Emmie had put down more food than he had. Ava on the other hand was more of the pushing food around variety, which explained why she looked like a walking stick and Emmie… Emmie had curves. Good curves. He had a mental flash back of the first day he met her when she was dripping wet from the pool. He smiled at the memory.
“I’m sorry.” She put her fork down and looked up. “I haven’t eaten today, I guess I was starving.”
“Why have you not eaten?” he asked concerned.
“We’ve been so busy at the store lately and with Will only showing up here and there now, I haven’t had much time to eat. I guess I just forgot. But my gosh, this is good.”
“Eat up. If you’re gonna drink that later,” he pointed to the Georgia’s peach, “you’re going to want something in your belly.”
She glanced over at Ava’s still nearly full plate and felt too self-conscious to continue eating like a pig. “Don’t look at me Emmie. I had a big lunch. You eat up.”
Emmie laughed at her friend. “You’re lying. I haven’t ever in my life seen you eat a big anything.”
“Well we can’t all be so fortunate to eat what we want and stay a beauty like you. Your food goes to the right places…” She touched her friend’s arm and smiled.
Ava remembered when Emmie’s mom had first died. They were only fifteen. Ronnie had once let her go days with almost no food in the house and no money to get it before Emmie asked if she could come over for dinner. She never wanted Emmie to feel bad about eating anything. Ava had always felt herself lucky to have the luxury to be a picky eater. Most people around here didn’t get that chance.
Emmie’s face flushed at her friend’s complement. “You know that’s not true but thanks for not making me feel like a hog,” she laughed. “So, what’s in this thing?” Emmie swirled the drink around in the glass and gave it a good sniff.
It smelled like peaches and something else that burned her nose a little. That was the ’shine, no doubt.
“Fruits and vegetables mostly. It’s good for you,” Trick answered, finally joining them. And he wasn’t exactly lying. Most of the moonshine around here was made from corn. “Give it a taste.”
Emmie tipped her drink up a tiny bit, expecting the white lightning experience she’d had with Ava not long ago. However, she was pleasantly surprised. The peaches made it taste sweet, tart, and cool. It only had the faintest burn as she swallowed it down.
“Wow, that wasn’t half bad,” she said.
“Yeah, well just take it easy. That kind of ’shine can sneak up on ya,” Silas warned, stretching his arm around her shoulder.
She was handling this well… better than she seemed to at first. Silas pulled out a cigarette put it in his mouth and then fumbled with his lighter, never moving the other hand from her shoulder.
“Let me do that before you burn your face off,” she said, taking his lighter from him.
She sparked the lighter and held it up to his hand-rolled cigarette. He breathed in deeply to give it a good flame then blew the smoke away from her.
Never in all his years had anyone lit a cigarette for him. Hell, last month he probably would have sent someone packing that took something out of his hand like she did. But she was different… and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
By the time Emmie finished the small glass of Georgia’s peach, she could feel the warmth in her face. She was having a hard time taking the smile off her lips. Every joke Trick told was funny even if she didn’t completely understand it. She had somehow leaned into Silas’s chest like she had never been so relaxed in her life. She wasn’t drunk… she didn’t think. But she wasn’t quite herself either.
“So, Emmie do you like that ’shine better than what we had at your house a couple weeks ago?” Ava laughed.
Ugh. Ava had the biggest mouth sometimes.
Chapter Seventeen
“Mr. Del Grande, Mr. McDowell someone is on the phone for either of you,” the waiter said as he came to the table.
Thank God for small favors. Perfect distraction from Ava’s big mouth. The guys walked over to the far end of the bar where the bartender held out a black phone.
“Ava, I’m gonna kill you,” Emmie whispered, sitting closer to her friend.
“What?” Ava looked confused.
“I did not want to bring up the moonshine,” she spit.
“I didn’t know that was a secret. Emmie, you had one sip then… you drank a whole glass sitting here tonight. What’s the difference?”
Well Ava had a point. “I just don’t want him to know I have all that ’shine at my house, you know. He might think I’m some kind of saucy lady.”
“Saucy lady… Em, there is no chance you have to worry about him thinking that. He’s got you on a pedestal. We’ll just tell him the truth… that it was Ronnie’s.”
Emmie nodded. The truth was more complicated than Ava really understood. “Yeah, well. I just want to be careful. I don’t think I’m ready to fall off that pedestal yet.”
“Are you girls about ready to go? I think there ready to close up for the night,” Gabe said.
“Yeah, sure. It’s really getting late,” Emmie agreed, scooting out from the bench.
Silas led the way out of the restaurant. Getting out proved much easier than getting in. All of the security checkpoints were now just a quick walk through. They piled back into the car and headed towards Ava’s house.
The warmth of the Georgia’s peach ’shine had worn off and just left Emmie feeling sleepy in its wake. She leaned her head over on Trick’s shoulder and rested her eyes.
“Emmie girl, wake up,” Silas repeated softly until her eyes opened. It was odd how at times his phrases could sound so Irish.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know I fell asleep,” she said sitting up. Looking around she was surprised to see the others were already making their way to the house.
“It’s probably Trick you should apologize to. It’s his ear you’ve been snoring in for the last forty minutes,” Silas teased.
“I did not snore. Did I?” she asked.
Laughter was his only reply.
“Let’s get you in,” he said, opening his door.
“Actually, I think I’m just going to walk on home tonight,” she answered. Her bed was calling her name and she had promised to meet Walt tomorrow morning.
“Em, it’s after midnight. You are not walking back to your house. Just stay here,” he pushed.
She smiled at his protectiveness. She hadn’t had anyone worry after her since her mama had passed. “I’ll be fine. There’s nothing between here and there to worry about. Everyone in this town is in bed but us.”
“Come on, don’t fight me on this.” All trace of humor was gone from his eyes.
“Well, maybe you could just drive me home? That’s a compromise, right?” she suggested.
He sighed, “Alright, compromise.” He wasn’t a fan of compromise. It meant he wasn’t getting all he wanted. There was a lot more going on in this town at night than she knew and he didn’t want her accidentally caught in the middle of something on her walk home.
She could tell he was upset. They drove most of the trip in silence. He stopped when they got to the intersection that would lead them into town. “I just realized this is where I picked you up earlier… I don’t know where you live.”
She showed him where to make a couple turns.
“Right here, down this drive,” she said.
Silas stopped the car just short of the drive. “You live here?” he breathed in deeply through his nose, knuckles tense on the steering wheel.
“Yep. Is something wrong?” She looked out the window to see if there was something she was missing.
“Ava said you lost your stepfather recently. So, you’ll be here alone?” he asked.
“Yes, Ronnie died a few months ago… but I’ll be fine. I’ve got good neighbors. They live just down that path not half a mile away.” Emmie wondered why in the world was he behaving so strangely.
H
e nodded. His hands never relaxed on the steering wheel the whole time he pulled up to her house.
“What’s wrong Silas?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing, nothing. Just tired.” He stopped the car, walked around, helped her out, and led her to the front door.
“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” he said, while she fumbled with the key to unlock the door.
Then he leaned in and brushed a kiss on her forehead then walked back to the car. She stood waving at the door. “Lock up,” he shouted as he started to pull away.
He didn’t like this. Not one bit. Why did no one think it was important to let him that she was Ronnie Talbot’s stepdaughter? Vince had to know but he was probably halfway back to Chicago by now. He didn’t like being kept in the dark especially when they were mixing his personal life with his work. And why the hell was everyone okay with Emmie staying in that house alone? He punched his steering wheel in frustration but that accomplished nothing. When he got home he was pulling Gabe’s ass out of bed. He had some shit to explain.
Chapter Eighteen
Silas’s boots thumped loudly on the wooden floors of the DeCarmilla house. He balled up his fist and beat on Ava’s door.
“Gabe.” There was no reply.
“Gabe get your ass out here,” he repeated. Just as he reached down to turn the knob the door popped open revealing a very confused, very tired, and very angry Ava.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked, pulling her robe up around her shoulders.
“I need to talk to Gabe. Now,” he said, pushing past her to walk into the room.
“Gabe’s not here. He said he had something to take care of and he’d probably just sleep at his house. I assumed he was with you… it was something to do with the call you got at the speak.” Ava’s eyes widened and he could almost hear her thoughts.
“What’s he out doing if he’s not with you?” she asked.
“You’re right. I was supposed to meet him,” he cursed. He knew getting all mixed up with some girl down here was going to cloud his head and damned if it hadn’t already happened.
She looked relieved instantly when he admitted he should have been with Gabe. Looked like they were still working out some trust issues. Silas wasn’t touching that. Not his problem.
“Silas,” she said, touching his shoulder, “what’s wrong?”
He turned and paced, rubbing his jaw. He shook his head. He couldn’t tell her.
“Nothing. It’s fine. Look, I gotta go meet Gabe,” he said and turned to walk away from her.
“Is this about Emmie?” He paused with his back to her and nodded. “What ever it is… she’s crazy for you, ya know,” Ava added, “and she’s like my sister. So, take care of her, okay?”
He turned his face and looked right at Ava, nodded, then walked back down the stairs and out the door. He would take care of her. Despite all this shit… he would take care of her.
***********
He parked his car at the office and made his way down the deserted street to the blind pig that was above Dillard Brother’s Shoe Store. The crowd was a little larger tonight than usual. Some of the regulars of the Smith’s Grove speakeasy had to come here because he had closed access to the nicer joint for the night, so he could take Emmie out without her running into folks she may know. Next time he’d probably leave it open to a select few but he had needed to test the waters with her tonight. He wasn’t sure how she’d react to the speak. She did fine once she got past her questions. Silas couldn’t believe that she drank that peach ’shine. He smiled at the memory. Which reminded him Ava had said something about it not being her first time. Now it kind of made sense. If she was Ronnie’s daughter then she’d probably been around it all her life. Up until a few months ago he had made quite the name for himself in this town. Something that brought him recognition, power, respect, and death.
“Silas, over here,” Gabe called from behind the bar.
Silas weaved in and out of people as he walked over to Gabe and the manager of sorts, James.
“What’s the problem?” Silas asked.
Gabe pointed to a man sitting near the end of the bar. He was a short, gruff-looking man. He had about a week’s growth of brown beard covering his face and neck.
Silas looked back at his friend with his eyebrow arched in question. How was this guy worth the drive out here in the middle of the night?
“He says that he knows we recently lost our ’shine flow and thinks he can help us out,” James answered.
So, that’s why he was worth the drive.
The man was staring a hole through the guys. Something was wrong with this guy.
“We will take him to the office,” Silas said to James then added, “give us about five minutes first.”
James nodded in understanding.
Silas shut the door to their meeting room. It was a small room that held a couple of chairs and a small metal table. The walls were painted stark white leaving a feeling of emptiness.
“We will deal with that guy in a minute,” Silas started. He paused for a minute trying to keep his composure. Turning his back he started talking, “Gabe, tell me why we are here.”
Gabe looked confused, “Because James called and asked us to come in about something important.”
“No, no. Think further back. Why are we here?” He emphasized the last word raising his arms at his surroundings as he turned back to face Gabe.
Gabe stood there staring in surprise. Finally he shook his head. Silas was pissed but he had no idea what was going on. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Silas.”
“Why the are were here, Gabe? Why are we here in this tiny little podunk moonshining town?” he voiced, eerily calm.
Gabe looked at the ground like he was expecting the answer to be written on the floor under him.
“To figure out what was going on with the ’shine flow to the speaks in this area?” Gabe made the phrase a question.
“That’s right. We had a huge increase from a supplier at a cheaper price. Things were good, right?” Silas smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“Yeah, until we checked the books,” he answered.
“That’s right, the books… Gabe, what was going on with the books?” Silas asked, still smiling that same odd grin.
Gabe felt like a child at school being quizzed by the teacher. He knew Silas could be set off but he’d never had his anger directed toward him. Where was all of this headed? They’d had such a good night out with Trick and the girls.
“Well, they were short money. Money that was supposed to go to Ava’s pop and your dad for taking care of the speaks and blind pigs down here,” Gabe answered.
Silas smiled and motioned his hand for him to continue talking.
“Okay,” Gabe breathed deeply unsure if he was scared or angry. “The books were short because James had fronted the ’shiner a lot of cash for moonshine that was never delivered.”
“Right again, my boy. Keep going,” Silas said.
“Your dad told us we couldn’t come home till the money was back,” Gabe said. “But we never found it because…” Awareness shown in Gabe’s eyes as he trailed off. Ugh. He told Vince Silas was going to be pissed about this.
“And there it is…” Silas smacked his hands together dramatically in the air. “Finish.”
“We never found it because the ’shiner was killed the night we got to town,” Gabe’s voice came out barely a whisper. “Look, Silas, I told Vince we needed to tell you but…”
“And what was the bootlegger’s name?” Silas asked refusing to listen to Gabe’s excuse.
Gabe shook his head and looked down again. When he started to apologize Silas cut him off again.
“What was the fucking bootlegger’s name?” Silas shouted, flipping over the chair he was standing next to.
“Ronnie Talbot,” Gabe answered.
“So, answer me this, Gabe. Why in the hell didn’t anyone tell me Emmie’s family was involved in all
this shit?” Silas shouted.
“Silas, we don’t think she’s involved. You’ve met her. She’s one of the most naive people I’ve ever met. Ronnie was no good but that’s got nothing to do with her,” Gabe started.
“He was her father! I don’t care if she knew about it or not—she is too close to it for me to be with her.” He turned back to the wall again.
His friend walked up behind him. “You know how Ava’s family treats her. They really don’t believe she had anything to do with any of it. That’s why Vince didn’t want you to know. They want her left out of it. Besides the trail ended with Ronnie. Whoever killed him that night probably took the money. Vince searched Ronnie’s ground for days afterward and found nothing. But that man waiting out there… he might know something—that’s what we need to focus on, not this.” Gabe tried to refocus the conversation.
“Did they really think I wouldn’t find out who she was? Stupid…” Silas started but Gabe cut him off.
“Look, don’t get involved with her then, if you don’t think it’s right, then don’t do it,” Gabe shouted.
Silas rubbed his brow and paced the length of the table. “I’m already involved.” Then he turned and walked out the door slamming it behind him.
Chapter Nineteen
Spotty lay in a pallet in the corner chewing on an apple core. Emmie simmered the last of the apples in a mess of sugar and cinnamon. Her house would smell like heaven for at least a couple of days, maybe a week with as much applesauce as she had canned this morning.
Max was getting a couple jars as a thank you for all the apples he had picked. Since Ava had ruined Emmie’s last batch, she made him some more. Well, maybe she couldn’t quite say ruined, especially after she had the Georgia peach ’shine last night it had given her a new idea. She had a plan that was going to help her and Walter sell all that moonshine quickly.
Walt showed up at nine o’clock on the nose in his old truck.
“Whoo-ee, Emmie your house smells good.” He walked in and put his hat on the kitchen table. “Max would die if he was here right now. Not much he likes better than your applesauce.”
Shine On Page 8
