Wildwood Flower

A few days passed before Nora borrowed Poppa's truck and following his directions, drove herself over to the Blackwater Station. Though Poppa's suggestion had embarrassed her initially, the more Nora thought about it, the better the idea seemed. She was spending her days cooped up in the house, wandering the woods when she wasn't reading, and Momma had started getting more and more blue has the days wore on. Nora had a hard time seeing her like that, she had thought maybe her Momma would start healing once they were in Virginia. She had seemed to improve, Nora remembered the day they went to town together, but that wasn't the case. The fabric Hadley had ambitiously purchased to make new curtains now sat balled up in the corner of her bedroom.

Nora guided the truck out of the woods and the Station came into view. It was bigger than she had expected, a two story wooden building with a large covered porch, a gas pump out front, and lots of land surrounding it. There were a few automobiles parked off to the side, Nora guessed they belonged to patrons. Jack was outside with a sandy haired man, both of them watching as she rumbled to a stop beside the other autos.

Nora tucked her long curly hair behind her ears, she hadn't bothered to pin it back. She had taken the time to apply a bit of mascara and define her eyebrows, other than that her look was very simple and plain. She'd chosen a plain, dark green dress with ¾ length sleeves and black, flat shoes.

Jack and his friend watched as Nora stepped out of the truck, the cloud of dust the tires had kicked up settling behind the truck.

“Hi Nora,” Jack said, approaching the truck with a smile. This was the first time they'd seen each other since the dance and Jack seemed to have a somewhat nervous energy about him.

“Hello, Jack,” She smiled back to him, closing the door of the truck, “I was wondering if Forrest is around?”

“He's inside,” Jack answered, his friend nudged him, “Oh, Nora, This is Cricket.”

“Pleased to meet you, Ma'am,” Cricket smiled, holding his hand out to her.

“The pleasure is mine,” Nora responded politely, shaking his thin hand, she could see a blush creeping over his cheeks.

“I can take you in to Forrest,” Jack offered, gesturing toward the building. Nora hesitated for just a moment, a flutter of nervousness rising in her stomach. She remembered how it felt at the dance, feeling like her presence was a burden to Forrest, she hoped that wouldn't be the case today. That moment at dinner, when she caught him looking at her during grace also played out in her mind and her stomach was doing somersaults as Jack lead her up the steps of the porch.



Forrest sat at his desk, looking over his ledger and studying the numbers there. Business was booming, the money flowing like moonshine from his stills, he just needed to keep an eye on it. If Jack were in charge of the cash, he'd buy cars and suites and be throwing the money around like it was going out of style. Howard would spend it on women and would end up drinking more product than he was sellin', Forrest kept his wallet tight, saving the money for the proverbial rainy day.

“Gotcher self a girl, Jack?” Forrest heard from the dining room of the station, the statement lifting his thoughts from the numbers. He could wonder for only a brief moment, there was a knock at the solid pine door. Forrest pushed himself back from the desk, leaving his pen to hold his place as he closed his ledger. He crossed the creaky floor, putting his gray cardigan on as he did so and adjusted the small snub-nose revolver he carried in his waist band before he opened the door.

Nora Whitaker stood there with Jack, who was beaming like a damn fool. Forrest expertly hid his surprise, keeping his expression neutral as he looked at the two of them. He knew she looked beautiful without even looking at her. The dark green of her dress was a stark contrast against her porcelain skin, her hair hung in a loose wreath around her face, framing her features.

“Nora,” Forrest said, greeting her and allowing himself to meet her eyes.

“Hello Forrest,” She smiled, despite her grin he could tell she was doing her best to hide the fact that she was nervous, “May I speak with you?”

He nodded and stepped aside, allowing her into the small room that doubled as his study. Forrest gave Jack a look that told him to get going, his younger brother understanding his wordless instructions. He shut the door and turned to face the girl. His heart was beating in his ears as he crossed the room, passing within inches of her. He pulled the chair he'd previously occupied out for Nora before leaning his bulky frame against his old, worn desk.

“Have a seat,” Forrest offered, gesturing toward the chair. Nora obliged him, closing the distance between them and folding herself into the seat with grace. Forrest looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to begin.

“Well,” Nora started, looking up to him with her hands folded neatly in her lap. She paused before speaking again, Forrest could nearly hear her struggling to get her words in order, “The other day, my Poppa mentioned you were looking for help around here and I was thinking about it and if you still need help, I'd like the opportunity...”

“Mmm,” Forrest grumbled with a nod, his eyes leaving her to focus on the door. His better judgment told him to say no to her. With the rumblings of trouble this new deputy in town threatened to bring, he knew things could get messy, he was prepared for them to get messy. Forrest didn't want to put her in harms way, just like he didn't want Henry in harms way, “Nora this ain't as simple as your grandfather made it seem. The men that come here don't come here for Jack's sloppy food, they come here for what we sell. These men aren't good, upstandin' people, they're rough men and you bein'-” He stopped himself, tiptoeing around his words, “a woman, they're gonna talk to you differ'nt than they'd talk to Jack or Howard or me. We won't always be here to keep 'em in line.”

“I can look after myself,” Nora's words were unconvincing as he shifted his weight on the desk, making the old wood groan beneath him, “There were men like that in New York. I'd just like a chance, if you don't like me being here or you dislike the way I'm doing things, you can send me on my way back to the farm, no hard feelings.”

Forrest brought his eyes back to her, she looked so eager to hear a positive answer from him. A yes. He clenched his jaw as the battle waged within him, he knew the decision had to be made.

“Alright,” Forrest said, “You come back t'morrow mornin' and we'll see how things go.”

The decision was not a practical one, it was not smart, it would not be good in the long run if things went south. Forrest Bondurant had made a decision based on emotion for the first time in a long time, he had the creeping feeling that it would come back to bite him in the ass.

Nora smiled brightly up at him and the way she stood up abruptly, Forrest thought she might hug him, but she must have thought better of putting her arms around him and instead she held her right hand out in front of her.

“Thank you,” She said, still smiling with her sapphire eyes locked onto his, “I promise you won't regret this.”

Forrest's eyes fell away from her enthralling stare and to her hand, he enveloped her smaller hand in his and they shook as if they had just made a business deal. Her skin was smooth beneath his, just as it was when he helped her out of the truck.

Fuck. He wanted to know what the rest of her felt like.

He pushed the primal desire to take her into his arms and set her on his desk aside and gave her a nod.

“You're welcome,” Forrest mumbled, clearing his throat, “Head on home, we'll see you in the morning.” They let go of one another simultaneously, she gave him one more grin before turning away and heading for the door of his study. He watched her go, his eyes trailing from her hair, down the valley of her cloth covered back, over the swell of her -

“Bye Forrest,” She said, looking over her shoulder as she pulled the door, and his attention.

“Nora,” Was all he could manage, his eyes snapping up to watch her close the door. His body relaxed once she was out of the room, he realized for the first time that his entire body had been tense as she sat before him. The way she had just looked at him, over her shoulder like that, did she know what she was doing to him?

Forrest dropped himself down into his chair, and carelessly flipped open the ledger once more, planning to return to his number crunching. On the page, the number blurred together, and after only a few moments Forrest put his pen down and stood from his chair, fetching his cigar from the ashtray and lighting it. Taking a long drag, he accepted that he wouldn't be getting any more work done today. In front of the station, a brand new black Ford rolled to a stop - Sheriff Hodges and Deputy Richards stepped out, looking a little uneasy. Around the corner came a man dressed in a fancy suit, his dark hair slicked back and shining in the sun. That was all Forrest needed to see before he was on his way outside, righting his hat on his head and double checking the placement of his gun.



Outside the station Nora stood with Jack and Cricket, listening to the two of them go on about their workshop and how Cricket was working to make their moonshining truck the fastest automobile in the county. The rumble of the car approaching had been ignored by the three for the most part, their conversation continuing before a voice interrupted them.

“Hey Jack,” One of the new arrivals called, getting Jack's attention along with Cricket's and Nora's. Two of the men appeared to be police while the third man looked strikingly out of place in his suit.

“Sheriff,” Jack said cautiously, the suited man was looking in their direction with a scrutinizing eye.

“Forrest aro-” The sheriff had begun his question, only to stop himself as Forrest stepped out onto the covered porch of the station, the screen door slamming shut loudly behind him. Nora watched as he didn't stop there, walking purposefully right up toward the sheriff and the deputy, making the two smaller men step back, “Hello Forrest,” The sheriff smiled and waited for a response, Forrest just tossed away his cigar wordlessly and waited, “This here's the new deputy that's been brought in from the city to help us out 'n make sure things go smooth.”

“What things might they be?” Forrest drawled, getting the suited man's attention and causing a smirk to spread across his thin lips. Nora heard the dark haired man chuckle halfheartedly, a disrespectful gesture that did not go unnoticed, “I say somethin' to amuse you?”

“My name is Charley Rakes, I'm from Chicago,” The man introduced himself as though it was a chore, his tone smarmy as his beady, dark eyes fell on Forrest.

“That damn brother of yours, is he about?” The man beside the sheriff, who Nora guessed must be a deputy, asked Forrest before spitting a thick stream of brown onto the red dirt. Nora knew that the man wasn't asking about Jack, who was looking upon the scene anxiously. It was very obvious this wasn't a friendly meeting.

“Who's in the car?” Forrest asked, disregarding the question about Howard all together and looking back to the Sheriff.

“That there's the new commonwealth's attorney, Mason Wardell, he wants to work it out so everyone gets to do some business,” The sheriff said, a hopeful smile on his weathered face. Nora studied Forrest's shoulders, a very real fear that the situation may escalate pricking at the back of her mind. Knocking on the window of the car – from the inside, by the unseen Commonwealth Attorney – spurred Deputy Rakes away from the Ford, toward Forrest. Nora tensed as the Sheriff instructed the deputy beside him to see what Wardell wanted.

Rakes looked Forrest up and down as he approached him, from the corner of her eye Nora saw Cricket take a few steps back. She looked to Jack, who had his fists clenched, his eyes focused on the scene before them. Forrest studied Rakes from the corner of his eye as he approached, his expression unflinching. Nora wondered if his heart was beating as hard as hers.

“Pete,” Forrest finally spoke, breaking the silence, addressing the Sheriff by his first name, “Who the hell is the sonofabitch?”

“Me?” Rakes spoke up, his voice so low Nora could hardly hear him, “I'm the one that's going to make your life real difficult from now on if you don't toe the line, country boy.” Rakes poked Forrest in the chest, accentuating his last two words and getting Forrest to look at him. If looks could kill, Nora thought, Rakes would have fallen to the dirt dead right then. Forrest said something to him, his low voice so quiet Nora couldn't hear his words. Rakes gave another chuckle.

“Alright, Alright,” The sheriff said in a calm tone, as if to diffuse the situation, “Forrest it's already
settled. The whole county's gonna get on board eventually.” The Sheriff went on talking, trying to reason with Forrest as Rakes' attention fell on Jack and Nora. His eyes worked over both of them, taking a little more time on Nora, causing fear to pool within her. One corner of his thin mouth pulled up into a smirk as he took a few lazy steps toward them, his eyes lingering on her in a manner that left her feeling vulnerable, Nora was certain he knew what he was doing. Jack stepped in front of her, putting her behind him in an effort to keep her from the suited man's predatory gaze.

Beyond Rakes, Nora could see Forrest looking in their direction, his jaw clenched as his eyes found hers. She was certain he knew she was afraid, just like Rakes did. Forrest took something roughly from the deputy and stalked toward the car. Jack's hand found Nora's hip as he pushed her further back behind him, toward her poppa's truck. Nora didn't have to look at him to know Rakes was still looking at her with those dark, menacing eyes, she watched as Forrest leaned inside the automobile and said something to the man inside.

“You're gonna regret this Forrest,” the words came from the man inside the car, the warning carried on the light breeze.

“He's already regretting it, he's just too ignorant to know it yet,” Rakes chimed in, pulling his eyes away from Nora.

“Go on home now,” Forrest said, his eyes finding Nora's, his tone softer as he addressed her. Her pulse was rapid as Jack ushered her toward the truck, pulling the door open for her and once she was seated behind the wheel, shutting it.

“Go on, Nora,” Jack said, obscuring anything else that may have been said. Nora's eyes were still on Forrest through the windshield, he and Rakes were staring at one another, “Nora.” She was scared to see what would happen next, would one of them be dead in just a few moments? She felt her mouth go dry from the fear, her throat tightening.

“What's gonna happen, Jack?” She asked, her voice betraying her emotion, looking to him as he stepped away from the truck.

“Don't you worry about it, you get home,” He said with urgency, waving her toward the dirt road, “Git!”

Nora started the truck and hurriedly pulled out of the station, her blue eyes flicking to the rear view mirror to see Forrest and Jack heading into the station and the Sheriff getting back into the car along with his deputy, Rakes remained standing in the sun, his eyes focused on the closing screen door. Nora guided the truck down the dirt road, it was only now, as she tried to grip the wheel, that she realized her fingers were trembling.