Whiskey Sunrise

by Missouri Vaun

  She was on a fairly long straightaway when she noticed distant headlights behind her. Whoever they were they were coming up fast. It was unlikely that anyone but a federal agent would be on this particular road this time of night. And whoever they were they’d have only one reason to be gaining on her.

  Ned sensed her change in mood almost immediately. “What’s wrong?”

  “Looks like we’ve got some company. They’re coming along pretty fast.”

  Ned turned in the seat beside her to look.

  Royal shifted down into second and then hit the gas again as she came through the curve, pulling the high stick down into third before opening up the V-8 on the short straightaway between the curves. It wasn’t until she had weaved through several sharp turns before she could confirm that the other auto was still following her. Whoever they were, they were gaining on her position.

  “Yeah, they’re definitely up to something. They’re still gaining on us.”

  “What are you gonna do?” Ned’s voice sounded fearful. Royal couldn’t believe the one night she actually managed to talk Ned into riding along with her they’d run into trouble. He’d be solidly spooked now from future runs.

  “Just stay cool. I’ve got some ideas.” Royal checked the encroaching headlights again in the rearview mirror.

  She was familiar enough with the road to know that a long, gentle downhill straightaway was just ahead. She stomped on the accelerator. Ned braced himself with a hand on the dash and one on the roof as the heavy car topped a hill, lifting off the ground just a little as it crested the rise.

  The pressure of the increased speed sank Royal’s back farther into the seat. The gauge on the dash registered just above eighty miles an hour when she saw the headlights close behind her and heard the first gunshot.

  “What the hell?” Ned jerked his head down behind the seat. “They’re shootin’ at us!”

  “No shit! Keep your head down!”

  Damn! If they were shooting then they for sure weren’t local boys. Another shot sounded loudly as the bullet hit the rear quarter panel and Royal accelerated again. She had reached ninety on the speedometer, but she knew another series of quick turns lay just ahead.

  Before she slowed the car down, she reached under the dash and flipped a switch to turn off her brake lights.

  Of course, with no advance warning from her brake lights and likely not as much familiarity with the roads in this part of the county, the headlights bounced and flickered indicating that they’d driven straight through the turn and ended up in the ditch.

  “Thank you, Ned! Your taillight trick worked like a charm!” She reached over and laid her hand on Ned’s chest. “Son, your heart is thumping like a jackrabbit!”

  Ned swatted her arm away. “It’s not funny. That scared the shit out of me.”

  Royal gave him a sideways glance. “A little fear is good for the soul, right?”

  “Not my soul.”

  “We’ll be home free in another half hour. Drinks on me.” Given the terrified look on Ned’s face, she figured this would be the last time for a long while that she’d be able to talk him into riding along on one of her delivery runs. The truth was, she’d been scared too.

  That had been the closest call she’d had in a long time. And they’d fired on her car, which not only rattled her nerves, it made her angry. She loosened her grip on the large steering wheel and realized that her hands were shaking.

  Since when did a little car chase rattle her so badly? She’d been feeling distracted all day with thoughts of Lovey. Maybe she was starting to think she had a future. Having a future was making her rethink risky behavior. Was this what it felt like to have something in your life that mattered? Someone you wanted to come home to? Or was it just because Ned was in the car?

  She left her taillights off for a while longer as she hit the gas pedal and rocketed into the dark night.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Another day had slogged slowly by for Lovey. She’d not seen Royal and had no way to reach her. It seemed that if she was going to see Royal she’d have to take matters into her own hands. It was still early in the day when Lovey decided to walk over to Royal’s house. She was curious to see Royal’s home. After all, Royal had been to her house more than once, although not in the light of day.

  As it turned out, Cal knew where Royal’s family lived and so she’d gotten directions. She thought she’d just walk over. She was headed that way when Cal showed up with groceries. Today was one of the days she did laundry and cooked dinner for them.

  “Are you sure you should be goin’ over there, Miss Lovey?” Cal had a concerned look across her face when Lovey told her of her intentions.

  “You think it’s bad if I walk over without an invitation?”

  “No, it ain’t that, Miss Lovey. It’s just that, well…”

  “I know that the Duvals make moonshine, if that’s what worries you.” Lovey wasn’t sure the reason for Cal’s concern. It had to be about the moonshine, given her father’s abhorrence of the stuff.

  “Well, that, among other things.”

  “It’ll be fine, Cal. And it’s a beautiful summer day for a walk.” She trusted Cal not to say more to her father than she’d gone for a walk if he asked.

  Her father was fairly distracted this week preparing for an overnight revival that was to start on Friday, culminating with Decoration Day on the church lawn Sunday. At least that’s what the locals called it. She’d always heard it referred to as Homecoming, but the event seemed to have the same components—decorating the graves at the church and hosting a large covered dish lunch on the lawn after the Sunday service.

  Lovey had a long shot of a plan to spend Friday night with Royal. That had been the last request Royal had made, and this might be a rare opportunity to actually make that happen. But first, she needed to find Royal and reconnect.

  It was a three-mile leisurely walk to Royal’s place, a cluster of wood-sided structures on a large piece of open property. The three buildings were spread out and punctuated by at least one large barn, a corn crib, and a low chicken coop built of what looked like hand-sawed lumber that Lovey could see from the wooded lane that skirted the property. The first house was painted white but worn in spots. That was the structure she had the clearest view of from the driveway. There was another house up a hill set farther off the road, and she could just make out the roofline of a third house camouflaged by a scattering of hardwoods thick with foliage.

  As Lovey drew near the first house, she saw a woman wearing an apron that covered most of a floral shirtwaist and her skirt. She seemed to be spreading corn for a random assortment of free roaming chickens in the front yard. The woman looked up with a questioning gaze as Lovey headed toward her. She knew she was taking a large chance just showing up like this, but she didn’t think she could tolerate one more day without seeing Royal.

  “Hello.” Lovey stopped several feet away and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She felt nervous, but wasn’t sure if it was due to the intense once-over the woman was giving her or if it was the anticipation of seeing Royal on her home turf.

  “Hello.”

  “I’m sorry to stop by unannounced, but I was hoping that Royal might be here.”

  “She is. Can I ask who’s callin’?”

  “Of, course, sorry. My name is Lovey Porter. I’m a friend of Royal’s.” Lovey smoothed the sides of her calico broomstick skirt. She felt as if she were under astute inspection.

  “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Royal’s mother. Let me just get her for you.” Without further delay, she turned and shouted at an open second-story window. “Royal, you have a visitor!”

  The two of them stood in awkward silence for a moment waiting for some sort of response. When none came, the plump, matronly woman yelled again.

  “Lillian Royal Duval! I know you can hear me.”

  Royal’s blond head appeared in the open window, her hair mussed. She had a shocked look on her face when she saw Lov
ey standing next to her mother. She held up her hand. “Just a minute. I’ll be right down.”

  “Why don’t you go on in and wait for her in the kitchen?” Royal’s mother rested the shallow pan of loose corn on her hip.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Duval.”

  The worn boards of the long front porch creaked as she crossed them and pulled open the screen door. Lovey could see the kitchen through the doorway as she passed through a small living room set around a brick fireplace. The room paneled with board-and-batten-style white pine, darkened from exposure to the sun over time, was well kept and cozy. A brick fireplace with a heavy rough-hewn mantel was along the far wall. Generous throw cushions accented an obviously well loved sofa and leather chair. She paused in the center of the kitchen, not quite sure if she should sit down. The smell of something recently baked hung in the air. A black pan covered with a towel sat on the stovetop. She lifted the corner. Biscuits. She dropped the cloth as she heard footsteps coming down the narrow stairs to her left.

  Royal slipped in her sock feet on the last step, almost tumbling to the floor. She righted herself before falling completely and then attempted to recover with a smile.

  “Hey.” Royal ran her fingers through her mussed hair to try to smooth it back.

  “I’m sorry to wake you. I guess I didn’t think that you might have been out late.”

  “It’s okay. I’m really glad to see you.” Royal stepped closer as she tucked in her shirttail. She’d probably gotten dressed in a hurry.

  “Lillian, huh?” Lovey tried not to laugh at the pained expression on Royal’s handsome face.

  “She uses my full name when she’s annoyed with me. Can we pretend you didn’t hear that?”

  “Lillian is a beautiful name.”

  “Yes, it is. For someone else.” Royal reached for one of the biscuits on the stovetop. She nodded toward the skillet, with the biscuit already in her mouth, offering Lovey one.

  “No, thank you.”

  “Um, I need to get my shoes.” Royal turned, about to head back up the stairs. “Would you…would you like to see my room?”

  Lovey nodded and followed Royal up the narrow, steep stairs to the second floor. A single bulb hung from a wire in the ceiling at the top of the steps, which opened into a large open room with two smaller bedrooms at each end. Of course Royal’s bed was unmade and there were clothes thrown across a straight-backed wooden chair next to a small desk stacked with books and papers. There were more books in small stacks next to the baseboards of the wall on either side of the narrow oak desk.

  Royal was looking for her shoes under the far side of the bed. There didn’t seem to be anywhere for Lovey to sit except on the bed. But she’d not been invited to do so. Instead she stood clasping her hands in front of her and waited for Royal.

  “Do you mind waiting just a quick moment while I go wash up a little?”

  Lovey nodded.

  Royal slipped past her out of the room and clomped quickly down the stairs in her unlaced shoes. Lovey was happy to have a few minutes alone with Royal’s things. She moved slowly around the simply furnished room. On the dresser along the wall facing the desk rested a pocket watch. Lovey picked it up and rubbed her fingers across the engraved pattern on the back of the casing. There was a framed photo, probably Royal’s father and mother in their younger years. They were smiling and leaning against a dark Model T Ford. The man’s head was tilted back with laughter. Lovey lifted the shirt hanging on the back of the chair and held it to her nose. It smelled like Royal, which made her smile. A book of poetry by Robert Frost was on top of the papers on the desk. Lovey flipped through the pages, not really settling on any one in particular. She moved to the far side of the room and sat on the edge of the bed, running her hand across the pillow that still registered an indention from where Royal had been sleeping.

  She realized after a moment that Royal had silently returned and was leaning against the door frame watching her as she rolled the sleeves of her bright white shirt. She gave Lovey a heart-stopping slow smile from across the room. Lovey thought she should stand up, but she was immobilized, her heart pounding in her chest.

  “I am really glad you stopped by.” Royal walked around the bed. She stopped at the footboard, leaning on the tall post at the corner.

  “Do you think your mother knows about us?”

  “Well, she knows I like girls, if that’s what you mean.” Royal shoved her free hand deep into her trouser pocket. “And if we stay up here much longer she might begin to have suspicions about what we’re doing.”

  “So she’s a mind reader then?” Lovey stood and stepped close to Royal. A breeze blew the light cotton fabric of the curtain away from the window and stirred the hair around her face.

  “Whose mind would she be reading?”

  “Mine. Right this minute.” Lovey took Royal’s suspender between her fingers and slid her hand up and down the length of it slowly.

  Royal cleared her throat. Her cheeks grew red, which entertained Lovey. Royal acted so tough but was so easily ruffled by innuendo. Lovey found the juxtaposition of those two details adorable.

  “Am I making you nervous?” She fingered the collar of Royal’s shirt.

  “Um, no.”

  She’s obviously not a good liar was Lovey’s quick assessment. That discovery pleased her.

  “I’d really like to kiss you,” whispered Lovey.

  Royal leaned in and their lips met. The kiss was short and sweet, with a promise of more.

  “Let’s take a walk.” Royal took her hand and pulled her toward the stairs.

  They passed through the kitchen and out the back door. Royal’s car was parked near an aging mimosa tree in full bloom that swayed in the warm breeze dropping flowers on the dark sedan. Lovey’s gaze swept across the car as they strolled past. She pulled to a stop when she saw the bullet hole.

  “Royal?” Lovey walked toward the back of the car. “What’s this?”

  Royal followed Lovey’s pointing finger.

  “A bad shot.”

  “That’s not funny. Is this what I think it is? Is this a bullet hole?” Lovey was trying not to get angry, but it wasn’t working.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make a joke. It happens sometimes.”

  “Royal, was someone shooting at your car while you were in it?”

  “It happened last night. They got one lucky shot before I lost them.” Royal pulled at Lovey’s hand. “Come on. Let’s walk down to the pond. This is nothing to worry about.”

  Lovey didn’t agree with that statement. She felt a sick twinge in the pit of her stomach. The reality of what Royal did for a living crystallized, and Lovey wasn’t happy about it.

  “Royal, doesn’t that scare you? What if it hadn’t been a bad shot?” She tried to look at Royal’s face as they walked down a grassy path beside a large shed that housed a tractor and the old truck she’d seen Royal drive the day of the bee sting incident.

  “Yeah, to be honest, it did scare me a little. But it’s over now and I’m fine. I’m not going to dwell on it. Let’s talk about something else.”

  Lovey wasn’t finished with this topic, but she decided not to push Royal at the moment. They continued down the path in silence. The grass grew taller around them and opened into a field that wrapped around the base of a gently sloped hill. After a few more moments, Lovey saw a large pond ahead of them surrounded by hardwoods.

  Royal sensed that Lovey was upset. Lovey wouldn’t even look at her. She couldn’t stand knowing that some action of hers had made Lovey unhappy.

  “Please don’t be angry with me.” Royal stepped in front of Lovey, walking backward. Lovey finally looked up.

  “It’s hard not to be angry, Royal. Someone was shooting at you. That scares me.”

  “I promise to be careful. Can you just not think about it anymore right now?” Royal wanted to shift the mood between them. She wanted to feel the closeness between them.

  “I’ll try not to think about it.”r />
  “Maybe I could find a way to distract you.” Royal entwined their fingers as they walked side by side toward the large shade trees gathered at the pond’s edge.

  “Your family’s property is beautiful.”

  “Thanks. We’ve got forty acres now. My great-grandfather used to have almost a hundred acres, but over time he had to sell some of it off. Before we started in earnest to turn crops into spirits.” Royal leaned against the nearest broad tree trunk and pulled Lovey against her. She caressed the contour of Lovey’s face delicately with her fingertips before she kissed her forehead, then her cheek, and finally placed a lingering kiss on her lips.

  “I have a proposal.” Lovey leaned her head against Royal’s shoulder as Royal caressed her back.

  “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

  “My father has an overnight revival Friday. I was hoping we could spend the evening together.” Lovey pulled back so that Royal could see her face.

  “Really? You mean, the whole evening?” Royal tried to temper her excitement at the suggestion that they might spend the night together.

  “Well, if you aren’t dodging bullets or whatever else you daredevils do.”

  Royal pulled her into a hug. “It’s a date. I’ll pick you up for dinner and then we can go to my place in town.”

  “I was thinking I could make you dinner. Would that be okay? I want you all to myself, not in some public venue.”

  “Even better.” She kissed Lovey again, this time longer, more passionate.

  Their bodies were pressed against each other, and it was difficult for Royal not to let her hands drift up and down the gentle slope of Lovey’s hips. After another moment, she gave in to the impulse. Lovey wrapped her arms around Royal’s neck and deepened the kiss. Royal ached deep inside for Lovey to touch her, be with her, to be cradled in her arms.

  They separated slowly. Royal felt weak kneed and suggested they sit down in the shade. Bees hummed in the clover nearby as they settled at the base of the tree. Lovey sat between Royal’s legs, leaning against her chest. She pulled Royal’s hand into hers and turned it over, caressing it with her fingers.