Where Does My Heart Beat Now- Chapter 18

A Chapter by Sympathy Heart

Chapter 18

The chilly morning air bit at Kate’s skin when she awoke to the sound of voices outside the tent. At first, she dismissed the noise, but then the tent flaps flew open, ripping the ties from the canvas. A tall, broad shouldered man dressed in a long officer’s coat and gray pants tramped in with rage in his eyes.

“GABRIEL! Get your a*s out of that bed this instant!” He roared, rousing Gabriel from his deep sleep.

The younger man flipped over to see who was yelling at him after being rudely awoken. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, “Technically, it’s a cot…”

“Shut the hell up!” The officer turned and started to exit the tent. “Since you like being a smartass, you can run some drills.”

“When Hell freezes over!” Gabriel shot back.

After the older man stormed out, Kate looked over to see her husband cringe. She wondered who that man was, and why he would barge into their tent uninvited. The next thing that registered was her husband swinging his legs over the side of his cot and pulling out his uniform so he could start dressing.

“I probably shouldn’t have said that.”

“Who was that?” She inquired.

As Gabriel hurriedly dressed in his uniform he replied, “The general.”

Kate tried to contain her laughter when she spoke, “Yeah, that was definitely the wrong thing to say.”

By the time the two of them were fully dressed and outside in the bright sunshine, the entire 1^st Texas Cavalry was waiting on their colonel, who was pulling back his long hair into a ponytail just as he always did. Some of them seemed annoyed by the way they rolled their eyes or glared.

“Well, looks like Gabriel decided he’d sleep in this morning,” Sean commented with a smirk on his face. “Or was he too busy pleasuring himself with his wife?”

“Don’t start with me, Sean,” Gabriel growled as he untied Bo from the lead line that was tied between two trees. “That damn general of ours already pissed me off.”

“Sorry,” Sean apologized before changing the subject. “So, how’s Kate this fine morning? She looks like she’s in a good mood.”

Gabriel shrugged his shoulders, and then set his saddle on Bo’s back, “She’s fine. The baby was moving around earlier, but other than that, she’s doing great,” he chuckled. “Boy, she was definitely snoring last night. I’m surprised she didn’t wake the camp.”

Once Gabriel was situated in the saddle, he commanded his unit to follow him to the battlefield, where they would go over and rehearse that day’s battle. They trotted past the different camps until they turned onto the dirt path and disappeared behind the line of trees, leaving the women to look after the camp.

Well, looks like we ladies get time to ourselves for a while, Kate thought as she tied back the tent flaps after repairing the rips in the canvas made by the angry general. She saw Mae, Cherrie and Ava knitting while gossiping with each other; well, Cherrie was trying to learn how to knit, and then a strange movement out of the corner of her eye caught Kate’s attention. Up ahead she could see a re-enactor dressed in the Union uniform. He seemed to be watching their camp intently as if he was scoping it out. The suspicious behavior made her a little weary. Who is he, and why does he keep looking over here like a hawk eyeing its prey?

“Kate? Why don’t you come over here and sit?” Mae called happily. “I’ll teach you how to knit.”

The young woman was almost reluctant to turn away, but she decided it was best to forget about the strange sighting. She walked over to where the others were and sat down before picking up a pair of knitting needles and a skein of pink yarn, “Sorry, something caught my attention.”

“That’s okay,” Mae finished a row and started the next. “Is our little one moving?”

“Not at the moment. Oh-,” Kate gasped, and laid her hand on her belly. “I take that back.”

Mae’s eyes widened in excitement, “Ooh, let me feel! Gabriel’s had all the fun so far. Now it’s my turn to enjoy your pregnancy.”

I’m so happy that Mae is finally going to be a grandmother. She’s been waiting such a long time, Kate thought while watching her mother in law. Oh, how wonderful her life was going to be when the baby was born.

Thirty minutes later, the women were getting ready to head over to the battlefield, but Kate found herself watching the same mysterious man she had seen earlier. He had found a new location standing near the path leading to the battlefield. At first she thought he was just a normal re-enactor, but at that moment their eyes met and she recognized him, Oh, no! Nick’s going to go after Gabriel! I’ve got to stop him… but how? An idea popped into her head as she ran back to the camp and into the tent. She rummaged around until she found her husband’s extra Confederate uniform. After yanking off her dress and underpinnings, Kate hurriedly wrapped a bandage around her breasts to disguise her womanhood before pulling on the cotton shirt and the rest of the uniform.

“Kate, are you ready to go?” Mae’s voice called from outside the tent.

“Uh, I’ll meet you there!” She answered and went back to pulling on her boots. I need to hurry! The anxiety she felt was coursing throughout her body as she put her hair up in a bun and pulled Gabriel’s gray and yellow kepi over it. She was finally ready, but there was one other item she needed, and she found it lying underneath Gabriel’s cot, I wonder if Gabriel forgot his pistol? Well, it’s going to help me, today.

Their camp was empty when Kate walked out into the sunshine. All she needed to do was find a horse, but that wasn’t hard since she found Ava’s paint, Belle, tied up to the line, “Easy girl. I need you to help me, today,” she quickly mounted up and pushed the horse into a gallop toward the battlefield, her heart pounding in her chest when she heard the first cannon fire and the gunshots that followed. “Come on! We’ve got to hurry!”

The 1^st Texas Cavalry was already moving out over the battlefield with Gabriel a few yards ahead of the others, when Kate and Belle skidded to a stop behind a line of trees. Her eyes searched the chaos until they fell on a lone figure galloping right towards Gabriel, and it was apparent that he didn’t recognize the enemy. Nick! At a closer glance she noticed the Colt revolver being raised up to aim at Gabriel. Instinct told her the gun was loaded with real bullets instead of blanks, “Let’s go, Belle! Yah!”

Belle raced toward the danger with Kate reaching for the pistol while holding onto the reins with her free hand. They were going to intercept the two men before Nick had a clear shot at her husband. I know I’m being stupid, but I don’t want my husband killed!

As they neared Gabriel, Kate saw the rest of the cavalry stop in their tracks and stare, but Kate and Belle continued on, closing the gap. When she judged that Nick was less than ten yards away, she aimed the gun at his chest and fired, but the pistol jerked to the right and the bullet pierced his left bicep, causing him to yell in pain. “D****t!” She raced right for Gabriel since she had bought him some time, but Nick was heading right for him, his gun raised. Please, let this work! A few seconds later, she and Belle crashed right into Gabriel and Bo, knocking all four of them to the ground in a tangle of legs and bodies just as a bullet zipped past.

The spectators gasped in horror after realizing that what they had just witnessed was not part of the reenactment, but an attempted murder. Mae nearly had a heart attack when she saw her only son’s life in danger. Ava and Cherrie had to fan her to keep her from fainting, but she insisted on sitting up to see what was happening out on the battlefield.

Back on the battlefield, Gabriel freed his legs from underneath Bo with Kate still lying on top of him, “What the hell do you think you’re doing, you b*****d!” He snarled, staring into the other person’s eyes. It wasn’t long before he recognized whose pale blue eyes they were, “Kate? Oh, my God. I’m so sorry, but what are you doing?”

“Returning the favor of saving my life,” she explained while trying to catch her breath “That was Nick, and he was going to kill you. Not to mention, you forgot your pistol which wouldn’t have helped you.”

Her words sank in, making him realize how close he was to losing everything. It wasn’t until a few seconds later that he remembered the helpless life growing inside Kate, “Are you okay? You’re so stupid! Do you realize that you put your life and the baby’s in danger?”

“I know, but I wasn’t going to let him kill you. I need you.”

A noise behind them caught their attention, and when they sat up to see where it was coming from, Nick was standing nearby, his face one of rage with the revolver clenched tightly in his hand. A stream of blood ran down his arm from where Kate had shot him, “So, who do you think you are? Did you really think you could save him? Stand up so I can see who I’ll be killing.”

The anger coursing throughout Kate forced her to stand up, despite Gabriel’s pleas. She stepped forward in front of Nick before removing the kepi and pulling out the bun, letting her hair fall down her back. Everyone around them gasped in shock. They couldn’t believe Kate was the one who had crashed into Gabriel and shot Nick, especially when she was pregnant. The three of them stood staring each other down, waiting for one of them to make a move.

“I can’t believe this,” Nick started to laugh. “And I thought Gabriel was a pain in my a*s. It looks like his wife is just as stupid and annoying. Apparently he’s rubbed off onto you. What do you plan on doing?”

“Move closer and I’ll show you,” Kate said through gritted teeth.

Nick took a step forward, but froze when he was staring down the barrel of the pistol, “Really? You’re going to shoot me?”

“Any last words,” her finger inched toward the trigger, ready to pull it.

“Oh, s**t.”

She pulled back the hammer with her thumb, a sneer shining, “That’s right.”

All of sudden Nick fell forward, leaving Kate stunned; she was positive she hadn’t pulled the trigger, but that was when she saw Sean standing in front of her with a large branch in his hand. From what she gathered, he had come to the rescue and knocked him in the back of the head.

“Man, I hate that b*****d!” He commented and dropped the branch.

Kate put the pistol back in its holster and straightened, “Well, thank you, Sean.”

“My pleasure.”

After Nick had been escorted away by the police, Gabriel was calmed down by his best friend and he attempted to brush the grass and dirt off of his uniform, and then he walked over to Kate, who was being fussed over by Mae and her mother. She looked as if she was being overwhelmed by the constant attention, and needed someone to rescue her.

“Hey, are you sure you’re okay, honey?” He questioned.

She rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation, “For the last time, yes. Please stop worrying. The baby’s fine,” But I can’t feel it moving. I hope nothing happened to it. “I’m positive,” a relieved feeling washed over her once she felt a little flutter tickle her belly. Oh, thank God. I guess the baby was just sleeping.

“Alright. Now, what do we do? The battle’s been ruined, but I guess it did seem like the real thing.”

“I’m going back to camp and then I’m going to rub cocoa butter on my belly to prevent stretch marks. After that I think I’ll hang out with Ava,” Kate rambled on while heading toward the camp right behind Sean’s girlfriend. “Wait up, girl! I’m pregnant, remember?”

“What are you going to be doing?”

The two women exchanged glances before Ava answered, “Do you feel like going to a dance club? I know Sean would-.”

“Did you say ‘dance club’?” Sean showed up, an eager expression on his face.

“See?”

Gabriel sat at the bar with Sean, who was working on his third apple martini, watching his wife and Ava dance among the other people. When he looked back at Sean, he had his head tilted back, trying to get the last drop of the martini out of the glass.

“Sean, I’m not busting you out of jail, again. So take it easy on the alcohol,” Gabriel commented.

His friend set the glass down before replying, “It’s not every day I get one of these.”

“You’ve had three, already… and on that same note, why are you drinking b***h beer?!”

The women showed up at that moment, Kate looking rather large, but perhaps it was from the tight-fitting shirt and mini skirt she was wearing. They sat down on the stools next to the boys and ordered two margaritas, much to Gabriel’s surprise. It was obvious that he wasn’t expecting them to do something so scandalous.

“What? Just because I don’t care for hard liquor, like that whisky doesn’t mean I don’t like to indulge every now and then,” Kate explained when the mixed drink was put in front of her.

“Is that wise to be doing while you’re pregnant?” He questioned with his eyebrow cocked.

Her face fell, “Oh… Right,” she turned to face Sean. “Do you want it?”

Gabriel quickly intervened by taking the margarita and downing it before his friend could get his hands on it, “That’s not such a good idea, Kate. You don’t know Sean like I do.”

A little while later Kate managed to drag her husband onto the dance floor, but he was very reluctant about it. He could feel other eyes on him, making him all the more nervous to be out in the open where he was exposed. He would rather just sit back and watch, but that wasn’t going to happen.

“Kate, people are watching.”

“That’s because they’ve probably never seen a sexy, Irish male before,” she got behind him and pushed. “Just dance.”

It wasn’t long before Kate had to go back to camp since she was starting to get sick, again, from her pregnancy. Hopefully that part wouldn’t last long, and she’d actually get to enjoy the moments before their baby was born. She couldn’t believe that she was going to be a mother with Gabriel there to help her every step of the way.

The only thing I’m scared of is how much pain I’m going to be in during the birth, she thought as Gabriel drove back to the battlefield with the other two in the back seat. When she saw Gabriel out of the corner of her eye he seemed to be thinking about something, for he never moved an inch, except for the slight movements of the steering wheel. “Gabriel, I’m sorry I’ve been such a burden, what with my getting sick… and making those stupid choices. I just didn’t want anything to happen to you.”

He looked over at her with a confused look on his face, “Honey, you aren’t a burden. Don’t even think that for a minute. I understand that sickness comes with pregnancy, and I’m going to be there with you through the good and the bad,” he took her hand in his and squeezed it. “And we all make stupid decisions, but we learn from them. Believe me; I’ve made my fair share. You know, you’re so much like Susan. I swear you two could be sisters.”

“The only reason I do the things I do is to be the perfect wife. I want you to have what you lost, and that includes this baby,” Kate sighed heavily. “I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

“Her?”

“I have a very strong feeling in the pit of my stomach that our baby is a girl. Call it a woman’s instinct.”

“Was it a woman’s instinct to pull my pistol on Nick and shoot him?” Gabriel inquired.

Kate laughed until her belly hurt, “No that was just one pissed off woman who was fed up with his bullshit.”

“Amen to that!” Sean put in.

Most of their camp was already in their tents, asleep, when they returned, except for Kate and Gabriel’s parents, who were sitting around the fire talking. Her father smiled warmly after seeing them enter the camp, but he became concerned at the sight of his daughter. It looked as if she were ill by her pale complexion.

“Kate, are you feeling all right? You don’t look so great,” he questioned.

She moved past him, her head down, “Not really. I got sick, again. How long before it goes away?”

“Not long. Just try not to think about it.”

“Right.”

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