*Author's Note*
Thank you for all the follows, faves, and reviews.
I know, back to back updates, but this idea just wouldn't leave me alone.
We're Both Poor Now
Tolbert POV:
Everyone was havin' a Merry Christmas, but me. Hell, how could I when my family weren't wi' me, but was wit' that shady Vance bastard instead. Damnit, my blood was boilin' ov'r wit' anger as I sat in my sittin' chair, drinkin' an' starin' at the flames dancin' an' cracklin' in my fireplace. A damn tree was in the corner, mockin' me an' my lack o'family. I didn't even want the damn thing, but Jefferson, an' Sarah insisted that I have it to get my mind off o'Jessa an' Silas bein' gone. The mailman's sister an' my cousin had good intentions, but the damn tree they stuck in my house a few days 'go did nothin' to cheer me up; instead it made me feel worse.
Hell, seein' Jessa an' our son wit' that Vance bastard last nite crushed me. They had on fancy new clothes an' I just knew that he was buyin' them every fine thing they'd ever want cause he had the money t'do so. Shaw havin' money was the reason why Jessa was wit' him an' not me. I was poor, struggled t'make money t'support a family with. I bet if Shaw lost his ass, went broke, then Jessa'd leave an' come home t'me.
Wait a minute, that's it. I'll destroy that shifty bastard's livelihood. I'll destroy his livery an' then when he goes bankrupt Jessa'll come back home.
Wit' a plan formulated in my head, I shot up from my chair an' rushed ov'r to grab my hat and coat. I was ridin' t'Mate Creek to bust up S.E. Livery.
Meanwhile In Mate Creek, WV
Jessa POV:
"I still can't believe that you took the pie back." I mused, shaking my head at my fiancé as he sat in his sitting chair eating a slice of berry pie while I descended down the stairs after tucking the kids in.
"Why not? Nobody even eats it except for my branch of the family. Not like the dinner hosts really needed the pie, besides they have a dozen or more to serve."
"Your branch?" I asked with one of my dark eyebrows slightly risen as I made my way over to the sofa.
Nodding his head, Shaw swallowed his mouthful of pie, before telling me, "Yea, you know, me, my dad, and my kids."
"Oh…" I trailed out, sitting down on the sofa.
A worried look appeared on Shaw's face and he paused in eating his berry pie (his third slice of the night too). "Uh-oh, you sound a bit upset, babe."
"I'm not upset, I'm just overwhelmed by everything that's happened from last night to now." I honestly told him, feeling drained in every sense of the word.
Shaw placed his plate of half eaten pie onto the coffee table, rose from his chair, and joined me on the sofa. "Jessa, honey, I know the holiday's been a bit tense, but don't let it get to you." He told me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his side.
"I can't handle any stress right now, Shaw."
"You know, I have an idea for how we can relieve some of our stress." He whispered huskily into my ear. Nibbling at the sweet spot right behind it, he added, "We can christen the sofa."
My eyes went wide and I pulled away from him with the hissed protest of, "We can't do it on the sofa. The kids are upstairs; what if they came down for something."
"The babies can't go anywhere and my siblings know that once they're upstairs in bed they have to stay there. We won't be interrupted." Shaw told me, trying to convince me to do it on the sofa with him. Something that I just wasn't comfortable with since I felt that somebody could walk downstairs.
Shaking my head, I sighed, "Shaw, it's too risky."
Instead of accepting my answer, Shaw blew up with the sharp sneer of, "Damnit, Jessa, don't be such a prude. It's fine, nobody's gonna walk in on us fuckin' on our living room sofa."
"Did you seriously just say that to me? What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked him, shaking my head in both disgust and disbelief.
"Nothin's wro-" Shaw began only for me to hold up my hand and cut him off with, "I don't want to hear it right now. You've been acting like a jackass since last night and I'm not in the mood to deal with it anymore." Quickly standing up, I announced, "I'm going to bed." Before walking off towards the bedroom, I added as spur-of-the-moment jab, "I won't lock the door so just come whenever you're tired or you stop being a jackass. Whatever happens first."
Shaw POV:
A few minutes after Jessa went to bed, I joined her. I was able to sweet talk her and calm her down with an apology (that I didn't even think I needed to give, but only gave so that I wouldn't be in the dog house). I didn't get any nookie tho, so that sucked. Eh, at least I was able to fall asleep cuddlin' her in my arms. This mornin' we were able to have a quickie before she had to make breakfast (thank god cause I don't know how much longer I could go without, just sayin'…).
Currently, I was ridin' down the main road into downtown Mate Creek with my brother in order to go to work. It might be the day after Christmas, but there's plenty of livestock to buy and sell. I had a business to run; I didn't have the luxury of taking too many days off. I did have a large family to support, half a dozen of us to be exact.
"Uh, Shaw, look." Todd mumbled a bit awestruck, pointing to my office building as we rode up to it.
Dear lord, all of the windows were shattered and the door was busted and hanging sideways off the hinges. Shit, my livery got vandalized. "Stay here, I gotta look 'round and see how bad the damage is." I ordered my brother while quickly dismountin' Tornado and hitchin' him up on the post.
"Okay." I heard Todd tell me as I rushed into my business.
Oh god, the place was a complete mess. File cabinets were turned over and the paperwork inside of them torn and scattered all over the floor. My desk was also overturned and my chair was hacked to bits. Great…just great… I walked into the kitchenette that was off of the main office only to find a note on the small table in there. I picked it up only to realize that it was both a taunt and a confession from my arch rival.
The noted read:
With your business destroyed you're going to struggle for money too. She'll be crawling back to me since we're both poor now and your money can't buy her no more.
Tolbert
That son of a bitch! He fucking did this to destroy my ability to provide for my family so he can try to tear it apart. Ginger fucker's gone too far.
"Shaw, all the stalls and pins are open; the animals got out." I heard Todd tell me from the doorway of the kitchenette.
Looking over my shoulder, I rhetorically asked my brother in a parental type tone, "I thought I told you to stay by the hitch post?"
"I just went out back to check on the livestock." Todd told me, acting like not listening to me was no big deal. "Like I said, whoever did this set them lose." He added in, reminding me that I didn't have anymore animals to sell to customers anymore. Yep, my profits just ran off in the middle of the night cause of that crazy drunk ginger.
"Tolbert McCoy done this." I informed my brother, causing him to solemnly nod his head. I went over to my brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, let's get you home." I told him, leading him down the hall. Once we reached the wreckage that way my office, I told my brother, "I'll bring ya back later to help me clean and fix the office up. Okay?"
"Okay." He nodded, following me to the door that was about ready to fall from the lone hinge it was balancing on.
Jessa POV:
I was hanging up the wash whenever I saw Todd and Shaw riding up the road. What the hell? They're supposed to be at work. Needing to know what was going on, I abandoned my wicker basket full of wet clothes and rushed over to meet them at the road. "Why aren't you at work?" I asked, standing by the mailbox with my arms crossed over my chest.
Todd just looked between me and Shaw before dismounting his horse and quickly leading it over to the barn. Shaw stopped his horse right in front of me, but didn't get down, while telling me, "Tolbert McCoy destroyed my business and set the livestock free."
"What?" Fell off my tongue in a shocked syllable. "Are you sure he did it?" I asked, not wanting to believe that Tolbert had actually vandalized the livery.
"He left me a note in the kitchenette. He did it, babe." Shaw told me in a bit of a monotoned sighed.
"Oh god…" I sighed, feeling a sense of dread fill my heart. "Stay here with the kids, I'll go talk to him about this." I instructed Shaw since I had the sudden urge to confront Tolbert about going after the livery. He wasn't just hurting Shaw, but was also hurting me and my son since we depended on Shaw's income for our survival. Tolbert needed to be put in his place and I wanted to give him an earful.
"You're not goin' nowhere, Jessa." Shaw firmly ordered, causing me to narrow my indigo eyes at him.
Shaw POV:
Hell, she was annoyed that I told her to stay put. I knew she was by how she cut her eyes at me. She was crazy if she thought I'd let her anywhere near him. Before she could say something in protest, I told her, "If I let you see him 'bout this he might kidnap you or something.", so that she could see my reasoning. Fuck, after that letter I got from Tolbert…Yea, Jessa's not going near him unless I'm by her side. Reaching my hand towards the side of her face, I tucked a stray piece of her dark hair behind her ear while telling her, "Just let me handle Tolbert, okay."
"Okay." She sighed a bit relentlessly.
"I gotta go see Jim about borrowin' some money to help me with the cost of repairs and buyin' more livestock." It was a half-truth since I did need to borrow some money, but I actually wanted to ask Jim to help me retaliate against Tolbert's attack on my livery. For what I wanted to do, well, let's just say I really needed Jim's help.
"Okay." Jessa simply nodded, accepting my half-truth.
Leaning down and giving her a quick kiss, I assured her, "I won't be long."
She just nodded, which caused me to ride off down the road towards my uncle's house.
When I rode up to Uncle Jim's cabin, I saw that he was sittin' on his porch, cleaning his gun with his dog by his feet. "Shaw, what brings ya 'round 'ere this mornin'?" He asked me as I trotted towards the hitch post by his porch.
"Gotta talk to ya 'bout some problems I'm havin'." I answered, dismountin' Tornado and hitching him up.
"What kind of problems may that be, son?" He asked, looking between me and the gun he was cleaning, as I walked up the narrow porch steps.
"Tolbert McCoy busted up my livery and set all my livestock loose." I told my uncle while making my way to the open rocker next to him and taking a seat.
"Oh, so ya want me to help ya kill him." My crochety uncle stated, not asked, in a loud chuckle, as he finished cleaning his gun; standing it against the wall next to him.
"More or less, but I also need to borrow some money." I nodded, leaning back in my chair while taking my cigarette case out of my pocket. I placed a cigarette "in my mouth and lit it while revealing, "I don't have enough in the bank for repairs, buying livestock, and household goods." Pocketing my cigarette case and taking my first drag, I explained, "I'm strapped, spent most of my money fixing up Silas' room, buyin' Christmas presents, and paying that Pinkerton to get Lydia back."
"I can't loan ya the money, I'm a bit tight myself, but I can help ya wit' your McCoy problem."
"Shit, do you think dad has any money?" I asked in a disappointed sigh, letting a ring of smoke float out of my mouth and into the crisp and bone biting late December air.
"Not that kind, but you know who does?"
"Who?" I quickly asked, curious to know who could loan me some money, before taking another drag of my cigarette.
"My mama, your Granny Delize, has it." Jim revealed, pulling his flask out of his pocket. Ah, shit, that's not the answer I wanted to hear. Before taking a swig from his whiskey flask, he told me, "Take your family t'go pay her a visit and ask for the money while you're there."
"Yea…" I trailed off in a heavy sigh since visiting Granny Delize was very low on my 'To Do' list. Last time I saw that woman was when Sully took me to see her after I graduated high school. Two years wasn't long enough for me. That woman was a total hard ass and I could do without seeing her. Also, I didn't want Jessa meeting her. Hell, Granny Delize might corrupt Jessa with her outlook on life, which was one that was very anti-marriage. For fucks sake, the woman had 7-bastard kids with 4-baby daddies in the 1800s. I didn't need her influencing my women, plus she was mean.
Damnit…I was stuck taking my family to go visit Granny Delize tomorrow. God, it's one of my nightmares coming to life.
"So, how ya wanna do in the McCoy prick?" Jim asked, breaking me out of my mental meltdown.
"I thought that we could burn his cabin down. Since it's snowin' he's in it and not at his still." I told my uncle, letting him know in a way that I was hoping to kill Tolbert's drunk ass by burning down his cabin since he's be passed out from drinking too much of his badly brewed shine.
"Ah," Jim nodded before stating, "you need me to make the poor man's grenade."
"Yep." I popped out since. I desperately needed his help since he was the only one in the family that knew how to make a Molotov cocktail.
"Come back tonight and we'll go burn that chaffin' lil prick's shithole to the ground."
Tippin' my cigarette ashes into the porch floor, I genuinely told my favorite uncle, "Thanks, Uncle Jim. I really appreciate this."
"No need to thank me, Shaw. Ya know I just wanna help ya kill a McCoy." Jim smirked, tipping back his flask.
"Just don't tell Sully. I don't need him givin' me a bullshit lecture." I firmly told my uncle, snatching his flask from him as soon as he was done drinking from it.
"Don't worry, I ain't tellin' him." Jim assured me as I took a much-needed drink from his flask. Damn, with how fucked up my morning's been I needed a good, strong drink to calm my nerves.
I took another sip from the flask before handing it back. "I gotta get home, but I'll be back 'round midnight or so." I told Jim, rising from the rocker I was in.
Nodding, he simply said, "See ya then."
God, I couldn't wait for tonight. I was gettin' rid of my Tolbert problem whether he burnt up in his flame covered house or not. If he did survive, well, I doubt he'd be dumb enough to go after me or Jessa again.
Tolbert POV:
It was the middle o'the nite an' I was sleepin' whenever a loud crash woke me up. I heard 'nother crash as I sat up, but what startled me was the smell o'smoke. Goddamnit, was somebody settin' my house on fire? I scrambled outta bed, put on my boots, an' ran outta my room as smoke filled up the air. Flames licked at the floor an' walls o'my cabin. Hell, my Christmas tree in the corner was on fire. Quickly, I ran out the back door so I wouldn't burn t'death in my house that flames were rapidly engulfin'.
As I stared at my cabin that I build wit' my bare hands I knew who set it on fire. Shaw Eldridge did this. He wanted me dead an' my home destroyed cause I took 'way his livelihood, cause he knew that soon 'nough I'd be takin' Jessa back.
Jessa POV:
I sprung awake with a rapid feeling of dread and dismay in my chest. When I placed my hand down on the mattress I was stunned since the spot my hand touched should've had my fiancé lying on it. Shaw should be in bed with me, but he wasn't. When I looked at his side of the bed, I discovered that his blankets were turned up, indicating that he got up after I fell asleep.
I went to get out of bed, thinking that maybe he was in the kitchen getting a drink or something, but paused whenever I noticed that the clothes (that he stripped off for bed) along with his boots weren't on the floor. They were missing along with him.
Oh god, he went after Tolbert.
AN:
So, Tolbert went and vandalized Shaw's livery. Not a very smart move on his part, huh? What do you guys think about Shaw and Jim burning down Tolbert's cabin for retaliation? Jessa confronts Shaw about going after Tolbert in the next chapter. Yikes.