*Author's Note*
Thank you for all the follows, favs, and reviews.
Well, here it is, the 100th chapter! OMG this story's already it the 100th chapter make and it's only 'bout halfway done. I even have a sequel idea too so… Yep… Anyways hope you guys enjoy this update.
A Month Since…
Allie POV:
It's been roughly a month since we've been on our own and even tho it's hard, Cap's been doing his best to take care of our family. For meat he hunts game, but that's cause he wants to breed our pigs and chickens so we'll have more then enough of them come next year. For money, well, what he does is risky, but it's the only way to make a quick buck since Devil Anse spread the word along both sides of the Tug that Cap was disowned and was not eligible to work for anyone he considered friend, kin or neighbor. So, since his dad did that, the only way for my husband to make any money was to go to the saloon in Pikeville and play a few hands of poker. He only did it in the afternoons and was always armed, but it was still a risky way to make a living.
I was pulling the laundry off the line whenever I spotted my husband ridin' up the road. I just waved, resulting in him waving back at me. My son, who was on the porch watching his sister sleep in his basket, let out a loud and excited shout of, "Papa's home!", as Cap turned off of the road and onto the path that was more or less our driveway.
I just smiled at my son while watching my husband ride up to the house. Thank god he made it home safe. "How was the poker tables at the saloon?" I asked Cap, pulling a sheet off the line, as he pulled his horse to a stop at the hitch-post and dismounted it.
"Not bad. Won a few bucks." He told me while tyin' the horse up.
"How much's a few bucks?" I asked, pulling a shift off the line and tossing it into the laundry basket.
Walking up the porch steps and over to a rocking chair, he told me, "Five."
"Oh…" I sighed since it wasn't like he got that much from his gambling. I mean he started out with $2 so…
"Hey, it's more then what I went into the saloon wit' so be grateful." Cap snapped at me as I continued to pull laundry off the line.
"I didn't say I wasn't grateful, Cap." I defended myself to my husband, wanting him to know that I did appreciate the money he brought home.
"No, but it was implied in that long oh of yours." Cap snapped back at me, cutting down my defense.
"Cap, truly, I'm grateful that you brought home some money, but-" I began, only to get interrupted by my husband's deep and rolling toned question of, "But what?"
"Maybe we should contact that long-lost uncle of mine that Sully dug up. He might be able to help us."
"I ain't askin' some man in Western Pennsylvania that we don't even know for help. He might be a few hours 'way, but he's still a stranger."
"But Cap-" I began only to be cut off with a rough, "Don't 'but Cap' me, Allie. I'm the head of our house an' I make the decisions. I can provide for us, so don't worry none."
I just shook my head and placed the last piece of laundry into the basket before picking it up. Walking over to the porch, I felt my temper begin to simmer. How could he refuse to reach out for help. Stranger or not, Sill Payne was my uncle and I'm sure he'd help if he was asked. Only problem is my husband refused to ask and I couldn't or else I'd make my husband mad; make him accuse me of goin' behind his back too.
"Don't storm 'round, darlin'. Not very becomin' of the lovely lady I married." Cap had the nerve to tell me as I stomped up the porch steps while balancin' the heavy laundry basket against my hip.
I bit back a retort, tellin' myself that bickering with my husband wasn't worth it. I just walked right by him and into the house, leaving my husband and children outside of the porch.
Cap POV:
I shook my head as I watched my wife storm into the house. I thought she was bein' childish wit' her stompin' and stormin' 'bout. Hell, at least I'm makin' us some money and puttin' food on the table. I could be like her idiot brother, cryin' for handouts. Least that's the tell that I've heard, that Abel's snivelin' to his McCoy kin for money an' can't stand on his own two feet.
Hell, I ain't no begger. I can take care of my own.
"Pa, sissy wakin' up." Captain W told me, pointin' to the basket where Levicy was startin' to stir in.
I just nodded, rose from the rocker, and went over to where my son and daughter were. I picked Levicy up out of her basket right as her blue eyes popped open. Pattin' my son on the back, I suggested, "Why don't 'cha go play for a bit while I rock her?", 'fore standin' up.
"Okay, papa." Captain W. nodded his blonde head 'fore standin' up an' scurryin' off towards a tree swing that I'd made for him a few weeks 'go.
"Well, Lil Levicy, looks like it's just us." I cooed at my daughter, slightly bouncin' her in my arms, as I went back ov'r to my rocker. Sittin' down, I told my lil girl, "Least you're happy t'see me, unlike your mama who's upset wit' how lil cash I'm bringin' in."
Jessa POV:
It was a pleasant September afternoon and I was having a good day so I was outside harvesting the last of my garden (which was a nicely sized plot). The kids were inside napping while Mary was in side doing her schoolwork, so I was all alone harvesting my fruits and vegetables. Well, I was alone picking some ripe tomatoes off of the vine (the final fruit of the season), until a shadow formed above me that was accompanied by the soft sound of bootsteps echoing against the brittle fall grass.
"Jessa, should ya be out harvestin' in yer condition?" A smooth, but rough accented Appalachian voice I knew all too well spoke up from right behind me.
Placing my tomato into the large basket next to me, I looked up and over my shoulder and scoffed, "I'm pregnant, not disabled, Tolbert. I can harvest my garden if I want to, you know."
"Ya should be inside, restin'. Hell, have the golden-haired sister-in-law of yers do the harvestin'. No need t'get yerself worked up ov'r pickin' string beans, squash, an' maters."
"Don't you dare tell me what to do with my own garden on my own property."
"But I'll dare tell ya how t'care for yerself when yer carryin' my child."
"He's my child, Tolbert. You might've sired him, but you can't claim him." Lifting my left hand in the air and holding it out so that'd he'd see the shiny diamond and gold band duo sitting on my left ring finger, I reminded him that, "I'm a married woman."
"Ya didn't have t'be one, tho, Jessa." Tolbert told me; pain heavily laced in his words. His stormy blue eyes were filled with unshed tears as he cursed, "Goddamnit, ya had a choice; didn't have t'marry that shady bastard."
"No, I didn't have a choice. Not after that crazy stunt you pulled. I was ordered to get married by Devil Anse and in order to protect myself and my children," Placing a hand on my round belly I finished my explanation with, "includin' my unborn child, I obeyed so I wouldn't be on the wrong side of his wrath." I shook my head and pointed a finger at him while bluntly telling him, "I only had one choice cause of your hot-headed and hate fueled murderous frenzy you were on when it came to Shaw and Johnse." Placing my hand to rest back on my belly, I sighed bitterly, "I wasn't even ready for marriage, but had to enter into it cause of you going on some crazed tempered tirade."
Tolbert's face turned red with anger and his nostrils flared, much like a fighting bull's, as he snapped, "Don't blame me for ya marryin' a man ya don't truly love. Ya had other options."
"No, I didn't. Why can't you get that thru your thick skull?" Dear lord, this redhead's the most stubborn man I've ever met. I daresay his stubborn streak's worse then the one my husband has, which is pretty bad… Narrowing my indigo eyes at him, I spat, "And don't you dare say I don't love Shaw, he might be my second choice, but I love him."
"Not like ya love me, tho." He countered in a smooth, but smug tone as he gave me a knowin' look. God I hated that look. That look that expressed he was right and knew it.
Downcasting my gaze, I firmly told him, "You need to leave, Tolbert. There's no reason for you to be here, not when I'm married to your enemy."
"I'll leave, but I'll be back once I hear word ya've had the baby." He declared, causing me to bite back a frustrated huff. How can he be so damn daft? He can't be coming around, it's too dangerous.
Looking up at him, I ordered, "Don't, Tolbert." Before Tolbert could argue with me, I shook my head and explained in a long, but truthful tone, "It won't do any good. His father's Shaw. He can protect him both legally and physically during this feud since, sad to say, Hatfields got the larger numbers."
The redhead's resolve broke as he pleaded in a velvety baritone filled shout of, "I can protect him too. I can protect all of us as long as we can run off t'Oklahoma.", that had the undertone of a wail to it, as he looked at me with a mix of pain and hope swimming in his stormy gaze.
"Oklahoma's a silly pipedream. It's impossible to runaway and not get caught." I dryly reminded him, feeling a bit annoyed that he was still hung up on going to the territory when it was impossible. He opened his mouth to protest, but I held my hand up and shut him down with a blunt, but honest retort of, "I already told you once, I'm not going to do something foolish and reckless only to get hunted down and killed by bad Frank." I squared my shoulder and firmly told him, "I made my choice and it's Shaw so you need to respect that and leave." Shooing him off with a wave of my hand, I added in, "Get on back over to your side of the Tug before somebody spots you and shoots you dead."
"I'll go, but I ain't gonna stay gone for long. Not when yer havin' my baby come winter."
Of course, he'd say that. I just shook my head and went back to picking tomatoes as his shadow grew distant due to him turning around and leaving.
God, I wanted to cry and scream since I felt so torn and frustrated, but I knew that I had to keep myself together. I couldn't break down; it wouldn't be healthy for me or my baby right now. Since I already had rough pregnancies, I needed to keep myself as calm as I could so that I'd be in prime health and wouldn't bring any harm to my unborn child. My unborn child that I was positive without a doubt belonged to Tolbert McCoy and not my husband, Shaw Eldridge.
Tolbert POV:
"I'll go, but I ain't gonna stay gone for long. Not when yer havin' my baby come winter." I told Jessa 'fore turnin' my back on her an' walkin' off.
I didn't wanna leave, but only did so cause she wanted me to. Told me to. It killed me t'walk 'way from her, but she didn't want me no mores so what else could I do? I could stand 'round beggin' an' pleadin' til I turned blue in the face, but she was a stubborn woman an' weren't changin' her mind. She made that clear, she was stickin' wit' the ill-minded choice she made. Marriage t'Shaw, the shifty Vance Bastard.
After unhitchin' my horse from the fence post an' mountin' it, I dared look up an' ov'r at Jessa for a final time. Tho she looked heavily in her pregnancy; she had a sense o'peace 'round her as she harvested her garden. Her garden which was huge an' full bloomed. A smile tugged at the corner o'my mouth as I watched her pick maters like a seasoned farmer. Reckon all 'em times harvestin' poppy's fields wit' me gave her a keen sense o'farmin'.
I loved her, I truly did, but I couldn't handle her harsh words an' rejection no mores. Goddamnit, if she wasn't pregnant, I'd prolly fight her harder, but she was an' I couldn't keep fightin' her cause I couldn't risk her gettin' stressed an' harmin' our baby cause o'me an' my temper. I couldn't be the reason her heart broke over 'nother baby.
Takin' a deep breath, I turned Eldorado 'round an' road off down the road that's take me back t'the river; back t'Kentucky.
Shaw POV:
I must say that I've been enjoying my promotion these last few weeks. It felt great to be trusted with the security of the lumber mill, even if I was partnered up with Uncle Jim. In fact, hanging around with my crochety mountain man uncle day in and day out had its perks. Those being that I found out all of the family gossip quicker than I should've and I was able to talk and vent 'bout shit. By shit I mean my urge to hunt down Tolbert fuckin' McCoy and shoot him for runnin' his mouth and claimin' my boy's his. Yea, apparently that rumor's running rampid all over the Tug with wildfire. It wasn't bad enough that he told me that bullshit when he kidnapped me, but now he's spreading his lies all over the region. Fuckin' ginger dickhead from hell. God, I hate that man. Only my Uncle Jim understand how much my hatred runs for him tho.
He understands and approves of it, unlike some other's that want me to take a step back and keep a level head on my shoulders.
We were slowly walking 'round the hillside, careful not to fall and roll down it, with our rifles slung over our shoulders. The September weather was pleasant today, even tho a slight breeze was in the air. Our coats lightly flapped in the breeze as he asked me, "So, few more months t'go then?" Uncle Jim asked, pride in his gruff voice, as he referred to my wife's pregnancy.
"Yep. Endor should be here come December. Late December id my math's right."
"Endor. Boy, still can't believe you're namin' him that." My uncle chuckled. Nudgin' my shoulder with his, he asked, "So, has Jessa come up wit' a middle name yet?"
"Yea." I nodded before stating the name of, "John."
"John?" Uncle Jim parroted in a taken aback way.
"Yep." I opened my tongue as we continued to slowly walk across the hillside, keepin' an eye out for any signs of potential danger whether that be from a McCoy, a mountain lion, or a tree fallin' before it's been cleanly sawed thru.
"Endor John's got a ring to it, if I must say so myself."
Shrugging, I gave him the simply explanation my wife had given me the other night when she told me her name choice. "Well, we'll be namin' Johnse and Roseanna the god-parents so reckon it's fittin' we honor him by givin' our son a form of his name."
"Jessa's a good an' bright woman. Honorin' our family like that's a good thing; glad she thought of it."
"Yea, I got lucky when I took her as my wife." I smiled widely from ear to ear. God, after everything we've been thru, I'm so glad I was finally able to marry her; make her mine.
"Oh, ya sure did, son." Jim patted me on the back. Removing his hand from my back, he went on to tell me in a knowing way, "Ya sure did, since it's hard t'find somebody to put up wit' hard and hateful men like us let alone love us."
"I'm not a hateful person, Jim. I'm actually quite pleasant." I scoffed, causing my uncle to shake his head and let out an amused chuckle.
"Yea, and I'm Santa Clause." He sarcastically told me before letting out around loud chuckle. I just shook my head and rolled my eyes at him. Well, he sure did have a belly that wiggled like jelly, just like Santa Clause did so… After composin' himself, he went on to seriously ask, "Ya gonna be goin' t'family dinner on Sunday?"
"Yea, I'll be at dinner in a couple of days." I answered my uncle. The only reason I was subjecting my family to the large Sunday meal at the main Hatfield house every weekend for the last month was so that I could wiggle my way into the good graces of Devil Anse. So far, he seemed to respect me a bit more then he used to. Eh, at least that's the impression I got from the cold patriarch.
"Good." Jim nodded before adding in, "Y'know, the family's been enjoyin' havin' ya 'round."
"Well, since I've gonna have a house full of kids it's time for me to get closer to the family. Especially with how much Tolbert seems to have it out for me."
Tilting his head at me, Uncle Jim advised in a wise way, "Boy, ya need'a put that dog down already."
"I know, Jim, and I really want to believe me I do, but I don't want to stir the pot while Jessa's so far 'long in her pregnancy." I told my uncle, needing him to understand that I wasn't scared t hunt down my enemy, just cautious since I feared for the health of my wife and unborn son.
"I understand, son." Jim nodded; sympathy evident in his drawlin' gruff tone. "Ya don't wanna risk another miscarriage, one caused by stress of worryin' 'bout your safety this time instead." My uncle stated my deepest worry, one I didn't have to voice up since he knew me so well that he could just pick up on it.
"Yea." I nodded before my honey eyes got hard and I swore, "But mark my words once Endor's born that McCoy fucker's free game and I'm gonna hunt him down."
"Good t'hear, Shaw." Uncle Jim grinned, givin' me a quick shoulder pat of approval. Smirking, he went on to tell me in a prophetic kind of way, "World'll be a better place once Tolbert McCoy's dead an' gone; your new boy'll be better off in life wit'out that dark cloud o'McCoy loomin' and lurkin' ov'r him too."
AN:
I usually do 4 scenes per chapter, but I think this one only needs 3 scenes. An extra scene'll just weight down what I want to portray, so hope you guys don't mind that this update is a bit shorter than usual.
Sound off on how you feel about the chapter. Anyways, next time our favorite shrew's gonna confront her sister-in-law at the grocery store…