a patch of snow-covered ground. As I stood straight up, wipin' off the corner of my mouth, I realized that my sudden upset stomach wasn't that, but was the mornin' sickness. Dear lordy, I've only been married a couple months or so now and I'm already wit' child. I been I knew that eventually we'd have chil'ren, but I wasn't expectin' it to be so soon.
"So, looks like there'sa bun in the oven." I heard my husband's deep rollin' timbre sound out from behind me.
I turned 'round to find my husband leanin' 'gainst the door jam, a half et piece of bacon in his hand. Noddin', I went over to him while simply squeakin' out, "Yea."
"Well, that explains why ya were overreactin' last night." Rolled out of Cap's mouth as I passed him on my way back into the house.
"Why'd ya say that for?" I asked, walkin' over to the stove only to discover that the meat skillet was push to the back of the woodstove. It was empty, the bacon once in it was coolin' an' drainin' on a platter on the nearby counter. Cap, bein' a thoughtful husband, had taken care of the breakfast meat so that it wouldn't burn.
"Pregnant woman are more quick tempered an' emotional, least my ma is." Cap replied to me as he walked inside the kitchen, closin' the backdoor behind him wit' a slight slam.
"Oh…" Flowed off my tongue as I grabbed a skilled off the wall hook by the stove in order to scramble up some eggs. "Since we haven't been married too long are ya okay wit' havin' a baby so soon?" I asked while placin' some curned butter, that I made the other day, into the skillet I'd just put on the hot stove.
"Yea. If I weren't I'd been more careful wit'cha." My husband replied, a slight chuckle mixed in wit' his low wavin' tone. The sound of his boots scrapin' 'gainst the floorboards echoed in the air was he came up 'hind me. Kissin' me on my temple he assured me, "Sweetlin', don't worry, I'm happy we're expectin'."
I looked over my shoulder an' smiled at my husband 'fore startin' to crack eggs into the sizzlin' hot skillet. Cap just walked over to the corner of the kitchen the coffee supplies was at, determined to make a pot while I finished up breakfast.
"Really? Oh, Nova, that's wonderful news. I knew it was gonna happen." Vera beamed wit' a bright smile as we sat at my kitchen table with coffee pot and plate of pastries 'tween us, reactin' to the news that I'd just told her.
"Yea." I smiled before adding as I picked up my coffee mug, "Cap's really exicted 'bout it."
"Talk 'bout Cap, where is he this Saturday afternoon?" Vera innocently asked since Cap was already gone whenever she arrived at our house for a mid-day visit.
"Off at Uncle Jim's sharin' the big news. Most likely they're celebratin' over cigars an' whiskey."
"Oh, bet they're already makin' plans to take a lil boy huntin' an' fishin'."
"Men and their plans for boys." I scoffed, shakin' my head as I grabbed one of the pastries and began pickin' it apart, ploppin' a piece into my mouth. "Tho a baby boy'd be nice to have considerin'…." I revealed, trailin' off before I could actually speak 'bout Tol or Bert.
Vera just nodded, grabbin' her cup and takin' a long sip off it. Lookin' 'cross the room to our daughters playin' on a blanket coverin' the floor she asked, "Did ya'll tell Anna yet?"
"Yea, we did that this mornin'. She's excited to be havin' a baby brother or sister." I answered 'fore ploppin' a piece of pastry into my mouth.
Vera placed a hand on mine, that was restin' on the table, and gave me a soft smile. "From last year to now it seems everythin's changed for the better for ya'll. Got a good family goin' on now."
"Yea." I simply nodded while returnin' her soft smile with one of my own. Despite bein' wanted with a price on my head I had a real family now, one that I felt I was lackin' years ago.
*Meanwhile A Few Miles Away*
Cap POV:
The fire was roarin' in the small main room of Jim's cabin as we sat in front of the fireplace. Jim was leanin' back in his chair, bottle of whiskey danglin' in his large hand. I just took a long draw off my cigar as my uncle chuckled wit' a wryly smirk, "Didn't take long t'knock her up now did it."
"Jim, we're married so what else are we s'posed to do?" I rhetorically asked him, a smirk of my own on my face, as I snatched the bottle from his hand. I took a quick swig of whiskey then handed the bottle back to him all the while starin' at the orange-yellow flames dancin' on the logs in the fireplace.
While grabbin' the bottle Uncle Jim's coarse voice drawled out with, "Ya know, son, when I was your age, I had a woman." Really? I never knew that, I just assumed he was always a bachelor backwoods mountain man. He took a swig off his bottle and scratched Mr. Howles, who was sittin' by my uncle's side, on the head more reminiscin', "Even tho I was a mean sumbitch she loved me. Even lived up here in this 'ere cabin too." A sad look appeared in my usually hard uncle's eye and I just knew in my gut that she didn't leave him willin'ly, but tragically. "We were expectin', but she died 'long wit' the baby in the birthin' bed." Jim took a long pull off the whiskey bottle, starin' aimlessly into the fire as old long forgotten an' painful memories took hold of him. Shakin' his head Jim shrugged everythin' off wit' a gruff drawl of, "But that's all in the past, ain't important no more."
I think it was in a way more important to him then what he claimed, but I wasn't goin' to tell him that. Instead I just nodded and took a puff off my cigar. A lined smirk appeared on my face as I told Jim, "Looks like you're gonna get 'nother niece or nephew to look after."
Jim spit a large wad of tobacky juice into the spittoon nearby. With a serious look he told me, "Hope it's a boy, it'd do ya both good havin' a son over 'nother daughter."
"Reckon so." I simply replied, tapin' the ashes of my cigar off on the tray settin' on the small table next to me. I knew what he meant, a boy'd help Nova get over the lingerin' feelin's of loss she might still have from the deaths of her sons with Tolbert while for me a boy'd carry on my legacy.
A silence fell over us as we continued drinkin' an' smokin' while sittin' by the fireplace. The need to talk was done, but the need for company wasn't. I must admit I came ov'r here to share my good news with my uncle and never thought he'd reveal some of his past to me. Hell, I thought I knew everything there was to know 'bout Jim, but guess I was wrong. In a way I think he doted on me as a way to replace the child he lost. Think he picked me cause I was always a lively, but serious child, unlike Johnse who was cheerful an' docile, and he felt I needed mentorin'. More so after my loggin' accident.
"So, ya catch hell last night?" Uncle Jim asked, breakin' the silence in the air. 'Fore I could say a word he quickly chuckled, "Bet'cha did since she's knocked up."
Good ole Jim, sure does know how to word things. I just nodded as simple, "Yep.", popped outta my mouth.
Jim let out a deep laugh from deep in his belly and took a swig of whiskey. His laughter was catchin' and without warnin' I let out a chuckle of my own as I held my cigar 'tween my fingers.
AN:
So, Cap and Nova are expecting, how exciting. Didn't take them long did it, LOL! Anyways, hope ya'll liked this chapter. Is there anything you guys want to see in particular on either side of the feud (Hatfields or McCoys)?
