Moonshine Hollow

Chapter Three

Floyd returned to The Garrett's an hour later, just as promised. She spotted his old pick up and stood, picking up her bag. She moved to the counter, and pulled some coins out of her pocket. She couldn't see Peter or Arthur so she turned to Forrest. "What do I owe?"

He turned to her and for the very first time she felt like she was the one thrown. Like his brother's, Forrest had bottle green eyes but his were rimmed with full dark lashes that would have made him pretty if not for his wide square jaw and the dark stubble covering his cheeks. He was larger than his brother's, not as tall Peter, but broader. She looked down at her hands before taking a small step back.

"Arthur said he took care of it," his voice was deep but gentle, as though he were trying hard not to scare her. She peaked at him from under her lashes but couldn't be sure.

"Cuz he owns the place?" she asked, she surprised herself by wanting to joke with him, to see if his smile also matched his brothers'.

Forrest snorted and turned back to the notebook spread in front of him.

She suddenly felt foolish and laid a few coins on the counter. "Just so," her voice came out hushed and breathy. "Please tell Miss Lilly Floyd was right about her cooking. And thank you." She felt her confidence failing her and slipped out the door quick as a mouse before she said or did anything else embarrassing.

Floyd drove them back down to the train platform at a slow but steady pace. "Was your lunch alright ma'am?" Despite the quiet concern she heard in his voice he kept his eyes firmly glued to the road as he eased the truck around the muddy corners. It made speaking with him easier.

She gave him a tight lipped smile. "It was wonderful. You were right, Miss Lilly is a wonderful cook." And for some reason feeling the need to defend the brother's who had been kind to her. "And the boys were very generous and kind." She added staring deliberately out the window.

She didn't need to look to feel his shock. They rode the rest of the way in silence.

There was no one at the platform when they returned. She hopped down from the truck, her heels slipping in the mud. Thunder rumbled overhead and the clouds were low and angry. She climbed back up on the platform and looked down the tracks but there was nothing to see. Floyd shuffled back to his booth.

The first drops began to fall and Miss Rose snapped open her umbrella, praying the train came before the rain.

Seeing their return, a whip of a boy raced across the main street from the post office, a piece of folded paper in his hand. He was out of breath as he slid through the mud to come to a stop in front of Floyd's booth. He handed the paper through the window and as the rain fell in earnest the boy raced back to the post office.

The rain came down in sheets, and the deep humidity of summer was suddenly even more oppressive. Miss Rose struggled to keep herself and her bag dry.

"Ma'am!" Floyd was calling to her through the rain. She shuffled across the platform, worried she would slip and fall on the slick wood. "We got word, the train ain't going to make it today. There's a storm or some such out west holding it up."

Miss Rose found she was nodding while her mind whirled. She needed to get out of this town. "Is there a bus? Or someone who can give me a ride? Maybe to another train station?" she had to raise her voice to be heard above the driving rain as it pounded on the tin roof of the small booth. "I can pay." She sounded desperate even to her own ears.

Floyd looked apologetic. "With these storms, there's no way anyone is getting out of this hollow. The roads won't be passable."

Miss Rose bit her lip and looked around. The rain was pounding the ground so hard it was bouncing back up and soaking her legs and the bottom of her dress. She hugged her bag tighter to her body, trying to keep it dry.