Harry on the Prairie

Chapter 20

                   

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

FIRST: I forgot to give a shout-out to @hesinstripes for makin' the Reverend Payne edit I used in the photo collage for Chapter 19. I am so sorry! She made another edit you'll be seeing in time as well...lol. If you haven't read her fanfic GREEN, I highly suggest you DO.

SECOND: Is anyone else heartbroken because Harry probably won't be dippin' his fingers into Frankie's peach pie anytime soon? Reverend Payne is a cock block!

******

He said, "Do you wanna go to heaven?"

And I said, "Yeah, just lead me on."
"Take my hand, can you feel that feelin?
And I said, "Yeah just lead me on."

                --T.G. Sheppard

******

HARRY:

I close my eyes for a second, hopin' the blackness will quiet my mind if not swallow me up entirely. When I open them, I haven't been struck down yet, so a small sigh of thankfulness escapes my lips. But he ain't done talkin' yet.

Reverend Payne takes a deep breath and continues his torture, "The Bible says, 'Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to speak of these things done in secret. Everything exposed by the light becomes visible. Be very careful how you live because the days are evil. Do not be foolish, but understand the Lord's will. Do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.'" There's a loud crack as he closes his bible. I feel Frankie flinch.

He continues in his own words on the topic, says the closin' prayer, the congregation sings "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" while I continue to fake it, and we're finally sprung.

******

HARRY:

Frankie looks a lil' green around the gills as we trot back to the wagon to grab our baked goods. My gut's feelin' a little queasy as well, and I'd just as soon hightail it back to the cabin.

"You okay, hon?" I pull her to me and plant a very chaste in-front-of-the-church kiss on the top of her head while her bonnet's still pushed back.

I glimpse the emotional whirlpool in her creekwater eyes before she's able to rein it in. Despite her stillwater "I'll be fine, Harry" response, I know there's a strong undertow lurkin' beneath the surface. I want nothin' more than to cuddle her, but it's not the right place.

"You sure you wanna stay? Cause we can—"

"How would it look if we left, Harry?" She whispers, caught between a rock and a hard place.

"You're right." I accept the pies Frankie hands me to carry. "I know you're right . . ." She may be right but it don't mean I have to like it none.

Niall scuffles up to the wagon and throws the cover back, revealin' a few large crates of moonshine jugs. Fuck me, I hope Frankie is too wrapped up in our sins to notice this shit. "That Reverend was pretty harsh, yeah?" Niall laughs, elbowin' me in the ribs. "If he only knew half of what goes on up the mountain, yeah Harry?" I shut him up mighty quick with my evil eye glare.

Frankie and I head to the contest tables to drop off her entries, leavin' Niall to deal with his mess o' moonshine on his own. We drop some jellies and preserves at the cannin' booth, and chat a bit with James & Julia Corden. James asks if I want to be a judge, and I can't decline quick enough. The last thing I need is a bunch of hens swarmin' around peckin' at me tryin' to get a blue ribbon. Julia compliments Frankie's bonnet, makin' her blush when she admits that she made it herself. I am so proud of Frankie. This lil' lady can cook, darn socks, catch a fish, and the list just goes on and on. Plus she's a damn good kisser, and she got my splinter out that time, and—

"Harry? Do you hear me talkin' to you?" Julia's voice jars me back to the here and now.

"M'am?" Embarrassed, I struggle to pull my eyes from Frankie and address Mrs. Corden proper like.

She and Frankie are gigglin' somethin' fierce and I've missed out on a joke. "See what I mean, Frankie?" Julia turns to me, "I was just tellin' Frankie here that you need to let her come to town and meet the ladies in the quiltin' bee. That's some fine work she's done on that bonnet, Harry. You can't be keepin' her all to yourself out yonder in that cabin. A woman has got to have a little freedom, dear."

"She's only been here a couple weeks, m'am," I offer. "I'm sure she'll start venturin' out soon." I smile and nod, secretly hopin' Frankie don't venture out too damn much.

After exchangin' a few more pleasantries, me and Frankie head off to the pie booth to enter her cherry pie and a cinnamon pecan pie in the pie-bakin' contest. Frankie has been bakin' these cute lil' sample pies in muffin tins that I been samplin' the last couple days. Just the thought of 'em makes me lick my lips, but when I caught the side-view of my stomach poochin' in a window reflection, I wasn't too happy 'bout it. "Look what you did. Fattenin' me up," I blamed it on Frankie when I first noticed it, but she just laughed and said it was cute which made me grumble even more.

As Frankie and I approach the pie booth, lo and behold, there is that Reverend Payne lingerin' about and eyeballin' the pies. I notice his eyes light up when he sees Frankie. I know he's a reverend and all that, but I still feel a strong urge to kick him where the sun don't shine.

"Ah, Frances Tomlinson!" He greets her in a way that's hard for me stomach, takin' the pie she's holdin' and bringin' it up to his nose for a sniff. "Why, Frances – I thought for sure you'd treat us to some of your peach pie today." The reverend turns to me as if he just noticed I was there at all, "She always won the contests in Hunter's Glen with her incredible peach pie. None of the other ladies in town have ever been able to get their pies tastin' as mouth-waterin' as Miss Tomlinson's does."

My fists clench as I prepare to defend my pie and my woman. It's much too early in the day for a fight, and Frankie's lookin' mighty uncomfortable, so I battle the devil on my shoulder and do the gentlemanly thing.

Extending my hand, "Nice to meet ya, Reverend. I'm Harry Styles."

Reverend Payne grips my hand a little too firmly and shakes it a tad longer than I'm interested in, a slight smirk on his lips. "I know who you are, Styles."

"Harry's been so kind, takin' me into his home and all. He's been a Godsend." Frankie grins up at me, her eyes squintin' in the sunlight. I pull her bonnet up over her head to shield her from the sun, and tighten the strings 'neath her chin a smidgen.

"Nah," I reply. "She's the Godsend. God bless Ms. Tomlinson for sendin' her to me." I give Frankie a quick wink before directin' my attention back to the reverend so I can enjoy watchin' him try to cover his jealousy with a fake smile.

Not done yet, he turns his shit-brown eyes back to Frankie. "Louis's back in Hunter's Glen. He's been lookin' for ya, Frankie."

"Louis? Why on earth would he be lookin' for me?" A bewildered Frankie looks back-n-forth between the reverend and myself. I shrug.

"Looks like you have somethin' he wants." The look on the reverend's face tells me that he knows exactly what it is Louis wants. "Nice to meet you, Styles," he shakes my hand again, tipping his hat to Frankie. "Save me a dance, Miss Tomlinson."

The hell she will.