Part 3
Sarah leaned against Howie in the shade of the oak tree in the spot she’d picked out for them to talk. The horses grazed quietly by the river as the three men waited patiently for Sarah to regain her composure. She had started crying again when they’d reached the spot, overcome with relief that her men were alive.
Gently, Kevin said, "Sarah, what happened? Why did you leave Lincoln?"
"I didn’t have much of a choice, Kevin," answered Sarah wiping the tears. "I was a dance-hall girl with three boys and another one on the way. The people in Lincoln didn’t take too kindly to that and when they found out my connection to you three, it just got worse. The boys weren’t safe at all. God, I can’t count the number of times Scott and James came home from school crying because they’d been called bastards or had gotten into fights because they were being tormented that their fathers were outlaws and when the law caught you, you’d be hung. And the parents were ready to lynch me too! I couldn’t walk on the sidewalks without some lady making a nasty remark about me."
"Where were Raoul, Carlos, and Marcus? We left them there to look out for you and the boys," said Alex.
"They were murdered and everyone said you had done it but I knew better. If it hadn’t been for Brian, I don’t know what I would have done. He told me you’d all been killed and offered to help me get started fresh here. He set me up in a little house on the edge of town and made it possible for me to be respected here. I’m the teacher here…something I’ve always wanted to do. After Howard was born, he asked me to marry him and I said ‘yes’. I wanted a father for the boys. I wanted them to have a life."
"But they have fathers…and you’re married to me," protested Howie softly.
Despite the tough façade all three presented to everyone else, alone with Sarah, all three men were tender, sensitive, and vulnerable. The pain they saw in Sarah’s eyes and heard in her voice as she told what had happened broke their hearts.
Sarah looked around at Howie, tears in her eyes, "I thought you were dead though…but as I said my vows to Brian, it was you I was seeing. I never stopped loving you."
Howie tenderly brushed her cheek, "I know that, sweetheart."
Looking at Kevin and Alex, she said, "I never stopped loving any of you and I never let the boys forget just how much you loved them."
"Littrell’s got to be stopped," said Alex flatly.
"Why does he hate you three so much?"
They looked at each other and Kevin said coolly, "He’s my cousin and the reason he hates me is a family issue."
"For me and Howie, it happened about two years ago, right after we left you in Lincoln," said Alex. "We got into an argument over a card game with his brother."
"He drew on Alex and we both shot him," finished Howie. "Killed him. We had to take off for Mexico but we tried to get word to you, to let you know. When you never showed up in Mexico, we got worried so we went back to Lincoln to find you. That’s when we found out you were here."
"Sarah, we’re here to take back what’s ours…you and the boys," said Kevin.
"He’s got 5 hired guns to stop you, Kevin."
"Five? I thought it was just the sheriff he had in his pocket," said Howie.
Sarah shook her head, "No. About three months ago, he hired a group of men…Josh, Lance, Justin, Chris, and Joey…and their orders were to keep an eye on me and the boys and kill anyone who messed with us whenever Brian was out of town."
"We’ll handle them," reassured Kevin. "You need to go back now and get your things and the boys’ things together. We’ll come to get you."
"He’s not going to let me go…not now."
"Why not now?" asked Howie.
Sarah tucked her head whispering, "I’m carrying his baby."
All three were stunned into silence as Sarah’s tears fell. Howie pulled her closer to him holding her tight. The other two watched determined more than ever now to take back what was theirs.
Kevin said quietly, "Sarah, you’re Howie’s wife so your marriage to Brian isn’t valid. Alex and I are gonna take off now and give you two some time together alone but I promise, we are NOT leaving town without the boys AND you."
"We love you, Sarah," said Alex.
Sarah moved to the two men hugging them. "I love you so much, guys. Please, be careful. I don’t think I could bear to go through the agony of you REALLY being killed."
