*Author's Note*

Thanks for reading, faving, following, and reviewing.

I'm sorry it took so long to get this update out. I've been so busy lately, it's not even funny. Hope you guys like the new chapter.

Short Amount O'Time

Nova POV:

I just stood in the middle of my uncle's living room, crying in Tolbert's arms as I held onto him with all my might. He too held onto me and cried. We sadly realized how we both screwed everything up with our bad communication. If only we'd talked things out earlier (like years ago) we wouldn't be in this mess. My tears started to subside, but the sin that I had committed with Shaw had flashed in my memory like a flare.

Looking up at Tolbert, whose eyes were red and puffy, I admitted in a broken tone, "I did something stupid with Shaw Eldridge the other day. We weren't together and I weren't havin' much to do with my husband neither."

"He used your pregnancy hormones and loneliness 'gainst ya. Wiggled his way into yer pants." Tolbert stated, his velvet smooth tone holding a rough edge in it, as his chest heaved heavily.

"Yea." I nodded. "But it didn't mean anything." I quickly added in, afraid that Tolbert would show his ass and leave.

"I knew Shaw'd do that if he could. Just how he is, darlin'. Can't say I'm surprised that it happened, cause I ain't."

"I'm sorry-" I began to apologize, only for him to cut me off with, "Don't be. I didn't tell you that I have a son; still hook up wit' my baby mama from time to time. Reckon we're even now."

"Reckon so." I nodded. "I feel so stupid tho." I sheepishly told my ex turned client turned potential baby daddy/lover as I broke eye contact with him.

"'Bout what?" Tolbert asked, guidin' me over to the couch so we could sit and talk. Talkin' was never our strong suite, but if he wants to try it now then I'm game. Seems like talkin' will help us figure shit out or at least I hope it does.

"Everything that's happened since I've been here." I revealed as we sat on the couch. "If I would've just listened to our families; given you another chance from the beginnin' then…" I confessed, only to trail off in the end.

Tolbert completed my thoughts with a sad, but smooth tone of, "Then we'd be together wit' Sally Elle; wouldn't have to get a test done on our son. You wouldn't be havin' your uncle file annulment papers for ya either."

"Yea…" I sadly sighed. "I ran away from you cause I didn't want to get hurt 'gain, but I got hurt worse than if I would've just faced my fears and let myself love you." I admitted, curling up into Tolbert's side as he wrapped an arm around me.

Tolbert ran his hand softly up and down my upper arm in a comforting way. "I know, Ella. I know." He whispered, placin' a kiss on my forehead. "But we can see each other an' be a family wit' Sally Elle 'ere. Perry says ya won't get in trouble if I come here."

"You gonna do that? Spend time over here with Sally Elle?"

"I'm gonna spend as much time here as I can. Sally Elle needs her poppy an' mama both. We need t'make as many good memories wit' her 'fore I get locked up."

"No, Tolbert. You're not getting locked up. I don't know how, but I'll get you cleared."

"There's only one way that fog-eyed bastard would drop my case an' we both know that ya won't make that deal." Tolbert was right about that. I can't stay married to Cap, even if he offered me a deal that would let Tolbert walk. Tolbert might be a dropout and a shiner, but he wasn't stupid. He knows, same as I, that Cap might try to keep me in my marriage with the promise of setting Tolbert free.

"You're right, I won't make that deal." I firmly told Tolbert, who -I realized too late- was the love of my life.

"We should go into the kitchen. I need to talk to Perry; you too 'bout Moses." Tolbert suggested, only for me to silently nod my head. With a heavy sigh, he kissed the top of my head and broke his hold on me. Without a word, he grabbed my hand and helped me up off the couch. Silently, he led me into the kitchen where Uncle Perry and Sally Elle were sitting at the table. She was eating a bowl of grapes while he read the newspaper, waiting for us to finish our heart to heart.

"Sally Elle, go play. Poppy's gotta talk to Mama and Uncle Perry 'bout somethin' really important." Tolbert told his daughter as she plopped a green grape slice into her mouth.

"You can play upstairs in Sarah Elizabeth's room. You know where it is." My Uncle Perry told the little girl, giving her a small smile. It was the warm, but thin smile he reserved for the kids in his family. I often saw it flashed to me and Mo growing up. Now it seems that smile was for Sally Elle and Sarah Elizabeth, maybe even the Phillips kids too.

"Okay." Sally Elle chirped, only to hop down out of her chair and run out of the kitchen.

Uncle Perry folded up his paper and placed it on the table. "I'll get you some coffee, Tolbert, and some mint tea for you, Novella. I think we'll need it during out talk." My uncle said, rising from the table while me and Tolbert took our seats at it.

"You need to bring Moses home, back here, Perry. He ain't gonna last too long in West Virginia." Tolbert told my uncle as soon as he set some mugs in front of us and joined us at the table.

Uncle Perry scowled at Tolbert. He let out an offended sigh before snapping like a snapping turtle, "Of course, I'm going to bring him home. He just tried to kill himself while living under Jim Vance's goddamned roof. Do you think I'm a fool that I wouldn't bring my own nephew back home."

"I dunno what to think, Uncle Perry. You've been treating both of us like shit for a while now cause of the Hatfields." I honestly sighed while staring into my cup of tea as if it'd solve everything. With how fucked up everything is, we sure could sure a magic fix it. That's for sure.

"She's right 'bout that, Perry. You haven't been very nice to them lately." Tolbert sipped on his coffee. "Hell, nobody but me and Pharmer's been nice t'em, to tell ya the truth."

"Yes, well, I was just upset and disappointed. I know now that Novella was just taking her brother's advice; trying to get you a deal or the charges dropped by romancin' Cap Hatfield, but I just can't fathom why Moses did what he did. Why he started dating Betty Hatfield."

"He met her at my wedding and since he became Devil Anse's IT guy I reckon he decided to ask her out." I revealed, knowing the new details would piss off my uncle.

"What? Your brother works for Devil Anse?" Tolbert asked, wide-eyed with shock.

"Not on the books, but for his arms operation as an IT guy. At least that's what I was told by Cap and Skunk Hair at my wedding."

"Well, this certainly isn't good. Only God knows what Devil Anse has been making your brother do." My uncle sighed, his tone full of worry, as he brought his coffee mug up to his mustache covered lips.

Looking between me and Uncle Perry, Tolbert asked, "Do ya think he bugged the office? Was givin' the devil information 'bout our case?"

"Oh my god! Why would he do that?!" I exclaimed, feeling a low anger beginning to burn inside of me. Shaking me head, I looked Tolbert in the eyes and added in, "He knows I can't have you locked up behind bars. He knows I came barreling down here to help you, Tolbert."

"If so, we need to find out, and if we find out then that could make our case a mistrial." My uncle mused.

"But how?" Me and Tolbert asked in unison.

"We discuss the annulment and the paternity results in my office. If the place is bugged or hacked, Devil Anse will tell his demon spawn what we discussed, and you'll be able to back him into a trap."

"He's gonna be mighty pissed." The redhead next to me sing-songed in a long sigh.

"It's the only way we can find out if the office is bugged. Hatfields won't sit around on annulment and paternity information they spy on. We'll know the office is bugged when Cap confronts Novella about the annulment and paternity results because they won't be officially filed and served to him when he's calling."

"I can't believe this is happening. My annulment's going to potentially cause a mistrial." I shook my head incredulously before taking a long sip of my tea.

"Talk about annulments, if you don't want to be filing one for Moses then all talk about charges for vehicular homicide's gotta stop. If them charges go thru, well, Moses says the Hatfields are gonna push for him to marry Betty Hatfield to keep her ass off the stand; prevent her from testifyin' as a witness."

"She must've seen something if they're afraid of her testifying." Uncle Perry stated, not asked, as he reached for his coffee.

Narrowing my cornflower blues at my uncle, I firmly told him. "We can't let Moses get pushed into marrying Betty Hatfield. We need to talk to Randall; get him to stop pushing for charges."

"I'll make sure that DA Shep doesn't pursue the case. Lord knows that I don't need another Hatfield outlaw as an in-law." Uncle Perry told me and Tolbert as we all sat around the kitchen table, sipping on coffee and mint tea. Well, I was the one sipping on the mint tea, but whatever. "Let me handle Randall. I'll drop by for supper; convince him that what happened between Moses and Billy that night was simply an ill-fated accident."

"Bad Frank already told me that he filed it as an accident; that he doesn't think Moses intended to run Billy off the road that night. Maybe he could talk to Randall?"

"Poppy's pissed and mourning. Jesus Christ himself could talk to Poppy right now and he'd prolly just half-listen." Tolbert remarked in a rough sigh before taking a swig from his coffee mug. "I think I should talk to him 'bout Moses; he might listen to me."

Uncle Perry gave my ginger haired lover a pointed look, only to tell him, "Tolbert, no offense, but I've known your father for years and he's not the type of man to just sit back and listen to his son's advice."

Tolbert took a long sip from his mug, only to set it down with a loud clunk and say, "I think he might this time. He might need to hear what I have to say too."

"You plan on talking to him about more than just Mo, ain't ya, Tolbert?" I asked, knowing deep down in my gut that Tolbert was going to be having a come to Jesus moment with his Poppy about everything going on between us along with the situation about our brothers.

"Yes." He nodded his ginger-haired head. "Yes, I am."

"I suppose you'll be doing that after the appointment for the DNA test, while I take Novella over to Mate Creek to pack up her things." Uncle Perry stated, not asked, in a way that made him sound like he wanted an answer.

"You suppose right 'bout that, Perry." Tolbert nodded, confirming what my uncle had figured out.

Tolbert POV:

After our talk wit' Perry, we went back in the livin' room to spend some time t'gether while Perry went back to his study t'do whatever 'bout me and my brother's case. Hopefully, his plan works, and we get a mistrial. I ain't bankin' on it tho. I'm not stupid, I know I'm facin' jail time wit' the judge bein' a Hatfield and all. Just prayin' it won't be too much. I don't wanna be away from my family for too long. I also dread the possibility of not bein' able to be wit' Ella when she gives birth to our son. Yea, yea, I know, we're not positive that it's mine, but I say it's mine. No matter what, he's mine. He's Ella's and she's taken on Sally Elle as hers, so her son is our son no matter what.

Unlike Cap Hatfield, I'm not a cold-hearted snake. Bastard showed his true colors whenever Ella told him 'bout the legal papers I had drawn up for her an' Sally Elle. Bastard wanted her to turn her back on Sally Elle, my lil girl that she loves as her own, and she wouldn't. That made her realize that she did a rushed shotgun weddin' in an attempt to do the right thing, bein' unwed an' pregnant. She realized she didn't love that fog-eyed bastard the way she should, but was still in love with me. That she'd always love me.

Now tho, well, we're tryin' to spend as much time together as possible to make up for lost time. We're tryin' to give our daughter good memories t'cherish 'fore time runs out an' we're all separated by me bein' behind bars like a caged animal.

I had an arm slung ov'r Ella's shoulder, holdin' her close to my side as we sat on the couch watchin' tv. My phone started t'ring as a commercial came on. "Lemme get this, darlin'. Might be important." I told Ella, removin' my arm from her shoulders an' scootin' to the side in order to get my phone outta my pocket. She didn't say a word, just nodded while grabbin' the remote an' puttin' the tv on mute.

After pullin' my phone outta my pocket, I noticed Bad Frank's name flashin' on my ID. Thinkin' he might be callin' 'bout my case or Mo, I quickly answered. "Hey, Frank."

"Tolbert, cousin, I hate to be callin' about this, but there was an accident on the main highway headin' out of town involvin' Misty and ya'll's son." My cousin-in-law told me, makin' my blood run cold.

"Jesus, are they hurt? Are they okay? What's goin' on, Frank?" I asked, afraid that somethin' was wrong with my son. Yes, I wasn't the best Poppy to the boy, but I made sure that I saw him as often as I could. I supported him too.

"Brett's fine, but he's at the hospital gettin' checked out. Don't worry, I'm with him." Frank told me, makin' my fears go 'way. Thank God my son was a'ight. 'Fore I could even ask 'bout my ex, Bad Frank sighed, "It's Misty, Tolbert." Oh no. Oh no, don't tell me she didn't make it. "Her tire split, and she rolled her Jeep. She wasn't wearin' her seatbelt, got thrown out, and didn't make it."

"Jesus…" I sighed, feelin' bad that my boy'd just lost his mother. "Since I'm his Poppy I gotta go to the hospital, check 'im out an' bring him home."

"Yes, but you'll have to do a meetin' with child services too."

"Can that be done before noon, Frank? Me an' Ella's gettin' bloodwork done on the baby so her ex can't have no claims once her annulment's filed an' gone thru." I can't miss that appointment Perry made for us. That blood test is important for her annulment; will protect her an' our unborn child's rights.

"You and Novella's officially together then? She's not with that ADA no more?"

"No, she ain't. We're official." I told the lawman, causin' Ella to just look up curiously at me.

"Well, won't my Nancy be glad to hear that." Frank lightly remarked. "I'll talk to child services, have them come by your place 'morrow for the formalities of this custody stuff. You're his father and my cousin-in-law so I'll vouch for ya for now. Just make sure you get that blood test done after you come get your boy. He seems to be fine but needs his parent here to be discharged."

"I'll be there soon, Frank. Bye." I told him 'fore hangin' up.

"Tolbert, what's wrong?" Ella asked, placin' a hand on my cheek an' turnin' my head so I'd look at her.

"Bad Frank called. Misty and Brett were in a rollover accident this mornin' on the main highway. She didn't make it and my son's at the hospital wit' Frank gettin' checked out."

"Oh my god…" She gasped, her cornflower blues wide wit' both shock an' sorrow.

"I need to tell your uncle to draw up papers makin' you Brett's guardian too in case I go to jail." I told Ella, only for her to nod at me. I started to get up, only to collapse on the couch and break down wit' the honest admission of, "I can't…oh god…Ella…I can't do this. I don't know how to do this."

Ella placed her hands on either side o'my face an' told me, "We'll do this together, Tolbert. I'll move back in and help you with both the kids."

I grabbed her hands an' pulled 'em away from my face. "I can't let you do that, darlin'. You'll get disbarred if yer husband catches wind of it."

"I don't give a flyin' fuck 'bout that, Tolbert John McCoy." Shit, she's usin' my middle name. My woman means business now. "What I do give a flyin' fuck 'bout is you and the kids. I can't let you drown while tryin' to parent two kids at the same time. Kids who didn't even know about each other, til now."

"Yer too good for me, sweetheart. Always have been too."

"Stop it, Tolbert." She ordered, only to stand up. She held her hand out for me, only t'say, "Now, we're goin' to tell Perry to draw up those papers and then we'll go get Brett from the hospital." Helpin' me up from the couch, Ella added in, "He's goin' to need us. He's hurtin' and if I can help him by bein' his stepmom then I will."

An' this is why I love her so much. Ella's got such a huge, warm, kind, lovin', heart underneath her hard an' pretty shell. When she loves, she loves tooth an' nail. I'm one lucky mean bastard to have her; my kids are lucky to have her too. I only pray that we can put our family t'gether in the short amount o'time that we have.

AN:

Dun, dun, dun… Bet nobody saw that sad twist at the end coming. Oh boy, Novella and Tolbert have a lot on their plate now. How do you think Cap's going to react to all of this?