*Author's Note*
Thank you for the favs, follows, and reviews.
This update has a twist in the first scene. It has to do with the time traveling element. Oh, and Endor John 'EJ' (Jessa/Tolbert son) has a small POV in the first scene too.
Am I In The Twilight Zone?
Shaw POV:
I went off my patrol path and deep into the woods, so deep that the maze of brown trunks and green leaves blocked my view and kept me hidden from the patrol road that was some yards away. Finding a tree with some sturdy low-lying branches, I tethered my horse and double checked my surroundings before taking my ring out of my pocket and slippin' it on. Like the other times I used it, I whispered that I wanted to go to a bar. The familiar swirl of time and space surrounded me, sucked me into a different dimension before depositin' me in an alley during dusk. The ground was dirt, the dusty sandy taupe color I was used to seein' in Tulsa as a teen. Instantly, my face lit up as I realized I was in Tulsa. I didn't know what century I was in, but at least I was in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
I was where I spent my teenage years, where I learned all about horses and livestock. Where I had first laid eyes on my wife. In a sense I was home, or well home away from home.
I walked up the alleyway and onto a wooden sidewalk, only to notice that some old-fashioned cars such as Model-T Fords were going up and down the road. The cars were even parked by the sidewalk too. So, I was in the early 1900s, maybe the 1910s then. Oh, no matter the era I can blend into Tulsa. Okies and Sooners are my people.
Quickly, I entered the saloon and took a seat in an open corner. I liked to be far away from people so that I could drink in peace and not stand out. Also, the corner gave me a nice view of the main room. I enjoyed people watchin' while drinkin'. As I lifted my hand up to wave down a barmaid, I noticed that sittin' a few tables away was EJ with a middle-aged man that was dressed in a nice pinstripe waistcoat. The middle-aged man also had his shoulder length ginger hair pulled back into a half ponytail. I could only see a side profile of man since EJ blocked my view of his drinkin' companion, but what I could see of him made me realize that he was of the McCoy blood.
What the hell is with me runnin' into McCoys while time travilin' to bars?
The barmaid came over to me and asked if I'd like a beer or whiskey. I told her to bring me a bottle of the cheapest rye they had while keepin' my ears open to the conversation EJ and his drinkin' buddy were havin'.
"Ma said you read my latest book." EJ told his drinkin' buddy. His tone was surprised, as if he couldn't believe the other man had read his new book.
"'Course I read it, son. I read the first an' second ones too y'know." The middle-aged man told EJ, his tone dead serious. Whoa, wait a minute. Son? Son!? But I thought Brock Brooksdale stole my wife and kids. Least that's what I overheard in that bar in St. Augustine. What the hell is goin' on here?
"But ya hate readin'." My grown son (hell, it's weird seeing EJ all grown up and in a bar) pointed out to his 'dad'.
"I don't hate it, just don't got much time for it." The middle-aged man countered.
"So, you make time to read my books is what you're sayin'?"
"Endor, when it comes to yer ma, yer siblin's, an' you, I'll always make time. Almost didn't once an' it almost cost me ya'll." Huh? What's this guy talkin' 'bout? I'm so confused. So, is it Brock Brooksdale's ass I need to kick or this dude that looks like a McCoy kin? Shit, what the hell is goin' on? I just can't wrap my head 'round this.
"I know, poppy." EJ dryly sighed, sippin' on his glass of beer. Poppy? The hell? My son don't say that. Only folks I know that say poppy are Randall McCoy's kids. That middle-aged guy can't be one of them, so who the fuck is he?
"Ya think you know, but ya don't. Not truly." The man said before knockin' back his drink.
"Better slow it down or you'll catch hell wit' ma for gettin' drunk."
"EJ, yer ma's seen me worse off than this. Beer ain't shit compared to the whiskey she's seen me drunk on."
Snapping his fingers, EJ asked, "Remember the time we went out an' got shit faced drunk wit' Si and Lydia's man after my first book got published? Damn, thought mama was gonna skin us alive."
"Yea, she was fired up." The middle-aged man chuckled fondly at the memory.
Yea, this entire bar conversation's confusing me. Am I in an alternate universe or timeline? Shouldn't EJ be drinkin' with Brock, and shouldn't his siblings be estranged from him? Where the fuck did this ring poof me off at? Am I in the Twilight Zone? That's it, it must be it. I'm in the goddamn Twilight Zone.
"Talk 'bout your mama gettin' fired up, she's gettin' tired of us raisin' Davey. I told her I'd talk to ya 'bout it an' son, it's time for ya to take yer son back to Florida wit'cha."
"Poppy, I can't take him with me fulltime. I mean I'd love to, but he needs a woman's touch. Mama can raise him up the way that Sheila would've, or close 'nough to it."
"And I think Sheila would've wanted ya raisin yer own damn son instead of stickin' 'im on me an' yer mama." The middle-aged ginger coldly spat, sipping on his large beer stein.
"Don't tell me what Sheila would've wanted. Hell, poppy, you didn't even want me marryin' her." Oooo, now here comes the juicy gossip. I downed my whiskey, straight from the bottle, and leaned in a tiny bit to hear what EJ's 'poppy' was gonna say next.
"I didn't have nothin' 'gainst the girl. Hell…she was a very nice; sweet girl but I just didn't like who her poppy was." What is it with dad's not likin' their kid's father-in-law? Damn, who gives a shit. Of course, EJ marries a girl who's dad's hated. Wonder who the dad is.
"Sammy's a-" EJ began to say, only to be cut off by the other man's loud, solid bark of, "Squirrel McCoy was a part of that bloody fuckin' feud an' I didn't want'cha anywhere near the remnants of that damn thing or the people that were in it. Me an' yer mama got ya an' yer siblin's outta that shit for a damn reason. I wasn't too pleased that ya wanted t'go to an area where a neighbor might wanna kill ya for the blood runnin' in yer veins."
Damn, now talk about dramatic. I thought Sully was a bit much, but no…this half-ponytail ginger poppy guy has him beat. Poor EJ, stuck with him as a 'poppy'. But I am surprised to hear that EJ married Squirrel's daughter. I wasn't expecting that. Fuck, is Squirrel even serious with anybody to be having a kid close in age to mine? I have to be in the Twilight Zone, that's the only explanation for this.
EJ took a large swig of beer, only to sigh, "Look, my publisher booked me a tour for both the States and Europe. I'll take Davey and ma with me; discuss something more permanent after the book tour."
The middle-aged man sipped on his beer and sighed, "I'll pass it 'long to yer mama, but she ain't gonna like it and, frankly son, neither do I." And here comes the fatherly lecture. Yep, I can feel it. "You need'a be more present in yer boy's life, not just takin' him on book tours wit'cha for a few months 'ere an' there. Davey needs a poppy in his life, not a father that just sends for him durin' holidays an' takes him on book tours that doubles as exotic trips."
"Don't lecture me 'bout this, poppy. You weren't 'round for my first few years of life, so ya don't got no right to talk."
"I have ev'ry right, Endor John, cause I lived a hard life an' made mistakes when it came to yer mama an' our chil'ren." The ginger spat out, a hard edge in his voice. He placed a hand on EJ's shoulder, only to tell him in one of those fatherly ways, "I don't wanna see ya make sim'lar or worse mistakes, son."
Okay, I think it's time for me to sneak out of this bar and head back to my own time. I don't feel like listening to my son get some lecture from stepdaddy number 2 in the Twilight Zone. Eh, I think I liked stepdaddy number 1, Brock, a bit better in the normal timeline. At least he didn't hand out unwanted bullshit lectures.
Before I could hear my son's reply I bolted from my seat and rushed out of the bar. I had to get back to West Virginia and patrol the damn road. My drinkin' break's over.
Endor John's POV:
I was about to tell my poppy off, but a man standin' and rushin' off from his table near us caught my attention. Actually, his looks caught my attention. I swear he looked like my ma's first husband, Shaw Eldridge (the Vance Bastard) and it unnerved me.
"EJ, son, what's wrong? Ya look like ya'd just seen a ghost." Poppy asked me, his smokey blues full of concern.
Pointing to the table I swore I saw Shaw Eldridge bolt from, I said, "Poppy, I swear, the man sittin' at that table just rushed off and he looked just like the Vance Bastard."
"Vance Bastard's been dead for years, son. Ya prolly just saw one of his bastards. I'm sure he had a few since he was never a faithful or honest man."
What my poppy didn't know is that if I swore, I saw the Vance Bastard here in this bar at a nearby table then I most likely did cause he had the power to time travel. The magical time travel ring I wore on a chain around my neck once belonged to Shaw. I know that from my ma whenever I came home with it one day after helping my Uncle Billy and Aunt Mary clean out Shaw's house after he did since she inherited it (being his sister and all). Ma told me to never use it, that it had the ability to make the wearer travel thru time- anywhere in time whether it be the past or future- but it also caused heartache and insanity to whoever used it. I didn't listen, but used to whenever I was in the Navy to time travel into the past during the pirate age and Revolutionary War era. I even fought in the Revolutionary War as well. It's how I'm able to write best sellers. I just write about my experiences in the past.
"Guess you're right, poppy. Most likely one of his bastards traveled West is all." I remarked as the ring resting against my breastbone felt like it was burning a hole into my chest.
Nancy POV:
I drove my cart down the main street of Pikeville 'til I reached Adam's General Store. I pulled to a stop in front of the store, knowin' that my cousin Squirrel was scheduled to work today. I hoped out of the cart, grabbed Harmony, and slung her on my hip only to walk up the porch steps of the store. I was gonna keep my word to Jessa; tell the McCoys all 'bout what she did to try and keep Tolbert alive. The best kinfolk to spread the word to was Squirrel and Perry Cline, the family lawyer. Brenton Landon too, since they all were bigger gossips than those holier than thou old church bitties.
I walked inside the general store to find it empty, other than my cousin's bein' behind the clerk's counter. "Squirrell, Sammy, my dear cousin, you know what I just found out?" I asked, strollin' over to where he was hunched over the counter, lookin' at a catalog.
His head popped up and his ears perked up. "What'd you hear, Nance?" He asked, closin' his catalog and standin' up straight.
"Well, first thing's first is that my sister-in-law Allie is a Freeland 'gain and no longer a Hatfield."
"She divorced Cap Hatfield?" He asked in disbelief as I set Harmony down on the counter to sit.
"Yes, and her Uncle Sill from Pennsylvania picked her and the babies up; he's bringin' them up north to live with him and his boy. Permanently."
"That's good." Squirrel remarked while takin' a candy stick from a candy jar and passin' it over to my daughter. "I only met her once, but she was goin' behind Hatfields' back to help Tolbert win back Jessa."
"Yes, well, I just paid Jessa, our dear cousin-in-law, a visit after findin' out 'bout Allie to see if she knew. With them bein' best friends and all I thought she might've known about the good news."
"Well, did she?"
"Yes." I nodded. "We talked some as I helped her hang up the wash; poor thing's been thru so much."
"Like what, Nancy? Can't be too bad of much for her to marry that Vance Bastard, Tolbert's killer, and stick it out with him."
"Oh, it's very bad. So much so that I'm afraid the family might've judged her wrongly."
"Why? How bad is it?" Squirrel asked with a curious look on his face.
I leaned in as close to him as I could and told him, "Jessa, poor thing, was blackmailed into leavin' Tolbert. The Vance bastard held Tolbert's safety over her head."
Squirrel's eyes went wide as he asked, "Hell, you mean he made her leave wit' him or he'd gone after Tolbert t'mean him harm?"
"Yes," I nodded. "And that had her doin' whatever Shaw pleased cause he promised her that as long as she did so he'd leave our cousin alone." The door bell chime rang, indicatin' that a customer had entered the store, but I didn't care. I was havin' a very important discussion with my cousin. That customer will just have to wait. "Tolbert and Jessa took up 'gain after she broke thing off with the Vance bastard, but then Tolbert failed at gettin' rid of him and poor Jessa was forced to marry Shaw by Devil Anse. Then shortly after that devil locked Allie up in his barn like a wild animal."
"So that means Jessa was just tryin' to keep Tolbert safe; that she was on our side all 'long." My cousin concluded as some lady walked around the store, shoppin' for whatever she needed.
"Yes, it does."
"Her youngest boy's Tolbert's." Squirrel told me in an unmoving tone.
"He is. She named him Endor John." I smiled.
"He got Tolbert's middle name?" My cousin asked in awe.
"He does; that boy's her favorite child too cause of who his pap is."
"Excuse me, I'd like to add some coffee t'my basket and check out." A woman said from right behind me.
"Sorry, ma'am, was just catchin' up with my cousin." Squirrel apologized to the customer while motionin' for her to come up to the counter. "What coffee ya'd like, ma'am?"
"I'll be on my way, but it was nice talkin' to ya, dear cousin." I sweetly told Squirrel while pickin' up Harmony an' proppin' her up on my hip.
"Bye, Nancy." He waved at me while the woman told him she wanted a small bag of Folger's.
Now, off to repeat my good news to Lawyer Perry Cline and Brent Landon. I plan on telling them what I wasn't able to tell Squirrel, which is that Jessa's plannin' on leavin' Shaw for good real soon.
Mary POV:
I hadn't heard from Billy in a while, and it made me sad. I was afraid that the feud was making him rethink our friendship. I was all the was in Tazewell, nowhere near the Tug anymore, and our families are hunting each other down like rabbits so I couldn't blame him for forgettin' all 'bout me. Maybe he found another girl, one who has a normal family, to befriend.
I spent my days doin' chores and learnin' things from Granny Delize. Just the other day she taught me how to take apart and clean a gun. She also started teachin' me how to shoot too. I felt strange handlin' a firearm, but she insisted that it was a life skill that I needed to know. She also taught me how to make simple medicines from herbs and roots grown in her garden.
I was outside feedin' the chickens whenever the mailman trotted up to the house. He gave me a friendly wave before dismountin' his horse and walkin' over to the mailbox. I just waved back at him as the chickens clucked and walked around me. As I continued to toss feed on the ground for the clucking hens I kept a close eye on the mailman, hoping that one of the letters he stuffed into the metal mailbox was for me.
After he rode off, I rushed over to the mailbox. Opening it, I saw that two envelopes sat inside. One was addressed to Granny Delze from Uncle Jim Vance, but the other was addressed to me. There wasn't a return address on it, so I knew it was from Billy. I stuffed the letters into my apron and finished feeding the chickens.
Once I was done with my chore, I went inside and gave Granny Delize her letter. "I'm goin' to take a walk. You don't mind, do ya, Granny Delize?" I sweetly asked the old woman as she sat on her chair, knittin'.
"I don't mind, girl." She replied. Setting her knitting aside and openin' up her letter, she added in, "It's a nice day out, be good for ya to get some more fresh air in ya. Think you need to spend more time explorin' my land; gettin' comfortable with the outdoors."
"I'll be back in time to help with supper." I assured the crotchety old woman, only to earn me a loose hand wave as she began to read her letter.
I left the living room with a smile on my face. I walked down the entryway and out the front door, all while my hands itched to grab the letter out of my apron pocket and tear it open. I was so excited to read my letter from Billy. He hadn't forgotten me after all. My smile grew wider as I skipped down the porch stairs and then ran down the path.
I ran as fast as I could thru the fields and grassy green meadow until I reached a small creek. The sun made the clear water shine as I went over to the edge of the creek. Smoothin' down my skirt, I sat down and took my letter out of my pocket. I tore it open as quick as I could and unfolded my letter.
Dear Mary,
I know it's been a while since I last wrote you and I'm sorry about that. I've been busy with my shine business and building my cabin. I should have it done in another month or so. I know we're both young, me being fifteen and you being thirteen, but if things ever get too much to handle with your brother's granny you can always run here to Kentucky, and I'll help you.
You know who else plans on running to Kentucky soon? Your sister-in-law, Jessa. And before you protest, I heard it come out of both Perry Cline and Brenton Landon's mouth and my parents' dinner table the other night. See, Nancy paid them a visit when she was in town buying groceries and told them about how her earlier visit with Jessa went. Turns out that she was forced to marry your brother and was blackmailed to be with him so that he'd leave my brother alone. Jessa confided in Nancy that she's going to be leaving Shaw soon and divorcing him too.
It's only logical that she's going to seek shelter in Kentucky once she does leave him. Kentucky is McCoy territory and us McCoys will protect our own. She knows nobody in Pike County will let any harm befall Endor. Plus, I think Kentucky is the only place where she can even get a divorce too. Nobody will grant her one in West Virginia since that's Hatfield territory.
Perry and Brenton both think that Jessa is very cunning and even told my poppy that they respect her. Poppy doesn't like her, but that is because she left all those years ago when your brother was blackmailing her. My mama perked up when she heard everything Perry and Brenton had to say. I haven't seen her so sane as she was in that moment.
Mary, burn this letter after you read it. We can't risk anyone finding it and warning your brother of Jessa's plans.
Your Friend,
Billy
AN:
Well, even though this chapter was short a lot happened in it plot wise. Next up will be a short time jump to when Jefferson gets a reward on his head. Yikes!