Rise and Shine (Shine On Series, Book 2) (29 page)

She nodded and swallowed hard. This was her chance to explain. She had a feeling Bo was right. Silas cared way more about the pants than she thought he would. “I didn’t want to get another dress all cut up. And you said you didn’t want me coming home with any more cuts or scratches if I went back down there. These protected my legs better and I could move in them too.”

“Oh, we can all see how you move in them.” It was the quiet in his voice that made it hard to judge how he felt. If he would just shout, she might feel better.

He pulled the waist of the pants and the button popped off. Emmie took a step backward, leaning on the kitchen table. She tried to take in the expression in his eyes but it was unfamiliar. He held on to her waistband with one hand and rubbed his jaw with the other before he spoke.

“So, you thought running down there to those Johnson boys in these pants…” He ground his teeth together. “These pants that show every inch of your ass, every curve of your thigh, every piece of you that is only supposed to be seen by me… you thought that was the better alternative than a scratch.”

Emmie shook her head and tried to find the words for no, but she couldn’t. She was so confused about what she was feeling. His hands untucked the flannel shirt and made quick work of the buttons.

She stood there in front of him while he took in the sight of her. After a few seconds self-consciousness kicked in and she closed the shirt around her exposed stomach. She attempted to move away from the table and go upstairs to change into something else.

He put his arm out to stop her. “Wait.” His breath was in her ear. She couldn’t decide if she was melting inside or angry. He bent down and picked up the newspapers, running his hand on the inside of her leg as he stood. She felt her breath hitch in her throat at his touch. He grinned when he saw the response.

“Silas, I need to change. What if Trick comes in?”

“He won’t.” Silas answered quickly. “Tell me what you ran off and told Bo.”

“Fine. Just give me some room to breathe,” she said.

He put his hands up and took a step back, looking totally satisfied with the way she was flustered.

“Will Thomas. He is in both of those photographs.” She jabbed at each of the photos.

Silas looked surprised for a second and then leaned in for a closer look. He was careful to keep all expression from his face. He looked up at her and said, “And you felt like this was something you needed to run and tell the Johnsons, before you talked about it with me?”

“No, I just wanted all of the details I could get before I talked to you.”

“And what details did you think he would be able to give you?” he asked with an arched brow.

“Well, his brother-in-law took Will’s place at the store. I think that sounds more than a little fishy, don’t you?” She put a hand on her hip.

“His brother-in-law works for Mr. Thomas?” he asked. This time he couldn’t keep the surprise off of his face. “Which brother-in-law?”

“Umm… Steven, I think.”

Silas paced the length of the kitchen once before turning to speak again. “And you didn’t think you needed to tell me any of this? You just ran off to meet that hillbilly hoping he would help you put the pieces together?”

“No, I thought he may know something that would be helpful to you because I can see you don’t have this puzzle put together yet.”

Silas put his finger out at her and said quietly, “Don’t ever go to another man with my business again.”

“I would have talked to you first but you were gone. You left in the middle of the night to go do God-knows-what,” she said a bit louder than she meant.

He laughed without humor and took back the space he’d given her just a few seconds before. “God knows what?” He repeated her words. “I can tell you this Emmie, if I was dressed as indecent as you are and out meeting some woman in the middle of the woods, how would that make you feel?”

Her heart sped up. A part of her started to see how he saw this. She would be livid if he’d been out in the woods with some woman she didn’t really know. But she wasn’t dressed indecently.

“I’m sorry that I made you angry. You’re right. I would be mad. But I’m not indecent. I would never go meet some boy looking indecent. These things make me look like a boy and I don’t know why you’re getting all riled up over them.” She looked down at her legs.

Silas shook his head to disagree. His mouth met hers with such force it caused her to stumble against the table. She wasn’t prepared for the swift change in emotion. He reached a hand around her waist to steady her. He grabbed her hips tightly and lifted her onto the table never breaking his mouth from hers. His hands moved to the zipper of the pants and jerked it down causing them to slide lower her hips.

“Hmm… Guess you weren’t kidding about not letting him see your flour sack underwear.” He took in the sight of Emmie’s only pair of silk panties.

“Flour sacks don’t fit in the pants.”

His hands were rough as they pulled her mouth up to his. He undid her hair until it fell around her shoulders, covering them both. He kissed every inch of her lips, her jaw, down her neck. She struggled to breath as he undid the top two buttons of her shirt, leaving a trail of soft kisses to her collarbone. He sighed, brought his hands to her hips and put his forehead against hers. Resting it there for a moment before he spoke.

“Mo chuisle, you are mine,” he whispered. “Always.”

Emmie pulled back and nodded slowly looking up at him. “I love you, Silas.”

Chapter Forty-two

E
mmie pulled her flannel shirt closer around her neck slid down off the table as Silas moved away from her. Just moments ago they had been so close but now he was across the room at the sink. He reached for a glass, got a sip of water and slammed the glass back down on the counter. She walked quietly over to him and tucked herself close to his side. She waited for him to put an arm around her, but he didn’t. Leaning up on her toes she kissed his cheek. He stood frozen in place. She noticed his jaw clenched when she touched him.

He reached around her and grabbed a piece of paper. It took her a second to recognize the note he’d left for her that morning. He smacked his hand on the counter as he put it down in front of where she was standing.

Silas moved away from her and pointed to the note. “What was so damn confusing about
stay home
Emmie?”

She frowned, looking up at him, confused by his rapid change.

“What?” she asked, her voice quiet.

“Tell me how I can make that any clearer for you next time,” he shouted.

“Wait.” She cleared the space between them. “Don’t yell at me.”

“Get yourself changed.” He took a good look at her. “Meet me in the car.”

“Silas,” her heart was pounding, “I thought…”

“What did you think, Emmie? That I’m some kind of pushover? Bat your eyes, kiss me, and I wouldn’t be mad that you have no regard for what I ask of you? No regard for the fact I’m trying to take care of you… to keep you safe,” he said with the same matter-of-fact tone someone might use to talk of the weather.

What was he saying? She felt her throat start to tighten. “No, I don’t think you’re a pushover… just a decent human being,” she shouted. She pointed at the table to remind him of the last few minutes they’d spent together. “You can’t kiss me like… touch me like that in one second and then be mad at me the next.”

“Damn it, Emmie. I love you but that doesn’t mean I’m not mad as hell at you right now. I’m at the epicenter of a moonshine war and I asked you to do one thing today. One thing. Stay home. Because I don’t know what’s going on out there and you run off to some bootlegger’s cabin in the middle of the woods,” he shouted, then took a deep breath and resumed the same icy composure as before.

“I did that for you. I wanted to help you. I wanted to know if Steven knew anything.”

“It is not your place to mix in my business. You only know what I want you to know.”

“Stop talking to me like that. I know things you don’t want me to. You didn’t have a clue about Will Thomas without me. You didn’t know about Steven without me,” she said.

“I’m done with this. Go get yourself cleaned up. I’ll see you in the car.” He grabbed his satchel from the den.

Emmie stomped upstairs; he left through the door. She realized once she was up there she had no idea where they were going. She threw on an old dress that Ava had brought her back from Chicago a few years ago.

Emmie sat down and looked at herself in the mirror, attempting to cover her tear-stained cheeks with powder to no avail. How could he be so soft then so hard? How could he kiss her like that one moment and shout the next. Tears spilled over her eyes again and she gave up hope of making herself look less haggard. She brushed and braided her hair and pulled it back. As she made her way down the stairs she realized she hadn’t seen Spotty. She put a dish of scraps out for him on the porch and whistled, but he didn’t come. Maybe he’d followed Max to the train station. She wouldn’t have been surprised if that’s where he’d been. Sometimes he liked to roam. He’d make his way home soon and have some food when he got there.

As she walked to the car she could see the men were talking but stopped the minute her fingertips touched the door handle. Silas had been laughing. It made her want to claw his eyes out, but she’d probably regret that tomorrow, so she slammed the door instead.

“Easy on my car, Em,” Trick said from the back seat. Clearly he thought the worst of the fight was over. Poor him, he didn’t know it had only just started.

She didn’t reply to Trick or look at him. She kept her eyes focused on the landscape from her window. Silas picked up some easy conversation with the man in the back. He never introduced her.
You know what I want you to know.
His words rang back to her. Clearly, he didn’t want her to know this man.

“So where are you taking me? Or is that something I don’t
need to know
either?” she said, looking out the window. Nonetheless, she could feel Silas’s eyes staring at the back of her head.

“The DeCarmilla’s. Vince is back in town and we have the butcher brothers here and a few others coming into town, your house won’t be big enough for everyone,” he said, keeping his voice carefree.

“And you’d just assumed I’d want to stay with you?” Emmie gritted her teeth as she turned to face him. An angry tear snaked down her cheek. She didn’t even bother to wipe it away.

“I don’t want you to be alone right now. Would you rather go to the Johnson’s?” he asked with an arrogant air.

She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. “Sure. Just let me run home and get my pants first.”

Silas raised his eyebrows in surprise at her comment. A moment of silence passed as he shifted gears. There were so many things he wanted to say to her at that moment but they would only prolong this argument. Silas never uttered another word the whole way to the DeCarmilla’s. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and smoked it as he drove, just like nothing had passed between them.

Emmie found herself hoping that Ava would be there. She knew her friend was in Chicago but she realized for the first time how much she missed Ava. Her smile, carefree nature, and the way she would have had just the right words to put Silas in his place after he had treated her like that.

The driveway was full of cars. They all looked the same to her. Black. Expensive. Shiny. When she opened the door, finding the house abuzz with people, most of whom she’d never met. Vince greeted her at the door with a grin. He wrapped his arms around her, “If it isn’t ole Emmie Shimmy.”

She tried to smile but came up short. When she pulled away he took a look at her face. “What’s bothering you, Em?” he asked.

“Just tired. I think I’ll head up to Ava’s room for a bit.” Unfortunately, her eyes were still watering and threatening to spill over onto her cheeks.

Gabe walked up behind him. “Glad you are here.” He squeezed her shoulder. “We were afraid we wouldn’t know where to find you. I thought Silas was gonna flip his lid.” He took in her face for the first time. “Oh God, did he flip his lid on you? Do you need me to talk to him?”

She looked back and forth between Gabe and Vince. “Things are fine. I’m just tired. Actually, I think I’d like to call Ava, if you’ll excuse me.” Vince gave Gabe an odd expression and then moved away from him. That was strange, almost like he was angry with Gabe.

Emmie found the telephone nearest the kitchen and called Ava. It took a while for the operator to connect her. It seemed to be eternity before she heard her friend’s voice on the other end of the line.

“Hello.” Ava’s voice was hoarse.

“Ava, my gosh, it is so good to hear your voice,” Emmie said.

“You too, sweetie,” Ava said quietly.

“You okay, Av? Your voice sounds off.”

“I’m okay. Just have the stomach flu.”

“Oh, bless your heart. That’s the worst. I sure do miss you.”

“Me too, Emmie.”

Emmie was surprised that Ava wasn’t talking more. This was so unlike her.

“Emmie, I’m sorry honey. I’m not feeling great today. Can I give you a call tomorrow?”

“Sure. I’m sorry.”