Eva's poised demeanor slipped at the command to disrobe in front of this man. She had never disrobed in front of a man, her husband included. She was a lady and ladies were modest and chaste.  Covering her heart with her hand, Eva backed away, dropping the refreshment. Her mouth was a perfect O as the words, why, what became stuck in her throat. His hands skimmed over her hair, causing her to shudder.<br/><br/>"Sir, I think there is a misunderstanding." she stuttered, edging toward the door.<br/><br/>Decker Malloy laughed an evil laugh, nodding toward the door.<br/>"My my, what a pickle. You are saying you prefer to be with Mr. Amsterdam's mule in carnal relations that endure a night in my arms?" he shrugged and put his hand on the door knob.<br/><br/>Tears were streaming from her eyes now, her brain finally understanding what had been discussed in the hallway. She held up her hand to halt him.<br/><br/>"Please, sir, let me beg of you to find goodness in your heart.For me to lay with you would be the end of my life." she pleaded.<br/><br/>"And to stand for that mule will end your life and that of your unborn child, tonight. Me or the mule. your choice."<br/><br/>Eva did not scream or plead. She had too much pride for that. She turned her back, avoiding her image in the mirror and began to undo her buttons. Her fingers trembled so hard that one of the buttons popped loose. She didn't bother to pick it up because soon missing buttons would not matter.<br/><br/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/>Jeb went out, saddled his gelding then came back inside. He wrapped Maddie into a comforter and carried her out. She murmured when the cool air hit her little face, but didn't stir when he stepped into the stirrup. Gathering the reins, he cradled her and they lit a shuck for town. The sun was tinging the sky with gray and pink clouds by the time he arrived at town. Maddie had wet herself in her sleep, but Jeb didn't stop. He nudged the horse to move faster.<br/><br/>His first stop was Miss Lila's. He knocked on the door and was rewarded by a young girl answering it,<br/>"yes?" she asked cautiously, but opening the door a bit wider when she saw the child.<br/><br/>"I need Miss Lila." he said,stepping inside without permission.<br/><br/>"She is sleeping and is not to be disturbed," the girl answered. "Is this  your little girl?"<br/><br/>"Yes and I need her to be some place safe. and I need to talk to Miss Lila. Now!" he asserted. Something in his voice stirred her to action. She took the child, fussing over the wet clothes but took her to the back. Another girl,<br/><br/>"I am Millie. Can I help you?" she asked."Oh you are that man that helped that feller."<br/><br/>"That would be me and I need to talk to Miss Lila, now!" his voice rose in volume as Jeb looked around.<br/><br/>"Look, I'm going to see the Sheriff. Tell Miss Lila I will be back. We have to talk. Here is two dollars for watching Maddie." he took two coins from his front pocket. "This is a shit storm but not the one I had imagined." Jeb Williams stormed from the house and went to see the Sheriff.<br/><br/>~~~~~~~~~~~<br/>Miss Lila was not asleep but she was busy, Busy trying to figure out what to do with James, Heck, whoever he was.<br/><br/>"You have to leave. I can no longer house you." she was insisting for the third time.<br/><br/>"I know,you said that," Heck answered. "I need clothes and I need a horse."<br/><br/>"I can't just go out and buy that for you. It would be an admission of guilt."<br/><br/>"Don't you have a basement? a root cellar? a fraidy hole? Somewhere I can hide out for a day or two?" Heck asked, trying to come up with a plan but maybe the head injury had fractured his brain.<br/><br/>A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. Millie called through the door,<br/>"Miss Lila, we've had company and there is a problem. Can you come downstairs?"<br/><br/>Lila sighed and pointed her finger at the man, "Stay.I will be back in a bit."<br/><br/>She went down to find Millie with a little blonde wisp of a girl. She was holding a cookie and sniffling.<br/>"I want my Ma. Where is my Pa?"<br/><br/>Lila put her hand on the child's head.<br/>"Who are you, honey? Who is your Pa?"<br/><br/>"I'm Maddie Williams and Pa is .." she thought hard. "Pa."<br/><br/>The sheriff and Jeb walked around back, and discreetly rang the bell for customers. Miss Lila sighed, What the hell more could be happening in this town? and how in hell had she gotten in the middle of it?