*Author's Note*

Thank you for the reviews, faves, and follows.

Misty the whore makes an appearance in this chapter. I don't have a face claim for her since she's not that important LOL. Just imagine a really pretty young blonde. Somebody that would make Novella feel inferior. Also, Vera Wallace (Skunk Hair's wife) is in this chapter. Her face claim's Alicia Vikander.

4th Of July, 1882

Novella POV:

About a week had gone by and it was now 4th of July. Currently just 'bout everyone from both sides of the Tug were gathered in West Virginia for the holiday celebration. Tolbert 'long wit' Pharmer an' Bud were sellin' shine at his whiskey cart. Unlike last year my husband didn't have any competition for whiskey sales. Johnse and his whiskey cart were missin', a no show. I heard tell that he was drinkin' himself t'death, that he was torn up real bad ov'r his breakup wit' Roseanna.

Talk 'bout 'nother no show at the event, Roseanna wasn't here. She's been feelin' poorly lately. Poor thing's got pneumonia in the middle of summer. The sickness was a result of a fever an' chest cold lingerin', comin' an' goin', after that rainy night we rode to the Hatfield's t'save Johnse's life wit' our warnin'. I felt horrible for my sister-in-law, her pregnancy was bein' marked by sickness. I hope she regains her health an' don't fall ill no more, not just for her sake, but the baby's too.

Ole Ran'l an' Aunt Sally were walkin' 'round very stiffly, like they didn't really wanna be here, but just came cause of the younger chil'ren. Talk bout the younger chil'ren they were wit' Alifair, who I noticed was becomin' more an' more of a mother hen to them. She was also developin' an attitude, or at least that's what I was pickin' up on when I saw her on Sundays for family dinner. Perhaps in a way Alifair was jealous that Roseanna was out of the house, even if she was knocked up an' disgraced, since she was sill livin' at home an' was teeterin' on the doomed old maid status.

Hmm, bein' 'fraid of becomin' an old maid's over-rated. I know now, in hindsight, that jumpin' at the chance to marry Tolbert to avoid bein' an old maid was a bit foolish. I don't regret marryin' him tho cause if I didn't I wouldn't 've had Rihanna.

Anyways, my Uncle Perry an' Moses were here too. Moses was just wanderin' 'round an' talkin' to some kids he knew from school while Uncle Perry was at a vender stall. I'm pretty sure he was finally breakin' down an' buyin' my brother the pistol he's been beggin' him for. Uncle Perry wasn't a firearms type of man, actually he was a very reserved an' uptight man, so Moses wantin' a gun was a shock to him since he was tryin' to teach him to be a proper gentleman. My brother wasn't like our uncle tho, no 'mount of teachin' an' groomin' would make him like that either. Hmm, hopefully Moses gets his gun.

I was walkin' 'round wit' Rihanna whenever a pregnant woman with straight long brown hair came up to me. "Hi, you're Sawyer's cousin, Novella, ain't ya?" She asked, greetin' me wit' a smile, as her hand rested on her swollen belly.

"Hi, and yes I'm Novella." I told the woman, givin' her a polite smile.

Still smilin' the pregnant woman told me, "I'm Vera, Vera Wallace." Oh wow, didn't expect her to ever seek me out. No doubt seein' the confussion in my eyes, Vera went on to explain, "Skunk Hair an' Cap suggested that I talk t'ya, says that ya don't got many friends."

"Oh…okay…" I trailed off, not really knowin' how to react. Hell Cap and his best friend, who I'm not too found off, would tell Vera I didn't have any friends. Nice…real nice of them…

Lookin' at my daughter Vera said in a friendly tone, "Ain't ya the cutest thing. What's your name, honey?" I think Cap told her 'bout my daughter's hearin' loss since she bent down slightly to ask her name.

"Rihanna." My daughter quickly responded, a shy smile on her face.

Straightenin' up an' lookin' back at me Vera said wit' a smile, "She looks just like ya."

"Yep, everyone says that." And it was true, every single person always told me that Rihanna was my mini me.

"How 'bout we walk 'round an' get to talkin', become friends." She suggested very enthusiastically, a bright smile on her face.

"Um…yea…okay." I hesitantly nodded my head, feelin' a bit nervous.

"Skunk Hair an' Cap's over by a booth that's sellin' ale." She informed me, lettin' me know where the men responsible in a way for a new friendship were at, as we started on our walk.

"Of course, they are. Reckon they wouldn't buy Tolbert's whiskey if it was the last thing on earth."

"No, they would not." Vera agreed with me, lettin' out a small giggle. Tiltin' her head at me she revealed, "Ya know my Tom told me that Cap's been tryin' to get your Tolbert outta the whorehouse for months now. Every time he goes inside and sees your husband there he tells him to go home to his family."

"Really?" I asked, shootin' her a raised brow.

"Mhm, but it always ends in Tolbert threatenin' t'shoot Cap and Cap just goin' upstairs wit' whoever he paid for, remarkin' that he's not gonna be the reason you become widowed."

"And Skunk Hair told ya all of this?" I asked skeptically as we walked by a few stalls.

"Yes, of course he did. We talk 'bout everythin'." Really? Wow, me an' Tolbert don't talk 'bout everythin'. I'm glad that her an' Skunk Hair share everythin', are totally honest wit' each other. Hell, too bad I can't have that wit' my husband since he's got an unpredictable temper that can fire up at the tiniest of remarks. In a soft, but knowin' tone, Vera informed me, "He heard all this from Cap himself. Saw it once too at his bachelor's party on New Year's Eve."

"Oh…" My voice trailed off. Wow, now I wasn't expectin' t'hear that. I knew from Cap 'bout New Year's Eve, but the fact that Skunk Hair witnessed by husband 'round a whore with his own eyes an' told his wife 'bout it…yea that's not good at all…

"Let's talk 'bout somethin' happier. Like chil'ren." Vera suggested in a honied tone, wantin' to lighten up the talk 'tween us since the one we were havin' took a heavy turn too fast.

"Cap told me you were bout 5 months 'long." I told her, all too happy to change the subject to talks of motherhood.

Turns out Vera Wallace was a nice lady, somebody that I could see myself easily befriendin'. I take it she felt the same way since she told me in a pleasant tone, "We ought'a have coffee sometime. Chat 'bout motherly things an' such."

"Sure, I used to sneak ov'r the tug t'visit Roseanna when she was livin' wit' Johnse so I reckon I can sneak back ov'r to visit ya." I told her, lettin' her know that we'd be able to be friends an' have visits even tho I was married to Tolbert. Tolbert, who was a bit not all there lately, or if I'm bein' honest ever since Tol died.

"Wonderful. I really do think we'd make great friends. Truly." She told me, smilin', in a very genuine tone.

"Ya drivin' Nova nuts, Vera?" Cap asked as he and Skunk Hair walked ov'r to us, large pints of ale in their hands.

Rollin' her brown eyes she told him, "No, we're becomin' friends."

"Ah…" Skunk Hair let out, noddin' his head an' takin' a large sip of his beer.

"Hi, Will." Rihanna told Cap wit' a big smile, wavin' at him too. Yea, she would notice his tall form standin' in front of us.

"Hi, Anna. Ya havin' a nice time with mama an' Vera?" Cap told me daughter, crouchin' down so that he could be face to face with her to make it easier for her to hear him.

"Yea." Rihanna nodded, smilin' widely.

Cap just nodded, a slight grin on his face, 'fore rising to his feet. Turnin' his attention to me he said in his deep rollin' timbre, "Nova, can we take a walk? I gotta tell ya somethin' important."

'Fore I even had a chance to open my mouth Skunk Hair opened his and said, "Me an' Vera's gonna go our own way ourselves."

"Yea, I'm gettin' a bit hungry." Vera said with a light smile.

And then the Wallaces were off, leavin' me an' my daughter alone wit' Cap. Lookin' at him I asked, "So, what's goin' on that I need'a know so bad?"

"Misty got an early retirement from whorin'. Moved to Logan County too, lives in an 'partment in downtown Mate Creek." Cap told me, leanin' in close so that only I could hear, as we began to walk side by side to nowhere in particular.

"What? How'd that happen?" Movin' from Pikeville to Mate Creek was a bit drastic. Somethin' had'a happen to cause it. Fow

The expression on Cap's face was like stone, givin' 'way nothin', while his deep timbre of a voice shook lowly wit' the blunt honest answer of, "She's knocked up, got herself a benefactor payin' her way now cause of it too."

"It's Tolbert's ain't it?" I asked, feelin' a pit form in my stomach since I was certain I already knew the answer Cap was gonna give.

He shrugged and took a sip of his ale. "I dunno for sure, but I think so."

"She's here today ain't she?" I asked, even tho I was pretty she was. Why else would he bring it up if she weren't.

"Yea an' she's in a real dress for once too." Cap scoffed, his deep wavin' tone soundin' similar to a fork scrappin' 'gainst a plate.

I rolled my eyes an' tilted my head at him. "Seriously, Cap, where's she at?"

'Tween drinkin' his beer he told me, "Last I saw her she was near a food stall."

"Is she showin'?" I asked, curious 'bout how far 'long she was in her pregnancy."

"Her belly's poochin', but she's not big." Cap told me as we walked together wit' Rihanna, who was on my right-side wit' her left ear facin' me. Thankfully she couldn't hear what was bein' said, even tho she's too young to understand I still don't want her hearin' it.

"Great…" I sarcastically sighed, shakin' me head incredulously. "She's maybe 3 months then." And my womb was empty cause apparently after Tol's tramatic breech birth Tolbert deemed us havin' another child low on his priority list. When we did do the trick he pulls out. Yea…not like that was happenin' that much wit' how much he hated me at the moment anyways…

Cap stuffed his free hand in his pocked and bit his lip 'fore genuinely statin' in his deep rollin' timbre, "I don't mean t'upset ya, just thought ya needed to know's all."

"Reckon if she births a boy I'm out like yesterday's trash." I said out loud even tho I prolly shouldn't 've. Oh well, sometimes I don't think 'fore I speak. That trait of mine always gets me yelled at by Tolbert. At least Cap doesn't mind the way I blurt things out, since he's also a blunt blurter.

"Sweetlin', ya got that claim paper. You'd be able to rent a place for ya and Anna, buy necessities too with your earnin's." Cap pointed out to me, his voice soundin' both firm an' empathetic.

"I know, but it still hurts that it'd even come down to that." I told Cap, my flowin' voice on the verge of crackin' and breakin'.

"I reckon ya'll could always try to fix things, but honestly I don't even think it's fixable at this point." Cap told me, his deep rollin' timbre hard an' blunt, causin' me to just nod my head in agreement with him. Yep, thinks were damaged real bad 'tween me and Tolbert, maybe beyond repair due to his mistrust and hatred towards me. "Goddamnit." Cap cursed, the ale he'd just drank from his cup sprayin' out of his mouth. "The whore's right ov'r there." Cap told me, pointin' to a tall woman in a red dress, hair pinned up in golden curls.

Shit, she was young an' pretty. Tall and golden blonde, I definitely can't compete with that. No wonder Tolbert's been seein' Misty, she's a classic beauty. Makes me look like a run-down copper-haired mess.

I narrowed my eyes at the one-eyed man next to me while tellin' him, "She's pretty so I think ya lied when you said I was more beautiful than her."

"I didn't lie." Cap told me, his tone firmly deep an' unmovin'. His mismatched eyes shined, while his face remained as hard as stone, as he told me softly, "Nova, to me you're the beautiful one out of you an' her."

'Fore I could say a word back to him that whore turned her head an' looked at me. Her sapphire eyes went wide, no doubt figurin' out who I was. I just cut my cornflower blues at her, givin' her a look of utter disgust.

"I better get goin' 'fore she tells that crazy husband of yours that we're talkin'." Cap suggested as we watched Misty take off in a sprintin' pace towards the direction Tolbert's whiskey wagon was parked at. I just nodded at him, silently agreein' wit' his logic. "See ya later, Anna." Cap smirked at my daughter as he knelt down in front of her so that she could hear him.

"Okay, Will. See ya later." Rihanna smiled at him, causin' him to rise to his feet.

I gave Cap a slight smile as I watched him turn his back on us an' walk off towards his own kin an' friends. Reckon we're on our own once 'gain. Like always, just me an' my daughter.

Tolbert POV:

I was at my cart sellin' shine wit' my brothers when a former whore from the saloon walked up. What the hell does she want? Whore's can't be comin' up t'respect'ble folks, no matter if they not whorin' no more or not.

"Tolbert-" Misty, the golden haired whore, began til I roughly cut her off wit' a snap off, "What'd ya want? Can't be seen 'ere wit' me, yer a whore."

"Ain't a whore no more." She reminded me, a snide look on her face. Leanin' on the edge of my cart, twirlin' a piece of her gold hair, she told me, "Anyways I saw Cap Hatfield strollin' wit' your wife and daughter."

"What? Yer not joshin' me, are ya?" I asked, taken a back, as I held onto the side of the cart with a tight grip as I felt myself growin' mad.

"No, I am not joshin' ya." Misty told me, her blue eyes shinnin' wit' honesty. "They were gettin' close to the food area when I spotted them."

Pharmer and Bud were lookin' at each other wide-eyed. They were shocked by what they ov'rheard Misty tell me. Turnin' to my brothers I ordered, "Watch my wagon. I gotta fetch my wife."

"Okay." Pharmer replied while Bud just nodded his head.

"Get yer ass outta here. Yer still a whore, retired or not." I gruffly told Misty 'fore stormin' by her, focused on findin' my family, draggin' them 'way from that one-eyed gorilla pain in my ass.

Hell, I can't believe that I gotta track down Ella, drag her an' Rihanna 'way from Cap Hatfield. Why the hell's she wit' him anyways? Damnit, I knew he had a likin' t'her, but is she sharin' it?

Lost in my own thoughts I didn't notice my cousin, Nancy, come up to my side. Not til her shrill voice sounded in my ear wit', "Tolbert, I said good afternoon. Didn't ya hear me?"

"Sorry, Nance, just got a lot on my mind." I replied in my velvet-gruff tone, wavin' her off as I tried t'walk 'way from her.

"Oh, an' tell what'd that be?" Nancy asked from next t'me, keepin' up wit' my angry strides.

"Heard my wife's 'round that fog-eye Hatfield wit' our daughter. Gotta fetch her."

"Oh, dear cousin, I don't know who told ya that, but I don't think it's true." Nancy told me, grabbin' my arm an' stoppin' me in my tracks. Sympathetically she told me, "You an' Ella might be havin' a few problems, but she loves ya. Wouldn't be hangin' 'round a Hatfield." I just shook my head an' tried t'walk off, only causin' Nancy t'ground me in place by standin' right in front of me. Wit' a sweet, but firm look my cousin told me, "She just had a lapse of judgement 'fore wit' Roseanna's all. She thought she was helpin', have to forgive her an' move on."

"Nancy, keep yer advice t'yerself. If I want it I'll ask for it." I snapped, not in a mood t'hear her shit right now.

Nancy POV:

"Of course, cousin, meant no harm." I tightly told Tolbert wit' a sweet, but forced smile. "I'll let ya go find Novella and Rihanna. I gotta go make sure Jefferson doesn't swindle your brothers outta free booze." I said 'fore walkin' off, leavin' him to continue his angry march to find his family.

Who the hell told Tolbert 'bout Cap an' Novella? It weren't time for him to know yet, if ever. Me and Mr. Cline decided that if an' when it was time for Tolbert to know we'd tell him. That'd only be if things got worse instead of better. Hmm, bet it was that gold diggin' whore that just moved 'way from Pikeville who told. That nasty bitch's been after Tolbert like a dog wit' a bone. Suppose I gotta go pay her a friendly visit, remind her to stay the hell 'way from my cousin an' his family.

Novella POV:

After me and Cap parted ways I took Rihanna to go find Moses. I found him sittin' on a barrel near some of the food stalls, admirin' his new gun. "I hope that ain't loaded, Mo." I told my brother, stoppin' right next to him.

"No, it ain't loaded." Moses assured 'fore lookin' at me an' quickly addin', "Uncle Perry's got the bullets wit' him. Won't give it til I get home."

"Who's gonna teach ya shootin'? Uncle Perry don't know nothin' 'bout guns." I asked good naturedly while Rihanna just stood next to me, watchin' her favorite uncle play wit' his new prized possession.

He shrugged, spinnin' the barrel of the gun. "Squirrel or Parris I guess."

"They're good teachers. They taught me how to shoot." I admitted as brief memories of runnin' 'round wit' my cousins, playin' hooky an' learnin' t'hunt, filled my head.

"Really? Ya can shoot a pistol?" Moses asked me, his cerulean eyes wide wit' shock.

"Yea and a rifle too." I nodded, a small smile crossin' over my lips.

"Then maybe you can teach me." My brother suggested, pointin' his gun slightly in the air an' pretendin' to set it off. As he brought his hand down, causin' the colt t'rest on the barrel next to him, he added nonchalantly, "Ya know since you're my sister an' all."

"I dunno." I shrugged 'fore goin' on to say, "Reckon I could if ya ever get the chance t'visit me."

"Here comes Tolbert an' he looks mad. Real mad." Moses told me, pointin' discreetly at my husband who was stormin' over to us. Dear lord, he looked like the veins in his neck were gonna pop, his face was an angry beat red too.

Rihanna noticed her father makin' his way angrily to us. Tuggin' on my skirts an' lookin' up at me wit' wide blue eyes my daughter squeaked out, "Poppy comin', mama. He gonna be mean."

My poor little girl, it hurt my heart that she was sayin' that. Rihanna's always seen Tolbert yellin' 'bout somethin' so she just assumes the worst.

'Fore I could say anythin' comfortin' to my daughter, Tolbert reached us while gruffly snappin', "Where the hell ya been, Ella? Been tryin' t'find ya, even heard ya been keepin' company wit' a one-eyed bastard."

"She's been wit' me, Tolbert. Talkin' 'bout my new gun." Moses quickly covered for me. "See, Uncle Perry finally got me a colt." My brother shoved his gun into Tolbert's face, causin' my husband to pull his head back 'way from the gun.

I looked at my brother gratefully. I had no idea why he was coverin' for me, 'specially given that my husband tossed out there that I was 'round Cap, but I wasn't gonna question it. His tiny lie was savin' my ass. I can't imagine how nasty Tolbert would be wit' me if he truly believed I was wit' Cap earlier. Well, I was, but he don't need'a know that. Hell, his little knocked up whore he's bank rollin's waltzin' 'round this holiday event. Bet she paid him a visit at his shine wagon.

"Ah, I see." Tolbert shook his ginger-haired head a bit uneasily. Pointin' towards the gun holster he ordered, "Now, put that pistol down."

"It ain't loaded." Moses told my husband, puttin' his new pistol back in his holster belt just like he was told.

Tolbert POV:

Stupid lyin' whore, tryin' t'stir up trouble wit' me an' my wife. Ella an' Rihanna were wit' Moses, puttin' up wit' him showin' off his new gun, this whole time. I'm relieved that they weren't wit' that one-eyed bastard after all.

"Ella, let's get back t'my whiskey cart." I suggested gruffly, placin' my hand on my wife's shoulder.

She just nodded her head, givin' me a tight smile. "Bye, Moses." Ella told her brother, grabbin' Rihanna's hand.

"Bye." Moses simply told us, kickin' the barrel he was sittin' on.

Rihanna waved at her uncle an' told him, "Bye-bye, Unca Mo."

"Come on, we gotta head back." I told my family, usherin' them 'way from the barrel they were standin' by.

We walked in silence, heavy tension loomin' over us. We were half-way back t'my wagon when Ella sighed, "I don't know why ya wouldn't let us talk wit' Moses. Not like we get a chance t'see him that much."

Her comment took me by surprise. I didn't think she'd be upset that we were goin' back t'my cart t'getha as a family. Screwin' my nose up at her I said in my velvet-like voice, "Uh, cause I thought ya'd like t'spend time as a family."

"Since when do ya consider us a family, Tolbert?" She asked, sarcasm heavy in her flowin' voice, 'fore quickly addin' in a long drawn out sigh of, "We haven't been a real family since 'fore Tol died."

"Ella, don't start up wit' me here." I warned, my smooth rough voice slightly tremblin' outta fury. She knew talkin' 'bout my lost boy today'd mess me up. 4th of July weren't that great of a day for us an' our sons…

"I ain't startin' up nothin' wit'cha, just tellin' it how it is. Other families are doin' activities together, but not us. No, you don't give a shit 'bout what me an' Rihanna do. Bet ya only found us out cause somebody made a remark t'ya on your family." My wife ranted an' raved, shootin' me witherin' looks 'tween sentences as we walked closer t'where my cart was.

"It ain't like that, darlin'. I'm a business man sellin' shine, can't be wit' ya all damn day." Hell, if I don't sell nothin' then we'll be broke. I gotta support us, she damn well knows that. I took a deep breath, tryin' to calm myself down. Lookin' at my wife, who had a glassy look in her blue eyes, I smoothly told her, "Ya know ya'll are my ev'rythin'."

"If you say so, Tolbert, but it doesn't feel like it." Ella sighed, movin' her head 'round t'look at the different booths we were passin' by.

"If ya want we can go play a game 'fore gettin' back to the whiskey wagon." I suggested, pointin' at the booth nearby where a ring toss game was at.

"Don't offer to play a game cause ya think that's what I wanna hear right now. Don't let me guilt ya into doin' somethin' with me an' our daughter." Ella reacted, shockin' me since her words were anythin', but pleasant.

"Yer not guiltin' me into it, I wanna spend time wit' ya'll." Why in Sam's Hill would she think that? Ain't wantin' time wit' my family outta guilt, I wanna do somethin' wit' 'em cause I love them. I know it hasn't been great since she betrayed me, but she's still my wife an' we still share a daughter. They're my family, I love 'em.

"If ya say so…" My wife mumbled lowly an' quietly under her breath.

Goddamn we're havin' so many problems. Only if we could smooth out this rough patch. Hell, if only she'd get ov'r her attitude an' ask forgiveness for her part in betrayin' me t'Hatfields. If she did that then we'd be able t'fix ev'rythin' 'tween us.

Novella POV:

Darkness had fallen onto the area the festival was at, markin' the time for the fireworks show t'start. I was sittin' on the front bench of Tolbert's wagon. My husband was sittin' next to me while Rihanna sat 'tween us. We were waitin' for the fireworks to get under way. My brother was no doubt wit' out uncle somewhere 'round the area. Bud and Pharmer had taken off to their parents' wagon once they were done helpin' Tolbert finish sellin' the shine.

"Show's slow startin' up." Tolbert's rough velvet timbre echoed out in the air 'tween us. By the tightness in his tone I knew he was gettin' aggravated.

"Yea, but it'll start soon." I assured my husband, tryin' to keep his risin' temper in check.

"Mhhm…" Vibrated out of my husband's throat.

Rihanna, holdin' her stuffed toy prize, snuggled into my side. Placin' her head on my chest she looked up at the dark night sky, waitin' for the fireworks to appear. I wrapped my arm 'round her, holdin' her. I glanced at her and smiled. The bond we had as mother an' daughter amazed me. I'd do anythin' for her.

A loud pop went off, followed by the colorful burst of white an' yellow firecrackers showerin' the sky. A large smile lit up Rihanna's round little face as she watched the sky, her eyes sparklin' as she clapped in excitement. I looked over at Tolbert only to have him look at me at the same exact time. I forced myself to give him a polite smile. The look he returned to me wasn't a smile, more like a tight upturned line crossin' his ginger bearded face. He placed an arm over me, pullin' me an' our daughter closer to him. The action didn't feel warm an' lovin', but instead mechanical.

The family love an' warmth I felt last year watchin' the fireworks wit' Tolbert an' Rihanna while pregnant wit' Tol was absent this year. Oh, how much difference a year can make. I only wonder what next year'll bring.

AN:

Well, Novella made a new friend. How nice. I know with the whole Tolbert/Misty cheating thing it's written kinda vague. I'm leaving it up to you readers to decide whether or not he's the whore's baby daddy and is having an affair. Clearly Cap's got no problems pointing Misty out to Novella. Do you guys think he did that with good or bad intentions? And Moses covering for his sister, what do ya'll think of that?

Next up is Novella's 20th birthday and the harvest season. Will things be better, worse, or the same for Novella and Tolbert? Hmmm…