Bent Creek (29 page)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Rachael pulled into the yard and jumped down from the truck. She let out a moan as the realization that the bruises and scraps all over her body were beginning to ache. Jesse and Lily came out of the house and ran to her.

Jesse grabbed her by the hand. “Yer all beat up.  Come on let’s git in the house. Rachael, damn we have been so wor
ried about you. I waited till it was almost dark and then I went into town and Clyde told me what wuz goin’ on. He tried to tell us some cock and bull story, but we knew’d somethin’ wuz wrong. When he told us about Cooter I wanted tah go after you, but Lily said we better wait, jest like Sam said. What happened?”

Rachael sat at the kitchen table while Lily washed her arms and hands. Putting salve on her scraped knuckles and cuts she wrapped them in long stripes of white cloth.  Lily washed off Rachael’s face while Ben and Jesse waited patiently to hear the story. “Git her somethin’ tah drink.  Don’t jest sit thar and stare at her,” Lily said. “She’ll tell ya in due time.”

Her bandaged hands shook as she sipped the hot coffee; she began to talk in a shaky voice.  “Well, it all started when I pulled into Clyde’s store…” She grimaced as Lily dabbed salve on her knees and continued telling them what had happened. “And then Sam told me tah get in the truck and come home.  He said we needed tah destroy the still and wash all the jars and get rid of the rest of the mash.  We need tah do that right now in case the sheriff would happen tah come out here and ask us some questions. I have no idée what Clyde might have told him.”

“Are we all goin’ tah jail?” Lily asked.

“No. I don’t think Sam is going tah do anything tah us, but he has tah make sure that the still is gone and that we never make moonshine again. He put himself on the line tah save our skins and for that we have tah be reel grateful. We could have ended up in the pokey. It’s time for us tah pack up and get the heck out of Kentucky. We’ve got enough money.  Ben, you kin call that minister tomarra and tell him he kin buy this property and then we’ll go get momma and daddy. They’re going with us whether they want tah or not.  I’m not leavin’ them here alone.  Right now I need tah get some sleep. Jesse, you and Lily kin start takin’ down the still. I’ll halp you in a few hours,” Rachael yawned.

“What about you and Sam?” Lily asked.  “I reckon he wuz kinda mad at you.”

“You’re not even close, Lily.  Anything that me and Sam had is over. He hates my guts.”  She disappeared into the bedroom.

Jesse, Ben and Lily dismantled the still while Rachael slept. They washed all the jars and packed them in boxes. After Jesse carried bags of mash and sugar up the hill and bur
ied them in a deep hole, he put all the pieces of the still in the truck, drove it up to the quarry and threw it in the dark water. Lily swept up the debris in the smoke house and helped take down the false wall. All the signs of ever running a still were gone and Rachael still never woke up. Lily checked on her twice just to make sure she was all right.  Five o’clock the next morning, she awoke with a jolt, for a moment
not remembering where she was. Every inch of her body ached.

A few minutes later, Lily poked her head in the door.

“Thar’s someone here tah see you, Rachael. It’s Sam.  He’s a waitin’ fer you out on the porch.”

Rachael poured herself a cup of coffee.  She had to get her thoughts together before facing the man she loved.  Pushing open the screen door, she meekly said, “Hi.”

“Hi to you, too,” he replied.

“How’s yer arm?” she asked.

“It’s okay. How about you? Are you all right?”

“Jest a little sore, but nothin
’s broken.”  She had no idea what tah say next.

He patted the seat next to him on the swing.  “Come sit with me. I need to talk and you need to listen without interrupt
ing me. I had a long talk with Ben while you were sleeping.  He told me how you saved his life when he wanted to end it all. He also told me how you have fought to keep this family together along with taking care of your parents and trying to make a better life for yourself. I just wish it could be some other way, Rachael, but you and I are on opposite sides of the law.  I wish I never took this assignment. I should have known that someone I knew might be involved, but I never thought it would be you. That’s why I was so darn mad at you.”

“Kin I talk now?” she asked.  “There ain’t much I kin do tah explain away what I did. I knew it wuz against the law, but I really didn’t care.  Sometimes I’d get so down them buzzards would be cir
clin’ my head, but I never gave up.  I knew somehow, someway I was gonna git outta here.  I never planned on meetin’ up with you and havin’ the feelins’ I have fer you.  It jest makes my heart ache. I reckon you know I’m reel fond of you.”

“That’s the hard part, Rachael
, because I care a lot about you, too. I have to go back to Ohio and make a full report on everything that has happened. Of course it will be riddled with lies. I don’t think I want to continue working for the agency. I’m going to look for a different job.”

“Account of me yer losin’ yer job. I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t what I wanted anyway.  I kind of got pushed into it. It was a lonely job and not very rewarding.  Most of the people I turned in were just like you, just trying to make a better life for themselves. There was really only a few, like Clyde, that was making big money on bootlegging.”

“You got any plans fer yer future, Sam?”

“I think I might look around for a business I can buy. My father always dreamed of owing a hardware store.  I think I might like something like that.  How about you, Rachael, what are you going to do?” he asked.

“I’m going tah pack up all my things and git the heck outta here. We’re gonna move tah Florida and start a new life. Ain’t nothin’ here fer me. I reckon I won’t be seein’ you any time soon. Heck, maybe never.”

“I wish I could sit right here and tell you that I might see you again, but that would be a lie. I have to get things straight in my head and make some decisions about my life.” Sam stood up. “I guess I’d better be going.  I’m going to stop back in Lynch and make sure everything is okay. Walk me to my car.”

Rachael tried to hold back the tears that were just about ready to flow down her face.  She took a deep breath and fol
lowed him
out into the yard. Sam put his arms around her and she buried her
head in his chest. “You take care of yourself and have a good time in
Florida.” He tilted her face up with his two hands and kissed her.

“I want tah thank you fer savin’ my life, Sam
, and I want tah tell you jest once that I love you.” He turned quickly and got into his car before she could say anything else.

As he pulled out of the yard, she said “Goodbye
, Sam. I love you,” and then she let the tears fall.

Chapter Thirty-Three

The next few days were spent trying to get over what had just happened to them. Lily still worried that the revenuers would return and maybe even take Violet away from her. Ben reassured her it would never happen, but Jesse was on edge and wanted to leave. He was afraid Rooster and Cooter may have some more brothers that may come looking for them.  Rachael didn’t care about any of that. Her heart still ached over losing Sam. She wanted to leave Kentucky and head for Florida, but every time she brought up the subject no one wanted to talk about it.

On Sunday evening, Rachael set the table and put the soup pot on the table. She called out for everyone to come and eat. The clink of spoons on metal bowls and the slurp of soup was all that could be heard in the usually noisy kitchen. Pulling his napkin out of his shirt, Jesse pushed his chair back.  “That was good soup, Rachael.”

“Don’t you go runnin’ off, Jesse Riley, jest sit back down. We got somethin’ we need tah talk about,” Rachael said. “It’s time we start gettin’ ready tah go tah Florida.  I’m gonna go down tah momma and daddy’s house tomarra and tell them our plans. If’n they want tah come along I’ll help them get ready.” The room was silent. “Well ain’t any of you got anythang tah say?” Rachael asked as she took the bowls off of the table. “You all are sure being tight-lipped.” She began clearing the dishes from the table.

Jesse plopped back down and stared into his empty bowl. “We ain’t a goin’ tah Floridy, Rachael.  We all decided tah stay here. I’m still scart, but I’m gonna stay.”

“What! You have got tah be kiddin’ me.  We had it all planned. Why do you want tah stay here?”  Four bowls crashed to the floor with remnants of soup splashing on to the floor.

“Now hear me out, Rachael. Goin’ tah Floridy wuz yer idée. We’uns are mountain folk, not ocean folk.  You got this big idée of sellin’ oranges and shells.  Well I betcha jest about every dumb hillbilly that went tah Floridy had the same idée.  We can’t make no livin’ doin’ that. What happens when
our money runs out? What then?”

“We’ll worry about that when the time comes,” she replied.

“We ain’t never been too keen on that plan anyway,” Ben interjected. “I reckon none of us ever thought it would come tah pass. I made mah decision and I know fer sure I’m a stayin’ right here. Least wise we got a roof over our heads. Me and Jesse done talked tah Mr. Mabry yesterday.  He’s gonna rent us that empty buildin’ next door tah him.  I reckon with our share of the money we got we kin buy some equipment and open a car repair garage. I kin teach Jesse how tah work on engines. Times is changin’ and thars more and more traffic on our road.  We saw leven cars pass by in the time we wuz thar.  Ain’t no place tah git gas or have yer car fixed between here and Lynch.  I’m thinkin’ we kin make a go of it.”

Rachael was livid.  “Is that so.  Ya’ll planned this with
out tellin’ me and then you go ahead and talk tah Mr. Mabry behind my back. Well that’s jest fine with me.  Ya’ll kin stay here, but I’m goin’ tah Florida. And what about momma and daddy? Who’s gonna take care of them?”

Lily spoke up. “We are, Rachael.  We’re gonna ask them tah come here and live.”

“Of course, you kin give them my room.”  She marched across the hallway, returning with the tin box that held their money. She dropped it down into the middle of the table. “Okay, let’s divvy up so I kin start packin’.”  She opened the box and dumped the stack of bills onto the table and began counting them out. “I divided it into four equal parts. Ya’ll kin go ahead and recount it if’n you want tah.”

“Maybe you should take a little bit more fer yerself, Rachael.  You did most of the thinkin’.  And if’n it wasn’t fer yer thing with Sam, we’d all be in jail right now,” Ben said.

Rachael picked up a stack of money and wrapped a rubber band around it. “No thanks.” She turned and stomped off. Pulling open her dresser drawers she threw her underwear and one nightshirt onto the bed. Opening the closet she took out her other pair of jeans, two shirts and the green dress Lily had made her. Stuffing all the items into her pillowcase, she sat down on the bed and sobbed. She didn’t hear Lily come into the room, until Lily put her arm around her.  Rachael moved away. “Leave me be, Lily.”

“I can’t stand fer you tah be mad at us. You know how much I love you. Yer like a sister tah me.  You done so much fer me, I kin never repay you. Ben’s my husband, I gotta side with him. We wuz plannin’ on tellin’ you, but then everythin’ hap
pened so fast. We sure didn’t mean tah hurt you.  You’ve been so good tah me and Ben, it jest breaks my heart tah see you leave. Can’t you stay here with us?”

Rachael wiped her nose on her sleeve. “And do what, Lily? Ain’t nothin’ here fer me. You see this,” she said, point
ing to the pillow case, “Everythin’ I own is in here and I could throw it in a trash pile and it wouldn’t make no difference. This is you and Ben’s house, not mine.  And Jesse, he kin do what he wants, but I want more fer myself and damn it, I’m gonna get it.”

“I’m gonna miss you a whole lot and so will Violet and thars one other thing I’ve been fixin’ tah tell you. I’m pregnant. Me and Ben are gonna have a baby of our own. Ben’s reel scart about bein’ a daddy. That’s one reason why he didn’t want tah move away. He wuz afraid he couldn’t make a livin’ fer his family. Don’t be mad at us, Rachael.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Like I said, we wuz plannin’ on tellin’ you everythang and havin’ a little celebration but th
en all hell broke loose and everythang happened faster than we thought.  Please don’t hate us.”

Rachael put her arms around Lily.  “I won’t hate you.  I could never hate my family.  I reckon I’m jest pissed off right now, but I’ll git over it. I’m jest disappointed that our plan didn’t work out. I need tah go see momma. I have tah tell her I’m leavin’.”

Rachael parked the truck in the front yard of her par
ent’s house. She sat for a moment trying to get her thoughts together. The place looked worse than ever.  The roof was sagging on the left side and one of the front windows was boarded up. She couldn’t understand how they could live in such a horrible place. She made up her mind what she had to do.  She jumped when she heard her mother calling her name.

“You je
st gonna sit out thar all day?”