The Devil's Daughter in Law

Chapter Six

I cooed at Tommy as he waddled around the table, laughing as Mrs. Levicy made faces at him. Mr. Anse walked in and put his gun away, "Looks like the youngin' is walking just fine. Boo!" Tommy laughed as Mr. Anse tried to scare him but it didn't do much. Mr. Anse laughed, "Just like Cap. Scared of nothin'." I smiled sadly, "That might come to bite him in the ass one day." Mrs. Levicy nodded, "Will gets into trouble some days. Delia is right. It may cause a problem down the road." Mr. Anse nodded, "Well, Cordie. If there's a problem, there's kin to back you up. Don't worry about a thing." 

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I sat at the table in the Hatfield's house in the mountains, tapping the table with my fingers, then looked outside to see Will riding up. I opened the door and stood outside as he talked to Uncle Jim, "Picked up our ammo and our Winchesters. Hi, honey." I smiled and Elias nodded, "Dumb McCoys raiding all the push boats. Didn't think to check the mail wagon." They all chuckled and said one more thing, but I was too busy looking into the woods. Will set a hand on my cheeks, "Delia? You alright?" I smiled, "Yes, Will. I'm okay." Will kissed my head, "I'm gonna check on Tommy." Will walked back over and held my hand, "John B. Floyd wants you to be part of this meeting."

I was confused, "I'm not part of this." Will nodded, "But you are. Your kin was killed in cold blood. The governor says that your folks were important to the Supreme Court. Is that true?" I nodded, "We are kin to justice of the peace." Will kissed my head and we both walked into the meeting and Mr. Floyd smiled, "Ah, Cordelia Barlowe. Sorry, Hatfield. Your Uncle Thomas is wondering about you." I smiled, "I'm doing fine, Mr. Floyd. So, I hear you need me here today?" Mr. Anse nodded, "Please, sit, Cordie." 

I sat beside Uncle Wall and Floyd continued talking, "Now, Governor Wilson has had a heated exchange of telegrams with Governor Buckner." Mr. Anse looked at Floyd, "Heated exchanged?" Floyd nodded, "Yes, sir." Mr. Anse looked at Uncle Wall, "You hear that, Wall? They had a..." He laughed, "They had themselves a heated exchange. Get me troopers at the border, John. Troopers at the border. So when McCoy tries it again, you stop his ass. Cordie lost her kin to these McCoy's for no reason. Samuel and Clara didn't mix themselves with this trouble but Randall McCoy's boys forced Cordie's hands." 

Uncle Wall sighed, "John, John. What these son of bitches are doing is illegal. Ain't no out-of-state lawman got the right to invade another sovereign state, to abduct citizens, warrant or no damn warrant. Word has it that there's a warrant for Cordie's arrest. She hasn't even been part of this. So you're telling me because she married Cap is why she's being treated like a murderer?" Floyd cupped his hands together," I sent an official requisition to Kentucky, calling for the arrest of Frank Phillips and twenty-three members of his posse." 

Will rolled his eyes, "Kentucky ain't gonna do nothing. And I'll tell you. The moment I see a McCoy or Phillips try and take my wife. They're gonna find out how good I shoot." Floyd continued, "But if they try to invade West Virginia again, Mr. McCoy's posse can be arrested here." Uncle Jim hummed, "By who?" Floyd didn't have an answer and Uncle Jim sneered, "Hell, deputize us, give us a few cannons, we'll ride into Pikeville, and end this shit right now." 

Floyd looked concerned, "Sir, you are talking about starting another Civil War." Mr. Anse sighed, "That's not talk, John. That's what we already got. And if my daughter-in-law gets hurt or if my grandson gets hurt...You tell the governor he steps in or I will." Floyd looked at me, "Mrs. Hatfield, once upon a time, you and your family wanted peace. Can I count on you to get this back to the way it was?"

I glared at Floyd, "You tell my Uncle Thomas, that my willingness to be the mediator between them died with my daddy. My mother died of heartbreak and they both never got to see their grandson Tom Ellison Hatfield. My momma and daddy have been dead for six years. That's a long time to think about your place in a fight. You tell the governor that if my husband or my family gets hurt. I will be raising hell." 

Uncle Jim chuckled, "The Devil's Daughter-in-Law."