*Author's Note*
Thank you for all the follows, favs, and reviews.
Are You A Ghost?
Shaw POV:
After plantin' the wanted posters in the logs I hid Skunk Hair, I went home. My family was halfway done with dinner whenever I showed up. Of course, Todd made smartass remark to me and my wife was asking questions about why I was late. I just lied my ass off; said that the saws were caked with thick, heavy sawdust and I had to stay later to finish cleanin' them. Jessa seemed to accept my answer, my brother didn't seem to care, and Cotton just asked me if I liked cleanin' the saws. So, dinner went off without a hitch even tho I was late.
I went about my nightly routine like normal. You know, spendin' time with my family before tuckin' Cotton to bed and readin' to him while my wife took care of puttin' our kids down for the night. Todd always went to his room on his own since he was a teenager now; he usually went there an hour after dinner.
Of course, before going to bed I banged Jessa pretty hard. Hey, I had to get my tensions and frustrations out over the sin I committed somehow and havin' a romp with my wife always worked.
This mornin' after eating a simply breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast, I went to work. I made sure that I was on time too. I kept my nose clean and did my job of stackin' boards, knowin' the eventually somebody would find the dead skunk.
What I didn't count on was that somebody bein' a couple hours late for work.
Yep, Selkirk showed up late while the rest of us were deep in our mornin' work routine. Devil Anse was pissed; docked the McCoy defector 25 cents too. Selkirk muttered under his breath as he went over to the log pile, I hid Skunk Hair in. I knew he found the dead man whenever he started screamin' and gaggin', "Anse! ANSE!".
Anse and everyone else (myself included) stopped what we were doin' and ran over to Selkirk and the log pile. Selkirk was hunched over, his hands on his knees, gaggin' as Skunk Hair's scalped head peaked out of the logs. Everyone looked at the site horrified, but Cap was that one that reacted badly. His body shook at seein' his corpse and he dropped to his knees. "Oh god, Skunk Hair…My best friend's been scalped…" He let out in a devastated wail, his mismatched eyes locked on the dead body of his best and most likely only real friend.
Anse took his pipe out of the corner of his mouth and pointed at the dead man hidden under the logs while tellin' both me and his son, "Cap, Shaw, get Skunk Hair here moved into a wagon."
I didn't say a word, just nodded and went over to yank Skunk Hair out from underneath the logs. Cap didn't say a word either, just stood up and proceeded to help me while everyone else backed up to either watch us or make their way over to the empty wagon that was gonna be used to lay Skunk Hair down in. Cap looked like a lost little boy as we carried his dead friend over to the wagon that was surrounded by Selkirk, Lark, Frenchie, Uncle Jim, and others. I didn't give a shit, so that's prolly why I had a blank look on my face.
We set Skunk Hair in the back wagon of the wagon with a thud. I silently walked off to stand next to Jim while Cap just stood infront of Skunk Hair, pointin' to his bloody scalp and utterin' in a bitter pain, "They scalped him, like injuns done it." His face shook as he declared brokenly, "He was my best friend since we was lil." Cap stalked off from the wagon an' passed by me only t'reach the other side of our Uncle Jim. Uncle Jim placed a hand on my moody mournin' cousin's shoulder only for the shaggy blonde to brush him off and warn, "Jim…" Uncle Jim just backed away from Cap while the latter leaned his arms on the side of the wagon and sob, "He was my best friend…"
Well, looks like I've done gone broke Cap. Good job me.
Devil Anse walked over to the wagon only to stand in between Cap and Uncle Jim. Uncle Jim turned to his nephew and stated, "Rand'll McCoy done this." Anse just nodded solemnly while everyone looked at the dead body splayed out before us with grief striken eyes. Well, I was faking it, but everyone else was perturbed.
If they only knew who really did it…
"I thought we leveled the scales." Devil Anse sadly sighed right as Lias made his way over with the stack of wanted posters in his hand.
"Found these in the logs." Lias clarified, passin' out the posters to everyone. "$750 for you since you're the outlaw leader." He told Anse, handin' him his poster.
Uncle Jim thumbed thru the posters only to pause on Selkirks and scoff, "Selkirk, bein' the defector that you are you're worth more then me." Selkirk's eyes widened as Jim rolled his eyes and said the amount of, "$700."
"Am I in there, Frenchie?" Lark asked while the man next to him looked at the bounties.
"By god, Lark, you an' me both." Frenchie told Lark, showin' him their bounties.
"Shaw, boy, you've got the second highest price on your head since ya killed the most McCoys." Uncle Jim told me, his gruff voice havin' a delighted tint in it as he looked at my poster. "$725, just $25 less then Devil Anse."
"Look, that's Wall an' Sully." Lias announced, holdin' the posters for my dad and cousin out for all to see.
Pointin' at the poster's in his uncle's hands, Cap barked, "Hell, Uncle Wall an' Sully weren't even in that shootin'."
Tiltin' his head at Anse, Uncle Jim stated matter-of-factly, "Every greedy bushwhacker and blood sucker's gonna be after us now."
Devil Anse crumbled up his poster before pointin' to everyone and orderin', "Keep your guns handy." Turnin' to Cap, he simply said, "Take care of Skunk Hair here."
"Yes, Sir." Cap nodded before takin' off to do what he was told.
With a heavy sigh, Anse instructed, "Back to work.", before walkin' off to go back to the saw he was helpin' Lias grease and operate.
All of us just scattered off, goin' back to our tasks that we had temporarily abandoned to deal with the dead skunk.
Meanwhile In Pikeville…
Brenton POV:
It was a slow and mundane mornin' at my brother-in-law's law office. Like always, I was sittin' at my desk near the entrance of the office while Perry was at his deep inside of the room. Slumped on the leather sofa by the window was Rand'll, drunk and blabberin' on hateful nonsense. Hell, ever since losing not one, but three sons he's been a complete mess. God, all he did was drink and grumble all day long; he did it at the Cline Law Office too.
"Have you heard any word on Roseanna?" I heard Perry asked Rand'll while I had my nose burried into a copy of the Iliad. Yea, my brother-in-law only kept refined titles in his library, both work and home might I add.
"I once had a daughter name Roseanna, but no she's dead to me." Rand'l declared, his voice monotoned, as he guzzled down his shine. Well, seems that he's still pissed at her for marryin' Johnse.
Perry let out a low huffy, no doubt rollin' his eyes too, before askin', "How's Sally holdin' up."
"Poorly, as to be expected wit' losin' her sons." Rand'll answered wit' an irritated and drunken edge to his voice.
If my brother-in-law was smart, he'd just shut up and busy himself with readin' or lookin' over legal papers cause he's not goin' to get anywhere with the drunken fool takin' up space on his sofa. A sofa that was meant for clients too.
"Well, women have the luxury of fallin' apart. God knows if I crawled into a ball everytime something tragic happens I wouldn't get any work done."
"You're talkin' like an imbecile. You've never lost your sons."
God, I knew Perry was goin' to say somethin' to offend Rand'll. I just knew it since Rand'll was half-way thru a flash and it wasn't even 9 o'clock in the damn mornin' yet.
The doorbell chimed, indicatin' that somebody had walked in. I looked up from my book only to see some thin man dressed in black limpin' into the room, a bloodstained rag in his hand. I just quirked a brow at him, promptin' him to say, "I'm lookin' for Lawyer Cline and Mr. McCoy." I didn't say a word, just pointed to the men behind me.
The man just tipped his hat and hobbled off further into the room, only to be noticed by my brother-in-law. Perry clearly didn't want to be bother since he dryly said, "You'll have to come back, we're busy."
Bullshit, we weren't busy.
"I've come for my $250 bounty on one Mister Tom 'Skunk Hair' Wallace." The man announced, stoppin' in front of Perry's desk and droppin' the bloodied rag onto the desk with a sickenin' thump.
"What's that?" Perry asked, lookin' at the crimson bundle with a crinkled nose, while the bounty hunter took a seat across from the desk.
"Well, I couldn't afford to strain my horse haulin' an entire corpse ov'r from West Virginie." The man answered, more or less confirmin' that the bloodied rag had a body part of some sort in it that belonged to Mr. Wallace. "Should I have brought his ears too?" He asked sarcastically as Perry peeled back the bloody cloth, revealin' the skunk colored sculp of Skunk Hair Wallace.
Perry quickly backed 'way, nearly knockin' his chair into the wall, while Rand'll just seethed, "Put that abomination away."
"I'll get you your bounty Mister-" Perry said, quickly pulling out his wallet and opening it.
"Phillips. Frank Phillips." The man supplied while Perry took out some greenbacks.
"The Pinkerton they call Bad Frank?" My brother-in-law asked, a shocked look on his face, as he counted out the reward money.
"Not to my face and not twice." Bad Frank simply remarked while Perry handed him over the money.
"There's your $250, now don't come back for no more. We've got deputies and such we're sendin' over." Perry told the pinkerton a bit shkily as he tucked his wallet back into his pocket.
Bad Frank just chuckled, stuffed his reward into his pocket, and left the office. Rand'll and Perry seemed perturbed by the man. I too was worried 'bout him. Only a heathen monster with the blackest heart would scalp a man. It unsettled me and I knew that later tonight I'd be payin' Sully a visit to warn him 'bout Bad Frank's ruthlessness. It's the least I could do since the man saved my ass durin' the war.
Allie POV:
It was lunch time and I was sittin' at the table, eating with my kids, whenever the front door opened. I knew that something was up since Cap never came home for lunch. He ate at the saw mill like everyone else did since it was a bit of a ride to the loggin' camp from our town. The solemn and broken look in both his icy blue eye and its milky white twin gave away that one of the most gruesome things I read about in my history book had just taken place.
Skunk Hair's murder and scalping by the hands of Bad Frank Phillips for a $250 bounty.
I watched my husband take off his hat and coat with mechanical movements, knowin' that our lives had been changed forever. Listlessly he hung them up and shuffled over to the kitchen with the most haunted look on his face. I didn't say a word, just looked at him with softness shining in my sapphire. Cap sat down at the head of the table only to run a shaky hand thru his blonde shaggy hair while stuttering brokenly, "Skunk Hair's dead. Selkirk found him hidden in a log pile, scalped by some McCoy bounty hunter."
"Oh my god…" I gasped even tho I already knew the facts on the murder. I was shocked cause the man was my friend; was the husband of my good friend and was the godfather to my children. 'Skunk Hair' Tom Wallace wasn't just a man I ready about in my history book, but he was a great friend and asset to my family. My heart broke for him, bein' taken so cruelly and too soon from this world, and for his family. I felt so much pain and sadness for Vera and her kids. They didn't deserve to lose their husband and father in such a way.
Tossin' a large pile of papers on the table, my husband stated, "All us men's got bounties. Even Uncle Wall and Sully even tho they weren't involved in the shootin'."
"Perry Cline's behind this; he's stoking the feud's fire and Randall's hate."
"Why'd ya say that, darlin'?"
"It says on the bottom 'To receive payment please report to the office of Lawyer Perry Cline in Pikeville, Kentucky' so it's only logical that he's the true culprit behind the bounties. The one fundin' them too."
"Ah…" Cap nodded, his eyes glassy and full of pain. He reached over from my glass of milk while sighing, "I made the arrangements for Skunk Hair; told Vera 'bout them and she was broke down." He took a long sip of milk before going on to say, "She's gonna need us and vice versa to get thru our grief."
Tug River Valley Roughly 2 Weeks After Skunk Hair's Death…
Tolbert POV:
As soon as I rode into Pikeville, I noticed the place was crawlin' with out of town bounty hunters. Since I didn't want to be recognized I decided to take Jose Luis to my sister's cabin. I knew that seein' me alive an' well would be a shock to Roseanna an' Johnse, but I also knew that they wouldn't rat me out.
"So, how far in West Virginia does your sister live, Senor Tolbert?" Jose Luis asked as we reached the Tug Fork bridge.
"No far. Maybe just a few miles up from here."
"Si si, that's not far." He agreed wit' a nod as we rode down a desolate trail that had random patches of snowy slush on it.
"Fair warnin', Roseanna's married to Johnse Hatfield."
"What, she's married to one of the men wanted in the murder of your brothers?"
"I doubt he was actually involved. He wouldn't hurt a fly."
"What, but he's a Hatfield?" Jose Luis asked, clearly lost by my remark.
"Yea, a stupid Hatfield that seems to want acceptance by my family."
"Oh, so you think he didn't fire at them then?"
"No, I don't. Hell, the man never shot me when he had reason to so…"
"You hillbillies be loco, Senor." Jose Luis chuckled, shakin' his head incredulously as we passed by some bare shrubs an' branches that lined the road.
I just shook my head an' continued down the path that'd led to Roseanna and Johnse's cabin. Jose Luis didn't say 'nother word either.
It didn't take long 'fore we came 'cross the clearin' that led to my sister's property. Lookin' ov'r to Jose Luis, I simply told him, "We're here."
"The house is small." The Mexican cook observed in his thick Spanish accent as we rode up to the tiny cabin.
"It's just them and a baby, reckon they don't need a big cabin." I dryly replied as we trotted ov'r to the hitch-post.
"Si, but wouldn't they be having more bambinos in time?" He asked while we pulled our horses to a stop; dismountin' them.
"I dunno, all I know is that he made a small cabin and she seems fine wit' it." I shrugged while hitchin' Eldorado up to the post right in front of my sister's front porch.
"Ah…" Jose Luis nodded, tyin' his own horse up next t'mine.
"Come on, let's go." I gestured to the house 'fore walkin' 'way from the horse an' ov'r to the porch.
Jose Luis didn't say a word, just quietly followed me up the porch an' ov'r to the front door o'my sister's cabin. Wit' him standin' next to me, I curled up my fist an' knocked twice on the door. It only took a minute for the door t'open, but when it did, I was face t'face wit' my wide-eyed sister. She has a pure look of disbelief on her face. "Tolbert…." Her breath whooshed out. Engulfin' me in a tight hug, she asked in a sniffle, "How are ya here? Oh god, I thought you were dead."
"Mama an' Aunt Betty thought it'd be safer for me t'fake my death an' head west then to stay here; be a target for Shaw."
"Oh, I just can't believe you're really here." Roseanna cried thru a bough of happy tears. Finally noticin' Jose Luis, she wiped at her eyes an' composed herself while notin', "Ya brought a friend."
Tippin' his hat at my blonde sister, the Mexican cook greeted her. "Jose Luis, Senorita Roseanna; it's good to meet you."
"Good to meet you too." My sister genuinely smiled, seemin' content wit' meetin' a friend of mine. Hell, I think she was just happy that I was alive, safe, an' wasn't travelin' 'round the hills by myself t'be honest.
"Rosie, darlin', who's at the door?" Johnse asked while makin' his way over wit' Sally Elle slung ov'r his hip. My nice was still small for her age, but she sure was cute. Roseanna didn't even need t'answer him cause when reached the doorway he got his answer. "Tolbert, you're alive…" My stupid brother-in-law gasped; his blue eyes wide as he looked at me.
"Yes, I'm alive; needa place to stay for a while too." I gruffly told Johnse, pushin' past him and into the house.
"Who's that?" He asked as Jose Luis followed me into the much too small cabin.
"Jose Luis, he's a friend of Tolbert's from out west." I heard Roseanna explain to Johnse while me and the Mexican cook took our hats off and sat down at the table. God, I hope they got somethin' t'et 'round here or some coffee at least.
"You've been west? Oh, how was it? I read that in Oregon-" Johnse began to rattle on, rushin' ov'r to the table an' sittin' down, only for me to cut him off wit', "I went to Texas, Johns, and it's hotter then hell."
"But I read that further west in Oregon theres millions of trees to be longed an' a big new ocean." Johnse objected while passin' me ov'r my niece to hold, all the while Roseanna set out t'pour me an' Jose Luis some coffee. Stale coffee most likely.
Oh god, he really thinks the Pacific's a new ocean. Clearly, he nev'r learnt 'bout Lewis an' Clark. Jose Luis gave me this look that silently said 'He's as dumb as doornail'. I just shared an 'I told ya so' look wit' him.
Roseanna placed some coffee cups in front of us 'fore takin' her seat at the table. Givin' me a knowin' look, she stated, "You learnt 'bout the bounties; came here for Jessa and Endor."
"Si, that Senor Tolbert did." Jose Luis nodded, takin' a sip of his coffee an' pullin' a small face. Eh, reckon its either too strong or stale.
Only one way to find out.
Goddamn that coffee was bitter. "What the hell's this? No way is it Folgers." I remarked, settin' my cup down on the table wit' a clunk as the bitter after taste of the coffee I just sipped clung heavily to my tongue like a tick.
"It's Maxwell House." Johnse told me 'fore goin' on to say in a cheerful (maybe too cheerful) tone, "It's new and even gets served in fancy hotels in Nashville and such."
Great, so my dumbass brother-in-law's wastin' money on new bitter coffee cause it gets served in fancy hotels. Dear god, how can he even man a still wit'out blowin' himself up? Goddamn, he's a dumb idiot. "Yea, well, I prefer the old-fashioned Folgers that's been 'round for the last 30-years." I told Johnse, lettin' him know in so many words that I wouldn't be drinkin' his coffee. Him an' my sister could have all the Maxwell House their lil hearts desired cause I wasn't fond of the stuff.
"Me too." Jose Luis agreed, lookin' at his cup like it had poison in it.
"Tolbert, you're here for Jessa and Endor ain't 'cha?" Roseanna asked, directin' the conversation back to the reason why I was even in the Tug.
"Yep." I popped my tongue.
"You gonna try an' rescue 'em today since it's your boy's birthday an' all?" Johnse curiously asked, reachin' 'cross the table an' grabbin' my coffee cup.
"Reckon so." I answered my brother-in-law as he drank the bitter coffee as if it was the finest thing, he's ev'r tasted.
"Jose Luis, you can stay here while Tolbert goes to see Jessa. It might fare better that way." Roseanna offered wit' a smile, knowin' that seein' my love by myself'll be easier.
Turnin' to me, the Mexican cook asked, "Senor Tolbert?", as a way to find out what I thought 'bout my sister's suggestion.
"Just stay here, I shouldn't be too long." I told Jose Luis while standin' up an' shovin' my hat on my head.
"Si." The man simply nodded, his thick accent echoin' thru the kitchen, as I made my way ov'r to the front door.
Quickly, I exited the house an' went ov'r to my horse. After unhitchin' him, I mounted up an' left my sister's cabin in pursuit of gettin' Jessa an' my son back.
Jessa POV:
Skunk Hair's death shouldn't have been a shock to me, but it was. I guess hearing about it and being present at the funeral was just too much. It was different from reading about his death, that's for sure. It also seemed that Skunk Hair's death left a dark cloud loomin' over the Hatfield family. Even Shaw seemed edgier than usual. The fact that he died only weeks before Christmas was also hard since his demise was overshadowin' the holiday season.
It seemed that everyone was lookin' over their shoulders instead of preparin' for the Christmas season. Hell, today's my son's birthday (the 23rd) and there's not party or celebration for him. No, with what's goin' on the only one that seems to care that it's Endor's first birthday's me. Shaw and Todd are both at work, not seemin' to care about the meanin' the 23rd of December has on our family.
Currently, I was outside in the bitter cold slush covered ground, hanging up laundry on the line while Cotton was inside watchin' the kids. Even tho it was cold, the laundry needed done. There wasn't anybody, but me to do it so I had no choice, but to do laundry on a cold winter's day. On days like this is when I miss the luxury of electricity and indoor laundry rooms equipped with washer and dryer sets.
I was surrounded my sheets flappin' in the blustery chilly wind whenever a hand parted the sea of white only to reveal himself by steppin' inside of my cocoon of sheets. His reveal took me aback since standing before me was Tolbert. Oh my god… "Are you a ghost?" Fell breathlessly from my lips as I dropped the article of clothing I hand in my hands.
"No, darlin', I ain't a ghost." He told me. Closing the distance between us, he assured me in his smoothly gruff timbre, "I'm alive an' well."
"Oh my god, I thought you were dead." I cried, flinging myself into his arms.
After living with the guilt of his death on my shoulders for so long, seeing Tolbert alive and right infront of me was too much to take in. I was literally having an emotional breakdown as he wrapped his arms tightly around y petite body. As I cried into his chest, he held me close. Running fingers thru my dark hair, he whispered, "Sshh, Jessa. It's okay, I'm here; I'm a'ight."
Pullin' back slightly, but not breakin' my hold on him, I tilted my head up and spluttered out the tear-filled confession of, "I blamed myself for Shaw killin' you for so long. The night he stormed off to kill you we were fighting over Endor and I let it slip that he was my second choice."
"That crazy Vance Bastard's had it out for me for years an' vice versa. Yer not t'blame for what'cha thought he did."
"I know that, Tolbert. It just took me while to get it tho."
"The bounties made it as far as Texas, where I've been livin'."
Pullin' back from him, I established the reason he was here with the remark of, "You're here for me and Endor."
"Yes." He confirmed with a nod. "I need to get ya'll outta here an' to safety."
"We're safe here, despite the bounties, Tolbert." I assured him since I couldn't go with him. It just wasn't possible, wasn't an option.
"No yer not. Yer in danger." Tolbert firmly countered me. He shook his head, quickly adding in a a rushed breath, "No, Endor's in danger; I can feel it."
"Tolbert, I can't take Endor and run off with you even tho you'll always have a special place in my heart as my first love. I've got Silas, Lydia, and Cotton to take care of, not just Endor."
"What? Yer playin' mama to that mush head?"
Without thinking, I smacked Tolbert hard across the face and hissed, "Don't you dare call that slow minded boy that. He's been thru so much hell at the hands of your brothers. He watched his father succumb to a gut shot and over 27-stab wounds over the course of 3-goddamn-days cause your brothers and their friend couldn't handle losing a damn fistfight that they provoked on a man that was trying to prevent another fight from breaking out."
"They murdered Ellison?..." Tolbert asked, sounding a bit taken aback my, what he just heard.
"Yes, they did. He was trying to keep Bobby Belcher from fighting with Lias, but Belcher attacked him. Bobby was losing the fight so Pharmer and Bud joined in, only to stab him over and over. Oh, and if that wasn't bad enough Pharmer stole a gun out of a bystander's holster and shot Ellison point blank in the gut." I bluntly told my redhead ex, not caring how the hard truth affected him. He needed to hear what his brothers did; not the sugar-coated lies the McCoys and Perry Cline are spreading around the county.
"Johnse and Roseanna didn't tell me that."
"Why would they, they've had their heads in the sand about everything for a while. They're probably so happy you've come to visit that they didn't want to upset you or chance you storming out by telling you the truth."
"But ya didn't fear tellin' me the truth."
"Cause I don't have anything to lose, Tolbert." I honestly told him.
"But ya do got somethin' t'lose. Our boy, Endor." Tolbert told me in a firm tone, one that sent a small shiver down my spine. His stormy eyes looked onto my indigo ones while warning me, "If yer not careful he'll be endangered by blood thirsty bounty hunters lookin' to hunt down yer husband for $725."
"You plan on cashing in since you know where he lives; his habits and what not?" I asked, needing to know if my husband was going to be brought into Pikeville for the piece on his head; to pay for his sins.
"I should, but no I ain't gonna do that."
"Okay." I nodded. I wanted nothing more than to stand here, wrapped up in Tolbert's strong arms, but I knew that was impossible. He had to go for his own safety. Looking down at the laundry basket full of wet clothes, I told the redhead, "Well, I need to finish hanging up the wash so you better go."
"Can I see Endor since it's his birthday?" Tolbert asked, a hopeful look on his red scruff covered face.
"I'm sorry, Tolbert, but no. You can't see him." I told Tolbert, causing the hopeful look to disappear from his face only to be replaced with a devasted one.
"Jessa, I'm his poppy. I deserve to see him." He plead his case, trying to make me change my mind about not letting him see our son.
As much as it hurt, I couldn't let him see our son. It'd be too messy and complicated, especially since Cotton was in the house with Endor, Silas, and Lydia. Cotton adored Endor; loved babysitting him and treated him like his own little brother.
"I can't let you do that, but I can send a recent picture of him to Roseanna for you." I told Tolbert, offering him the next best thing to seeing our son.
"Jessa-" He began only for me to cut him off with, "Tolbert, I can't let you see him. I'm sorry, but it's just too risky."
"Fine…send the picture…" He relented in a long sigh. Tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear, he softly told me, "I love ya, Jessa." Desperation was shining in his eyes as he pleaded with me. "Please, grab Endor and Silas an' come wit' me. Hell, if ya want we can take Lydia an' Cotton wit' us too. Just come wit' me 'way where there's no danger."
Shaking my head, I firmly told my ex-common-law husband, "Tolbert, I can't leave. I've rooted myself so deep here in these hills that I'm stuck here like a sturdy oak tree. Just save yourself and go back out west."
Tolbert nodded, a broken look in his stormy blue eyes, before pressing a kiss to my lips. The kiss felt intoxicating, made me feel things that I long thought over. It ended far too quickly tho since Tolbert broke it before I could respond and deepen it. He didn't say a word, just slipped thru the sheets that engulfed us.
Once again, Tolbert was gone from my life. At least this time I knew he was still alive in the world. A secret I'd bring to my grave.
AN:
So, Jessa turned Tolbert away. Who saw that coming? So, Johnse and Roseanna know the truth about Tolbert. Do you think they'll try to convince Jessa to runaway with Tolbert or no? Also, do you think that Tolbert would truly take Lydia and Cotton with him, Jessa, Endor, and Silas to Texas or is he just saying that to win her over? Also, poor Cap and Allie lost their friend and have no idea the real killer is amongst their extended family.