*Author's Note*

Thanks for reading, faving, following, and reviewing.

This first scene is similar to the one I did between Pharmer and Tolbert in my other story when they took Johnse. My other story Thrown Into McCoy's Feud is almost done. It should be wrapping up in a couple of weeks, then on to the sequel Surviving With The Devil's Son. I've already started on the first chapter/prologue of that too.

Anyways read and enjoy this new chapter.

A Good Man

Tolbert POV:

After knockin' out Johnse we brought him to my Uncle Harmon's old place. It was an old wooden two-story house that had peelin' white paint turnin' grey-black wit' collected dirt that's been caked on it ov'r the years. The wood of the small steps an' front porch was turnin' green wit' rot too. The inside looked better, thank god. The stove an' fridge was still in the kitchen, that was open with the small livin' room, but the electric an' gas was cut off years 'go. A stone wood burnin' fireplace was in the middle of the room, right off the kitchen, so we had'a start a fire for light an' to cook wit'. At least a few chairs were left in the house. Other then that the old place was bare.

It's been hours since we arrived here wit' Johnse and the fool was still out cold. We tied him up to a chair an' stuck him in a corner. Currently I was sittin' in a chair on one side of the fireplace while Pharmer sat on the other side, stirrin' a pot of rabbit an' wild root stew we had cooking. Currently we were the only ones in the house since Calvin and Jim were out gatherin' more firewood since it looked like it was gonna rain.

"How's things goin' 'tween ya and Novella?" Pharmer asked me as I started out the window near the fireplace, watchin' the sky grow darker as the moon started to rise as the sun disappeared for the night.

"Not good." I sighed, leanin' back in my chair in slight defeat.

Turnin' his head to look at me he asked, "What'cha mean by that?"

I let out a long sigh 'fore my velvet-gruff voice spoke out wit' the hard hittin' explanation of, "We hooked up on her birthday an' now she's pregnant, but she's seein' an' shakin' up wit' Cap Hatfield now."

"Oh, congrats on the baby." Pharmer smiled, his tone genuinely happy, as he went back to stirrin' the cook pot. "'Bout the Cap thing I think she's just doin' that to try and help us get off cause he's the ADA on our case." He told me, tryin' to ease my mind even tho it weren't workin'.

Shakin' my head I told my brother, my favorite one, in a sad smooth tone, "No, it ain't that. She says she loves him."

"Of course, she's gonna say that, can't risk him overhearin' otherwise. Pharmer does make sense wit' that remark, but there's a chance it ain't so an' that she really does love that one-eyed bastard. Lookin' 'tween me an' the cast iron kettle in the roarin' fireplace my brother advised me in a simple-soundin' tone, "Once our trial's ov'r an' she helps us get free just tell her how ya feel. Let her know that ya want her, the baby, you, an' Sally Elle to be a family."

Wit' one of my brows raised I asked, "Ya think she'll listen?"

"She'll listen, she loves ya, Tolbert. Wouldn't be helpin' our case if she didn't." Pharmer told me, inspectin' the stew wit' his ladle, in a very light, but firm tone. He truly believed what he was sayin', that much was clear t'me.

Noddin' my head I sighed, "Reckon yer right, brother."

The door creaked open and in walked Jim and Calvin wit' pieces of sticks and fall wood pieces in their arms. They both were wet, looked like drown rats actually since they just got caught in the downpour that had started up. Calvin just walked silently to the fireplace, to drop the wood off next to it. Jim tho, on his way to dump his arm full of wood into the corner, looked at Johnse slumped ov'r in his chair and asked me, "Is he okay?"

"He's fine." I simply told my older brother, wavin' off his concerns.

"Ya sure?" Jim pried instead of just lettin' it be.

"Yea, 'sides we're just gonna take him out back when he gets up and shoot him in the head and dump him in a hole anyways." I snarked back, my gruff voice full of both aggravation and tiredness. Sittin' in a chair by the fire watchin' a knocked-out prisoner for hours after hours wears ya out. Hope the fucker wakes up soon so I can shoot 'im an' the hell on home. Hopefully I'll get home 'fore my lil girl's bed time.

When Johnse finally came to it was completely dark outside. The only light we had came from the fireplace, a few scattered flashlights, an' the silver-white glow of the moon shinnin' thru the window. My brothers were all sittin' down as I walked ov'r to Johnse, slow like a mountain lion stalkin' up its prey. Johnse's blue eyes shined wit' fear as he trembled, "Why am I here, Tolbert?"

I stopped right in front of him an' bent down, gettin' eye level wit' him. A snarlin' smirk crossed my face as I sneered, "Cause we're gonna kill ya. Payback for all the hell the Hatfields 've put us thru."

A lost look full o'confusion crossed ov'r the blonde pretty boy's dumb face. "What? But I haven't done nothin'. Tolbert, my family ain't none nothin' to yours either."

"Ya ain't gettin' no rights to my sister's lil girl cause yer gonna be dead." I promised him, my face up in his as I hissed, my lips curled up showin' my gritted teeth.

"That's what this is all 'bout, me wantin' my rights as a daddy t'Sarah Elizabeth?" Johnse asked, his eyes wide wit' disbelief. "Hell, Tolbert, I'm a good father an' love all my kids. Sarah Elizabeth won't be no different, I'll be a good daddy to her." The lyin' bastard had 'nough nerve to tell me as I hovered ov'r him.

"She's already got a poppy. Lawyer Perry Cline." Calvin spoke up from his spot in a chair 'cross the room.

"Hell, he ain't her father. Just a man that took 'nother man's child tryin' to act like one an' that ain't honorable." Johnse spat, disgust heavy in his voice, as his face trembled wit' anger.

"Get up, Johnse, time for ya to meet yer maker." I gruffly told him, grabbin' his collar an' roughly pullin' him to his feet.

"All ya'll are makin' a big mistake. This is wrong an' ya know it." The soon t'be dead man whinned, lookin' 'tween me an' my brothers pathetically.

"Shut up an' walk outside, Hatfield." I barked, shovin' him roughly in the direction the backdoor was, straight 'head in the attached kitchen.

Johnse just hung his head in defeat and walked over to the door that I wanted him to use. Eh, s'pose he didn't 've much choice an' had t'go outback since I was makin' him. My brothers followed 'hind us, guns in their hands. Just in case Johnse tried anythin' stupid, tried t'run, my brothers'd be able to put him down.

"Walk straight 'head." I ordered Johnse as his feet landed on the back patio of the house. He didn't move, just looked ov'r his shoulder at me wit' hes'tation. It was clear he didn't wanna walk onto the leaf covered grass, that he didn't wanna die. I closed the short distance 'tween us an' placed my pistol 'tween his shoulder blades. "I said move 'head, Hatfield." Johnse just nodded his head an' started to walk. Few seconds later his boots stopped scuffin' 'gainst the patio pavement an' instead crunched on the dry leaf covered ground. When he was a few yards 'way from the house I ordered in a gruff snap, "Stop."

Johnse stopped as ordered, but looked ov'r his shoulder an' told me in a shaky plea, "Ya don't have t'murder me. It's wrong, you'll fry in hell for this."

"Yer the one gonna be fryin' in hell." I barked, roundin' my steps to stand in front of him. "To hell wit'cha." I told Johnse as I trained my pistol at his head an' cocked it.

"Guns down now!" Devil Anse ordered, emergin' out from 'hind a tree wit' his rifle right on me. Loud crunchin' footsteps sounded out as more men popped up outta the woods that was the backyard.

Oh shit, we're surrounded by Hatfields. Damn, our plan was foiled. Bad Frank an' Perry Cline's gonna be pissed that we fucked up. But how in the hell did they know to find Johnse here at Uncle Harmon's old place?

Devil Anse marched up to be an' smashed my cheekbone wit' the butt of his Winchester, causin' me to fall to the ground. Cap Hatfield scurried ov'r to my brothers, gun pointed on them, to unarm them while Devil Anse patted Johnse on the shoulder, lettin' him know he was safe. After collectin' Pharmer's gun Cap looked at me, he had nothin' but hate in his mismatched eyes for me. I knew he wanted me dead, or at least out of the picture so he'd have Ella and the baby all to himself. In this moment I knew that the one-eyed bastard was gonna do ev'thin' he could to get my ass found guilty.

Novella POV:

Hours have passed since I arrived at the Hatfield house with Vera. Nobody, but me, Vera, and Levicy knew what was going on. I quickly learned from both Levicy and Vera that Devil Anse kept his daughters out and away from the arms business, but the women involved wit' the men in the arms business were permitted to know what was goin' on. So yea lucky me, I got the prize of knowin' that my fiancé's his daddy's right-hand man in an illegal gun runnin' op even tho he's the ADA in Pikeville. Johnse's wife Mira, the ex-stripper, didn't even know 'bout the Hatfield side business bein' run out of the lumber mill, but I think that's cause Johnse didn't have that big of a role in it. Not like Skunk Hair and Cap had, or at least that's the vibe I got from both Vera and Levicy's body language.

Currently I was at the kitchen table with Vera, Mira, and Levicy as we waited for our men and their kin to come home. Levicy and Vera had cups of coffee while me and Mira had tea, since we were pregnant. Mira was actually ready to pop and I pray that all this current stress doesn't trigger off her labor. That'd be too much to deal with for her, for all of us really.

"Don't worry girls, Anderson's a good man an' he'll make sure all our men come home safe." Levicy told us in an assurin' and calming syrupy tone, picking her coffee up from the table.

Mira, who as I understood had never set foot into her in-laws' house til now, just nodded her head with a sad smile on her face. Vera just took a sip of her coffee, her eyes givin' way that she was nervous. I take it this was the worst thing to happen to anyone connected to the family, other then Ellison's murder, in a long time.

"Cap's gonna want to rush the marriage now that you're expectin'. He'll want stability for both you and the baby." Levicy told me, her tone tho giving way to the real hidden meaning of her words. The hidden sugared up meaning of Cap wants to protect you and the baby from the McCoys, marriage is his way of doing that cause you'll be tied to him.

"Yea…" I trailed off, nodding with a tight smile on my face, before taking a sip of my hot tea.

I just got a diamond ring today and wasn't even thinking of a solid wedding date, but seems that the way to keep my unborn baby and myself safe from the McCoy family is a shotgun wedding. Dear lord…Who knows what the McCoys are capable of. It's not Randall I'm worried 'bout, it's Bad Frank and even my own Uncle Perry I need to be leery of now. Apparently, he's the one that ordered the hit on Johnse. Oh yea and now the McCoy boys are a bit off their rocker too.

But the fact that Cap lied to me 'bout his family bein' involved in gun smugglin' and him bein' Devil Anse's right hand man is a bit unsettling. I'm going to confront him bout that tonight after we finally get home. I'm not goin' to leave him over it, I know in my heart that I love him and crave him too much to just walk away from him, but I'm going to let it be known that I won't tolerate being lied to. Especially about something very important.

Before anybody could say a word, the front door slammed open. All of us turned around in our seats only to see a battered and bruised Johnse walking over the front threshold with Devil Anse right behind him. Both Levicy and Mira rose from the table and rushed over to them. Well Levicy rushed over while Mira more or less did a quick waddle. Next to come thru the doorway was Cap followed by Skunk Hair and Jim Vance.

Me and Vera both shot up from the table and went over to our men. The best friends were standing next to each other, waiting for us to reach them and give them hugs. Jim Vance just brushed by everyone and went straight to the kitchen while mumbling bout needing some coffee and whiskey. Skunk Hair instantly wrapped his arm around Vera as she gave him a kiss and a hug. For a man that was an asshole a decade ago he seemed to be good to his girlfriend.

"We're gonna head out if ya don't need me no more." Skunk Hair announced, his arm slung over Vera's shoulder as they broke their hug.

"That's fine, Skunk Hair." Devil Anse remarked, his deep voice boomin' off the walls in the entryway.

As soon as I came to a stop in front of Cap he pulled me into him with an arm snaked around my waist while his other hand cupped my cheek and brought my face into his for a quick kiss. As he broke our peck his thumb grazed my cheekbone as he told me, "Told ya we'd be back safe."

Smiling with my hands resting flat on his chest I softly told my fiancé, "Yea, ya did."

As Skunk Hair and Vera walked out of the door Mira looked at Johnse, who looked tired, bloody, and worn, only to ask in a worried voice, "Johnse, are ya okay? What happened?"

"I'm okay. Pa and everybody found me safe an' sound, my sweet darlin'."

Cap rolled his eyes before snapping out in a deep-toned scoff, "Safe and sound my ass. If it weren't for us Tolbert McCoy'd done gone murdered ya. He was gettin' ready to blow your brains out when we showed up."

"Oh my god! Is that true, Johnse?"

"Oh, yea, it's true, but he just don't wanna tell ya." Oh, ain't he one to talk? Cap did the same thing to me, lied bout the whole gun smuggling thing.

Devil Anse shot Cap a stern pointed look while ordering, "Cap, stay outta your brother's business." Turning his attention over to his first born the man sighed, "Johnse, take your family home." As Johnse placed his hand on his pregnant wife's shoulder, in order to lead her to the back tv room their kids were in, Anse looked at him and added in a strict tone, "Also, I want ya at the mill by 8 'morraw morning. You're gonna work where I can keep an eye on ya."

"Yes, pa." Johnse nodded before helping his wife waddle her way out of the room.

"Cap, Nova, I expect ya'll to move things along considerin' certain things that are goin' on. Go home, rest and talk things over."

"Yes, sir." Cap nodded his head at his father before turning us around and ushering us out of the front door.

The truck ride home was full of tense silence. Clearly neither one of us wanted to be the heavy and bring up the subject that needed discussing, his role as his father's right-hand man. Various country songs played over the radio as Cap took us down the winding main road that would bring us to the street our renovated farmhouse was on. As he turned down our street and then into our driveway I noticed that we forgot to turn the porchlight, that we usually kept on at night now after the car incident, off this morning before we went to work. Seems like our forgetful mistake was actually a good one.

Silently Cap turned off the engine and opened up his door, causing the cab's light to come on. I just let out a small silent sigh, opened my door, and exited the truck. In unison we slammed our doors shut and walked from the driveway over to the front porch. Cap did a powerwalk to get to the front door first so he could open it, since after all he was the one currently with keys in his hands. Once the door was open Cap walked inside the house and flipped the switch on the wall to turn on the lights in the entryway and connecting hallway. Quietly I followed him inside of the house, shutting the door behind me.

"Vera tell ya bout my pa's business." Cap stated, not asked, as he leaned against the stair railing with arms crossed over his chest.

"Yea. You're Devil Anse's lieutenant for his gun running operation. The same operation you told me didn't exist, that you lied straight to my face 'bout and made me believe that my uncle was lying about to make you and your family look bad." I spat at him heatedly, marching up the stairs and down the hallway to our room.

"I didn't lie to you, baby. I just chose not to tell you the truth bout it at the time cause you were under duress bout our scorched cars." Cap had the nerve to tell me as he quickly followed behind me.

"Damnit, Cap, that's lying." I opened up our bedroom door and walked inside. "Don't matter how ya try and sugarcoat it you lied to me." I walked over to the dresser. Looking at Cap thru the mirror while opening up my pajama drawer I asked, "God, what else have you lied to me about?"

Unbuttoning his shirt my fiancé told me firmly, "Nothing, I've never lied to you." I shot him a dirty look thru the mirror as I tossed my long shirt and flannel short jammie set onto the top of the dresser. Cap's stone-like face blanched at my cuttin' cornflower blue eyes. While I took off my blouse and Cap took off his shirt he told me, "Other than the gun smugglin', everything I've told's ya true. Honest, Nova, hand t'Christ I've never lied, but the one time and it was to protect you."

"Protect me?" I scoffed out rhetorically as I pulled my shirt on over my head. "Sounds more like you were protecting yourself. Scared that if the wrong person found out that you're heavily involved in your father's illegal side arms business you'll lose your job." I told Cap as I took off my skirt and pulled on my sleep shorts while he took off his pants and shoes.

"I don't give a shit what anybody knows or don't know. I didn't want ya worrying and at the time I wasn't involved." Cap told me, scoopin' up his clothes and walking over to the hamper to toss them inside while I went over to our bed. "Yea, I took the role as Devil Anse's lieutenant, but that's so I could get the guy that trespassed on our property and fire-bombed our fuckin' cars. I did what I had'a do to keep you safe so don't throw shit in my face." Cap ranted as he left the hamper corner and went over to the dresser, pulling out a pair of sweatpants and a wifebeater to change into.

"What?" I asked in disbelief as he pulled on his black-wifebeater.

"Don't what me, I know ya heard me crystal clear." Snapped Cap's deep rollin' voice as he pulled on his signature grey sweatpants.

"So, I'm the reason you decided to join the family crime business? So, you could toss somebody from the James Gang that Bad Frank hired to send me a message into the river with concrete boots." I concluded, one of my thin auburn brows arched up high, as Cap made his way to our bed and got into it.

Cap adjusted his pillows behind his back and grabbed the tv remote off the bedside table while telling me in an informative tone, "That's the mafia that uses the river and concrete boots, usually when the prick's still alive too. The pyro got tossed into the woodchipper, nobody's ever gonna find his ass."

"My god, you're serious?!" I exclaimed breathlessly, my eyes bulging out of my head in utter shock.

"Yep." Cap popped his tongue. Shrugging he added, "Did what had to be done."

"Oh my god, this is too much." I quickly let out, shaking my head in disbelief. How could this possibily be happening. Okay, maybe I expected him to rough up the guy that torched the cars, but the woodchipper… "I wasn't expectin' to hear you confess to shoving a guy into a woodchipper." I honestly told him, my chest feeling tight with nerves.

"He was a piece of shit, got what he deserved." Cap simply said, no remorse what-so-ever in his deep rolling wave of a voice. Suddenly his tone got a bit defense as he looked at me with cold mismatched eyes and said, "Don't start trying to play the moral high card here with me, babe. Yea, I might've killed somebody and made mulch outta them, but I didn't go home with my ex and hook up while drunk only to call my other ex for help and then a few days later make up with the last ex."

"You sonuva bitch. How can you say that shit to me?" I shrieked, smackin' him a few times in the chest real quick. I can't believe he actually went there. Damnit, I knew in the back of my mind that having him pick me up from Tolbert's that night was gonna bite me in the ass.

"Cause it's true, Nova." Cap grabbed hold of my wrist, stopping me from hittin' him. Setting my wrist free he sighed, "Neither one of us are saints so don't try to act like you're so much better then me. We both done different wrongs."

Staring him done with a cutting look I told him flatly in my flowin' tone, "You're somethin' else. Goddamn, if I wasn't so attached and in love with you I'd be outta here and checking into a hotel right now."

"I'm glad ya love me too much to leave. 'Sides the Kings Hotel's kinda a dive, doubt you'd be able to get a good night's sleep in one of their lumpy and cheap sunk in mattresses."

"You're such an ass." I snipped, turning on my side so I wouldn't have to look at him anymore. I didn't feel like dealing with him at the moment. Hopefully he gets the hint and goes to the living room.

"I know I am, baby, and since I'm one I'm sleeping in my bed tonight and not hunkering down on the couch." He told me, turning on the Nationals baseball game in order to catch the last of it.

Of course, he wasn't going to go on the couch like a normal man that fights with his girl. Nope, Cap was going to share the bed with me despite our fighting and snipping words. Just my luck. Hell, I'm not even sure who won that fight, but I do know that my entire point wasn't fully given or at least I don't think so. Blah, I just buried my face into my pillow as I listened to the baseball announcer go on 'bout how Harper was up to bat. Cap was next to me silently watching the game, stewing too most likely.

It was pitch black in our room, other than the neon white-blue light coming from the tv, as I laid on my side in bed. Cap was next to me on his back, slightly propped up against the headboard with pillows, as he watched the 11 o'clock news. I was still ignoring him, still hurt and upset over our fight. He seemed a bit on edge as he just watched the tv like a zombie. Whenever a commercial for Tostitos chips and salsa came on the tv he lowered the volume a few notches and placed a hand on my shoulder while telling me, "Babe, I know ya ain't asleep yet. Can we talk without fighting? It's important."

I rolled over onto my other side and looked up at him. Nodding I told him, "Okay, we can talk. I'm still mad at you tho."

"I know you are, babe." Cap told me, a deep chuckle in the back of his throat. I just rolled my eyes at him in response, which just caused him to sigh and run a hand down his stone chiseled face. Lookin' at me, his mismatched eyes meeting my cornflower blue ones, he revealed, "Tolbert threatened me 'bout ya and the baby. Said he weren't gonna let me play happy family wit'cha and the baby. That he'd make sure he'd tear everything apart since I was helpin' my brother take his sister's girl."

"What? He said that?" I asked, my voice barely above a distressed whisper, as my eyes turned into the size of quarters.

"Yep, when I was collectin' the guns from him and his brothers. Pa had his rifle on him, heard his threat too." Oh my god, no wonder Devil Anse made that remark 'bout us moving things along before we left. "We need to get hitched and quick."

"Cap, everything's moving way too fast." I sighed as a commercial for Tide Pods with that Patriots player Gronk came on the tv.

"Ain't my fault your crazy ex tried to kill my brother and then made a threat on my family. He's unhinged, I don't trust that he won't do something to ya. Legal or illegal, ya know."

"I know, Cap, but I wasn't expecting on getting married so soon right after getting engaged."

"Like I was?" He rhetorically asked before quickly following it up with, "Thought we'd have a couple of months to plan something out, but that's not the case."

"Am I gonna be in danger married to you since you're Anse's lieutenant?" I seriously asked him as a story 'bout a man beating a mountain lion off of his hunting dog aired on the late-night news.

"No, actually you'd be safer. Everyone in the crime world's scared shitless of my pa, me too now by extension."

"Oh…" I sighed, a bit taken aback by the information just revealed to me.

"I can talk to Uncle Wall and my folks in the mornin', see if we can set somethin' up for Saturday. Small, just neighbors and kin." Cap offered, slinging an arm 'round me and pulling me to lay half on him.

"Yea, go 'head and do that." I nodded, settling myself better before resting my head on his chest.

Cap started to thread his fingers thru my copper tangled mess of hair. After a few moments he softly told me, "Ya sure? I won't set it up if you're not sure. We can wait a week or so if ya want, Nova."

"Waiting won't make a difference. If we wait too long Tolbert can get my uncle to file and petition for a fetal dna blood test. If we're married that can't happen, your uncle'll automatically deny any petition. Tolbert threatened your role as the baby's dad, he's not going to sit back and do nothing." I explained in length while tracing shapes and patterns on Cap's wifebeater covered chest

"Okay, then I'll make the calls in the morning." Cap softly told me before kissing me sweetly. After breaking our kiss, he leaned back onto his pile of pillows, set on finishing up the news before we went to bed.

Oh boy, I was going to be getting married soon. I felt nervous, but also in a way at peace about it. Yea, it was going to be rushed, but I really did love Cap and I knew that he felt the same way bout me. Damn, he had to love me to be marrying me and raising a baby with me, a baby that may or may not be his biologically. Cap, despite his new and current role at his father's side, was a good man.

Maybe me being Mrs. Hatfield'll make Tolbert give up on me, make him realize that it'll never work out. Or maybe it'll just make him scared to do anything too stupid. I still had to deal with him when it came to the case, but he wouldn't try nothing on a married woman or at least I hope he wouldn't. He might be a killer, kidnapper, and a shiner with a drinking problem, but a cheat of a man's not one of the thing's Tolbert is. I doubt he'll turn into a cheater now. Yea, me being married will make him back off. He wouldn't want to break up a family, not when he'd experienced the pain of that himself firsthand.

AN:

Yikes, talk about drama. So, Nova's gonna have a shotgun wedding all cause Tolbert's stirring up shit with Cap. Do ya'll think Tolbert really made that threat to Cap or did he just tell Novella that to get her to say I do quicker? Also, how will Nova and Cap being married affect the McCoy boys' trial? Good, bad, or ugly? Dun dun dun…