Moonshine Hollow

Chapter Twenty-Four

                  

Rose was startled awake by yelling voices. She leapt out of bed, feeling a sense of déjà vu from the night Eddie had shown up at their door, begging for help with Dan.

But that wasn't right. Dan was dead.

A suddenly flare outside her window had her running and throwing open the shade. Beyond the porch in the middle of the parking lot was a burning cross. In the light of the fire, she could make out four men wearing white hoods.

She ran out of her room, but no one was on the stairs. When she reached the bottom she froze. Standing in the doorway were four more Klansmen all pointing guns at the brothers. Both Arthur and Peter had their hands up but Forrest stood with his arms still at his side, his hands clenched into fists. She must have made a noise because one of the men swiveled his gun so it was pointing at her.

"Now what do we have here? I heard you boys had picked up a stray," the man's accent wasn't right for the area, which made Rose wonder where he had come from. "Now we got something to show y'all, a message for all meddlers. So y'all come on outside. If you behave we won't have to come in here and do something we might all regret to your stray."

Rose swallowed as her hands started to shake. But she fisted them in her night dress, and lifted her chin defiantly. She wouldn't cower in front of these cowards who hid their violence behind bed sheets.

Her name was Rose.

She was not afraid of these men.

None of them were safe.

"Rose," Forrest's voice was dead calm. She turned her head from the gun to him. "Why don't you just sit on that stool there behind the counter where you'll be safe."  

She turned back to the man who was in front of her pointing the gun at her chest. "That's fine. Sit on that stool back there and don't cause a fuss and this will all be over soon."

Rose moved slowly around the group of men. Everyone was watching her. Peter and Arthur looked mad but when she met Forrest's eye he still looked perfectly calm. He was trying to tell her something. She sat herself right where Forrest had instructed behind the counter. From her seat, the loaded shotgun was less than a foot from her hand.

"Alright, this way." And the group marched the boys out the door. Rose resisted the urge to leap to her feet. What if she never saw them again? What is they were taking them outside to shoot them? What if she was wrong and Forrest didn't want her to do anything? What if, what if...every what if scenario chased itself around her head in the minute it took the room to clear.

When it was only her and the remaining man, she hung her head in her hands and forced herself to cry. She scrubbed at her face, and made herself look as weak and frail as she possibly could. The man just shook his head, as though he were already exhausted by her hysterics.

"Eddie!" She heard Arthur yell from out front and because they were still on the porch she heard the scuffle. It was now or never. Steeling herself not to hesitate Rose went for the gun.

She jerked it up and fired before she had it tucked into her shoulder. The recoil slammed if back into her shoulder and had her swearing but the man dropped. She dug her fist beneath the counter and came up with a handful of shells. She shoved her way through the kitchen door and was out the back just as she heard another man come in the front shouting for his friend. She ran into the darkness and only stopped once she had enough cover of trees and bushes to hide her. She replaced her spent shell and started back toward the front of the store.

All hell had broke loose and the boys were fighting for everything they were worth. Three hooded men were on the ground, which meant there were four left. One for each brother, and she assumed the one that had gone looking for her. For her new vantage point she could see what Arthur had yelled about. They had lynched Eddie in tree below her window.

Rage burned through her and as the man fighting Forrest hit him with the stock of his gun she charged back into the open and fired at his chest. The shot hit him across the shoulder and he fell back. Forrest saw her and scooping up the man's gun ran to her.

"Where's..." he started to ask, but lifted the borrowed gun and fired over her shoulder. She spun in time to see the man stumble but he didn't go down. The remaining men started running. They scooped up their comrades and dragged them to their trucks and cars and retreated. Rose looked to the boys but they let them leave.

Forrest reached for her and putting an arm around her shoulders pulled her to his chest and kissed the top of her head.

Peter and Arthur came out of the dark, in the flickering fire light she could see they each had cuts and bruises but seemed to be fine.

"Nice shoot'in Annie Oakley," Arthur said with smirk.

Peter shook his head. "You probably saved our lives."

Forrest hugged her to him tighter and leaned down so his lips brushed her ear. "Don't you ever do anything that stupid or reckless again," he whispered.

"Is Eddie...?" she started to ask, but stopped.

Peter nodded, and because he couldn't be sure she saw him in the dim light he responded. "They killed him before they lit the cross." He said in a hushed tone.

Rose shivered as a light breeze brushed through the trees and she realized she was only wearing her thin satin night dress.

"I'm going to cut him down," Arthur said and disappeared into the dark.

She stood in the circle of Forrest's arms, a shot gun in one hand and watched the cross burn.