Hattie was silent for a moment before changing the subject. "Did you love your baby's father?"
North sighed softly. "No. My father was not a good man. Beau was our protector, but my father forced him to leave. So protecting the younger ones became my job. My father told me that if I would...entertain...his friends that he would leave the younger ones alone."
"Did you do it?"
"Yes, I did. I was auctioned off to the highest bidder."
"But he didn't stop did he?" Hattie asked softly.
North sighed again. "No. And we lost little Georgia and nearly lost Ana. But I ended up with Callie. I love my daughter dearly."
Hattie bit her lip. "If you could do it over again, would you do it differently?"
"Callie is the best thing that has happened to me. Sometimes I wish the circumstances were different, but I can't imagine my life without her."
Tears filled Hattie's eyes. "He's not going to want me anymore..."
North sat next to her. "Did they rape you?" Hattie's only answer was to put her head in her hands and sob loudly. North put her arms around the girl and held her like she would one of her younger siblings. When Hattie's sobs had softened into sniffles North spoke softly. "May I tell you something?" Hattie nodded against her shoulder. "If Dolan really loves you, he won't hold what happened against you. He'll be angry and upset because of what happened, but he'll understand that it wasn't your fault. Once you tell him it may take him some time to work it all out in his mind, but if he truly loves you, he won't abandon you."
"But he's never spoken of love..."
North rubbed her back. "Not everyone marries for love, but if you give it a chance you can grow to care for each other and then maybe one day you'll wake up and realize that you love each other."
----
Dolan and Hattie lay in their bed with their backs to each other. It had been several weeks since Hattie had been attacked and neither one knew what to say to the other. "Did you pay him back his money?" Hattie asked softly.
"Yes, I did," he answered.
"Was there enough?"
He rolled over and looked at the back of her head. "You don't know how much was in there?"
She sighed softly. "I've never looked."
"Hattie...there was enough money for us to move into a better neighborhood and you wouldn't have to work anymore."
She was silent for several minutes. "I don't want to move."
He reached out and played with the ends of her hair. "If you want to stay, then we'll stay."
She sniffled softly. "For the first time ever, I have friends, Dolan."
"Then we won't move. I just want you to be happy." She rolled over and looked at him. "Don't hate me forever," he whispered, caressing her cheek.
Tears filled her eyes. She quickly rolled out of the bed and stumbled into the living room. She curled up on the couch and sobbed into a pillow.
Confused, he followed her. "Hattie, darling..." he knelt in front of her and gently took her hands in his own. "Tell me what's wrong...please...I don't like seeing you cry like this..." She sat there for several minutes with tears pouring down her cheeks before answering. "One...one of them raped me"
The words were so soft that he almost didn't hear them. He cursed. Hattie hugged her knees, sobbing again. He stood and paced back and forth acoss the room cursing. Hattie was the most important person in his life and his stupidity had gotten her hurt. In the few months they had been married he had come to care for her a great deal. He loved the smile that so rarely graced her beautiful face, the way she would snuggle into his arms when he hugged her, her shyness when he kissed her. All that had changed when she had been attacked. She had become as quiet and withdrawn as when they had first married. It was all his fault. Cursing himself, he turned to look at her.
He slowly crossed the room and lifted her into his arms, kissing the top of her head. "I'm so sorry, baby...I never thought you'd get hurt. But I guess I should have known they would do something like this and got out when I could..." She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. "Can you ever forgive me, darling?" he asked, holding her close. She slowly nodded. The soft patter of rain sounded on the window as he carried her back to bed. He placed her on the bed and when he stretched out beside her, she snuggled into his arms for a moment before turning over to watch the rain. Smiling, he rolled onto his side and wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her back against his chest. He tucked her head under his chin as they watched the light show provided by the storm outside.
Hattie lay in his arms feeling safe and content. Before she had been attacked she had started to care for him. She had waited anxiously for him to return from work in the evenings, had enjoyed doing their simple household chores with him before they would crawl into bed and talk until they both fell asleep, had looked forward to the times when he would take her in his arms and kiss her. Hattie couldn't begin to describe the feelings that had filled her. North's words played through her head. She shifted in his arms so that she could look at him. "Dolan...do you still want me? After what I told you..."
He brushed the hair from her face and caressed her cheek. "It was all my fault, Hattie...not yours..." She nodded, tears filling her eyes. "I know that we didn't marry for love, but I think that we've become friends and have started to care for each other just a little..."
She swollowed. "I think so too," she whispered.
Dolan propped up on one elbow and looked down at her, his face mere inches from hers. Caressing her cheek again, he leaned down and kissed her softly.