Where Does My Heart Beat Now- Chapter 25

Chapter 25

When the 1^st Texas Cavalry was gathered in the tree line above Caddo Lake, Gabriel trotted over to them on Bo after closing the doors on the trailer. He came to a stop in front of the unit, observing them as they sat on their mounts. All of them seemed to stiffen up and give him their undivided attention. Their actions made him shake his head as he rubbed his temples; they took the rank thing too seriously sometimes.

“At ease men… and ladies. As long as I’m not in uniform, I’m not your colonel. This isn’t a reenactment,” Gabriel said, and then moved up beside his wife, who was sitting comfortably on Buster’s back while resting her free hand on the top of her swollen belly, “Now, shall we head out?”

The group cantered along the ridge above the lake, flinging up snow behind them as they went. When the trees thinned out they could see a thick layer of ice covering parts of the lake, reflecting the sun’s rays. While they were riding, Kate felt the baby moving around as if it was turning. A smile spread across her face, catching Gabriel’s attention.

“What? Why are you smiling?”

“Her eyes glittered in the sunlight, “I can feel the baby turning. That means I’m getting closer to my due date,” a strong kick to her lower belly made her yelp in surprise, “Good Lord! This little one is feisty. Hmm, I wonder who she gets it from… Gabriel.”

Her husband remained silent as they slowed to a gentle walk. It was already one-thirty by the time they reached the other side of the lake. After dismounting, Gabriel helped Kate down before tying the horses’ reins to a tree branch. Afterwards, he took his coat off and wrapped it around her shoulders despite her protests.

“Well, Gabe, it looks like Kate’s ready to pop,” one of the older men commented when he looked over at the two of them.

Gabriel chuckled warmly while trying to button up the coat on his wife, but gave up after they kept coming undone, “Oh, not yet. We’ve still got so much to do before we’re ready for the baby to come out. We’ve still got to buy a bassinet for her to sleep in.”

“You’re having a girl?”

“We aren’t for sure. Kate and I are hoping to get a little girl.”

“Well, I’ll be praying for the two of you,” the man went over to talk with some of the other cavalry members while Gabriel went back to keeping his wife warm by removing his scarf and wrapping it around her neck. She immediately unwrapped it and gave it back to him.

When the scarf was in his hand, Gabriel gave her a worried look, “Kate put the scarf on. It’s terribly cold out here for you to go without one.”

“Gabriel, I’m being smothered with all of this on. You need it more than I do.”

“Honey, I would go completely naked to keep you from getting cold.”

Kate started to say something in retort, but was cut off when Sean strode over with a wry grin on his face, “Boy, wouldn’t that be a sight… and a quick way to freeze your balls off,” he clapped his hand down on Gabriel’s shoulder, “Gabe, do you want that baby to roast? It’s already in the oven; all you’d need to do is turn the heat up.”

“Oh. Good point.”

 

By the time everyone arrived back at the location where they had parked their trucks and trailers, the sun had started to set, which meant the temperature was going to start dropping. They needed to get back to town before the roads became iced over. After most of them had their horses loaded, Gabriel gathered them up for a quick meeting. Kate huddled beside her husband to listen in.

“Alright, I lied. I’m gonna be your colonel for a few minutes,” he pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it before continuing, “Okay, all of you know that the 1^st Texas Cavalry was asked to go to Yale, Oklahoma for the Battle of Round Mountain again this year. Well, that’s in February, and I’ve already registered us. We’ll be camping in the trees like last time, so that should keep the wind off of us.”

One of the younger men cleared his throat to get his colonel’s attention, “But Sir, isn’t your wife due to have the baby in February?”

“Yes, and your point is, Captain?” Gabriel responded with an arched eyebrow and his arms crossed over his chest.

“Well, she’s not going with us, is she? I mean, what if she goes into labor while we’re there?”

 Gabriel laid his hand on the young man’s shoulder, “Captain, I know you’re worried about this, but don’t be. I’ve got this under control, and-,” he was cut off when Kate started to say something.

“Boys, relax! I will hopefully have the baby before the reenactment. I’m due at the end of January or first of February,” she turned to Gabriel, who was mocking her, “and honey, if you don’t stop that, I’m gonna kick your nuts into your body cavity. Mess with the pregnant woman and you’ll get your a*s kicked… royally.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Gabriel saluted her sarcastically before she walloped him over the head with her scarf, “Anyway, so I hope all of you can make it. Even though it’s probably going to be cold, this is supposed to be another good reenactment.”

 

After helping Mae wash the dirty dishes that evening, Kate waddled down the hall in her chemise and silk housecoat until she came to the baby’s room and heard a noise coming from inside. She poked her head in the doorway and found Gabriel tying the crib bumper to the railings of the beautiful white crib Kate’s parents had sent them for Christmas. When he heard her, he turned around and smiled before picking up the mobile with the Confederate flags hanging off of it.

“Do you want to help? After all, you are going to be the mother of our baby,” he handed her some of the decorations they’d received for Christmas, “or do you need to sit down, baby? I’d imagine the baby’s getting pretty heavy.”

She sighed, “The one thing I wish I had for this room is a wooden rocking chair. I remember Daddy telling me he used to rock me to sleep in our old rocking chair. He said that was the only way he’d get me to sleep.”

“Well, we’ll have to look for one,” after tightening the mobile onto the crib, Gabriel folded the yellow blanket and laid it over the side railing of the crib, “So, are you planning on having a baby shower? I know Mom really wants to have one for you.”

“I don’t know… Whatever Mae wants to do. It really doesn’t matter to me,” she laughed, “Anyway; men aren’t allowed to attend baby showers.”

“Oh? Well, that would be a great time for Sean and I to come and crash it,” Gabriel drew the curtains closed and wound up the mobile so that ‘Rose of Alabama’ played softly in the background while the mobile rotated.

Silence crept into the room over the next few moments as Kate thought about different ideas and plans for the room. All that could be heard was the wind whistling outside and Gabriel setting up the changing table over in the corner, since the song had stopped. After a while, a completely different thought popped into her head.

“Honey, of all things that I could possibly know about you, I haven’t a single clue as to what your middle name is.”

When he turned around, a smirk was plastered on his face, “My full name is Gabriel Irial Dawson.”

“Ooh, sexy. Who named you?”

“Dad picked my first name, and Mom my middle.”

Kate leaned her head closer to his with an inquiring look on her face, “How do you pronounce your middle name, again?”

After softly placing his hand on her shoulder he said, “EER-ee-ul. I know, it sounds strange.”

“I still think it’s sexy. The perfect name for my stud,” she gave a little growl deep in her throat before looking around the room and sighing, “This room’s going to be so pretty once we get it finished. Oh, I can’t wait!”

Sometime later that evening, Kate and Gabriel were relaxing in the living room with Gabriel’s parents and Sean and Ava. Kate was curled up on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her while her husband sat on the floor. They had been munching on cookies when Kate brought up an interesting question.

“So, what’s the history behind the Schluter Mansion? I mean, why do people think it’s haunted?”

The others turned to look at her and cocked their heads, except for Gabriel, who puffed up before exhaling the air he had sucked in. After figuring out that he was going to be the one to tell the story, he mumbled what sounded like curse words in Gaelic while rolling his eyes. He made himself comfortable on the floor, and began.

“Looks like I’ve been chosen to tell it,” he sighed, “Well, I can guarantee you won’t want to go near that place after I tell you this.”

“Just tell it!” The others groaned in unison.

“Alright… Well, back in the day, around the Civil War era, the Schluter’s bought the house over by Lion’s Park. They had a little girl whose room was on the upper floor at the front of the house. One night, from what I’ve heard, she burned to death after accidentally falling in the fireplace. It was too late by the time her parents found her.”

“How awful,” Kate gasped.

“Anyway,” Gabriel continued, “After she died, her mother could still feel her presence in the house and could hear her, so she set a doll in the window of her room and after that all of the noises stopped… That was, until several years ago when they were doing renovations on the house. When the people working on the house went to move the doll, it fell apart from having sat in the window for so long. Now, the people living in the Schluter Mansion claim they can hear the little girl moving around and talking. Some people on the ghost tours have gotten pictures of a little girl’s spirit floating above the ground out by the road. Could it be her? We don’t know. And I really don’t want to find out, either.”

“That is a little scary, but has anyone ever run across bad spirits?” Kate leaned over as far as she could.

“I wouldn’t necessarily call them ‘bad’ spirits. They are just unrestful.”

“Oh.”

“A little ways past the jail there’s a tall tree known around here as the Hanging Tree. Once again, during the war era, criminals or wrong-doers were hung on that tree. A while back, some ghost hunters were walking around town with one of those meters that measures electric activity and when they came to that tree they said the meter went off the charts.”

A shiver ran right down Kate’s spine, and she pulled the blanket tighter, “Don’t you ever, ever show me where that tree is, or I will have to hurt you. I don’t want another run-in with ghosts.”

“Don’t worry, baby. You’re safe with me,” Gabriel moved up beside her, laying his hands on her belly, “I’ll wait until after the baby arrives, but then again, I probably won’t be able to get you away from it.”

“I think it’ll be the other way around, Gabriel,” she planted a kiss on his lips before pushing herself off of the couch, “I think I shall go soak in the bathtub for a while.”

“Okay.”

In their bathroom, Kate undressed after closing the door and tossed her clothes in the hamper. Afterwards, she ran hot water in the tub. While it filled up, she pulled the elastic out of her hair, thinking about what she would be doing the next day. I really need to visit Beth about making me a uniform. Although, I should probably wait to see how everything goes with the baby, first. After slipping down into the water up to her neck, Kate closed her eyes and cleared her mind of all of her thoughts, but a few seconds later the bathroom door flew open and she turned her head to see Gabriel walk in.

“Sorry to interrupt your meditating. I gotta pee like a pregnant woman,” he paused when he saw her glaring at him, “No offense.”

“Thanks for sharing…And I wasn’t meditating,” she said and closed her eyes, again. The next sound she heard was Gabriel unzipping his jeans and liquid hitting liquid, “I don’t want to open my eyes, do I?”

“Not unless you like watching me urinate.”

She sighed, “Just put the lid back down when you’re done. I really don’t want to fall in again.”

After flushing the toilet, Gabriel obeyed her and set the seat and lid back down before washing his hands. When he was done, he leaned over the tub to be closer to her, “I’m in the mood to do some cuddling since it’s cold outside. What do you say, baby? I can wait until you get out and dry off.”

“Or… you can join me,” Kate reached up and pressed her lips to his while unbuttoning his shirt and tossing it away. She smiled slyly as she unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, and then she pulled them down until he stopped her.

“Kate-.”

“Soaking will calm you and loosen up your muscles,” a small laugh escaped her lips, “I bet you’d be a lot warmer.”

A smile crept across his face, but he then leaned forward and kissed her passionately, feeling her pull him into the hot water. When his body hit it, he exclaimed, “Sweet mother of Jefferson Davis! Do you think you have this hot enough?!”

“Like I said, honey, hot water relaxes you,” she kissed him again, tasting a hint of cinnamon on his lips, and laid her hands on his broad, muscular chest. Beneath her fingers his Lover’s knot glittered like a star, and she could feel the rise and fall of his chest, “Tá grá agam duit, Gabriel.”

The Gaelic words made him turn his aqua eyes upon her and he responded immediately with, “I love you, too. You’re my love, Kate… I’m not gonna let anything happen to you or our baby.”

“I’m scared, Gabriel. I’m scared of how much pain I’m going to be in when it comes. I don’t know if I could bear it,” a tear trickled down her cheek before he reached up to wipe it away, “I don’t want to die like Susan,” the last part came out as a whisper.

Seeing the fear in her eyes, he wrapped his arms around her to comfort her, “Oh, baby. You’re not going to die. Susan was murdered… and Nick is dead, now,” he was saddened and felt like his heart was going to break a second time, “Don’t cry, Kate. I’m going to be right there with you the entire time. I’ll cry when you cry, and I’ll feel pain when you feel pain. You are so much more than just my wife, Kate. You’re my life.”

Kate moved closer to him and rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes, “Did you love Susan like you love me?”

“No. My love for you is so much stronger. We are alike in so many ways… and I never thought you’d be eager for rough sex from the way you appeared when we met.”

She laughed until she felt him give her a squeeze, “Looks can be deceiving, and I guess I have a thing for hot Irish men with sexy accents.”

Gabriel playfully splashed her with the sudsy water and chuckled, “What attracted you to me?”

“You’re amazing aqua eyes.”

Before he could answer, he yawned and pressed his cheek to hers, “Next month would be a perfect time for the baby shower.”

“Yeah. I’ll talk to Mae about it, but right now I feel like I’m gonna pass out.”

Not long after they had gotten out of the bathtub and dried off, Kate and Gabriel were snuggled under their covers, Kate sleeping on one side since she couldn’t move around a lot what with her pregnant belly in the way. She listened to her husband’s gentle breathing until all thoughts faded into the darkness as her eyes closed.