As the beautiful, young Hattie Morran stood awaiting her mockery of a wedding, the sound of heavenly music drifted up from the ground below like feathers on a breezy day. The orchestra Rebecca had hired for the ceremony was among the best in the country, and Hattie found herself lost in the rhythmic melodies. The sounds soothed her soul, and she was grateful they took her mind off, if even momentarily, the fateful night that she and Rebecca had confronted, face to face, the evil that was Jess and Abner.
The plan that Rebecca had formulated was risky, but knowing her kin as she did, she knew she had to come at them with guns blazing. First, she had James Kinnion, Judge Stepp, and Sheriff Sanders arrive about an hour before the proposed arrival time of Jess and Abner who were out pricing new plots of land in nearby Grundy County. The second part of the plan was to have the three men wait behind some elegant ornamental screens in Rebecca’s study until she called them out. Lastly, Rebecca would unveil the secret she had been hiding from Jess and Abner that would force them to sign the papers James had drawn up, disinheriting the two of them from her estate. With such respectable and influential men like Judge Stepp and Sheriff Sanders assisting James as backups and witnesses, Rebecca was confident that her plan would work.
***
“Okay, this is it.” Rebecca said, turning from the window to face those present. “I see them coming down the main road.” Calmly, she looked around the kitchen table. “Now, everyone remember what we’ve discussed. James, you, the Sheriff, and Judge Stepp, stay behind the screens in my study and don’t come out until I call you. Hattie, you sit behind the desk and remember to back me up like we discussed.” Looking very determined, she questioned, “Do all of you understand?”
Judge Stepp, the Daviess county judge and one of Gallatin’s most upstanding citizens, was still unsure of what Rebecca planned to do to get Jess and Abner to agree to her terms. Looking her straight in the eyes, he said, “I sure hope you know what you’re doing, Rebecca. The Sheriff and I know firsthand what kind of tempers those two have, and I, for one, don’t want to see things get out of control.”
Taking a deep breath, her voice was strong as she tried to calm his fears. “Just follow my directions, do what I say, and I promise everything will go smoothly. Now, go and wait in my study. I will be there directly with Jess and Abner.”
Still somewhat unsure, Hattie and the three gentlemen rose to their feet and walked out of the kitchen. The path to Rebecca’s study, which was on the opposite side of the mansion, took them straight through the massive interior of the house. As Hattie walked, she marveled at the immensity and beauty of the surroundings that made up her new home. Even though she had visited the mansion often when she was younger, she never ceased to be amazed by it. Every inch of the Silver Creek mansion, even the hallways, displayed the finest architecture of the time and was decorated in the most exquisite décor available. From sparkling crystal chandeliers, to paintings of the romantic era, to grand contemporary sculptures, to gorgeous hanging tapestries, this was, by far, one of the most elegant homes, inside and out, west of the Mississippi. Hattie felt a bit like Alice in Wonderland, completely in awe of her surroundings.
It had only been one week since Rebecca had decided to make Hattie the sole heir to her fortune, and she had already moved into the mansion as Rebecca had suggested, with the rest of the family to follow as soon as Jess and Abner were out of the picture. Yet, as she reached the doors to the study, she still had a hard time believing that in two short months, everything that her eyes were feasting on would be hers.
Back in the kitchen, Jess and Abner entered the house with an air of confidence surrounding them, priding themselves on buying a quarter section of land just outside of Trenton. Seeing Rebecca standing with her arms folded, Jess spoke first. “Well, Rebecca, you’ll be happy to know that your boys bought some of the best farmland in Grundy County, for a steal I might add.”
With her voice holding an indignant tone, Rebecca retorted, “Given your reputations, I wouldn’t be surprised if you did steal it.”
Jess’s smile quickly faded as he walked toward her angrily. “And what is that supposed to mean?”
Narrowing her eyes, she tapped her foot disgustedly. “You heard me. Don’t play like you don’t know what I’m talking about. You have been involved in enough shady, underhanded deals since we’ve been married to last five lifetimes. And don’t you think for one second that you won’t have to face up to what you’ve done. Believe me, you will be judged.”
Abner, loyal to his father, rushed to defend him. “Oh, what do you know, Mother? You can’t prove anything.”
Rebecca smiled, as she knew she had them right where she wanted them. “Really? Well, if you two would be kind enough to accompany me to my study, I think you’ll be quite interested in what I have prepared to show you today.”
As she turned to exit the kitchen, Jess and Abner looked at each other confused. Abner leaned toward his father and whispered, “What’s she talking about, Pa?”
“I have no clue, but she better watch herself because I don’t intend to be made to look like a fool.” Catching up to Rebecca in the grand foyer, Jess turned his wife to face him. Glaring at her, he threatened, “You better watch yourself, Woman, because I sure would hate to see anything bad happen to you.”
Staring back at him with ice cold eyes, she didn’t back down. “Save your threats, Jess. I am in no mood. Now, keep walking. I want to get this over with as soon as possible.”
In that moment, Jess thought about leaving but decided to go along with Rebecca’s charade out of sheer curiosity. He wanted to see what she had up her sleeve. Had he truly known of the events about to transpire, though, he never would have entered that study, for the pampered life he had become accustomed to was about to come to an abrupt end.
Entering Rebecca’s well-adorned study behind his father, Abner was surprised to see Hattie sitting behind his mother’s hand-crafted mahogany desk. Turning to his mother, he asked anxiously, “What the hell is she doing here?”
“I’ve asked Hattie to come live with me until the wedding. I thought it would be best if we got to know each other better, and as my mother always used to say, ‘you don’t really know someone until you’ve lived with them.’” Then, with a simple hand gesture, Rebecca pointed for Jess and Abner to have a seat in front of her desk.
As they sat down in a couple of high-backed chairs opposite the desk, Rebecca closed the double doors then slowly made her way to Hattie, all the while contemplating the words she intended to use. She knew that the way she handled the next several minutes would be crucial and that Jess and Abner were not going to like what she was about to say. Folding her hands in front of her, she made sure she had their full attention before beginning. Then, with a calmness that could only come from God suddenly enveloping her, she began. “Jess, contrary to what you believe, I have been aware for many years that you are a scoundrel. My father, God bless his soul, knew it too. That is why, before his death, he instructed me to have private investigators watch over your activities so that, if the time came, I would have enough evidence to free myself of you. I believe I’ve done my father proud, as I’ve got enough dirt on you to put you away for life, and believe me, if you don’t follow my orders to the ‘t’, I’ll do it.”
Enraged at the accusations being placed on him and alarmed at the thought of being followed, Jess rose up out of his chair. “You’re lying!” he yelled as he pointed at Rebecca. “I’ve never noticed anyone following me!”
“Really? Well, if I’m lying, how would I know that your regularly scheduled trips down to Kansas City weren’t for the farm like you told me, but were, in fact, for you to meet with shady financial investors? Once there, you would then dump nearly all the money I had given you to buy farm equipment, seed, and the like into funding all sorts of illegal business transactions. You stole money from honest, hard-working men and pocketed huge profits, which you then used to fund your escapades here at home and abroad. Knowing I’d have to approve any money being withdrawn from the family account, you were desperate for money of your own. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, you would stop on your way out of the city at a brothel, where you, from what I heard, were quite the ladies man.”
A look of shock crossed Jess’s face as he sat down weakly. “I’ve never told anyone about my business in K.C., not even Abner.” Shaking his head in anger, he asked bluntly, “How in the hell did you find out those things?”
Putting her hands on her hips, she repeated, “I told you I’ve been having you followed for quite some time. Most of what the investigators brought to me I didn’t look at, as through the years your acts have become increasingly more despicable, and I didn’t want to accept the truth about your actions. I simply filed everything the investigators gave me away until the time that I should need it. And, Jess, that time is now.” Softening her tone, she wiped a single tear from her eye. “The real tragedy is that you’ve dragged our son down the same horrible road.” Solemnly, she turned to Abner. “I’m afraid, my son, there is enough evidence to put you away for a quite a long time as well.”
Shaking her head, she paced back and forth in front of them with disappointment. “I always held onto hope that the two of you would change your evil ways so that I wouldn’t have to use any of it, but your scam with Newton involving Hattie was the last straw. She is like a daughter to me and for the two of you to think you can just throw her life around to suit your needs is despicable.” Then, with her jaw set, she stood as tall as her dainty five foot four inch frame would allow and prepared to level the final blow. “That is why I’ve decided to transfer my entire estate to Hattie upon her marriage to Abner, and furthermore, once you leave here today, you can both find new places to live. I will not continue to live under the same roof as either of you for even one more minute.”
Rebecca’s words hit like a ton of bricks, falling onto them one by one, each hurting more than the last until these once proud men were left feeling like scorned children. Jess and Abner looked at each other in amazement. Abner thought to himself, “How can she just cut us out of the estate?” As he thought about it more and more, his blood began to boil. He fixed his eyes on his mother and glared at her. Rising to his feet, he yelled, “You can’t do that!”
Standing firm, she would not back down to her wayward son. Hattie, seeing Abner rise up, took out a revolver that Rebecca had hidden in her desk and pointed it straight at her groom-to-be. Seeing the look on his face, Rebecca let out a small laugh. “Can’t? Let me tell you two something. The days of either of you telling me what I can or cannot do are over. I have already had James prepare the disinheritance papers, and he has brought them here tonight.” With a whistle, she called for the three gentlemen to come out from behind the screens.
Jess, who had had been silently stewing over Rebecca’s demands, jumped to his feet in shock when he saw Sheriff Sanders and Judge Stepp walk across the room with James. “What in the hell is this, some kind of setup? What are you all doing here?” His voice was shaking as he watched his world crashing down around him.
Judge Stepp spoke first as he approached Jess with his gun drawn. His voice held an irritated tone, and he shook his head as he looked at a man he had once held respect for but now found himself loathing. “Rebecca brought us here to be witnesses, Jess. Given your reaction to what Rebecca had to say coupled with the contents in some folders Rebecca had waiting for us behind the screens, I think we’ve heard and seen all we need. Those private investigators really left no stone unturned, as the evidence is very clear and detailed, and Rebecca is right, it would put you away for a long, long time.”
Rebecca watched with pride as her plan began to fit together like a puzzle. Calmly, she continued. “The good Judge and Sheriff Sanders are here because I didn’t want there to be any question of the disinheritance papers’ legality down the road. With their signatures and Hattie’s marriage to Abner, you will have no leverage in a court of law in regards to my fortune, making the transition of my holdings to Hattie ironclad.”
Seeing the walls of his wicked ways closing in around him, Abner pleaded with his mother. “But what about us, Mother? What will we do for money?”
“Trust me; money will be the least of your worries. Even though I probably shouldn’t have, I set up allowances for you and your father that are more than adequate. You will be handsomely taken care of, and you will still get more money every year than the average man could make in two. What you should be worried about is your attitude.” Then, sensing this might be her last chance to make an impression on her lost son, she looked at him pleadingly. “You must change your ways, or as sure as the sun rises, you will never be happy.”
As all of what was happening finally began to sink in, Abner desperately reached for his revolver but stopped when he felt the hard barrel of a rifle being pressed into the small of his back. “I’d think twice about that, Son,” gritted Sheriff Sanders. “You’re skatin’ on thin ice as it is. Don’t make thin’s worse for yourself by bein’ stupid.”
James, who had made his way to Hattie’s side, took charge of the situation as he laid out several legal documents onto the desk. His stature was not the biggest at five foot nine inches tall, but he used every bit of it, as he stood proudly. His wavy brown hair was neatly combed, and his well-cut business suit revealed his strong physique. His voice was that of a deep baritone, and it boomed throughout Rebecca’s study, commanding respect. “First of all, the two of you need to sit down and get a hold of your tempers.” His piercing, brown eyes were fixed on Jess and Abner as they slowly took their respective seats while Sheriff Sanders and Judge Stepp continued to watch them closely, guns pointed at their heads. “Regardless of what you may think, this is not enjoyable enterprise for any of us. The Sheriff, Judge, and I are here at Rebecca’s request for one purpose, and that is to make sure you sign these documents. The first document states that you willingly give up any and all claim to everything in Rebecca’s estate. This includes money, land, stocks, bonds, and lastly the estate of Silver Creek itself, including the house and everything in it, besides your personal belongings. The second document states that you agree to and accept the transference of Rebecca’s fortune to Miss Hattie as final and relinquish any rights to Rebecca’s fortune once it becomes hers. Lastly, the third and final document states that you accept Rebecca’s generous monetary allowances. For all intents and purposes, these papers signify finality, and from what I’ve seen in those files Rebecca left for us, you really don’t have much of a choice. This is your only option. Take it.”
Jess sat quietly, his mind engrossed in thought. It was obvious he had little choice but to sign the papers, but he refused to give Rebecca the satisfaction of knowing he was angry. Taking a deep breath, he decided the best course of action was to live to fight another day. Calmly, he spoke with a surprisingly respectful voice and said, “Give me the papers.” As Hattie walked the papers and a writing quill over to him, he looked at her with hateful eyes and thought to himself, “I can’t believe it has come to this, hung out to dry by my own wife and some prissy little bitch.”
With the documents now in hand, he looked them over carefully. It was clear by the plainness of the writing there would be no getting around this in any court. They had been beat. Or at the very least, would have to wait to fight, because, with the barrels of two rifles staunchly pointed at him, this was not the time or place to start something. Being a man of common sense, he knew he would have to wait for a more appropriate time. With the reality of the situation having set in, he grabbed the quill and signed the documents. Abner sat in shock as he watched his father sign the legal documents. Then, as if reading his son’s mind, Jess commanded, “Sign the damn papers, Abner!”
Disgusted, Abner grabbed the papers violently. He was a very intelligent man and didn’t like giving in to anyone on anything, but when push came to shove, he was loyal to his father. He signed each document without even looking them over, and once done, he angrily rose to his feet. Looking straight into his mother’s eyes like a man possessed, he yelled, “I’ll tell you this right now, Mother, you may think you have won here tonight, but this is only the beginning. I’ll not stop until I’ve gotten what’s rightfully mine, and so help me, if I don’t get it…” His voice trailed off. Turning to Hattie, his mouth drew apart at the sides opening up into a devilish smile. “Well, let’s just say that Miss Hattie won’t have a day of peace the rest of her life.” With that, Abner threw the papers down on the desk and turned to his father who had also risen up out of his chair. Together, they gave a final hateful look at everyone present and without another word were swiftly out the door and out of the house.
Rebecca stood behind her desk like the proud victor of a prizefight. Her plan had gone perfectly, and now she had the necessary leverage to phase out Jess and Abner completely. Raising a clenched fist, she exclaimed, “We did it! We beat them at their own crooked game, and now the transference can commence as planned.” Gesturing emphatically, Rebecca called for everyone in the room to come in around her. Her voice changed to a very solemn tone as she looked at her friends. “I want to thank all of you for everything you did here tonight. James for preparing the papers, Judge Stepp and Sheriff Sanders for making sure things didn’t get out of control, and most of all, I want to thank you Hattie for having the strength of character to stand with me against my spiteful husband and son. I know it is tough to sit idly by while someone threatens you, but you can count on me to take every possible step to ensure that you are protected. And I’m sure you can count on the men’s help as well. Make no mistake, Hattie, it is never an easy thing to stand up to those who oppress you, but sometimes ‘cutting ties’ is necessary. I firmly believe, that with a little courage, some help from friends, and faith in the fact that Heavenly Father will always be there to help, you can do anything. That is the premise I’ve lived my life by, and it has served me well. The advice I give to you now, Hattie, is to live your life in the same manner, for there is no stronger ally than God. The trick is giving up control of your life long enough for Him to work His magic.” Giving Hattie a big smile, she kissed her lightly on the cheek as the men watched in amazement. They had almost been brought to tears by Rebecca’s heartfelt words, words that Hattie would never forget.