Chapter 8

Six months. It had been six months since that fateful day. Kitty could remember it like it was yesterday. How could she not? Her mind replayed it over and over everyday. Matt had been able to find her, but was led right into the Washburn brothers' trap. There were so many gunshots, but she was almost certain that it was a bullet from Louis' gun that killed Matt. She would never comprehend why Matt came alone, but that's who he was.

What puzzled Kitty even more was the fact that nobody had come looking for Matt. Certainly he at least told Chester where he was going. Chester would come looking for Matt. Chester would have enough sense to get a posse together to assist him. But six months had passed, and there were no signs of any type of rescue.

Not that anyone would know where to look. Louis had said that they would leave with her, and that's exactly what they did. They headed up into Wyoming territory, in a remote area. The brothers took turns going into town, but she stayed at the cabin. The brothers weren't going to risk having her being seen in public, not yet anyway.

Kitty's former life was gone. She was no longer the saloon girl who had a budding relationship with the Marshal of Dodge City. Now she was an imprisoned "housewife" of Louis, Jesse, and Shawn Washburn. Housewife was the best term Kitty could come up with. She would cook, clean, and even perform wifely duties for them.

They took turns with her. They came up with a schedule. Kitty had no say in the schedule, a schedule based on her monthly cycle. Each brother had one month with her. That brother would have sexual intercourse with her during that month. The other two did not go without. Kitty would pleasure them with her hands and mouth.

One thing Kitty was grateful for was that they were never rough with her. At the same time, she also felt guilty. During times of sexual intercourse, she could not stop her body from feeling the pleasure and climaxing. Whoever was having sex with her took pride in the way her body was reacting. They told her there was no denying that she was enjoying her new life with them.

After the month was over, they would wait to see if Kitty's cycle would return. If it did, it was the next brother's turn. On the other hand, if her cycle did not return, they would wait another week just to be sure. Louis, Jesse, and Shawn knew that a woman's late cycle following sexual intercourse usually meant pregnancy. Kitty had to convince them that one missed cycle did not always mean a woman was pregnant. Women missed their cycles here and there, but did not end up being pregnant. The cycle just came the next month.

Kitty had been missing her cycle for three months now. It wasn't uncommon for her to skip a month here and there, but she had never skipped three months. She knew, without a doubt, that she was pregnant. The other symptoms were there as well. Fatigue, a bit of morning sickness, tenderness in her breasts, and of course a thickening waistline all plagued her.

There was no denying that a little Washburn was on its way. He or she would make its appearance in about six months, close to the anniversary of Matt's death. Jesse was the father. It was after his month with her that her cycle stopped. His brothers were very happy for him. They were going to be uncles and were quite pleased with that. This time they were going to be uncles, but knew they had a chance to also be fathers in the future.

"You do realize that as the baby grows, so will my stomach," Kitty reminded them. "I'm going to need a dress or two to accommodate me. This dress will only do so for another month or so."

"Alright, we're goin' to town at the end of the week. We'll tell the shopkeeper that we need a couple of dresses for Jesse's pregnant wife," said Louis. "Does that work for ya?"

"Yes," said Kitty. She really didn't have a choice.

"Good. Now let's discuss names for the baby. I was thinkin' if it happens ta be a boy, we could name him after Arthur," Louis suggested. "It'd be a mighty nice thing ta honor him."

"That would be nice," said Jesse. "But if it's a boy, then I want my son named after me."

"His middle name could be Jesse," Shawn offered. "Arthur Jesse Washburn. We could call him AJ."

Both Louis and Jesse contemplated for a bit. "I like it," said Jesse. "Now a girl's name. Should the baby be a girl, I say we name her after our mother. May she rest in peace."

"So the first name would be Mabel," said Louis. "We need a middle name."

"Even if it is a girl, I would still like the baby named after me," stated Jesse. "Mabel Jessica Washburn." Shawn and Louis nodded in agreement.

"Don't I get a say in any of this?" asked Kitty. "I'm the one carrying the child and the one that's going to give birth. My opinion should count for something."

"Not this time," Louis told her. "Maybe for future babies, and there will be future babies."

Future babies. Kitty did not want to look into the future. She did not want to think about what kind of life was waiting for her.

On the other hand, Kitty could not help but consider what she would name any future babies. The first thing that came to mind was naming babies after her friends and even her mother. However, she quickly dashed that idea. She would not tarnish their names by coupling them with the last name Washburn. There was no way she would ever be a mother to a child named Matt Washburn. It was a good thing she didn't have to worry about that right now.

The months seemed to skip right on by. Kitty's gravid belly grew as the months passed by. During that time she felt the baby move and kick inside her. She wanted to dislike, even hate the child that was growing inside her, but she couldn't. It wasn't in her nature to do so. Kitty was carrying a Washburn, but the baby was also hers. She could learn to love this child. No, she did love this child.

Kitty had grown very uncomfortable in the last month. She couldn't wait for her pregnancy to be over. Her ribs were being pushed out to accommodate the growing baby, her back was sore, and her ankles were swollen. Kitty wondered if she would ever get her original figure back.

Two weeks before Kitty was expected to give birth, the brothers said they had to make a trip into town. Snow would be flying soon, and they wouldn't be able to make as many trips during the winter months. They planned to be gone until nighttime.

An hour after Louis, Jesse, and Shawn left, Kitty started to feel twinges in her abdomen. She wanted her pregnancy to come to an end, but Kitty wasn't sure if she wanted to give birth by herself. Then again, she didn't know how much help any of the brothers would be. She knew they wouldn't take her into town to give birth, nor would they bring a doctor to her. In fact she hadn't seen a doctor once during her pregnancy. Kitty decided she was getting ahead of herself. One slight twinge of pain did not mean she was in labor.

One twinge of pain did not equal labor. Multiple pains that came in intervals did. The second pain she felt came twenty minutes after the first one. That was seven hours. Right now the pains were coming one after another. Kitty knew there was nothing she could do to stop the birth. Her baby was coming, and it was up to her to bring him or her into the world. Jesse, Louis, and Shawn weren't expected back for several more hours. They would come home to a big surprise.

Kitty's water had broken, and she had felt the urge to push. Kitty sat on the bed and leaned against the headboard. She spread her legs apart and elevated her knees. Gripping the spindles behind her, Kitty took a deep breath, bore down, and pushed with the pain. She did this for thirty minutes with no success. The baby wasn't coming out. Kitty didn't want to lose her baby. She needed a new plan.

Kitty put her tired legs down and turned to face the headboard. She got up on her knees and slightly spread them apart. When the next contraction came, she grabbed the top of the headboard and began to push. Gravity was working with her. She pushed and grunted with each contraction that she felt. Suddenly there was a burning sensation. She refused to yell out. Kitty did not want her yells to be the first thing her baby heard.

Looking down between her legs, Kitty saw the head starting to emerge. She pushed harder. The head was coming out. It had tufts of sandy brown hair. Kitty was mesmerized by what was happening. She continued to push. The head was out. Kitty was proud of what she had accomplished, but knew she wasn't done. There was more baby that needed to be born. Kitty spread her legs a bit more, took a deep breath, and pushed with all her strength she had in her.

Wanting to see her baby come out of her body, Kitty kept her eyes on the rest of the baby as it slid out of her body. After the head, came the shoulders, the torso, the legs, and the feet. Suddenly there was nothing left to push on. There, lying on the bed between her legs, was a baby.

Kitty rolled the baby over to see if it was a boy or a girl. When she did, Kitty saw Arthur Jesse Washburn lying there. Kitty had given birth to a baby boy. She had a son, and he looked just like Jesse. Realizing the baby hadn't cried yet, Kitty lifted the baby and gave him a swat on his behind. She didn't know how she knew to do that. It must be mother's intuition.

The baby started crying and it was music to Kitty's ears. During her labor, Kitty made sure she had a clean knife to cut the cord and a blanket near her to wrap the baby in. Kitty took the knife and cut the cord. She wiped her newborn son clean and took the blanket and swaddled the newborn. After swaddling him, she brought her baby boy to her breast, where he latched on and immediately started to suckle.

While the baby was feeding, Kitty felt more pain. It was the afterbirth. Kitty knew she had to deliver the afterbirth. Having no choice, she removed her baby from her breast and pushed out the afterbirth. Not wanting to sit near the pile of afterbirth, Kitty made the decision to remove the bottom sheet and place it in the wash tub outside. Making sure the baby was secure on the mattress, she gingerly walked to the back door, opened it, and placed the soiled sheet in the wash tub.

She returned to the bed to pick up the crying baby. Kitty placed him back to her breast, and he immediately calmed down. Her baby had calmed down, but now it was Kitty's turn to cry. A precious new life was given to her so close to the day that death took Matt away from her. She did nothing to stop the tears from trickling down her face.

TBC

Author's Note: There are ten chapters.