Fire on the Mountain Read online

  Bobby clenched his jaw, turning away just in time to see a tanker truck lurching up the driveway. Without looking back, he strode toward the truck and started performing his job.

  *

  Rose felt Ron side. Losing the still was like losing an old friend. Her heart was torn and suffering and she wasn’t sure she could do this anymore. Moonshine had been a big part of her life and she prided herself on her recipes.

  Clinging to Johnny, she watched by the guide to tanker truck to the yard toward the woods, getting as close as possible to the flaming remains of her still.

  “Are you going to be all right?” Johnny asked, patting her back. She took a shuddering breath. Put your big girl panties on. Straightening, she released her hold on his shirt and rubbed her eyes. “I don’t have much choice but to be all right.” She dropped her hands, parking them on her hips, and shook her head. “It’s always something or another.”

  The sun glinted off the metal piece he was holding at his side. She reached for it. “What’s this you have?”

  “Bobby brought that out of the woods with him. It’s piece of the still.”

  Rose twirled it in her fingers. The coil glimmered warmly in the gloaming light, the smudges of suet giving the coppery fiery color depth. “I think I’m going to keep this,” she said, her heart softening from its initial shock. “Even if I don’t use it again, it will be a sort of reminder.”

  “With a little tinkering, you might be able to use it again.” Johnny reached out and took it from her. He ran his fingers over it, following the spring-like spiral. He frowned. “It’s dented and kinked but I think I can make it usable.”

  Rose turned back toward the woods, watching the firemen work with their equipment— shovels, axes, and hoses— while they bank the blaze from her still. Anyone of them would know just what the twisted pieces of metal were stashed back there in those woods. Some of them had bought shine from her and as for the others, they were all from these Hills and knew what moon shining was all about. A few of them glanced her way every so often, looking first at her, then at the Sheriff. Bobby had busied himself with a shovel, tossing dirt onto any sparks that landed in the grass. Rose figured the firemen were wondering just when the Sheriff was going to slap the cuffs on her.

  The sun was well behind the trees now. Someone had set up a rack of floodlights so the men could finish their job. Rose slid her arm around Johnny’s waist and leaned into him. Events of the day were wearing on her. Her body felt tired and worn, her mind not much better.

  “I should be helping them,” Johnny said with a heavy sigh. “Hope I didn’t just lose my job.”

  She hadn’t thought of that. She’d been too focused on her own predicament. “You don’t think the captain would fire you for staying with me, do you?” She could barely see his face in the dusky light.

  He squeezed her shoulder. “He might but don’t worry. I’ll find something else. You’re more important anyway.” He turned her toward him and lowered his face to hers, brushing her lips with a kiss. Johnny captured her face in his hands and focused on her eyes. “You are the most important thing in my life.”

  A sense of warmth and love wrapped around her like threads of thick smoke. She smiled at him, his eyes glittering like stars in the night. “So, are perfectly okay, right? I mean, with all that happened today. With Bobby.” She wasn’t sure why she asked. He hadn’t said anything to the contrary. She guessed she just wanted a little extra reassurance.

  Johnny let out a history his teeth. “I’ve told you, whatever makes you happy makes me happy. If you want to include Bobby and what we have together, I’m okay with it.” He kissed her forehead. “You were denied so much when you were growing up. Don’t you know I want to give you the world and more?”

  “I love you, Johnny. I truly do.” Her heart swelled with emotion. Pressing up on her tip toes, rose kissed him tenderly, their breath intermingling.

  Men shouting and calling to each other caused her to turn back toward where they were working. It seemed like quite a few of them were gathering up their gear and moving toward the trucks. “I wonder what’s going on?” She asked, noticing she could no longer see a flicker of fire in the trees.

  “Looks like they have it under control. We may as well head on in the house. If there’s trouble, they’ll tell us.”

  Rose began to walk beside Johnny, exhaustion preying on her heavily. Before walking into the house, she stopped on the porch, looking toward the driveway.

  Alone man and a Sheriff’s uniform walked across the gravel toward the Sheriff’s cruiser. He reached for the driver’s door, opened it, and turned.

  Rose could feel his eyes on her even though she couldn’t see his face in the deepening darkness. Even at this distance, the heat generated between the two of them fire licked her skin. She opened her mouth to call him inside, then stopped when he slid behind the wheel and slammed the door closed. Turning expertly, Bobby drove off down the driveway, the red taillights of the cruiser like a peer of angry eyes in the dark.

  Rose’s stomach clenched and she crossed her arms around herself.

  Why was he leaving?

  Chapter Eight

  Two weeks later, Rose could still smell the burned-out scent from the remains of the fire. She shoved her hair back out of her face, sweat beading on her forehead as she worked to hook the old copper coil left over from her previous still to the new one she was building.

  “How long do you think it will take to get this up and running?” Johnny asked, brushing the dirt from his hands on the legs of his jeans.

  She tightened the connector, giving it one final twist, before she straightened and turned to look at Johnny. “That’s the final connection. Now all I need to do is gather my ingredients and start a new batch of moonshine. I should be back in business within a week.” She placed her hands on her hips and stretched backward, her lower back aching from the effort of rebuilding the still. “That is unless I get arrested again.”

  Rose hadn’t seen Sheriff Bobby Shepherd since the night of the fire. The last time she saw him he was leaving in the Sheriff’s cruiser. She missed him. She didn’t know why, but she felt a connection to him. A connection that drove straight to her heart. Johnny had been by her side ever since the fire, drying her tears and listening to her complain about not having the still in working order. She had managed to survive on what little money she had saved but that was going fast. She needed to get her business back up and going.

  Johnny came up beside her, his hand going to her lower back. “I haven’t heard anything about the Sheriff,” he said. “All I know is that I think he was taken with you and I doubt very much that he would ever arrest you.” He smiled down at her and winked. “Although he might put those cuffs on you again. I think you enjoyed that.”

  Remembering what it happened in the kitchen that day, with her hands cuffed behind her back and Johnny and Bobby pleasuring her in a way she had never experienced before cause heat to flare deep inside her. She wished Bobby had at least called. She had no idea what his feelings for her were. Thinking of him over these past two weeks, she had picked up the phone at least three times but stopped before she dialed his number. The only way she had of getting a hold of him was through the Sheriff’s office and she doubted the dispatcher would take her call and send it through Bobby. Besides, she wouldn’t want the dispatcher listening into what she had to say to the man that it brought her so much pleasure, a man who was filled with so much passion it seared her skin when he touched her.

  “If Bobby ever came back, would you still be open to him joining with us? I mean, do you think the three of us could share a relationship together?” Rose slid her arm around Johnny’s waist and turned, urging him to walk back up the path toward the house. “I know it’s a lot to ask but for some reason, with the two of you, I sort of felt complete.”

  “If that’s what would make you happy,” Johnny said, hugging her tightly to his side as they walked. “But then we don’t know how he feels.
I’m surprised he hasn’t been back.”

  The two of them broke out of the trees, entering the backyard. “Maybe he really doesn’t want to be with me,” Rose said softly. “Maybe it was just an afternoon romp for him.”

  Johnny shook his head. “No, I think it was more than that. I could see the look in his eyes when he looked at you. The tenderness in his touch when he touched you. It’s possible that the strength of his feelings for you scared him.”

  She looked up at him as they approach the porch. “He’s the Sheriff. Why would I scare him?”

  Johnny laughed. “You can be a very scary woman at times.” He dipped his head down and kissed her quickly. “Especially when you’re wild and in the throes of passion. But that’s one of the things I love about you. The way you can let yourself go, just let yourself feel. I don’t ever want to see you change.”

  “Well, maybe he’ll show up someday. Hopefully not to arrest me for making the legal alcohol.” She grinned and took him by the hand. “I think you and I both could use a nice cold glass of lemonade.” She started up the steps of the porch, pulling Johnny behind her. The sound of a car’s tires crunching the gravel of her driveway caused her to stop in turn to see who was coming.

  Rose’s stomach clenched, nervousness invading her veins when she realized it was a Sheriff’s cruiser coming up the driveway.

  “Well, speak of the devil,” Johnny said, shoving his hands in the back pockets of his jeans.

  Rose laced her fingers together, and that the inside of her lip. She watched the Sheriff Bobby Shepherd emerged from the car, unfolding his tall frame and placing his hat on his head. He closed the car door and stood for a moment gazing at her. That it looked as if he had taken a deep breath just before he started walking toward the porch. “I wonder what he wants,” she said quietly, so only Johnny could hear.

  “Looks like we’re going to find out,” Johnny said.

  “Good afternoon, Rose.” Bobby reached up and tilted his hat back slightly, revealing his eyes. “How have you been?”

  Rose swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. “I’ve been fine. I haven’t seen you in a while.”

  Bobby glanced away toward the woods, his lips forming a firm line. A moment later he met her gaze. “I meant to call you.”

  “Well, I haven’t heard the phone ring.” She sucked in her breath quickly, hoping she hadn’t just pissed him off. “I’m sorry, sometimes my mouth gets ahead of my brain. I didn’t mean to snap at you.” That’s when she noticed the papers he was holding in one hand. A tendril of fear ran up her spine. Was he here to arrest her again? How could he does she had already rebuilt her still? It wasn’t possible, was it? “What’s that you have there in your hand? Is it for me?”

  Johnny placed his hand on her shoulder, stepping closer protectively. “There hasn’t been any trouble around here, Sheriff, if that’s what you’re here for.”

  Bobby shook his head, one corner of his mouth curling up in a half smile. He reached up and removed his hat with his free hand. “I haven’t heard of any trouble up here. That’s not what I’m here for. If you’ll invite me inside, maybe for a glass of lemonade or something, I’ll tell you what these papers are all about.”

  There was only one way to find out what he was here for. “Come on in. We were just got to have a glass of lemonade ourselves.” Rose turned and walked to the screen door pulling an open and stepping into the house. The two men followed behind her. “Sit down boys,” she said, taking three tall glasses out of the cabinet. After filling the glasses with ice, filling them to the brim with the lemonade she had made earlier this morning, she sat down at the head of the table, one man on either side of her. “So tell me, Bobby, why are you here?” She hoped it would be just because he wanted to see her again but she doubted that. He had come bearing paperwork and she had a feeling it wasn’t something good. She took a sip of lemonade and waited.

  Bobby reached across the table and clasped her hand in his. “I’m sorry I haven’t called or stop by. I just had some things to think about.” He ran his thumb over her fingers. “I never thought I would meet anyone like you. What passed between us on that day, when I first met you, was something so strong it scared me a little.” He glanced at Johnny. “Johnny, I hope I’m not stepping on any toes here, but I have very strong feelings for this little woman right here.”

  Johnny cleared his throat. “I know the feeling. I love her more than life itself. But I have to admit, she’s too much woman for one man to handle.”

  “So,” Bobby said, choosing his words very carefully. “You have no problem with me courting her too?”

  Johnny chuckled. “Courting her? That’s sort of an old-fashioned word for what transpired between us, isn’t it?”

  Bobby smiled. “It is. But that’s what I’d like to do.” He turned his gaze back to Rose. “Would that be all right with you?”

  His words made Rose feel special. He made her feel like a lady. “I would love that,” she said, squeezing his hand. “But why did you wait so long to come back?”

  “I wanted to take care of something first.” Bobby spread out the papers that he carried in with him on the tabletop. “I wanted to do something for you, basically to keep you out of trouble.” He scooted the paperwork across the table toward her. “I need you to look these over and sign them.”

  Rose frowned, pulling the paperwork toward her. “What is this I’m signing?” She scanned the paperwork, trying to figure out what it was. It was something to do with starting up an independent distillery.

  “Well, I didn’t want to have to arrest you, so I thought I’d do something to make it legal for you to brew your moonshine since that’s what you seem to want to do.” Bobby smiled at her, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

  “What? What are you mean make it legal?” She didn’t quite understand what he was saying or what this paperwork was about.

  Bobby flipped over the first page of the paperwork, turning it to a page where it needed a signature. “If you fill out the right forms, it is legal in the state of Tennessee to open your own distillery. I took the liberty of filling out paperwork, paying the application fee, and putting the whole thing in your name. You can operate your still and do it legally.”

  She quickly read down the paperwork, noticing he had named the distillery Rich Mountain Moonshine. “You did all this, paid for it and everything, for me?” She glanced up at him, her heart wrenching, tears beginning to burn her eyes.

  Bobby leaned back in his chair, crossing one ankle over the opposite knee. “I took the job the Sheriff because I like helping people. Helping you start your business would make me one of the happiest people on the mountain. Besides, if we are going to have a relationship, I can’t be associated with the criminal. If you don’t operate the still legally, that’s just what you’ll be.”

  Johnny rose from his chair and came around behind hers. He looked over her shoulder at the paperwork. “I didn’t know this was possible. Sign the paperwork, Rose. This is exactly what we need. You can grow your business, and we can all start a life together.”

  A tear trickled down Rose’s cheek. She looked over at Bobby. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”

  “I have the feeling I’m going to be doing a lot more than this for you. And I’ll love every minute of it.” He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out an ink pen. “Now just sign the papers. Then maybe we can celebrate.”

  Chapter Nine

  Rose had never expected anything like this. Having her still being able to prove moonshine legally would truly destress her life. She could even advertise. Not only were to income improve, she could actually walk the streets of Wicked Mountain with her head held high.

  With shaking hands, she signed the papers and shoved them back across the table toward Bobby. “I still don’t know why you’re doing this for me,” she said, swiping the tear from her cheek.

  “Maybe because I’m a little bit in love with you.” Bobby smiled softly at her.

  John
ny placed his hands on both her shoulders, squeezing. Then he leaned down and kissed her cheek. “What are you say we seal this deal right now by taking you to bed and showing you just how we feel about you?”

  Rose covered her face with her hands, a myriad of emotions raging inside her. With no words spoken, the two men eased her from her chair at the table and guided her toward the staircase. Once they reached her bedroom, they tenderly removed her clothes, raining kisses on her body as soft as butterfly wings.

  Within minutes she was nestled between them in bed, skin to skin. Johnny kissed away her tears while Bobby soothed her with long, smooth strokes of his hands over her body. It wasn’t long before the heat generated between the three of them flashed over into flames.

  “I need you,” she said, taking Bobby’s face in her hands and kissing him deeply.

  “I want you,” Bobby said, swiping his tongue over her bottom lip. He rolled onto his back, taking her with him. Scooting down in the bed, he lifted her then brought her down, impaling her on his thick shaft.

  Rose groaned, Bobby’s cock filling her. She began to move, rocking her hips, grinding against him. Bobby reached up taking her breasts in his hands, rolling her taut nipples between his fingers. Sharp sparks shot to the back of her tongue.

  Johnny moved on the bed, positioning himself at Bobby’s head. He placed one hand on top of Rose’s head.

  She looked up to see Johnny’s cock, a glistening beat of pre-cum beading on its smooth tip. Feeling wanton, she grasped the base of it with her hand and drew it into her mouth, rolling her tongue around it with long strokes.

  The three of them began to move together, their size and moans filling the room with her passion. Rose felt fully complete, Bobby buried deep in her pussy while Johnny thrust into her mouth. With ragged breath, she shuddered, her world breaking into sharp pieces of glass as she came. The two men followed her, spilling their seed into her body, which she welcomed wholeheartedly.