The Tie That Binds: A Hatfields and McCoys Fanfiction

Justice Be Done

The watchman's whistle keened through the trees. Cap sat up from where he leaned against a hollowed oak, leaves shimmering to the forest floor. He gave a shrill whistle in response and stepped onto the forest road. A man on a horse rounded the bend. A few more of his father's men followed with guns at the ready.

Randall McCoy brought his steed to a halt, the animal dancing nervously. Cap cocked his weapon and gave a challenging look, anger throbbing in his chest. McCoy was the instigator of the whole tragic affair as far as Cap was concerned. Uncle Ellison might be healthy and laughing right then if it hadn't been for that swine, peering down his nose at him as though he were a bug.

"Well? Speak," Cap commanded, lifting the gun.

McCoy released the reins and lifted his hands. "I come unarmed."

"On what account?"

"I'll only speak with your father. Now are you gonna take me to him or what, boy?"

Cap lowered the muzzle and spit in front of the horse. Without a word, he marched towards the homestead. He didn't want to go back to the house. Cotton's mournful pleas to his daddy and Ellison's groans were too much for him. He wished there was a way to get Cordelia away so she wouldn't have to witness such a thing.

The men on the front porch went silent, Jim Vance fingering the knife at his side as though he wanted to sink the blade in the man's chest. Even Uncle Wall, with all his manners and education, seethed by the door with contempt. Cap fed off their anger, his pulse driving into his brain. Ellison wouldn't be at death's door if not for them, if not for those McCoys.

He entered the kitchen to find his mother boiling more water at the stove. "Its Randall McCoy, he's here to speak with pappy."

Levicy Hatfield wiped her hands on her apron. "I'll go fetch him. Miss Robertson, if you could mind the stove for me, I'd be much obliged."

"Of course," the doctor's daughter replied.

Cordelia was standing by the window staring towards the barn, rubbing at her throat as he had seen her do when she was worried. Stray curls trembled over the nape of her neck, the sunlight showing veins of dark red in her black hair. Levicy left them alone and Cordelia moved towards the stove. She hadn't looked at him, but her hands were unsteady as she stirred the pot.

Cap hadn't known a life without hatred towards the McCoys. He couldn't imagine how foreign it would seem to her. But she had to see that the McCoys were dangerous, Ellison was the proof of it.

Striding across the room to her side, he pressed his fingers to her forearm. "Whatever happens, stay inside. Stay close to your father."

She didn't turn to him, but she didn't pull away either. "What is going to happen?"

"I don't know, but don't go out on the porch."

His words stirred her hair, her familiar perfume mixing with the heady aroma of the wood fire. Cap fought the impulse to bury his face in her mess of curls and let loose the pins that held them up. He wanted to soak her in like a tonic and forget it all. Desire left him as breathless as a punch to the gut. He reminded himself to inhale and paced towards the door as his parents moved into the room.

There was one man in the world who could bring Cap Hatfield to heel and it was his father. Devil Anse Hatfield stuck his hands in his pockets, casually puffing on his pipe as he moved to the door, his wife following behind him, her keen eyes watchful of her fiery husband.

Giving Cordelia one last look, Cap jerked his chin towards the hall leading to the sick room. "Remember, if anything happens."

She didn't reply, but knitted her brow as the water started to boil. As Cap turned away, he saw his mother notice their interaction before going onto the porch.