Whiskey Sunrise

by Missouri Vaun

  “Check with your grandfather. We might be low on sugar.” Even though her mother was rarely directly involved with the still, she did manage to keep abreast of the raw ingredients distilling required.

  “Okay, I’ll check with him. Is he feeling better? He seemed a little under the weather on Saturday.” Royal headed toward the bath at the back of the house.

  “I haven’t seen him today so I guess when you see him you’ll know more than I do.” She didn’t look up from her task at the stove.

  ❖

  It was well after lunch before Royal made it to the general mercantile in town. Dawsonville was a sleepy town in the summertime. Folks moved slowly in the heat and humidity, not wanting to overexert and ruin their fresh shirts by breaking a sweat rushing about. Ladies fanned themselves as they chatted together on shady benches. Gentlemen gathered on the sheltered porch of the long, low building, smoking and talking. Overalls and white shirts turned up to the elbow were the usual attire. Royal nodded hello as she walked past a small group of men. She knew most of them from her nighttime deliveries.

  It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dark interior space. The general store stocked almost every item you could think of. Shoes, hats, fishing poles, baskets, and bolts of cloth sat along shelves that ran down the length of the far wall. There was a long counter, part of which was a glass case containing all manner of smaller items. There was a colorful assortment of penny candies, pocketknives, matches, and other sundries. Royal headed toward the back counter, past more shelves stacked with canned goods.

  “Hiya, Royal.” A stout older fellow behind the counter spoke to Royal as she walked up.

  “Hey, Smiley. Could I get two ten-pound bags of sugar and one of those bottled Cokes?” Doug “Smiley” Sims’s nickname suited him as he grinned at Royal over the glass case while she fished in her pocket for some cash.

  “Comin’ right up.” He popped the top on the cola he’d lifted out of a cooling bin with ice, and handed it across the counter. “Gonna be a warm one today.”

  “Yep, matter of fact, it already is.” Royal sipped the soda and looked around the expansive, cluttered interior space. It took a minute before she saw Lovey, peeking around a magazine rack at the other side of the store. The bags of sugar forgotten, she headed over.

  Once she was within a few feet of Lovey, nerves got the best of her. She shoved her free hand deep into her trouser pocket and rocked back on her heels. “Hey,” was all she could manage.

  “Hey, yourself.” Lovey smiled. Royal couldn’t tell if Lovey was the least bit nervous, which only added to her discomfort.

  “I was hoping I’d run into you.” Royal kept her voice low.

  “So was I.” Lovey flipped the pages of the magazine in her hand absently. Was she trying to seem nonchalant? Or was she actually that calm? Royal wasn’t sure.

  “I didn’t know how to reach you,” Lovey said.

  “Yeah, we need to sort that out.” Royal offered the cola to Lovey. “Would you like a sip?”

  “Sure.” Lovey took a long draw from the bottle, never breaking eye contact with Royal as her mouth touched the glass lip. Butterflies the size of hummingbirds were crowding Royal’s stomach. Just the sight of Lovey and any attention paid to her red lips was more than Royal’s nervous system could apparently tolerate. She needed to figure out a way to get Lovey alone and away from nosy bystanders.

  “Here’s your sugar, Royal,” said Smiley.

  “Thank you!” Royal turned back to Lovey. “Can I offer you a ride home?”

  Lovey nodded, smiling. She handed the soda back to Royal, but just as she did, something caught her eye over Royal’s shoulder. Royal turned and followed Lovey’s gaze. Joe Dawson had just stepped through the front door of the shop.

  “That’s Joe. Do you know him?”

  “Yes, my father and I had lunch with his family yesterday after the Sunday service. I should say hello.” Lovey gave Joe a small wave.

  “I’ll pay for the sugar, then we can go if you’re ready.”

  “Okay.”

  Lovey moved toward the door. She thought she might get outside with just a friendly wave to Joe when she knew he’d noticed her, but he met up with her halfway across the room. She checked to see that Royal was still at the back counter settling up for the sugar before refocusing her attention on Joe.

  “Hi, Lovey. What a nice surprise.”

  “Hello, Joe. It was nice to eat lunch with your family yesterday. And thank you for the walk after.” Joe and Lovey had strolled all around the Dawson farm. Joe had talked nonstop about his plans for the place, which he would inherit at some point as the only son. They had quite a spread. Lovey had learned the county was even named after a Dawson ancestor. He’d stopped and introduced her to each of his quarter horses. He’d been interesting enough, and she’d enjoyed his company, although on the drive home her father seemed a little too interested in what she and Joe had talked about. She suspected he was up to some sort of matchmaking.

  Under other circumstances, any girl would be glad to have Joe’s attention, even Lovey. But at the moment she was utterly distracted by someone else. Lovey glanced over at Royal again, anxious to end the encounter with Joe and be on her way.

  “I was—” they both said at the same time.

  “Sorry, you go first,” offered Joe with a chuckle.

  “No, you.”

  “Well, I was just gonna ask if I could call on you later this evening? I’ve got some things to run back to the farm, but I’ll be finished around seven.”

  Lovey was caught off guard, but in an instant she decided it would be in her best interest to accept Joe’s invitation. If she wanted to throw her father off her trail so that she could spend some time with Royal, then time with Joe would be the perfect shield.

  “Uh, that would be nice.” Lovey started moving toward the door.

  “Great. I’ll see you at seven then.” Joe tipped his hat as Lovey brushed past him and out the exit.

  She walked slowly toward where she saw Royal’s parked car. Royal caught up to her before she reached it.

  “Just let me throw this in the back.” Royal popped the trunk and tossed the sugar in. Lovey hoped that Royal wouldn’t ask any questions about her brief conversation with Joe. To her relief, she didn’t.

  The first few minutes of the drive, they were quiet. Lovey thought Royal seemed a little nervous, which she found completely endearing. When they’d made love, Royal had seemed so sure of herself, so confident, in contrast to how she was acting at the moment.

  Lovey wanted to cross the electrified space between them and touch Royal. Noticing Royal’s long fingers clasping the steering wheel tightly reminded her of how amazing those hands felt as they caressed her naked body. The interior of the car suddenly felt twenty degrees warmer. She couldn’t stand it any longer. She leaned over and brushed the back of her fingers across Royal’s cheek. Royal glanced over at her with a look Lovey couldn’t quite decipher. She pressed closer, lightly kissing Royal’s neck just beneath her ear.

  The car swerved and dropped off the shoulder momentarily before Royal pulled the heavy sedan back onto the road in a cloud of dust.

  “I don’t think I can drive when you do that.” Royal blushed.

  “Then maybe we should pull over, because I’m not sure I can stop.” Lovey kissed Royal’s neck again as she ran her fingers through the short hair at the back of Royal’s neck.

  They approached a dirt road on the left, and Royal pulled off the main highway. She drove for a couple of minutes so that they were well off the pavement before she pulled the dark auto up under lush hardwoods into the shade.

  In less than a minute they were snuggled into the broad backseat of the car kissing. Lovey felt as if she couldn’t get close enough to Royal. They were seated beside each other, locked in an embrace, and Lovey moved her leg so that it was almost across Royal’s lap. She wanted to be as close as possible as they kissed.

  “I was afraid you’d be s
orry about what we did the other night,” Royal whispered close to her ear.

  “What we did just made me want more. More time with you.” She felt Royal’s lips curl into a smile against her cheek. Then Royal’s lips drifted down her neck as she felt Royal unbutton her blouse. She began doing the same to Royal’s shirt. She felt Royal’s fingers inside her top; lightly teasing fingertips moved across her stomach muscles, which flinched in response.

  Lovey wanted Royal’s hands under her skirt. The fabric was loose fitting below her waist, so she shifted so that both legs were across Royal’s lap, within easy reach. It was only a moment before Royal began to explore Lovey’s inner thigh, slowly easing the light cotton fabric of the skirt up her legs as they continued to kiss.

  Royal’s fingers paused before reaching the aching place between Lovey’s legs. Lovey pulled Royal into a deep kiss as a way to signal her consent for what Royal was doing. Lovey had never really considered herself a sexual person, but at the moment she clearly was. She was in the backseat of a car and wanted nothing more than to be completely undressed and under Royal’s attentive touch. Pleasures of the flesh had taken on new meaning for her.

  She wrapped her fingers around Royal’s wrist and pushed her hand further against her throbbing center. That small bit of confirmation seemed to be all that Royal needed. She leaned into Lovey and kissed her deeply. Lovey felt Royal’s fingers pull the thin satin fabric aside to caress her tender flesh.

  “Oh, Royal,” she breathed against Royal’s mouth. “Royal.”

  Royal began to thrust slowly in and out with her fingers. As she leaned back against the side of the car, Royal’s mouth drifted down to her breast. Lovey pulled the fabric aside to give Royal better access as she filled her fingers with Royal’s hair.

  After spending nearly forty-eight hours doing little else but thinking of Royal’s hands on her again, she climaxed quickly. She arched into Royal as the orgasm washed forcefully over her.

  “I can’t believe we just did that,” she whispered into Royal’s hair. Royal’s lips were tenderly kissing the contours of her exposed breasts.

  “I can. I’ve been able to think of nothing but you since you left my room Saturday night.” Royal raised up a little so that Lovey could see her face. Lovey pushed damp hair off Royal’s forehead, that same sexy clump of hair that seemed to be forever covering those piercing blue eyes.

  Royal’s hand still rested on Lovey’s thigh under her skirt as she leaned in and kissed Lovey softly. She trailed her fingertips down the center of Royal’s chest, inside her open shirt. As her hand neared the waist of Royal’s trousers, she hesitated, but only for a moment before she pressed her mouth firmly against Royal’s and began to unfasten her belt and the buttons of her trousers.

  Royal felt Lovey’s fingertips dip below the waist of her pants as Lovey shifted her position. She’d moved off Royal’s lap enough so that she could reach into the front of her trousers. Royal involuntarily moaned softly as Lovey’s fingers began to stroke slowly. She deepened their kiss, holding Lovey’s face in her hands and giving herself over to Lovey’s demanding touch. It was only a moment before she climaxed into Lovey’s hand.

  She felt Lovey move her hand, but she left it to rest on Royal’s stomach, near the opening of her trousers.

  Royal wanted to say something, but she was afraid she’d say too much. Her senses felt raw, her feelings too close to the surface. She pulled Lovey’s head to her shoulder and kissed her forehead, allowing her lips to linger there. She silently composed lines of poetry in her head.

  Standing at the edge of outer darkness

  Adrift with secret longings.

  Royal knew that making love to a woman was easy. It was what came after that mattered to her. It was what came later that meant something. Would this be different? Would they hide their feelings away? Would they only love each other in secret? She hoped not.

  “What are you thinking?” asked Lovey.

  Royal didn’t want to answer honestly and run through their bliss with the truth like a sharp blade. She wanted to linger in this singular place that only she and Lovey shared. So instead of her fears, she shared a wish.

  “I was thinking that I’d like to spend the night with you.”

  “That would be nice.”

  “The whole night. I’d like to be able to hold you in my arms all night and feel no urgency to let you go. I’d like to have all night to explore all your beautiful curves and caress all the spots that make you feel cherished.”

  Lovey looked up and smiled at her. “I believe you might be a hopeless romantic, Royal Duval.”

  “Would you expect any less from a daredevil poet?”

  Lovey laughed as she buttoned her blouse. Royal couldn’t help but smile. God, Lovey had a great laugh, throaty and sincere. She had the sort of laugh that could chase any shadow in your heart out into the light.

  ❖

  They’d only been back on the main road for a matter of minutes when Lovey felt Royal touch the brakes. She’d been lost in thought watching the lush summer landscape sweep past the open window, her chin resting on her arm. As she felt their speed decrease she focused on the road ahead of them. A car was headed toward them with flashing headlights.

  “Who is it?” Lovey straightened in her seat, feeling nervous, but she wasn’t sure exactly why. She’d never been stopped by the authorities before, but this looked like a police car. Had they been speeding and she hadn’t noticed? The large dark sedan had a single light mounted on the roof, although at the moment it had not been turned on and she heard no siren.

  “It’s Boyd Cotton, the local sheriff. I’m pretty sure he wants me to stop.” Royal slowed the Ford and eased to the side of the road as the other car pulled diagonally in front of them. Royal didn’t get out of the car right away, but Lovey noticed her knuckles were turning white from her clenched grip on the steering wheel.

  Lovey and Royal sat quietly as Boyd approached the car. He was a stout man, thick through the middle, wearing a white collared shirt, with sleeves rolled to his elbows and dark pants. He had a heavy belt with a holstered revolver. He pulled his wide brimmed hat low, casting his eyes in shadow, as he got closer. He banged on the roof with his hand.

  “Step out of the car, Royal.” He stood back away from the door so that she could exit the car.

  Royal spoke quietly to Lovey as she pushed the heavy door open. “Don’t worry. I’ll be right back. And don’t get out of the car unless he asks you to.”

  Lovey nodded. Her stomach clenched. They’d just been fooling around in the car. She was sure her hair was a mess. She hadn’t even checked her lipstick, and then she noticed at the last instant a smear of red on Royal’s shirt collar. The red smudge might as well have been the scarlet letter, because as Royal stepped along the side of the car it was all Lovey could see. She hoped Boyd Cotton wouldn’t notice.

  Lovey couldn’t clearly make out what Boyd was saying from inside the car, and it was hard to read Royal’s body language. She didn’t seem to be afraid of this man, but she also wasn’t striking a defiant pose.

  Royal crossed her arms in front of her chest, then decided to thrust her hands in her pockets in an attempt to seem less defensive. She wasn’t sure what Boyd wanted, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to stir up trouble with Lovey sitting in the car. She cleared her throat and waited for Boyd to decide to say something. He was leaning against the side of the car with a cocky sideways grin on his face. Then he stopped smiling, straightened up, and took a step closer to Royal. She shifted back a step in response.

  “You seen your uncle today?” Boyd was several inches taller than Royal; he tipped forward so that she could see his eyes.

  “No, I haven’t seen him.”

  “Don’t he just live across the hill from your mom’s place and you ain’t seen him?”

  “I don’t make a habit of checking in with Wade unless I have to.” Royal didn’t like her uncle. She certainly wasn’t his keeper.

  “Well,
Wade’s been short lately.” Boyd leaned back against the car again, crossing his arms over his chest, resting them over the top of his large belly. “You tell him he best catch up or…well, I wouldn’t want there to be any trouble with federal men, if you get my meaning.”

  “I think I get your meaning.”

  “That’s good. You’re smart, Royal.” He pulled a toothpick from his pocket and put it in his mouth. “That might just keep you outta trouble.”

  Boyd tipped his head low and walked around Royal to peer into the shadowed interior of the sedan.

  “And who’s this in the car with ya?”

  “This is Reverend Edwards’s daughter, Lovey.” Royal thought if Boyd knew of Lovey’s connection to the local minister he’d be less likely to say or do something inappropriate. She hoped.

  “Miss Edwards?” He leaned into the open window of the sedan, propped on his elbows. He had to push back the brim of the hat so that it didn’t bump the top of the window.

  “It’s actually Mrs. Porter,” Lovey answered. She sat ramrod straight in the front seat with her hands folded in her lap. Royal could see her clearly through the windshield.

  “Beg your pardon, ma’am?”

  “Porter is my married name.”

  “Oh, yes, I’d forgotten. I’m well acquainted with your father, Mrs. Porter. And I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Boyd obviously knew more about her than she knew about him, but she didn’t recognize him. Her father must have spoken with this man about her return home. But why would her father share personal family details with a man such as this?

  “Well now, does your father know that his daughter is taking her life into her hands accepting a ride from Royal?” He gave Royal a cocky sideways look. “Why, Royal here drives so fast along these mountain roads that most of my deputies prefer to just let her pass. They’d rather let her be on her way than risk their own lives in pursuit.”

  Lovey didn’t respond. She watched Royal through the windshield trying to gauge her reaction to this man that Lovey had been around for less than five minutes and already didn’t like, or trust. She’d made mention of a husband because she thought it prudent if this man believed she wasn’t alone in the world, unattached, but now she realized he already knew about her husband’s death. What else did he know?