. 08

The house buzzed with activity in preparation for Will and Sally's wedding which was scheduled to take place in a few days. Everyone, the children included helped with decorating the house and the backyard with flowers. Dianna helped in the kitchen while Eli, Ralph and Marie put flowers in the vases. Kenji, Joel, Nick and John carried the table, chairs outside, and covered them with old sheets and blankets.

The only people not working were the bride and groom and it wasn't because they didn't want to, no one would let them.

"This is your wedding." Abby said as she shooed Sally out of the kitchen for the third time. "Go spend time with your groom."

Will wasn't faring much better. He tried to help carry chairs out to the yard but John stopped him.

"What do you think you doing?"

"I was just going to carry out a few chairs." Will replied.

"No you're not" John said taking the chair away from Will. "Why don't you take Sally for a walk or something?"

Finally, Will and Sally gave up and went for a walk. As they walked, Will put his arm around Sally and pulled her tight against him. For some inexplicable reason, Lawrence Goodman and his cousin the warden crossed his mind. Even though they hadn't heard from Ellis and they had received no word that Lawrence was dead or was going to be released, he was nervous. Sally on the other hand was ecstatic. She couldn't wait to change her last name from Goodman to Mahoney. They talked to Dianne and Eli who both decided not to change their last names although Will was going to adopt them.

Sally was disappointed but understood their decision. Lawrence did love them and they didn't know about the threats or the depths of his Klan activities. She and Will had argued about whether they should be told about their father but Sally didn't want to destroy the good memories that they had of him.

"Sally, they need to be told." Will told her during one of their conversations. "The man is dangerous and he's planning to come here looking for you and he'll take them with him when he leaves."

"He wouldn't hurt them, he loves them." she protested.

"Like he loved Kenny?" Will asked fully aware that he was hurting her but she needed to see the danger.

"That isn't fair!" Sally exclaimed.

"Maybe not," Will conceded, "but neither is letting those kids believe that their father is anything other than what he is. What do you think he's planning to do with them if he gets his hands on them?" he asked.

Sally was crying but he pressed on.

"He is going to make them into good little Klan soldiers like he did with Kenny and that's after he kills us. They need to know about him, they have to know that they need to stay away from him."

"Kill us? Why would he kill us?" Sally asked.

"You know better than any of us what he's like." Will replied. "You've even admitted that he scares you and you can't tell me that the idea that he could and would kill you hasn't crossed your mind. He's coming to California as soon as he's released or he escapes whichever happens first and we need to be ready."

In the end, they agreed to tell Dianne and Eli the truth about their father if only for the sake of safety. The talk they decided could wait until after the wedding and short honeymoon. That last conversation took place not long after Sally had received the signed petition for divorce and after thinking about it, she knew that Will was right.

Dianne and Eli needed to know the truth about everything and that included how Kenny had really died.

*******************

Becca looked at herself in the mirror. She was still waking up with bouts of nausea and vomiting but it was getting better. She realized that she wasn't "coming down with something" occurred to her after the second week of having symptoms. Immediately, she went into denial. She simply could not be pregnant! Her parents would never understand and this time, if they sent her away there would be no coming back.

However, they weren't her only concern; there was Ty. What would he say? What could he say? The way that she saw it, there was only one option; they had to get married before it became known that she was pregnant. The problem was, she didn't want to get married to anyone except Andrew but it was marry Ty or be sent away to who knew where.

Instead of facing facts, she went into denial. That had been a week ago and now she had no option but to accept the fact that she was indeed pregnant. It was obvious that she had to tell Ty first and hope that he agreed to marry her. The fortunate thing was that her parents liked him even if they thought him too old for her. She slipped her dress over her head and examined herself imagining herself with a huge stomach. The mental image was disconcerting at best. She had never thought of being married to and pregnant by anyone other than Andrew.

She wondered what his reaction would be to the news and then there was Ernie. He was looking for her and so far, she had managed to evade him. She knew that he wa still angry about his unspoken shunning from the group and to some degree, she understood but on the other hand, he could have said no and gone to Andrew. In her mind, what happened to him was his fault and not hers.

Becca sighed, finished dressing and went to wait for Ty to pick her up.

*******************

Tyrone did another count of the available funds. At the rate he was going, by the time Lawrence was released, they would have more than enough to pay the rent on a house for a few months. He would have to keep working but he had no problems with that. He actually liked his job and almost wished that he were doing it because he wanted to and not because he had to. But it was as Lawrence said, "we have to sacrifice."

He got ready to pick Becca up in the car furnished by Richard Cartwright. Tyrone wondered what the family would think if they knew his true agenda. He also wondered what the Cartwright's politics were; they had never given any indication that they had the same beliefs as the Klan although Becca obviously did. In addition, if her parents didn't harbor the same beliefs, where had her beliefs come from? That was one of the things that he intended to ask her. He knew that she wanted to talk to him about something as well and wondered what it was.

After he took her back home, he had business that needed to be taken care of. He now knew where Nick Alexander lived as well and would drive by from time to time. After that, he would drive by the house that Lawrence's wife lived to see what he could see. He had been watching the house for the past week and saw nothing earth shattering. It was obvious to him that Lawrence's wife and the lawyer living with her were much more than friends. He was due to send Lawrence a letter but he would wait until after the weekend to send it.

He looked around to make sure that the money was hidden and headed toward Becca's house. As he drove, Tyrone thought about how lucky he was that things had come together so easily. Lawrence would be proud, happy and relieved to know that he would have a nice place to stay in when he was released. It was even better that Becca's family liked him although they thought that he was a little too old for her. All it had taken for them to accept him was a flirt here and there and a stroking of the old man's ego.

He parked in front of the house, tapped on the horn lightly before he got out and walked up to the front door. Becca greeted him with a smile but he noticed that she seemed to be nervous.

"Hello baby." he greeted and gave her a kiss, "you all set?"

"Yes... my father wants to talk to you before we go though."

Tyrone felt his stomach drop; he couldn't lose his job. He hadn't saved enough money yet.

"Sure, is he in the study?"

"Yes, I'll wait here." Becca replied.

A minute later Tyrone was in the study sitting across from Becca's father.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked.

"Yes." Mr. Cartwright replied. "I have a few concerns that I would like to talk to you about with the first being my daughter. In case you haven't noticed, she's quite smitten with you and I want to know your intentions."

"I... I don't have any intentions." Tyrone replied. "She's a very sweet young woman whose been helping me get acclimated to my new surroundings. Did she say something?"

"No but I know the look." Cartwright replied. "I'm going to make a suggestion, if this is no more than friendship as you say it is, then stop seeing her so often."

Damn it! Tyrone swore as he replied, "I think that might be a good idea. I'll tell her tonight. What was the other concern?"

"I have always believed that a man can believe what he wants to so as long as he doesn't push those beliefs onto other people."

"I would agree with that." Tyrone said as he wondered where the conversation was heading.

"I'm glad to hear it because it makes it easier to voice my next concern. I heard you on the phone the other day and I didn't like what I heard."

Tyrone didn't speak.

"I heard you using the "N" word and I don't appreciate that kind of language in my office and would appreciate if you refrained from using it. I know that it's a commonly used word in your part of the country but we're not in the south are we?"

Tyrone bit his tongue and curbed the urge to punch the man but restrained himself. If he did that he would lose his job and Becca's money. He plastered a smile on his face, nodded his agreement, and apologized.

"Of course you're right and I do apologize."

"Good, I was hoping that you would understand. It's about time that this country came to grips that the Blackman is here to stay and that they deserve the right to pursue their dreams as much as the white man does."

Tyrone almost choked, Becca's father was the enemy that Lawrence had talked about but still he needed him. They talked for a few more minutes before shaking hands. Tyrone fought the urge to run to the kitchen to wash them but did stop in the bathroom. He was more even confused about Becca than before. It was clear that her parents didn't share her beliefs; the conversation with her father had confirmed it. It didn't matter he decided as long as he remembered to watch his mouth at work and he still had her money coming in.

"Is everything alright?" Becca asked.

"It's fine." Tyrone replied. "Let's go."

Tyrone drove her back to the hotel and snuck her up the back stairs to his room. He knew that people would hear them fucking but he didn't care. As far as they were concerned, she was a slut. It was an impression that he did nothing to change.

As soon as they were in the room, he pushed her down to her knees while he fished his cock out.

"Ty..."

Was all that she got out before she found her mouth filled with his cock, her nose buried in his pubic hair.

"Oh yeah... do that thing that you do." Tyrone moaned. "Do it and I might eat your ...."

Tyrone's head flew back as he grabbed Becca's head, held it in place and began ramming into her mouth hard and fast until he came moaning loudly. Pulling her up by her hair, he led Becca to the bed, pushed her back and roughly opened her legs.

"Ty you're hurting me." Becca said. He had never been so rough before and he was scaring her.

He slowed down and apologized.

"Sorry baby, I just got carried away." he wanted to tell her to shut up but he still needed her. He gave her clit half-assed attention and crawled out of the bed.

"Th... that was it?" Becca asked.

"Are you complaining?" Ty asked.

"No... I mean I didn't come."

Ty shrugged and then thought better of it. He lay beside her and fingered her until she came not once but twice.

Something in his reaction niggled at Becca but when he brought her to orgasm twice she pushed it away.

"What did you want to tell me?" Ty asked when Becca tried to cuddle with him.

"We have to get married."

Ty looked over at her, "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I'm pregnant with your baby." she announced.

His initial response was anger but then he saw the opportunity. He tamped his anger down, put an arm around Becca, and pulled her close. He would have to come up with a story for her father but that wouldn't be hard to do and who knew? Maybe her folks would help them get a house. It would solve a whole lot of problems even though he really didn't want a kid but then again maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Lawrence was always talking about raising little soldiers for the organization.

"How far along are you?" he asked.

"Not far, maybe a month... Are you mad?" Becca asked.

"No baby... I think it's great but we need to get married as soon as we can. We'll tell your folks tonight when I take you home."

"Ty?"

"Do you love me?"

"Sure baby." Ty said absently anxious for her to be gone so that he could write that letter to Lawrence.

Two hours later, Tyrone, Becca and her parents were convened in the living room. Becca's father was beyond furious.

"You assured me that you and my daughter were no more than friends!"

"I know that and I'm so sorry that I lied but I knew that you feel that I'm too old for her."

"Pregnant!" Becca's father spat out while her mother sat on the sofa too shocked too say anything.

"Daddy...."

"Quiet! I don't want to hear from you.... Pregnant! You have to get married right away and there won't be a wedding."

"But everyone will know that we had to get married!" Becca wailed and looked to her mother for support.

"You should have thought about that before you fornicated!" her father snapped.

"Mom?"

"I'm sorry Becca but I have to agree with your father for the reason that he just stated and for another reason. If we wait then people will definitely put it together. As it stands now, if you get married this week, you could always say that the baby came early."

Tears streamed down Becca's face. She barely heard what her father was saying but he had Tyrone's full attention.

"Of course you'll need a house but you can stay with us until we find you one. Harvey Carter is a friend of mine; he'll find us a deal on a house. In the meantime, get out we need to talk to our daughter." he said to Ty.

Tyrone knew that he should have objected and stayed with her but he really didn't care. He was getting what he wanted and he couldn't wait to tell Lawrence the news.

*******************

Lawrence walked around the prison yard aware that he was being watched not just by the warden and Jacob Lincoln but also by the other black inmates. While not frightened, he was nervous and for the first time began to wonder if he was going to leave the prison alive. Jacob Lincoln no longer hid his hatred of him and Lawrence knew that it was more than the fact that he was a white man. This was very personal.

He searched his memory trying to recollect if he had ever met the man or seen him anywhere but he couldn't remember. As far as he was concerned when you saw one nigger, you saw them all and he made it a habit not to look at them too much unless he had one captive.

Duke caught up to him and walked with him.

"What did you find out?" Lawrence asked.

"No one knows any more about him than what I told you." he replied. "All of the guards that could have helped me are gone and Ellis just fired two more for sharing cigarettes with the prisoners."

"Fuck." Lawrence swore under his breath. "Any mail yet?"

"Nope but Ty is good about keeping you up to date, maybe next week."

Lawrence felt a sense of urgency that he couldn't explain. He would have to take the first opportunity that came along and escape. The nigger and the warden had been just issued a reprieve unless he could get his cellmate up to snuff sooner. It meant that he had to choose between his targets and it would be Jacob Lincoln since he would be the easier of the two targets.

Lawrence looked around the yard for his cellmate Saul Manning and spotted him sitting alone staring off into the distance. Saul was barely recognizable as the dirty, smelly cellmate that Ellis had moved into his cell. Lawrence made the man bathe, made sure that he was clean and took the time to find out about him.

"Where you from boy?" he asked the night the warden made him sign the divorce papers.

"Down the road about twenty miles." He replied surprised that he had been spoken to.

"What you in for?"

"Killin a man."

"Yeah? Who'd you kill?"

"I don't wanna talk about that."

"That's alright... A man's got to keep some secrets." Lawrence replied.

It took a couple of weeks before Saul felt comfortable enough to tell Lawrence whom he killed and why.

"He shouldn't have hurt Darlene." he said.

"He" was Saul's father who had always had a bad temper and the family knew to stay away from him when he came in the door with a scowl on his face. They all learned never to ask, "What happened?" it only earned them a backhand across the face. By evening, he would be back to his usual grumpy but approachable self with the exception of the night that Saul killed him.

That afternoon Samuel Manning had come home angrier than usual. By evening, the anger had escalated to the point where no one would come out of his or her rooms, not even for supper. Their mother was in the bedroom with the youngest, Darlene who had begun to cry because she was hungry. Tried as she might, she couldn't get the girl to stop crying which in turn incensed Samuel.

"Shut that fucking kid up!" he screamed from the living room.

Darlene only cried harder when she heard the anger in her father's voice. Before anyone really understood what was happening, Samuel was in the bedroom snatching Darlene from her mothers arms and violently shaking her as he screamed at her to shut up.

Saul had had enough. He went into the kitchen, grabbed the cast iron skillet, ran into the bedroom and hit Samuel as hard as he could across the back of the head. His intent hadn't been to kill him but that's what happened. The next thing he knew, he was in jail, had his trial, found guilty and brought to the prison. He was eighteen years old, still impressionable and needed a friend.

Lawrence found out why Saul had been so dirty. He was too afraid to go into the showers because of comments that were made to him.

"No one's going to touch you." Lawrence said and made sure that someone was always nearby when the Saul showered.

From that point on, Saul followed Lawrence around like a puppy and did whatever he asked without question.

He would be the perfect patsy.

*******************

Jacob continued his campaign to unnerve Lawrence. He like Lawrence wasn't without his resources. He wanted Lawrence know that he was being watched and purposely began to let little pieces of information to get out. It was nothing major but enough to keep Lawrence interested.

Jacob also knew from a very reliable source that Lawrence was planning an escape but the source didn't know when or how it was going to happen. It didn't matter. Lawrence Goodman wasn't going to leave the prison, at least not alive.

It was time for him and Lawrence both to start making their peace with god. Jacob had no doubt that when he killed Lawrence, he would hang for it and he was fine with that. It meant that he would be reunited with his family. As far as Lawrence went, he hoped to god that he ended up in his own special hell.

He saw Lawrence standing across the yard and called out to him, "Nice day isn't it?" and then walked away chuckling knowing that he had gotten under the man's skin. It was time to begin his preparations.

*******************

The summer had been a hellish one for Andrew and he was glad that it was ending. He spent the bulk of it organizing the group that Hathaway had put him in charge of. He spent some of the time finding out what he could about the "melting pot" and spent a lot of time examining his feelings for Patricia.