*Author's Note*
Thank you for all the follows, faves, and reviews.
New OC named Asa M. Merriweather is introduced in the third scene. His face claim is Luke Evans.
Two Raging Bulls & Elkton's Stop
Shaw POV:
When I woke up, I was on my stomach, face first on my pillow with drool dribbling out of my mouth. Oh god, I drank myself to sleep last night. Hell, having to talk to Devil Anse about Johnse and Roseanna by dredging up my own relationship drama sure did do a number on me. It made me drink and drink til I forgot my fucked-up feelings, til I got numb and could just sleep without any thoughts or memories haunting me. Fuck, my head was pounding so bad as I rolled over onto my back. I wiped the drool off the corner of my mouth before pushing myself to sit up in bed. I looked over at my clock, my brows furrowin' as I read that the time was nearly noon. Goddamn, didn't my dumbass siblings think to wake me. As I sat in bed, my head feelin' like it was getting' smacked by a sledge hammer, I noticed that the house was eerily quiet. What the fuck?
I got up and walked out of my room and into my kitchen only to see my siblings sitting at the table, worried looks on their faces. They were still in their pjs, which was odd, but what really took me aback was the seeing my dad sitting at my kitchen table, a hard-mixed look of pain and sympathy on his face. Okay, now I know something's fucking wrong. Wait a minute, where's Lydia? Why isn't she in her highchair.
Upon seein' my puzzled look, Sully stood up and walked over to me. "Son, you need to come sit down." He told me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "What I need to tell you's hard, but it might be easier to hear at the table."
"What the hell's going on?" I asked my dad, not wanting to sit down and beat around the bush. Nothing seems right this morning and I want to know why.
Looking over his shoulder at my siblings, Sully told them, "Todd, Mary, why don't ya'll go get dressed while I talk to Shaw." Todd and Mary just nodded before getting up from the table and going over to the staircase. Once they were upstairs, Sully looked at me with a look that oozed empathy while telling me, "Todd and Mary came and got me this morning after they woke up and found that Lydia was gone."
Fear gripped my heart as I screamed, "Gone! What'd ya mean Lydia's gone?"
"She wasn't in her crib this morning when Todd went to get her. The kids panicked and got me when they couldn't wake you."
"You telling me that Olga kidnapped my kid?" I asked even tho I knew deep down in my guy that's what happened, that was the case.
"Yes, sadly I am." My dad nodded. Letting out a sigh, he pointed to the countertops while telling me, "She also cleaned out your savings jar, leaving it on the counter with only a few coins in it."
"That stupid fucking crazy bitch took my kid?!" I roared, feeling myself on the verge of crumbling. My dad just looked at me, his blue eyes full of sadness. "Why isn't anybody out trying to get her back?"
"Cause there isn't a way to get Lydia back. Olga skipped town. She's not at the local boarding house or apartment buildings. I know cause I already went looking."
Sully POV:
"No, no, no. This can't be happening. This just can't be happening, dad." Shaw muttered, on the verge of crying. His chest was heaving up and down so fast he looked ready to go into a full-scale anxiety attack.
I hated seeing my son like this, ready to break. I knew without a doubt that he loved his children unconditionally with every fiber of his very being. Lydia being taken away from him by Olga (which in my opinion was stupid since I've never witnessed her actually care for the child and doubt she can actually do it. I hope she can care for the baby, but…) is tragic. I know that Shaw's going to have a hard time healing from this.
I didn't want to be the voice of reason, but sadly I had to be. I let out a sigh before gently telling the broken man standing in front of me, "Son, I know this is hard to process, but Olga and Lydia are gone; could be anywhere by now too. I'm afraid you'll never find her either."
Shaw didn't say a word, but his scruff covered jaw was twitching. All light seemed to leave his honey eyes, making them appear dull, as his chest heaved up and down quicker then it already was. Suddenly, my son let out a heart wrenching cry as he went over to the table and flipped it over. I was standing still in shock as I watched my son tear up his kitchen while howling like a wounded animal. I didn't know how to help him. I've never seen him lash out and break down so badly before; I was actually afraid to approach him for fear that he'd turn his aggression on me.
"I'll take the kids with me for a bit, Shaw. Just...just do whatever you need to process everything." I told my son before walking out of the kitchen. As I walked upstairs to get Todd and Mary, who were being smart and staying in their rooms, the loud crashing sounds in the kitchen continued to echo out in the air.
Dear lord, once he calms down, he'll have to rebuild his kitchen along with buying new things for it. A part of me felt a bit guilty for even bringing Olga into Shaw's life, for indirectly playing a part in his current pain.
Jessa POV:
Just like we did every Sunday, me and Tolbert went to church and then went to his parents' house afterwards. This Sunday, unlike all the others, we had a tension between us. Yes, feelings of frustration, betrayal, anger and mistrust were still lingering between us from our fight yesterday afternoon. The family picked up on Tolbert's bad mood too, but when they asked him if anything was wrong he just lied and said that he was tired. The family bought his excuse, but by the way Brenton's eyes darted knowingly between Tolbert, who was sitting in the main room with the men, and me while I helped Sally and Alifair in the kitchen, I knew he wasn't buying it. That he knew the real reason why Tolbert was extra snappy and offish with me today, but considering he spilled the beans about me going to Shaw's livery I reckon he would know huh…
I was in the middle of peeling a potato whenever Brenton walked into the kitchen with Silas in his arms. What the?... As if reading my mind, the legal assistant turned extended family to the McCoys told me, "Tolbert told me that he thinks you and Silas needs some fresh air. He also thinks it'd be nice for us to talk since we rarely do."
Before I could say a word, Sally looked over her shoulder at both me and Brenton while saying, "Sweetheart, go talk t'him. Me an' Alifair can handle the kitchen for a few minutes."
"Are you sure, Sally?" I asked, hoping that she'd change her mind and wouldn't insist that I go talk with Brenton. I didn't want to talk to the slim ball right now. Not when he meddled in my life and caused a rift to form between me and Tolbert.
"Yes, I'm sure." Sally nodded. Stirring the pot on the stove, she added in, "Ya can use a small break."
"Okay." I told Sally before getting up from the table and going over to Brenton. "I'll take Silas." I bluntly told the brown-haired man, snatching my son from him. His brow furrowed, but before he could make a remark, I walked out the back door.
It only took a few minutes for Brenton to join me outside. I was sitting down on the dry leaf covered ground, watching Silas run and play, whenever Brenton took a seat next to me. "You know that boy of yours looks just like Shaw Eldridge."
"He should considering he's his dad." I deadpanned, not once taking my eyes off of my son.
"Shaw's the blood father, but Tolbert's the poppy. Tolbert's the one you settled down with, the one that gave Silas a name and that's something you can't afford to forget." Brenton lectured me while we watched my son run thru a small pile of leaves.
"Brenton, Tolbert's a liar. He didn't give my son his name, my son's got my name. Silas' full name according to the census is Silas Elliot George." I firmly told Brenton with a hard edge to my voice.
"Well, that's still not a reason for ya to go over to Shaw's livery with the boy to strike up some family time."
Snapping my head, makin' my inky curls bounce around my shoulders, I snapped, "You don't know anything about the arrangement I have with Shaw. Maybe if you did you wouldn't have told Tolbert that I was at the livery."
"I don't care about what you've got goin' on with Shaw, but I do know that telling Tolbert 'bout it puts me further in the McCoy family's good graces and that's something I need." Brenton told me in a arrogant tone, one that made me cringe. Asshole was self-serving, just as bad as his bother-in-law Perry Cline. Yep, those two definitely work together.
"You're a slimy bastard." I told him before going on to say, "I know you're best friends with Sully and that he most likely told you he saw me at the livery. Betraying his trust is awful."
Brenton leet out a long, deep chuckle. Why was he laughing, what was so funny about what I told him? Seeing the confusion in my eyes, he told me, "My dear, what I did had nothing to do with breaking my best friend's trust. I solely had to do with me keeping a firm foot planted in the McCoy side of the Tug." A smirk appeared on his sharp face as he revealed, "I'm trusted by the Hatfield's since Sully's my friend and my nephew from Boone, Sawyer, just married Essie, Judge Wall Hatfield's youngest daughter."
"What?" Whooshed out of my mouth in a single breath. Oh my god, this man is definitely a wolf in sheep's skin.
"I'm so entwined 'tween these feuding families that I do what I can to keep their trust and benefit myself."
"God, who's your conscience, Loki?" I know it ain't Jimminy Cricket.
"The Norse god of mischief isn't a conscience, he's a deity." Brenton dryly told me. Shooting me a pensive look, he sarcastically remarked, "I wonder who your conscience is. Perhaps Helen of Troy." I didn't feed into his zinger, just rolled my indigo eyes at him. "You know your actions are pittin' ya right in the middle of two raging bulls."
"Don't worry about my actions, Brenton. What I do doesn't concern you."
"You know that Shaw's step-father Peter and Randall were very good friends. Tolbert and Shaw, being only a few years apart, were friends too when they were little." Hmm, I didn't know that. Neither once mentioned their old friendship to me. "Their friendship died over a disagreement 'bout a card game. Tolbert acused Shaw of cheatin' and takin' all of his money while Shaw accused Tolbert of bein' a sore loser; claimed he won the 20-bucks fair an' square." I just nodded, motioning for Brenton to carry on since I could tell by the way his lips were pursed thoughtfully that he had more on his mind that he wanted to verbalize. Looking at my son, who was sitting on the ground throwing leaves up in the air, Brenton told me, "A fight ensued and a knife was pulled."
My indigo eyes went wide as I asked, "Really, a knife was pulled? How old were they since they were packin'?"
"They were 12-and-16-years old. Perfectly normal ages to be carryin' a knife in one's boot or belt." The legal assistant told me before continuing his recollection with, "Anyways, somebody stabbed somebody. Tolbert says he got stabbed while Shaw says he got stabbed; then a few days later Peter beat the shit outta Shaw for findin' a large stash of money in his room. A few days after that Peggy sent Shaw off to school and he was never seen 'gain til June of '78 when he came home with a diploma from some boys' school."
"Why're you telling me this?" I asked, furrowing my dark brows at the man sitting next to me.
"Cause you need to know since they're playing a new round of poker for a new prize purse now." Brenton told me, standing up. Looking down at me, he gave me the unwanted advice of, "I'm gonna tell ya somethin' I told my own daughter, Nova. Watch out for yourself and your child cause nobody else will. If that means crossin' lines, bendin' rules, or turnin' two-faced then so be it, but bein' outright honest will not get'cha ahead.", before turning around and heading back inside of the house.
Great, looks like I'm caught in between two men that hate each other and one even tried to kill the other when they were teens. Goddamnit, it would've been nice if I knew this earlier.
Allie POV:
"Where's Shaw, Olga, and Lydia at? Ain't they comin' for supper?" Devil Anse asked no one in particular as we were all gathered around the table placing slices of ham on our dinner plates.
"Shaw's indisposed at the moment while Olga and Lydia are god knows where by now." Was Sully's answer to his cousin's question.
Levicy and Roseanna's eyes slightly widened and they shared a look of worry with each other while Johnse's brows furrowed as his cogs were turning. Me and Cap shared a look conveying that we were both relieved that Olga got away with her daughter; that she escaped Shaw's sticky web. Uncle Ellison just shook her cooper haired head before shoveling a large spoon of potatoes into his mouth while his son, Cotton, just ate his dinner as a confused look crossed his face. He didn't dare ask what Sully meant tho since Lias shot him one of those 'don't say nothin' kind of looks.
"What happened, Sully?" Devil Ansed asked, most likely just to have what everyone was thinking to be said aloud and cemented as unbridled truth.
"Todd and Mary showed up at my door right after dawn, scared and panicked cause Olga and Lydia were gone and they couldn't wake up Shaw." Sully told Anse in between eating his Sunday ham supper.
"That crazy stupid bitch took off with my niece." Uncle Jim barked in a crochety tone, shaking his head in a disgusted manner before taking a gulp from his cup of coffee.
God, now I know where Shaw get's his colorful personality from. Holy Shit…
"She's her daughter too, reckon she's got a right to take her." Spoke up my husband while he put his fork on his plate and grabbed his coffee cup.
"But Olga can't take care of Lydia. We all know it; seen it with our own eyes too, Cap." Remarked Johnse before stuffing a large forkful of ham into his mouth.
"Johnse's right, Cap." Roseanna told my husband. Of course, she was backing up Johnse. To further prove her point and loyalty to my brother-in-law, she told Cap, "She wasn't very motherly. I even had t'hold Lydia last nite when they were ov'r for dinner."
"You didn't even know her. Olga was my friend and she seemed like a good enough mom to me." I told Roseanna, defending my friend who was lucky enough to get away from Shaw.
Johnse pointed his fork at me while remarking, "Havin' tea time with her for an hour or so doesn't mean you know her motherin' skills, sis. Shaw lived wit' her, if he says she was a piss-poor mama then I suppose he'd be right since he'd know how she acted behind closed doors."
Before I could say anything back to Johnse, Levicy spoke up with the heavy-hearted words of, "Olga wasn't a bad person, but she just wasn't right for this family. It's such a shame she took that precious baby with her."
"Shaw can always track her down, kill her, an' get his girl back." Uncle Jim mused with a large mouthful of food rolling around in his mouth.
What the fuck? Jim's being extra crazy today. I think I prefer it when he's being a crochety old bear that wants to hunt McCoys rather then coming up with a plan to kill Olga and kidnap Lydia back. Cap's milky eye and its icy blue twin cut our uncle a nasty look. Clearly my husband wasn't too fond of Jim's remark either.
"Don't talk like that 'round Cotton, Uncle Jim." Ellison chastised the burly mountain man while both Sully and Anse loudly shouted, "NO!", at the same time.
"Ah, too bad. I would've helped 'im too." Uncle Jim chuckled, shaking his head before stuffing more food into his mouth.
"No more talk of this. It ain't fittin' for the supper table." Levicy firmly told everyone with a stern look before eating a forkful of mashed potatoes.
Everyone just nodded, even the children who had no idea what was going on, and finished eating in silence.
*Train Depot in Elkton, Maryland*
Olga POV:
It was nite now an' the train just made a stop somewhere in Maryland. People were gettin' on the train an' others gettin' off. My stop wouldn't be reached 'til t'morra, but I didn't mind. I had a few bottles left for Imogene an' a couple o'slices o'bread for myself. Once I reached New York I'd buy more milk an' somethin' t'et 'fore catchin' my connectin' train t'San Franscico.
The lanterns in the train car provided a dim orange light as I leaned 'gainst the window glass, lookin' out at the small countryside train depot we stopped in. I weren't payin' attention t'my surroundin's so when a man's voice sounded out next t'me wit', "Excuse me, Ma'am, but can I sit here?", I was slightly startled. Turnin' t'look at where the voice came from, I was met wit' the site of a man wearing a black top hat.
"Yes, Sir, ya can sit 'ere." I told him, noddin' my head to the empty seat across from me.
"Thank you." The man told me. Takin' his seat, he went on to say, "Every other seat is full, but since you have a baby I didn't want my sittin' here to be a bother."
"Oh, it ain't a bother." I assured him wit' a polite smile.
"I'm Asa M. Merriweather." He introduced himself wit' a smile as the train started t'roll outta the small station. "And whom might you be?"
"Olga Becker." I told him. Lookin' down at my daughter I added in, "An' she's Imogene."
"Nice meetin' you, the both of you." He told me 'fore goin' on t'ask, "Travelin' to San Franscico for a visit or work?"
"Movin' there cause things didn't work out in West Virginia." I honestly answered the man I'd only just met. A man that seemed trustworthy by his warm hazel eyes.
"Ah, I see." He nodded, his lip pressed in a line. Clearin' his throat, he told me, "I'm goin' out there for work."
"What kind'a work?" I asked, curious 'bout the work he did. He didn't look like no farmer or gang man, that's for sure.
"Journalist." Asa told me, causin' me to nod. Wow, I've nev'r met no newspaper man 'fore. Hell, back in the Five Points all the newspaper men were uptown in Manhattan an' were considered million-dollar men. Asa surely don't look like a million-dollar man, but he don't look like no pauper either. "I used to write a community column for the Cecil Whig, but I've managed to bag myself a better job at The Examiner as a social issues' columnist." Asa explained even tho I didn't ask 'im to.
"I used t'be a midwife." I told him since he shared his workin' details wit' me.
"You going to look for that type of work in California or do you have something lined up already?"
"No, I don't got no job awaitin' me, but I got family. They'll let me stay wit' 'em an' I'm sure they'll help me find midwife work."
"That's good. Moving somewhere you don't have any ties to would be a bit hard."
"Yes, I know. I've done that once an' it was hell."
"I take it you're a divorcee." Asa told me, his hazel eyes shiftin' 'tween my bare left ring finger an' the baby sleepin' 'gainst my chest.
"No, the blackheart nev'r married me even tho I was his mail ordered bride. He was t'wrapped up in somebody he can't nev'r have." I corrected Asa, soundin' a bit bitter. Reckon I had the right t'be tho wit' everythin' I'd been thru.
"Sounds like it was an awful situation, but at least you got a beautiful baby out of it."
"Yes, yer right 'bout that." I agreed wit' Asa since he spoke the truth 'bout my life back in Mate Creek.
Suddenly, silence filled up the space 'tween us. Not a heavy one, but a light one. I've got a feelin' my trip t'San Franscico'll be filled wit' chats an' friendship.
AN:
Hope you guys liked this chapter. So, what do you think of the little back story about Tolbert and Shaw as teens? Who do you think has the stabbing scar, Shaw or Tolbert? Allie and Cap are happy Olga got over on Shaw. No surprise there. What do you guys think about Asa, the newspaper man sitting with Olga on the train?
Next up Jessa makes a very dire and impactful decision that shakes everything up. Since I didn't get to it yet (but meant too) Allie had happy news for Cap.