*Author's Note*
Thanks for reading, faving, following, and reviewing.
WARNING: LEMONS AHEAD! UNEXPECTED CHEATING ANGST CREATING LEMONS IN 3RD SECNE FYI! You've been warned, so go on and have fun reading.
Between A Hatfield & A McCoy
Nova POV:
After dinner Tolbert rinsed off the dishes and put the leftover pizza in the fridge while I went to the living room with Sally Elle to help her pick out a movie to watch. By time Tolbert made his way into the living room, Sally Elle had decided on a movie to watch. Sitting in his armchair, Tolbert asked, "So, what're we watchin'?"
"Findin' Nemo." Sally Elle informed her poppy with a big smile on her cute little face while I held the remote towards the tv and hit the button to make the cartoon play on Disney+.
"Ah, I thought ya'd pick Frozen 'gain." Tolbert nodded his head, giving his daughter a tiny smirk.
"No, poppy, we saw that last nite." Sally Elle replied in a 'duh' type way as the opening title credits appeared on the tv screen. Looking at me, the little girl smiled, "Frozen's my fav'rite, but I liked Findin' Nemo a lot."
"Yea, I like Finding Nemo too. It's a good movie." I told the sweet little redhead with a big smile before placing my attention to the large tv screen.
Tolbert just looked at us and shook his head. The hint of a smirk on his face showed that he was touched by the interactions going on between me and his daughter.
Sometime Later…
Sally Elle was fighting to keep her eyes open as she was curled up next to me on the couch, watching the last minute or so of the movie. It was so cute how she was so at ease with me. Honestly, I had a soft spot for the little girl too. She reminded so much of myself as a little girl, believe it or not.
The end credits began to scroll across the screen as Tolbert sat up straight in his chair and looked over at his daughter. "Sally Elle, time for bed."
"But I'm not tired." Sally Elle whined, protesting her bedtime.
"Ya look tired t'me." Tolbert deadpanned right as his daughter let out a tiny yawn. "Now, get ready for bed an' we'll be in to tuck ya in."
Looking between me and her poppy, Sally Elle asked, "Can Ella read me a story?"
"Yes, of course I'll read you a story." I assured the little girl, earning me a big smile from her. Gesturing towards the hall with my head, I softly smiled, "Now, go get on your pjs and pick out a story. Okay?"
"Okay." Sally Elle nodded before scrambling down from the couch and running off to her room to do what she was told.
"When we're done tucking her in, we need to talk." Tolbert informed me with a serious look on his ginger-scruff covered face.
Great, he still wants to 'talk'. Damnit, I thought that maybe he forgot about that. "Okay." I nodded, scrolling thru the movie listing to see if anything good was on since Disney+ had more than just cartoons on it.
"Y'know all the Marvel movies an' Star Wars movies are in the library." He informed me while watching me scroll thru endless titles.
"Yea, I know." I simply replied, never stopping in my quest to find something else to watch.
"Just sayin' since yer scrollin' thru endless titles." Tolbert told me, pointin' between the tv screen and the remote in my hand. "Well, Sally Elle ought'a be ready for us to tuck her in 'bout now." Tolbert remarked while pushing himself up and out of his chair.
I just nodded, put down the remote, and got off of the couch. Quietly, I followed Tolbert down the hall and to Sally Elle's room. The little girl's door was marked with a large pink and teal S that had some fake flowers glued on it. It was a no brainer that either Sally or Roseanna made the door initial for the little girl considering that Tolbert wasn't a crafter. "So, who made that?" I asked, pointing to the door marker.
"Believe it or not, I did." The man with ginger curls smirked, taking me aback.
"You what?" Came tumbling out of my mouth since I could've sworn, he'd have his mom or sister make it.
"Mhm." He nodded before going on to say, "Sally Elle saw one in a magazine at ma's, but I weren't gonna spend no 40-bucks on it, so I made it myself."
"I never would've thought." I let out in a marveled sigh while Tolbert just shook his head at me before opening up his daughter's door.
When I followed Tolbert into Sally Elle's room, I found myself surrounded by pink and teal walls. Sally Elle was sitting in the middle of her white metal bed, clad in a Frozen nightie and clutching a Dr. Seuss book. I took in the room, how the window across from the bed had a large bookcase and bench built around it, creating a nook, while shelves littered the walls along with flower decals. It seems that Tolbert had decorated his daughter's room in a floral fashion. I think he got the idea from that home décor magazine he mentioned his mother having.
"Ella, it's The Cat in The Hat." Sally Elle announced with a big smile as I took a seat on the edge of her bright floral bedspread.
Tolbert had taken a seat on the nook by the window. Clearly, he wanted to observe me reading a bedtime story to Sally Elle.
Smiling, I took the book from the little girl. "I haven't read this in years. You picked a good one for story time."
"Poppy always says that too." Sally Elle informed me as she scooted under the covers; grabbing her stuffed unicorn from the corner of her bed and hugging it tightly.
"Well, that's prolly cause it's true." I told her, opening up the book. "Now, let's start the story." I suggested to the little girl before reading the first sentence of the children's book.
On and on I read, eliciting sleepy yawns from lil Sally Elle, until I completed the story. Sally Elle was half-asleep as I closed the book. Tolbert came up to my side and took the book from my hand before going over to his daughter. "Nite, sugar." He softly told his lil girl, bending down and giving her a quick kiss on the forehead.
"Nite-nite, poppy." Sally Elle whispered as Tolbert walked over to the bookshelf to put away the book.
I leaned over slightly and softly smiled, "G'nite, Sally Elle."
"Nite-nite, mama." Sally Elle mumbled in a sleepy way, taking me aback since she called me mama instead of Ella.
"Come on." Tolbert told me, a softness deep in his velvety tone, while wrapping a hand around my upper arm and helping me to stand up. Without another word, he ushered me out of his daughter's room.
Tolbert led me over to his living room couch and gestured for me to sit down before taking his own seat. After I sat down next to him, I reached to grab the remote from the coffee table, since I wanted a distraction and didn't want to have a serious talk with Tolbert, only for him to quickly snatch it up before I could. Looking at me with a seriousness swimming in his slate blues, he told me, "Ella, I trust ya with Sally Elle, it's why I named ya her guardian. I didn't do it recent;y either, I did it shortly after my divorce."
"Why?"
"Cause I just knew ya'd raise her right, no matter what went on 'tween us. Yer a good person, Ella. Always was too."
"Yea…"
"I'm sorry that my daughter's causin' waves in yer marriage."
"Yea, bet you are."
"Ella, it's true I hate that one-eyed bastard, but I don't want ya sufferin' either. For whatever reason ya married him; I don't want ya goin' thru hardships tho cause I know how painful that is."
"Save it, Tolbert. We both know that you were the bad guy in your marriage even tho I spun it to seem like you weren't."
"I got married for the wrong reasons, darlin'. I was lonely an' knocked up my ex. I'm afraid ya might've married for the wrong reasons too, tho ya thought it was the right thing to do."
"Tolbert, don't go there."
"If ya weren't knocked up would ya be married? No, ya wouldn't be. And if my neck weren't on the line would ya be married t'my procescutor? No, ya wouldn't be."
"Don't try to justify why I picked Cap over you Tolbert. It just happened cause I love him, end of story."
"I don't think it's that simple, Ella. Nothin' with ya is, darlin'." Tolbert told me with a sense of knowing in his smooth timbre. "Just promise me that if yer marriage falls apart that ya won't let Sally Elle feel like its her fault; blame herself for it."
"I promise, Tolbert."
He just nodded and handed me the remote before standing up and going over to his chair.
I woke up in the middle of the night needing to use the bathroom. After my trip to the bathroom, I decided to go to the kitchen to get something to drink. After grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, I turned to exit the kitchen and noticed that a blue light was flooding out from under Tolbert's bedroom door. Was he up watchin' tv or did he doze off watchin' it? I looked at the clock on the microwave and saw that is was 2:45. No way is he still up, he must've dozed off.
I went over to his door and lightly knocked on it before opening up the door. I was planning on turning off his tv if he was sleeping and telling him to go to bed if he wasn't. Tolbert's stormy eyes lifted off of his tv screen and locked onto mine as I walked into his room. "Ella?" He asked in a single breath.
Holding up my water bottle, I told him, "I got a bottle of water and saw light flowing under your door. I thought I'd either turn the tv off for you or ask you why you're watchin' it."
"I get insomnia now and then." Tolbert informed me. Hmm, I didn't know that. Patting the spot next to him, he suggested, "You can join me; finish watchin' the movie."
His suggestion was innocent, so I nodded my head, closed his door, and went over to join him. As I climbed into his bed, I noticed that he had some '90's action flick on. I placed my water bottle on the bedside table and snuggled under the blankets while turning my attention to Tommy Lee Jones chasing Harrison Ford. "I forgot that you like these movies."
"Course ya did. Haven't seen me in a decade, sweetheart." Tolbert reminded me, his velvety gruff tone a bit flat.
"I know how long it's been, Tolbert. You don't have to remind me."
"I didn't mean t'offend ya, all I meant was since ya've been gone it's reasonable that ya forget things 'bout me."
"Yea, bet you forgot some things about me too."
"Never."
"What? Are you joshin' me?"
"Nope. I've never forgotten a thing 'bout 'cha. Never could, never will, Ella."
"Oh…"
"Yep. I could rattle off things 'bout ya from the top o'my head since I know ya like the back of my hand."
"Really?"
"Really." Tolbert nodded. Wrapping an arm around my shoulder and bringing me into his side to cuddle, he rattled off, "Ya don't have a fav'rite Disney princess, but a fairy. Tinkerbelle. Ya love my ma's Sunday pot-roast an' yer fav'rite singer's Johnny Cash." Looking down at me with a reminisiant smile, he went on to say, "Ya like yer whiskey and shine straight, no mixers or cocktails. Yer fav'rite dance's the Cha-Cha Slide and yer fav'rite song's Skynard's Simple Man. Ya gotta thing for Kevin Costner movies, will watch anythin' wit' that man in it. Samuel L. Jackson too."
"Yea." I softly squeaked out, blinkin' back tears since his recollections touched me. I never expected him to remember all of that let alone even notice it in the first place. Looking up at him, I took him aback by confessing, "I didn't really forget about you, just pushed things about you to the back of my mind. I still remember the little things."
"Like what?" He asked, curiosity thick in his smooth timbre.
"Like how you love stew, any kind, and could eat it every day and never get sick of it." I informed him with a small smile. "You prefer 4-wheelers to dirt bikes and love long rides up in the back trails that wind up and down the mountains." Leaning my messy copper hair covered head against his bare chest, I added in with an honest tint to my tone, "You're a good man despite that split second nasty meaner than a junkyard dog temper ya got."
"I'm glad that'cha see I'm a good man cause most people think I'm a bad one."
"You're not a bad person, but you've just done some bad thing's is all. Everybody does, but it doesn't make you bad per say."
"Ev'thin' ya've been doin' for me means a lot. I know this situation's hard for ya; on yer marriage an' life, but I'm thankful that yer tryin' wit' all yer might t'help me."
"You know you were right when you said I dropped everything and came back here to help cause my uncle told me it was you in trouble. Even tho we ended the way we did I just couldn't sit around and not help you and your brothers while you're facing a potential death row or life sentence."
"Yea…" Tolbert let out in a gruff and husky sigh. His stormy slate eyes were boring into mine with unchecked emotions. At this moment I'm sure my cornflower blues held some heavy emotions in them as well considering we'd just had a heart to heart, an unexpected and much needed one.
The blue hazy light glowing from the tv illuminated the stark features of his face, accenting his ginger scruff covered jaw, as he closed the little space between us; causing our noses to nearly touch. I could sense what he was going to do and if I was truly a loyal and good person I'd jump out of this bed, but sad to say I craved emotional closeness and a tender touch after the coldness between me and my husband earlier today. I reckon I was a bit of a fickle person when it came to relationships or at least I became so in college after things ended with my sweetheart, Tolbert. Even tho I loved Cap, sadly deep down in the depths of my soul a part of me would always love Tolbert no matter what. So, when Tolbert pressed his lips against mine, I melted into them instead of pushing him away.
It only took mere seconds for our kisses to go from tender to needy and heated. Our hands were roaming eachother's bodies with every nip and tug of our lips. When he pulled away from our kiss only to trail open mouthed kisses along my jaw and neck, I let out a throaty moan. While kissing a sweet spot below my ear he pressed my back onto his mattress. Stopping his kisses, he looked me right in the eyes and declared in a whisper, "I don't care the yer a married woman, Ella, I want ya."
"I know." I simply said, sounding a lot like Han Solo.
"Is the fact that yer married gonna haunt ya in the mornin' when ya wake up beside me?"
Honestly, it should, but sadly my answer's, "No, it won't." With the way Cap acted, well I'm not sure he's truly husband material. It seems that he wants to take, take, take, but doesn't want to give and compromise in our marriage. Hell, I should've followed my gut instincts instead of letting him charm and sweet talk me into a shot gun weddin' cause I'm knocked up.
"Okay." Tolbert nodded before capturing my lips in a kiss.
In between kisses we managed to strip each other of our pajamas. Well, it wasn't that hard to do since all he had was boxers and sleep pants while I was just in boy shorts and an oversized t-shirt. God, I should've felt some kind of guilt lying bare underneath Tolbert, but I didn't. Oh god, I'm a horrible wife. A good wife wouldn't be cheating on her husband with her ex, who's also her client, cause of a bad fight. Gosh…I'm truly bad at relationships ain't I? Bad at keepin' promises too…
I let out a small gasp as he pushed into me, causing him to let out a low moan. Instinctively, I held onto his shoulder with one hand and snaked an arm around his back. One of his hands lightly gripped my hip while the other lay flat on the mattress near my shoulder. He dipped his head down and gave me a soft peck before snapping his hips and creating a deep, but steady movement. Instantly, my hips moved in correspondence with his, matching his steady movements. Unlike back on my birthday our movements were slower paced, not fueled by a drunken frenzy. Even tho our movements were slower; they were consistent and elicited wanton feelings from us.
It didn't take long before I was moaning his name and falling off the edge of bliss. My chest heaved heavily up and down as I came undone, roaming my hand up and down his back in an attempt to anchor myself. After the last moan fell from my lips I expected Tolbert to speed up to find his own release, but he didn't. Instead, he pulled out and gently turned me to lay onto my side and then got into a spooning position behind me. Not done with our lovemaking just yet, he slipped into me and started to rock against me in a sensual motion. Oh god, the last time we did this was in the bed of his old pickup truck on prom night a decade ago.
"No matter what, I'll always love ya." Tolbert declared while grabbing my hand and lacing his fingers int mine and setting out entwined hands to rest on my hip.
"I know, me too, Tolbert." I admitted in a breathy whisper as we rocked back and forth, building up a sweet, but slow release.
Eventually our slow rocking movements proved too much and we both came shattering down in blissful unison as we moaned and called out each other's names in a mantra. Once sated, Tolbert pressed a kiss to my sweaty temple and pulled out of me. He unlaced our hands and reached his arm to grab the remote. After turned off his tv, he grabbed my hand once more and went back to cuddling with me.
We didn't say a word, just drifted off to sleep in a comfortable silence.
The urge to go pee woke me up in the morning. The sun was just starting to peer thru the window curtains, so I gathered it was shortly after dawn. Slowly, I wiggled out from underneath Tolbert's hold so I wouldn't wake him up and got out of bed. Quickly, I gathered my pajamas and rushed into the master bathroom. As soon as I shut the door and flipped on the light switch, I was taken aback by how simple, but strikingly beautiful the master bathroom was. The walls were a rich brick on the top half while the bottom half was covered with iridescent glass tile that was a mix of reds, browns, creams, and coppers. On one side was a wall length honey-oak vanity that had double porcelain white sinks. Two round honey-wood framed mirror were hung above the sinks while a wooden medicine cabinet was in between the mirrors. On the other side of the room was a porcelain toilet that had a red fuzzy rug around it and matching coverings on the tank. A wall, having a brass toilet paper holder on it, separated the porcelain throne from the extremely large walk-in shower that looked to have duel shower jet heads. It also had a tile shower seat too.
Holy shit, his master bathroom was fancier, tho simply decorated, then the one I had at home. Oh my god, no way was this bathroom the standard one that came with the manufactured home. Tolbert had to have designed and remodeled it.
I was planning on taking a shower anyways, but after seeing how luxurious the shower was there was no doubt, I was taking a long and hot morning shower to unwind my tight muscles. So, after placing my clothes on the vanity I did my business and hoped into the shower. Oh my god, the jet settings on the duel shower heads felt like heaven as they rained down hot water onto my aching muscles. As I washed my hair and scrubbed off with some Dove products, yea I was shocked that Tolbert had that lined up in his shower basket, I could feel all the knots in my body loosening and dissipating.
After I was done with my shower, I turned off the water and stepped out of the large stall. I grabbed a towel from the wall rack and quickly dried off, wrapped my hair into the towel in a makeshift turbin, and dressed in my sleep shirt and boy shorts. Figuring that Tolbert would have a spare toothbrush or two, since Walmart always sold them in value packs and I figured he bough those since he did have a kid, I opened up the medicine cabinet. I spotted the pack of toothbrushes, having only one missing, but that didn't grab my attention. What had my attention was the orange pill bottle label Lithium. Holy shit, what the hell does he have that next to his bottle of Tylenol and tube of Crest for? Lithium's some heavy shit, where the hell did he get that at?
Without even thinking much about it, I snatched the bottle off its shelf, shut the medicine cabinet, and rushed into the bedroom. I bounced on the bed and smacked Tolbert while asking, "Why do you have Lithium for?"
"What?" He asked in a sleepy mumble.
"Lithium, Tolbert. Why is it nestled between your aspirin and toothpaste for?" I told him, loudly enunciating my every word.
Furrowing his brows, he asked in disbelief, "You went snooping thru my bathroom?"
"No, I took a shower and looked in the medicine cabinet for a spare toothbrush, but found Lithium instead." I honestly told him as he slowly sat up and leaned against his headboard. Waving the bottle in front of his face, I asked, "What's it for, Tolbert?"
Snatching the pill bottle from me, he hung his head in defeated and sighed, "My bipolar depression."
I blinked a few times, shocked at what I just heard, before I softly let out a stunned, "What? You're a bipolar?"
"Yea, a bipolar with depression." He nodded.
"Oh my god, now it makes sense why you're the way you are." I told him while placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Ella, please, don't pity me." He begged, giving me a look that screamed 'I don't want or need pity' while pulling his shoulder away from my touch.
"I'm not pitying you; I'm just saying now your mood swings make sense. All your highs and lows, it's cause of the disorder." I honestly told him before going on to ask, "How long have you known?"
"Was diagnosed shortly after my divorce." He answered, his eyes flittering between mine and the bottle in his hand.
Suddenly a bright and brilliant idea popped into my head. Grabbing his hand, I positively told him, "You know I can bring this up to plead your case. If the jury knows you're a bipolar depressant then they'll be more likely to side with you. It's not your fault you snapped and fought with Ellison since you've got a chemical imbalance in your brain."
Shaking his head, he took me aback by saying, "No, Ella, I don't want you bringing it up."
"But why not? It could make the jury sympathize with you; clear you even."
"I don't want my daughter labeled as havin' a crazy poppy." He spat out bitterly.
"Tolbert, I wouldn't present it like that. I'd-" I began to explain only for him to place a finger on my lips, shushing me, while telling me in a velvety plea, "I ask ya as my lover, not as my lawyer, to keep my bipolar depression a secret between us, Ella."
"Okay." I caved with a nod. I just didn't have it in me to fight him, not when he referred to me as more then just his lawyer in such a pleading, near broken tone to his velvety gruff timbre.
"I'm gonna go shower. You can brush yer teeth if ya want 'fore headin' to the guestroom t'dress." Tolbert informed me before getting out of bed and making his way to his bathroom.
I sat in bed for a moment before following him into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Tolbert was just stepping into the shower as I stopped at the vanity. Neither one of us said a word as I took a spare toothbrush out of the cabinet along with the tube of Crest. As I brushed my teeth, I heard the water raining down in the shower. I could see Tolbert's form behind the fog and steamy shower door from within the mirror. For some outrageous reason doing simply morning hygiene routines with him felt normal. It prolly shouldn't have, but it did. After cleaning off my toothbrush I placed it into the holder and grabbed the bottle of Listerine along with a small paper cup from the vanity. Quickly, I rinsed my mouth and left Tolbert to his own devices in order to get dressed for the day.
God, today I had to get that test done for my baby and I'd have to face my husband. Clearly, I wasn't going to be telling Cap who I stayed with last night or what I did with them. Hell, I'm a horrible wife. I really am. I'm too reckless and react on sheer emotion instead of my brain. I just hope I don't get myself into trouble I can't get out of. Especially since I happened to unintentionally put myself into a love triangle between a Hatfield and a McCoy.
AN:
And I bet ya'll thought the love triangle was dead and gone. Nope, it's not. Muhahahaha. You know I got a knack for writing angst so… Yikes, things are going to get heated in and out of the courtroom, huh?