Shine On

by Jewell, Allison J.

  Emmie flung open the door to the shop so hard the little chime flew off its rest. She ran across the street, past the fountain in the center of the square, and into the entrance of the law firm. The receptionist of the firm looked up startled. “My God, Miss Emmie, what on earth is going on?”

  “Is Silas here? Trick, Gabe, anyone?” She asked, panting. She didn’t know if Mr. Thomas would have the guts to follow her but she didn’t want to wait around and find out either.

  Chapter Forty-eight

  “Yes, let me just call and let them know you are here,” she said, picking up the phone.

  Emmie had been in this building with Ava enough to know her way around. She bet Silas was using Al’s office while he was away. She ran up the three flights of stairs. When she reached the last landing Silas was standing there waiting for her. At first he looked angry but as she drew nearer it turned to fear.

  “What’s happened?” he asked, grabbing her by her arm and leading her into an office. He sat her in a chair and propped himself up on the end of the desk.

  “Emmie, you’re bleeding.” He reached out and touched her lip.

  “Mr. Thomas.” It was all she could get out. She was panting from the attack and her run. She thrust the envelope at him. “Forgot to tell you.” She tried to catch her breath. “He’s how I knew about the pig. He and his brother had a fight over watching it and something about money.” She paused again. “Revenuers.”

  Without talking Silas pulled out the contents of the envelope and flipped through the pictures, nodding as he looked at each one. His face had set into a deep frown.

  Beginning to compose herself, Emmie reached up and pulled the diary calendar from the envelope and turned to yesterday. His eyes were wide as he read the name of each person who entered and exited the joint. His finger stopped at her name and he looked up at her.

  “And he did this,” he pointed to her lip, “to you?” He kept his voice calm and gentle.

  Emmie nodded.

  “Because you were trying to leave with his evidence?” he asked.

  “Yeah, and I wouldn’t take his blackmail…” she said the last part quickly.

  His eyes widened. He nodded to himself as if he was thinking through everything he had just learned.

  “Well, you don’t need to worry about this.” He held up the envelope and calendar. “This is an easy fix.” He smiled.

  “What are you going to do?” she asked.

  “I promised not to lie to you. So, please don’t ask me questions you really don’t want answered.” His voice had a bite to it. “Just trust me, he is not the first asshole I have dealt with.”

  “Just don’t overreact because you’re angry and get yourself in trouble okay?” she said, wiping her hands on her skirt.

  “Overreact? This,” he held up the envelope, “this makes me angry. It pisses me off.” He nodded his head. “But this,” he brought up his hand, touched her cheek, and ran it down to her mouth, looking sad, “this crosses the line. For this he will pay.”

  Silas knew he was playing with fire by pissing off the shopkeeper that had a thing for Emmie but he didn’t think he was dangerous. He had seriously misjudged that man but all of that would be corrected in time.

  “Has anyone else seen these that you know of?” he asked her.

  Emmie shook her head, “Maybe Will, his brother? But I really don’t think he wanted to be involved.”

  Silas nodded, put the envelope and camera in his briefcase, and locked it.

  “Will you wait for me one second?” he asked walking toward the door.

  She nodded.

  Silas was only gone for a minute or two and when he returned Trick was with him. “I see our little ball of trouble has returned.” He smiled down at her.

  Silas grabbed his brother by the arm. “Not the time, brother.” He let go and walked out of the office. He tossed the keys to Trick and climbed into the back seat with Emmie.

  “I’m taking you home to Ava’s. Gabe is there and Vince is due back sometime today. I’m going to go take care of some things,” he said, looking down at her.

  “Other than this,” he touched her mouth, “are you okay?”

  She nodded, “I’m fine.”

  He leaned down closer to her face. “Did he do anything else?” He was hanging on the balance of control here. He looked down at her skirt and touched a spot where the fabric was ripped. Emmie hadn’t noticed that. It must have happened when he grabbed her to pull her back from the door.

  “No, honest. He just tried to kiss me. And I kneed him,” she said.

  This brought a huge grin to his face. He pulled her in close and cradled her head to his chest. Thumbing the hair down at her temple like you would a child. “Why does that not surprise me?” He actually laughed. Trick looked back in surprise.

  Silas leaned forward and kissed her nose, her cheeks, her mouth. “I’m sorry this happened.”

  She shrugged brushing it off, “It is what it is, right?”

  Emmie reached up and touched the scab over his eye. “Now we do look like fighting Irish.”

  ***********

  When they got inside the house Gabe was waiting. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” he asked.

  “No. I won’t be long. Emmie, let’s get you cleaned up.” He threaded his fingers through hers and led her to the bathroom.

  “I will be okay,” she said, trying to take the cold washcloth from him.

  “Emmie let me take care of you,” he said quietly.

  She drew her hand back and nodded.

  “I need to tell you something but being as you have had a rough morning, I’m not sure if I should,” he said honestly and she appreciated it.

  “Tell. You have to now that you’ve said that,” she said.

  “Trick got a confession. I called him from your house and he went straight to the jail where Sam was. He and Sheriff Drake got him to make a full confession.”

  “Why was he in jail?”

  “Well, after an anonymous person wrote a letter saying they saw someone shoot Ronnie and then set his car on fire, the case was reopened.” He smiled.

  “Really, you’ve gotten all of that done in the hour since I saw you this morning?” she asked.

  “More or less. Some of it may be happening right now or will happen very soon. Didn’t I tell you once that timelines are subjective? And since Sam has confessed to robbing and murdering him it will be a very quick trial. Open and shut. Minimal stress on you. Walter and I talked after he dropped you off. He seemed to think this is the way you would want it handled.”

  She didn’t really want to think about the alternative. Which made her think of Mr. Thomas.

  Emmie nodded to agree with the trial. “Don’t hurt him too bad, okay?”

  “Is the him you’re talking about Paul Thomas?” he asked, getting tense.

  “Yes,” she said.

  “Define too bad and I’ll see if we can compromise. I was thinking slow and painful death. Your turn,” he said.

  “Silas, really… I’m thinking don’t hurt him past the point of recovery.” She raised her eyebrows at him.

  He grabbed his chin and rubbed his jaw thinking it over. “I’m not making promises but I’ll try to go somewhere in the middle of those two things.”

  Emmie sighed.

  “Okay. I’ll try. I promise,” he said.

  When Emmie walked out of the bathroom door Ava was standing there. “I’d just let him kill him, honestly Emmie, that man has been a thorn in your side for years,” she said nonchalantly then smiled.

  By the time Silas made it back to Trick he was all business again. He could turn that off and on better than anyone Emmie had ever seen. She walked to the door to tell him goodbye.

  “Be careful.”

  “I’ll be fine.” He smiled. “Will you be here when I get back?”

  She nodded. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss then reached on the table behind her, grabbed his other gun he’d left
there this morning, and secured it in his holster.

  Chapter Forty-nine

  After Emmie had showered and changed she went to find Ava with the box from her house tucked into her arm. Throughout everything she’d been through last night and today, that letter was still on her mind. Last night, she thought she didn’t think too much about the short note from her father. What did it matter who he was anyway? He’d never been there for her before so why should it matter now? But for some reason, she couldn’t let go of it. It mattered that he sent her money she never knew about. It mattered her mother had kept it from her all these years. It mattered that Ronnie knew who he was. It mattered there were pictures hidden in her barn she had never seen. It mattered he was still close enough to someone she knew to “hear through the grapevine” she wanted to go to college. It mattered. All of it.

  If there was one thing she’d gotten out of the last few days, it was keeping things to herself led to trouble. So, she decided to start by sharing it with Ava. She found her sitting on a couch. Gabe was standing behind her pacing like a tiger in a cage. He obviously didn’t like being left behind to watch the girls.

  “Whatcha got?” Ava asked, noticing the box right away.

  “Well, Silas helped me find this.” Okay, so that was a little half-truth.

  She opened the box to find a stack of cash had been returned to the box. The stack looked thicker than before. As she reached the bottom she noticed there was a new note taped to one of the bills.

  “I’m only going back to Chicago when you go with me. So, keep your cash. Love, S.C.M.”

  “Aww… I could die for how sweet that is.” Ava grabbed her heart and pouted her mouth. “Gabe you have to see this. Silas has written Emmie to say…” she started.

  He put his hands over his ears. “I do not want to hear this. I’m going to the porch.”

  “Got rid of him. Not we can talk.” Ava smiled. “Seriously sweet letter though. Didn’t I tell you he was carrying a torch for you?”

  Emmie turned the note over in her hand and then laid it in the box next to the other notes. “This is actually the one I want you to see.”

  Ava took her time reading the letter from the mysterious M.V.D. and Ronnie. She flipped over and read the one from her father several times. “We can figure this out. We’ve got the initials. We know it’s from Chicago. We’ll figure it out.”

  “Chicago?” Emmie asked.

  “Yeah, that money was wired. See that logo right there, L.C.B. It’s Lake City Bank. My dad has an account there. We’ll figure it out.” Ava smiled.

  Emmie nodded. “Thanks.”

  “No, I should be thanking you. Because this,” Ava got up ran to the closet and pulled out her Halloween costume, “is absolutely stunning.”

  Emmie smiled at her friend’s reaction to the dress. “How did you get it? I didn’t have time to pack it last night.”

  “Gabe mentioned when he got home that you would probably be staying with us for a while. So, we went over and packed up some of your things for you. I saw this laying out in your living room and I had to bring it,” she explained.

  “Well, I’m glad you like it,” Emmie said.

  “I love it. It fits like a glove.” Ava ran her hands along the bodice. “Yours looks nice too.”

  “Thanks,” she said.

  “But Emmie, it looks more like a nice black dinner dress than a Halloween costume. It isn’t as special as the pattern I picked out for you,” she said, holding up her friend’s dress.

  “Ava, that was really nice fabric. I couldn’t bring myself to turn it into something I would wear once in my life,” she answered honestly. “I’m going to make a witch hat fascinator, then it will look more like a costume. I’ll carry a broom too.”

  “You will not carry a broom, people will think you’re a housekeeper.” Ava laughed.

  Emmie grinned and then covered her mouth and stifled a yawn.

  Ava hugged Emmie and tossed her the blanket she’d been wrapped in. “You’re tired, it’s been a long day. We can talk about the party later. Take a rest until he gets back.”

  Emmie tried to contest the idea but she couldn’t. Her eyes were heavy and her brain grew foggy. Ava left the room quietly. She closed her eyes and relaxed for the first time in months. When sleep found her she wasn’t sure she’d ever wake.

  ***********

  The frogs were croaking in the trees outside. Stars and a full moon lit the sky. It was cool but she was wrapped in blankets. She was tucked in so tight she could barely move. She could hear the creak of the rocker next to her. Even before she glanced over she knew who she would find. She could barely make out Silas’s silhouette. But she could see the flame of his cigarette as he drew in a breath and the shadow of the smoke when he exhaled.

  Emmie raised up slowly not wanting to inch out of the covers. “You might want to stay there, it’s cool out here.”

  She took a quilt with her as she padded across the porch. He put out his cigarette as she got closer to him, spreading his arms for her. Emmie sat on his lap and pulled the quilt over both of them. They rocked and he hummed. She’d never heard him hum but it was deep and beautiful. With her head against his chest she could hear so well. She used to do that with her mama when she was a little girl. How could her mama have kept her dad from her? Her heart hurt at the thought. She felt like her world was shifting but she pushed all of that from her mind. She didn’t want to think about that tonight. Emmie would think about that tomorrow.

  “I got your note. I’ve always wanted to go to Chicago. I bet they’ve got some good schools up there too.” She swallowed hard.

  He smiled. “You just say when.”

  She nodded. “Did you mean what you said at my house today. That part about why it was okay I was selling your ’shine back to ya?”

  He looked confused for a second then said, “Oh, that… I love you?”

  She nodded.

  He grinned and his mouth quirked over to the side. “Yeah. I love you.”

  “I love you too, Silas,” she said.

  He picked her up and carried her over to the bed. Swallowing hard he unbuttoned his shirt slowly and tossed it on the ground before sliding in next to her. “Let’s pick up where we left off last night.”

  Emmie giggled as he ran his hands over her stomach and up her body until he grabbed her chin. He pulled her in for a long, painfully slow kiss and brushed his knuckles on her cheek. Something rough scratched her skin. It was then in the moonlight she noticed his knuckles were split.

  “Silas, you’re hurt.” She brought them up to her mouth and kissed each spot.

  “Not as bad as he is,” he answered.

  Emmie stilled next to him, not moving or speaking. She was still holding his hands next to her mouth. Frozen.

  “He’s still breathing, if that’s what you’re wondering. He’s hurt but not beyond repair. His hands won’t ever touch you again. They probably won’t be touching a camera again either.”

  Silas looked down at her eyes. She was still tired. Exhaustion was marked on her face.

  “Go to sleep, Emmie girl. I’ll be here when you wake.”

  He pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arms around her. He hummed until he heard her breathing slow. She looked so beautiful asleep in his arms. Her lips, plumped from his kisses. Her eyes, closed and at peace. He pushed her hair away from her face. That sweet face, so full of hope, compassion and good. Silas stared out through the screened-in window. Taking in the glow of the moon, lighting the black night. That’s what she felt like to him. A beautiful glow of light in a dark path.

  “Shine on for me my sweet Emmie,” he smiled and tucked the blanket around her shoulders, “Shine on.”

  Rise and Shine

  Allison Jewell

  Book two in the Shine On series is set to release July 2013.

  Chapter One

  Emmie’s body was stiff as she stepped out of the dark car and onto the city street. It was busy and loud. Nothing like
the small downtown square back home.

  “This is it?” Gabe grabbed Emmie’s old brown suitcase from the back of the car that took them from the train station to the hotel.

  “Yep, that’s it. Why?” Emmie asked.

  “Ugh. I guess I’m just used to helping Ava with hers.” Gabe nodded to the curb where Ava was talking with a bellhop for the Tealbach Hotel. The bellhop smiled and laughed at something she said while he loaded her belongings onto a gold cart.

  “Bless her heart,” Emmie laughed, taking in all six pieces of Ava’s red leather luggage. “Gabe, we are only staying the weekend right? You know, there is no telling what all she had hidden in those cases.”

  He smiled and dropped her suitcase on the curb a few feet from where Ava’s were. Emmie noticed one of the other bellhops reach down to pick it up.

  “Thanks but I can get it,” she said sweetly. The bellhop looked back at her confused. He still had one arm extended like he may take the suitcase right out of her hands. Pulling it closer to her body, she realized that she looked a little bit overprotective of her belongings. Really, she wouldn’t have minded letting the guy take up her belongings but it had just now occurred to her that this man wasn’t moving luggage out of the goodness of his heart. When he reached her room he was going to be expecting a tip and she refused to pay the man for something she could easily do herself.

  “I don’t mind, Miss,” he said, taking a step closer to her.

  “No…” she started but never got the chance to finish her sentence.

  “Thank you, Sir. She’s in room 233.” Silas came up behind her, took the luggage from her hand and tossed it to the man. Then he handed the young man a crisp bill. She couldn’t see the amount but from his smile she could tell the boy thought it a fair price.

  Emmie turned around, trying her best to look annoyed but had a hard time keeping up the front. “The good Lord gave me two arms and I can carry my own bags.”