Moonshine Hollow

Chapter One

The train was late.

She pushed back her cuffed sleeve and glanced warily down at her watch. The dainty time piece shone brightly in the sun, its delicate hands with their tiny encrusted diamonds reflected the sunlight overhead. The train was a full ten minutes late. She glanced back at the tracks.

Nothing.

She closed her eyes and silently willed the train to appear. There was no sound other then the birds overhead and the wind in the trees. She opened her eyes.

It didn't work.

She looked at her wrist again and only thirty more seconds had passed. She lifted the brand new watch to her ear to double check it was still working properly.

It was.

She had not traveled far enough to have this kind of delay.

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Her bag was heavy, but the fine film of slick red clay on the platform already clung to the bottoms of her uncomfortable heels. She dared not risk the bottom of her carpet bag being soiled. 

"Ma'am...Ma'am?"

It took her several moments to realize it was she the elderly station master was speaking to in such respectful tones. She quickly shook her sleeve down so it covered her wrist once more. She tightened her grip on the worn handle of the carpet bag as he approached. She took a deep breath and when she turned to face him a polite smile was firmly in place.

"Pardon me, ma'am," he was older than she expected, slim and knobby as a scarecrow with a slight stoop when he walked. "I'm sorry to say, but we just had word from up state and the train is quite late." He motioned vaguely over his shoulder to the town beyond.

Panic clawed at her throat and prevented her from showing the polite concern that would be the appropriate reaction to this kind of news.

She could not stay here any longer than necessary.

She didn't even know where 'here' was. There had been no announcement when the train arrived and there was no sign on the platform. She dug into her pocket and with shaking hands pulled out her rumpled ticket.  

She had never heard of Harken, Tennessee. Looking to the town beyond she was certain that was not an uncommon occurrence. If one could even call it a town. It was surprising there was even a train stop here. There was a short main street with a few tired looking buildings and a church steeple nestled up in the hollow of the rolling hills of the Appalachians.

She could not stay here. 

                "Thank you sir," She replied in her sweetest voice. The man's accent was rich and lazy as a summer afternoon. She made an effort to color hers to match hoping he would be more inclined to help her and less inclined to remember her.

She turned away from him, searching for a place to sit. It would be a stretch to say Harken, Tennessee had a train station. There was no building, only the slick, mud coated wood platform with a small booth just large enough for the station master. There was a single bench off to the side away from the platform but the mud in front of it was thick and red. The clouds were rolling directly overhead but the hills prevented her from seeing if there was a more aggressive storm rolling towards the sleepy little town.  

She had an umbrella gripped between the handles of her carpet bag, but if a real summer storm blew in it would do little to shield her. It was ungodly hot and humid, even for August in the south. She could already feel the sweat slipping down her spine and she regretted the need for the long sleeve dress she wore.

Assessing her options once more, she started towards the bench, her spine stiff and straight. She wanted to appear confident, as though she traveled alone by train every day and it was common place for her to sit alone on strange benches in strange towns. After all, trains were often late and a worldly traveler would be unfazed by the mild inconvenience. 

"Ah, Ma'am," the station master called after her.

She stopped and faced him completely for the first time. He looked dazed for a second as he really looked at her. She was striking. She was aware of it, though she was not vain, quite the opposite in fact. Self consciously she reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She hated when people noticed. It was the very thing that had gotten her in this mess in the first place. She dropped her eyes to the ground and waited for him to compose himself.

He swallowed several times before he was able to stammer out his answer. "By quite late, I mean it will be a few hours at least. Maybe more," he said apologetically. He glanced at the sky. "And it's likely to rain. This part of the country, afternoon rainstorms are as dependable as the sunrise ma'am."

She barely contained her weary sigh. She could not stay here. "Is there somewhere I could wait?"

The man smiled a full real smile. He seemed genuinely please he could help her. "Indeed ma'am. We have a real nice local diner owned by the sheriff's wife. She is a excellent cook and I could drop you there on my way home for lunch."

Her heart started knocking against her ribs at the mere mention of the sheriff. She tightened her fingers on the handle of her bag until her nails bit into her skin.  The pain helped her focus. She couldn't go anywhere near that diner.

"Any other places?" she inquired casually, not wanting to seem ungrateful for the man's generous offer of a ride. She was not going to make it far in this mud in the heels she wore. She frowned down at her dainty Mary Jane's. They had seemed like such a good idea when she bought them the day before.

The man grimaced but seemed unwilling to lie to her. "There's another place, it's called Garrett's ma'am."         

A truck bounced up the road towards them, it's springs creaking and groaning all the way. "Why there's the sheriff now. He eat every day at his wife's diner." The station master lifted his hand as the sheriff drove by. The sheriff waved back good naturedly as his wheels spun through the mud.

She lifted her hand to fix her hair and shield her face. "The Garrett's," she started, drawing his attention, "do they serve food there, sir?"

The man frowned. "Well yes ma'am they do. They got a black cook there, but she make some real good food."

"That will do nicely," she replied brightly. "Could you point me in the right direction?"

"Well it's up the road a piece ma'am, further in the hills," he hedged. "And if you don't mind me say'in so ma'am perhaps it's not the best place for a lady such as yourself. It's more for work'in men. They sell 'shine up there and its run by some local boys who ain't-"

She waved off his words. She was desperate to find any place to wait other than the diner or out in the open where she would be noticed. With what her luck had been lately the sheriff would see her on his way by and stop for a chat.

"I have always enjoyed sampling to local fair when I travel." She sounded worldly as she prayed he would not notice how badly her hands were shaking.

"Well, it would be a bit of a walk in them heels," the man said, turning a little pink behind his ears. "But it's on my way home, so I could drop you."

She hesitated at the prospect of getting into a vehicle with a strange man. But between a short ride with the older man and facing the sheriff, she chose the lesser of two evils. "That would be very generous of you."