She swallowed hard, but the tears would no longer be held back. “It’s such a long story, Travis, but you have to believe me. This is your son.”
He turned away, his expression stony. “Why are you doing this, Kitty? The man is rich. He gave you what you wanted. So what do you want of me?”
“I want you to acknowledge your son!” she screamed, unable to keep her voice down any longer. “Here, take him. Hold him in your arms. He’s your flesh and blood, Travis. Yours!”
He whirled around to face her, fists clenched at his sides. “You expect me to believe you? You never wrote to me! That goddamned land of yours meant everything to you. I meant nothing. I tried to get you to go with me, but no, you had to stay here, to hang on to your precious land. You latched on to McRae because he had something I didn’t—money. I know how the Southerners were losing their land right and left once the war was over. I should have known you would stoop to anything to keep yours. But, fool that I was, I kept on writing to you, sending messages, explaining why I was delayed. You got scared that I just might come back and mess up your little tea party, so you even had men sent to kill me. They almost succeeded.”
He ripped open his shirt with one quick yank, and she winced at the scar below his left rib cage. “They almost did me in. Me and Sam got them, all right, but nobody to this day can figure out how I managed to live. Sam got it out of one of them before he died, how a man named McRae sent them. I didn’t, connect it all with you till I got back here and pieced the story together.”
“Yes, you pieced it together from the lies that Nancy was so anxious to tell you, and you believed her. Why didn’t you come to me? You not only believed her, you took her to bed.”
“I didn’t come to you because you happen to be another man’s wife now. And who I take to bed, and when, is my business. I see yours didn’t stay empty for very long.” He threw a sneering look at the baby. “Hell, I always knew you were made of grit and hell, Kitty, but this beats everything. I know Corey is a son of a bitch. I know he was behind the attack and rape of that Glass woman, but I can’t prove it. I know he and Danton’s Klan bunch are responsible for every bit of trouble in this part of the country, but damn it, you’re McRae’s wife, you’re the mother of his child; so why don’t you get the hell out of this room and out of my life before something else happens?”
“This is your son, Travis! Yours! Corey sent those men to kill you, not me. I swear on my father’s grave that I knew nothing about it. I wrote you letters, and Dulcie, my maid, admitted to me that she was forced to turn them over to Corey. He destroyed them. What do I have to do to make you believe me?”
He had been standing with his back to her, drinking slowly from the bottle of whiskey on the bedside table. The room was small and dirty, and the air was fetid. He turned slowly, and his eyes were filled with misery as he whispered hoarsely, “Kitty, I’ll never believe anything you say, ever again. If you had really loved me, the way you swore you did, you would have left here with me last year.”
“You know why I had to stay.”
He sent the bottle hurling across the room to smash against the wall. “You stayed because of your goddamned land! Well, you’ve got it. So why are you here trying to make me believe I’m the father of that baby? Why? When Corey McRae finds out you’ve pulled this stunt, he’s going to be madder than hell, and I don’t blame him.”
The glass shattering had awakened John, and he began to cry lustily. Kitty moved him to her shoulder, patting his back soothingly. He continued to cry. Travis covered his ears and stumbled away. “Get him out of here, will you? And don’t ever come back. I just want to finish what I came to do and then get the hell out of North Carolina and go home. I wish I’d never come back.”
Kitty was not about to give up. Walking over to the mussed bed, she laid her crying son down. His arms and legs flailed the air with fright, hunger and anger, all mingled together in his lusty wails. “Look at your son. Just look at him, Travis.”
He stormed over to the bed, stared down at the infant. “There are thousands of men who are fooled into thinking they’ve fathered babies that aren’t really theirs. You think by looking at him I’m supposed to suddenly claim him as my son? Wake up. What we had, or might have had, is in the past, over, finished, forever. Go home to your husband. You have your life to live and I have mine. For God’s sake, woman, where is your pride?”
Her spine stiffened as she met the icy glare of the man she had loved with all her heart. “I only came because I love you, Travis, but I suppose I was a fool. What we had never meant anything to you. And you’re right. I have no pride, or I would never have come here.”
“Hell, I know why you came here…” He reached out and pulled her into his arms, his lips bruising against hers. Just as quickly, he released her. “For this. You want me now as you wanted me when we were together. You always were a hot-blooded woman. Oh, sure, you tried to hide it, didn’t you? But when I took you in my arms and held you like this, you couldn’t hide your passion. No more than you can now.”
He crushed her against him, kissing her again, his tongue thrusting inside her mouth. She beat upon his back with her fists, her body trembling with the sobs that ached for release.
He maneuvered her down on the bed, beside the baby, who continued to cry. Ripping at her dress, he forced her thighs apart and jerked at his own clothes until she felt him shoving inside her roughly. “This is what you wanted,” he said. “This is all you ever wanted from me. Well, I’ll give it to you, and then you can go home to your husband.”
The baby stopped crying, staring about the room vacantly. The rocking of the bed had soothed him. Kitty lay helpless beneath Travis, allowing him to have his way with her. She refused to struggle. He could take her body, take what he wanted, but she would not return his passion. Everything within her had died.
The past danced before her closed eyes in slow motion—hours of laughter and love, moments spent dreaming of a lifetime of happiness together. Never did she think it would come to this degradation. She had loved him. She had tried her best to find him. She had given him a son. All was in vain. She was no more to him than a harlot, a woman in red feathers.
With one final thrust, it was over. He lay on top of her, gasping. She smelled the whiskey, realized how drunk he was as he finally moved away, lurching to his feet. “Now get out of here,” he said in a rasping voice. “And take that baby with you. Go home to your husband. Get the hell out of my life.”
She could not move. Perhaps, she thought, she had died. Maybe her heart had broken, and life had truly left her body, and this was the way it felt to be dead.
“I said get out of here!” Travis reached down and grabbed her arm, yanking her to her feet so roughly that she stumbled and fell to the floor. “You got what you came for. Now go! I never want to see you again. And you can tell that husband of yours that I won’t stop till I see him in prison. I know what he’s done. I’ll find a way to prove it.”
She was struggling to stand, holding on to the brass railing of the bed for support. “You won’t live that long,” she whispered hoarsely.
“Oh, so now you threaten to kill me?” he laughed, voice slurred. “How do you plan to do it? Shoot me? No, you have wealth now, don’t you? You can hire men to do the job for you, and maybe this time they’ll succeed.”
“No. Corey will try to have you killed, Travis. Not me. You underestimate his ruthlessness and his power. I visited Mattie Glass in the hospital and made her realize that she had to regain her spirit and go on with her life. Corey was after her property. He was furious when he went to the hospital and found she was ready to fight back to hang on to her land. To punish me, he took my baby away and threatened to get rid of him if I did not bend to his will. After the party, he beat me and kept me locked in my room with a guard posted outside my door day and night so I could not come to you. He vowed he would get rid of you so you would be out of my life forever.”
She began tugging at her dress, y
anking it down about her waist. His eyebrows shot up. “What are you doing? I’ve had my fill of you for one night. I don’t want to see your body.”
Ignoring his protest, she turned about so he could see the bruises still laced across her back from the leather strap Corey had used. When she faced him once again, there was no denying the flash of anger in the smoky-gray eyes. “You can see what he did to me,” she said quietly.
“Believe me when I say he will kill you if you don’t leave town. I came here tonight praying that you would believe me and acknowledge John as your son. I wanted us to leave together, to make a new life. The only thing that mattered to me was you, Travis, you and our son. But now it’s all over. I should have known you would never believe me, because you never really loved me, anyway.”
She reached down and wrapped the blankets around the baby and picked him up.
Travis stood watching, running his fingers through his hair. His mind was buzzing from so much to drink. It was hard to think.
“No, I don’t believe you,” he said with finality. “If that baby were mine, you would never have married Corey McRae.”
“I married Corey because I had no other choice. Jerome Danton and his men burned down the little house I was able to build on my land. They left me on the frozen ground, about to give birth. Corey came and took me to his house and saved my life and the baby’s. He asked me to marry him then, but I refused. I tried once more, with Jacob, to make it on my own. I still had hopes you would return. Then the baby got sick, and I became sick, and I was in town, trying to borrow money for food. We were starving. I passed out. Corey took me to his home, had a doctor care for me and John. By then, I was ready to do anything to keep my baby from dying. And all that time, Travis, I wondered where you were, why you did not come for me—for us.”
She turned toward the door.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I’ll try to find Jacob. Corey had him sent to South Carolina so he couldn’t help me. I couldn’t have gotten here tonight if it hadn’t been for his son. I’m sure you’ve heard of Luther…you and the Klansmen are looking for him and his band of men. I hope you never catch them. Even though I failed with you and realize I made a complete fool of myself, at least I’m free of Corey. I’ll never go back to that house. I’ll be better off dead, and perhaps my son will be also.”
“Kitty, do you really expect me to believe all this?” He threw up his hands in frustration. “I know you, woman. I know the kind of grit you’ve got. You’d never have given in to marry a man you didn’t love unless it was to keep your land.”
“Or save my son’s life,” she said wearily. “I’m leaving now. We have nothing more to say to each other. There is a thin line between love and hate, Travis, and I have just crossed over.”
Kitty was only a few feet from the door when there was a sudden crash and the splintering of wood. Travis had his gun in a flash and was about to fire when he recognized Corey McRae shoving into the room along with several of his men. He kept the gun pointed at them, eyes narrowed threateningly as Corey looked from him to Kitty, who stared back with terrified eyes, her baby clutched tightly against her bosom.
“So! This is how you betray me!” Corey barked at her. He looked at Travis coldly. “You can put your gun away, Coltrane. I have no quarrel with you. I’m afraid my wife is not content with the bed of only one man. This has happened before.”
“You lie!” Kitty screamed. “You know why I came here—to tell Travis the truth!”
“Kitty, Kitty.” Corey shook his head. “Don’t make a scene. Let’s keep this as quiet as possible for appearance’s sake, shall we? Now you just come along.”
“No!” She took a step backward, toward the window, her face ashen. “I know what you’ll do. You’ll take my baby. You’ll beat me. I’d rather die.”
Nancy swished into the room, mock sympathy in her voice as she cried, “Oh, dear me, I should have minded my own business. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”
“You!” Kitty blazed. “You sent for him!”
“No, she didn’t.” Jerome Danton stepped in behind her. “She came home from visiting a sick friend and told me she happened to see you slipping into the alley behind the saloon. I didn’t have to do much figuring to see what you were up to, Kitty. I was at the party, remember? I heard about the way you threw yourself at this man’s feet and made a fool of yourself. And as much as I despise your husband, I did what any man would do. I sent my men riding to let him know his wife was making a fool of him.”
“How noble!” Kitty laughed caustically. “Perhaps I should have sent for you when I came in here and found your wife naked in bed. Instead, I told her to get out and let me speak to the father of my child or I’d scream for all the world to hear that she was up here making love with him. So she runs to you so you’ll send for Corey.”
She flashed a venomous look at Nancy, who stood confidently smirking, sure that everyone would think Kitty was lying to save her own skin. “You just don’t give up, do you?” Kitty was able to laugh again, despite the desperate situation she found herself in. “You won’t be satisfied until I’m in my grave, will you? You’ll go right on hating and hurting. Oh, Nancy, there has to be a special place in hell for bitches like you.”
“Jerome, I don’t have to listen to such things,” Nancy whined, turning her face against her husband’s chest. “Take me away from all this.”
Jerome’s jaw twitched as he put his arm stiffly about his wife to lead her from the room. He continued to stare at Kitty, a puzzled expression on his face.
“Go on, get out,” Corey snapped. “Both of you. Go tell the whole damned town. I’ll bet you don’t even wait till morning.”
Jerome turned back angrily, about to say something, when Travis moved between them. “All right. That’s it. You two want to fight, you do it someplace else. Danton, get the hell out of here. McRae, take your wife and go.”
Kitty shook her head again. “I’m not leaving with him. I won’t—”
“Oh, yes, you will.” Travis crossed the room and grabbed her roughly, shoving her into Corey’s arms. “You’re getting out of here with your lies. Go make some other man miserable. I’ve had my fill of you, woman.”
Corey pushed her into Rance Kincaid’s grasping hands. “My head still hurts from that blow you gave me,” Rance hissed at her angrily.
“Shut up,” Corey snapped.
But Travis had overheard. “It seems your wife went to a great deal of trouble to come here tonight, McRae,” he said, a curious note in his voice. “Obviously, she isn’t very happy with you for some reason.”
“The reason is you, Marshal Coltrane,” Corey stiffened indignantly. “I’m afraid my dear wife still has fantasies about the lurid life she led as your mistress. I have forgiven her past since she has borne me a son. I suggest you do the same.”
“I don’t need any advice from you, McRae. I couldn’t care less about your marital problems. But you and I both know what dealings I do have with you, and our day of reckoning will come.”
The two men stared at each other with hatred.
“Yes, that day will come.” Corey bowed slightly. “Until then, I bid you good night and offer my apologies for any inconvenience and embarrassment my wife has caused you this night.”
Rance half-dragged, half-carried Kitty down the hall, and she struggled to hold on to John, fearing he would slip from her. Then, just as they started down the steps, she saw Sam Bucher walking up, and she called out to him frantically, “Sam, Sam, help me, please. Don’t let them take me away. Please.”
“What’s going on?” Sam bristled, his hand going to his holstered gun, eyes flashing.
“Stay out of it, Sam,” Travis yelled from the splintered doorway. “It’s over now. Let them go.”
Kitty’s pleas echoed down the stairway, disappearing as she was taken out the rear door by Rance, with Corey and two of his men following close behind.
“What in
hell went on here?” Sam stared at the door wide-eyed. “What did Kitty come here for? How come she’s screaming?”
“She tried to make me think that baby is mine,” Travis snorted. “And to think I actually loved that woman at one time. Just goes to show you can’t trust a damned woman.”
“Did you ever stop to think she just might be telling the truth?”
Travis looked at his longtime friend incredulously.
“You heard me right,” Sam said soberly. “She just might be telling the truth. I’ve asked a few questions. The boy was born almost nine months to the day after we left this town. I found out she was discharged from the hospital because the holier-than-thou ladies around here demanded that she not be allowed to stay there, pregnant with a Union soldier’s baby. Feelings were running high against her, what with that bastard you killed being built up to be such a big hero, and her getting the blame for what happened to him.”
“Oh, shit, you don’t believe that,” Travis scoffed. “That’s the story she spread. She wanted to keep her land, and she had to have a rich husband to make that possible. So she got herself in the family way by McRae, and he married her. She’s still a fine-looking woman. I don’t imagine she had to do much persuading.”
“No, I don’t imagine she would, but I don’t think that’s the way it happened.”
“Have you gone soft, Sam? The woman is conniving—”
“You see it a different way because you love her. I can look at it in another light because I love the girl like my own daughter. I know she really and truly loved you, and I don’t believe she’s lying. I think that boy is yours, and I think she married McRae because she was desperate. You better do some serious thinking, Travis. I know about Nancy Danton, and how she’s been slipping up here to your room, and it’s easy to figure out what she’s up to. She knows her husband is mixed up in the Klan, and she knows he and McRae are going to wind up killing each other if their feud isn’t stopped. If she can get to you, she figures you’ll get McRae out of the way and make life easier for her husband. I heard a few other things, too. She chased McRae, but it was Kitty he wanted.”
The Raging Hearts: The Coltrane Saga, Book 2 Page 36
