Rise and Shine (Shine On Series, Book 2) (38 page)

Chapter Fifty-five

S
ilas shifted his body and stretched his legs across the aisle of the small passenger car. He literally went from one side of the room to the other. At least with Gabe and Trick out in the dining car he had a little more room. This was the only private car he could get on such short notice. He should have known with the holidays beginning next week that he wouldn’t have been able to get one of the decent privates this train had to offer. He glanced over at Emmie working feverishly with two knitting needles. Was there anything she couldn’t do?

The size of the car hadn’t bothered her. She’d gone on about fifteen minutes how nice the train was and ran her hands over every inch of fabric and surface the small space had to offer. He tried to adjust his legs again but this space was just too small to stretch out. Silas sighed and leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes.

Emmie leaned over him to get a better look out the tiny window. Her knee jabbed into his thigh. He opened an eye to look at her. She either didn’t notice or care that she was half sprawled across him. She turned to see the tracks ahead.

“I have never ever in my whole entire life seen land so flat. I mean I swear Silas you could see for miles and miles… I bet the stars shine beautiful out here at night.” She looked at the setting sun. Her face was pressed against the glass like a child.

“Ah huh,” he mumbled, closing his eyes.

“I mean, wow. Is it flat like this at your home?” she asked, turning to look at him.

“I guess.” He shrugged never opening his eyes.

“Hey, groucho” She smacked his arm. “You’re not even paying attention to me.”

A laugh bubbled up from his chest and he smiled. His arms pulled her all the way down on his lap. She shrieked as she fell on him.

He opened his eyes, turned her around so she faced him, and his smile turned to a devious grin. “You’ve got my attention now.” Leaning forward he kissed her neck.

“Silas.” Emmie let out a sigh and leaned forward and put her head on his chest. A comfortable silence passed between them. He ran his hands up and down her back.

“You never answered my question.”

“Which one?” He pulled back to look at her face.

“About the hills.” She smiled trying to get under his skin.

“I don’t give a damn about the hills and I sure don’t want to talk about them when you are perched on my lap.” He gave a lopsided grin.

She giggled. She actually giggled. That was not a sound she did often but Silas had a way of making her. “What do you want to talk about then?” She laughed.

Silas shook his head. He was going to hell. Walter was right. He shouldn’t be playing this game with her until he’d made some sort of promise. But that promise was going to take away opportunities for her and he couldn’t do that. She raised her eyebrows clearly waiting for an answer. He watched her bite her lip in anticipation of his next move.

He ran his hand down her temple and cheek. It was almost his undoing the way she leaned into his touch with such trust. “I don’t really want to talk right now,” he finally answered. Leaning forward he kissed her once, twice, a twenty times, maybe? Finally he pulled away and pressed his forehead against hers.
Forever.
That’s what he wanted with her. There had to be a way to make her his forever without taking away what she wanted most. He’d find a way to make it work. He closed his eyes and kissed the top of her head. He just needed some time to think this through.

**********

She couldn’t say how many miles had passed since their last words but she loved being here with him. Miles away from the hills. Miles away from the stills. Miles away from his work. Miles away from everything and everyone. She took a deep breath as she laid her head on his shoulder. Silas mindlessly stared out the window. The stars came out and shined, just as beautiful as she thought they would. It was like the stars came right down and met the earth on the tracks in front of them.

Silas watched as her eyes began to droop heavily and her breathing slowed. He rubbed her legs as she fell asleep. Soon enough Gabe and Trick came back to the small car for the night. They’d be home in a couple hours.

“Shh,” Silas said, pointing to Emmie as they walked in.

They settled on the bench across from he and Emmie. Trick attempted to stretch but ended up kicking Silas in the ankles. He laughed.

“You’re lucky I’ve got Sleeping Beauty on me over here,” Silas warned.

Gabe frowned. “She looks pretty comfortable. Maybe too comfortable. You know she can’t stay at your house up there.”

Silas arched a brow at his friend. “I’m letting your comments go because I understand you are trying to find your place as her new brother but you will not make decisions for her.”

“Silas you can’t seriously expect her to stay with you. I’m sure Mom and Pop would let her stay with us. I think they’d like to get to know her. Your mother would kill you if you had a girl in your apartment. If she knew you’d been staying with her she’d probably send you to some Irish monastery,” Gabe said with a laugh.

“I’m pretty sure she won’t want to stay with you and your father. You make it clear, by the way, he is not to come around her until she is ready. He will not taint this trip for her.” Silas argued.

“Ava then, she can stay with her. She will not stay with you up there, Silas. I won’t have it.”

“I’m not sure you’re exactly in the position to be making decisions about morality… in light of recent circumstances.”

“Yeah, what’s that supposed to mean Silas?” Gabe shouted.

Silas looked down to check and see that Emmie was still asleep and glared at Gabe. “You know what I mean.”

Gabe’s teeth ground together. “Don’t you say a crude word about Ava.”

“I’m not. I’m just saying maybe you’ve got enough of your own problems to deal with that you could stay outta mine, eh?” Silas shrugged nonchalantly.

“Yeah, you guys have been looking a little to close lately with you staying at her house. Probably sleeping in her bed. What if something happened to her? You’ve made her no promises. What would you do, Silas? Send her back to Kentucky with some cash like my pop did her mom? Think about it, Silas,” Gabe shouted.

Silas leaned forward, supporting Emmie’s head and chest with one arm and darted his finger in Gabe’s face with the other. He spoke quietly through gritted teeth. “She’s still as pure as the day I met her, asshole. Not that it’s any of your damn business.”

“Kind of a heavy conversation for this tiny train car, boys,” Trick said.

They both ignored him. Silas leaned back against the seat and repositioned Emmie, staring at Gabe waiting for his reply.

“So is what’s your plan then, Silas? Bring her into this life? Lying for you. Killing people with iron skillets? We both know she’s not like the others. She’ll never stay completely out of your affairs.” Gabe crossed his arms over his chest.

“Damn it, Gabe this is nothing to do with you.” He spoke louder than he meant to. “And if I ever, ever, hear you breathe a word of that iron skillet again, I will beat the shit out of you. She will never know. That was for my conscience to bear, not hers. I will never let my life, my shadows, put out her light.”

Gabe exited the car in a huff. Trick just shook his head and looked out the window. Silas leaned back and rubbed Emmie’s hair. He meant what he said. He would never let his shadows put out her light. That had almost happened at that cabin. He’d seen it in her eyes that night and every now and then in the days that followed. He and his brother rode the rest of the distance in silence. Each too lost in their thoughts to talk. Before he knew it, the dark country turned into city lights and tall buildings. What was quiet became noisy. What was still was busy. He took a deep breath, he was home.

“Rise and shine, Mo Chuisle, we’re home,” Silas whispered in her ear.

Allison Jewell lives in southern Kentucky with her husband, two sons, and dog. When she isn’t hard at work on her next novel, she can be found doing one of her favorite things: watching her oldest son chase the puck at the local hockey rink, secretly eating her mother’s homemade brownies, hanging out at home listening to records with her husband, or making up silly songs with her youngest son. She is currently writing the third book in the
Shine On Series
titled
Come Rain or Shine.

Facebook:
Allison Jewell

Twitter:
@AuthorAJewell

Emmie Talbot is a quintessential good girl.

Smart, Southern, Kind

Church Goer

Small Town Seamstress

Aspiring Teacher

And

A Misguided Moonshiner

Emmie’s sole purpose in life was taking care of her moonshine loving step-father. When he is killed in a fiery crash on their farm, she is left alone and frustrated with a mountain of debt. Working as a seamstress for a crazy-old-coot shopkeeper is not the kind of life she had imagined for herself.

The curious events that surround her step-father’s death send Emmie on a quest for answers. Answers that lead to a dangerous secret tucked away on her property. Stumbling on a moonshine still was an unfortunate event for most folks in the hills of Kentucky. She was lucky not to have been shot on the spot. Emmie saw hope in the steam escaping the curved copper pipe of “Ole Maizy”. However, a series of mishaps put her front and center in a local moonshine war.

In the midst of chaos, Emmie is befriended by an attorney recently transported from Chicago. Silas McDowell is a man seeking some answers of his own. In an attempt to find a little roaring twenties glamour in the small town, he introduces Emmie to the underground world of Speakeasies and Blind Pigs. Loyalty, lies, and murder conspire to push Silas and Emmie together or rip them apart. Cloaked in secrets and unsure whom to trust, Emmie must decide to drown in darkness or find a way to Shine On.

Buy
Shine On at Amazon
.

Rise & Shine is the second book in the Shine On Series.

Emmie Talbot is a quintessential good girl.

Sweet, southern, kind.

Church Goer.

Ex-bootlegger.

And

In love for the first time.

Emmie’s life is a little less complicated. There will be no more working for crazy ’ole Mr. Thomas and she now has the clues she needs find her real father. Emmie may have the best apple pie moonshine recipe in Kentucky but her bootlegging days are behind her. Or so she thinks. When Max’s condition worsens and he needs the help of doctors and hospitals in a far away town, Emmie is faced with another dilemma. To ’shine or not to ‘shine. How can Emmie not rise to the occasion to help Walter’s family?

Silas McDowell’s life is not so uncomplicated. A fame seeking revenuer is hot on his trail. Busting up his stills, raiding his speakeasies, and smiling for newspaper pictures. It is a dangerous time for Emmie to be toying in the business again. Risky or not, she will always Rise and Shine.

Buy
Rise & Shine at Amazon
.