Instead of answering the daily prompt with personal stuff; I’m gonna work the prompt into my story. Hope you enjoy.

New people

     Rebecca stormed out of the church without saying goodbye to anyone. Simon stayed behind to speak to the new couple that had attended and to coo over their baby. 

     When he got behind the wheel, she hissed, “what took you so long?”

     “I wanted to introduce myself to the new couple. And show them some love.” Simon smiled trying not to remember the ugly stuff she had said about Evie. “They have the most adorable baby. It impressed me how quiet she was.”

     “So them some love,” she scoffed. “I’ll show them love, I reported them to social services. They are homeless garbage and don’t deserve a child.” Simon pulled the car over to the side of the road. “What in God’s name are you doing?” She pointed at the road, “I just want to go home. Now!”

     “When you met me, what was I?”

     She looked at him bombfuzzeled, “excuse me.”

     “I was a homeless piece of trash that was staying with Jack Rice ‘cause he needed some work done on his place. Did you forget that? Or is it just convenient?”

    “That’s different. You wasn’t waggin’ a baby around.”

     “Different how? I chose to be homeless. So many don’t. I chose that lifestyle because at the time, I wanted to see America and what better way. But most didn’t choose it. It was forced on them because of circumstances outside of their control. You’ve never asked me about the people I met. Or the number of times what little I had was set on fire or pissed on because I was a ‘homeless piece of garbage’ no one wanted  ‘round. You never asked me ‘bout my life before us.” Simon got out of the car and started walking. Leaving Rebecca behind. 

Instead of answering the daily prompt with personal stuff; I’m gonna work the prompt into my story. Hope you enjoy.

Sheriff’s office

     Dillon walked from his office to the holding cells closing his flip phone where Evie was talking to this lady and playing with the dog. “There’s been a wreck on Lonely Road.”

     She cut him off, “I can stay here. If that’s allowed.” He showed her the cot in his office. With his thumb, he traced her black eye. “Be careful out there.”

     He wanted to kiss her again. Every fiber in his body was screaming, KISS HER YOU FOOL. He lazily let his thumb trail down her cheek before he walked away. 

     “Lawman?” He turned. She gave him a soft kiss. “Go save lives lawman. First and foremost being your own.”

     The accident was a car load of teens that slid in the ditch. Minor scrapes and scratches. 

     Dillon walked into the warm sheriffs office to the sound of laughter. A whip growl. Followed by more laughter. A toy hit his boot and squeaked before hitting the floor. The clicking of nails on tile raced toward him, a little dog picked up the toy causing it to squeak several times. Then raced back toward the holding cells with the toy in its mouth. “Good boy.” Was followed by hands clapping and more laughter. “Good boy.”

     Dillon sat in the floor outside across from the open door of the cell. “Meet Chico,” Evie smiled. Chico sniffed wildly at him. Starting with his boots. “Chico the Chihuahua.” Evie smiled. Clapping pulled his attention to the cell. “And this is Pam.” She smiled and waved.

     “Hi Pam.” She continued to smile and wave. “Did you get enough to eat?” She gave him a thumbs up. “We are forecasted to have 5 days of this weather. You are welcome to stay here.” She gave another thumbs up. 

     Chico bounced over to Evie and curled up on her legs. “Do you want a dog? He really likes you?” Dillon asked.

     “Not yet. Maybe someday.” She lovingly stroked Chico’s back. 

     That night, they found 10 random people out in the cold. And some people from Coal Town that chose not to brave the weather. Dr. Martin came in and gave general exams to the people that would let him. 

    After 3 days of -5 degrees, Dillon and Evie started going into remote hollers checking on neighbors. Horrible road conditions and ice kept them from 5 houses that Dillon knew of. Including Smith.

     “If this is going to be the new normal,” Dillon sighed, “we need to plan better.” 

     By the grace of God, no one died. 

Instead of answering the daily prompt with personal stuff; I’m gonna work the prompt into my story. Hope you enjoy.

Grumblings 

     People kept coming into the church basement. Some were looking for the free food. Others, wanted to sip coffee and socialize. Then there were those hiding from the cold. 

     From the sheriffs department to the church, everyone was sharing on their social media accounts that the church was being used as a shelter. It was Sunshine Sue that said they were offering free food. Pastor Sam didn’t mind. He was praying that maybe it would encourage some new faces to attend worship service. 

     Bradley walked up to Patty, who gave him a fresh cup of hot coffee and a hug. “Everything okay?”

     “Good, good,” he smiled. Sarah was cleaning in the corner where the lady with the dog had been. “Where did she go?” He asked with concern.

     Pastor Sam blushed, “I’m allergic to dogs. I think they moved her to the sheriffs office.” 

     “Good, good.”

     “I’m shocked,” Rebecca smirked. “Evelyn didn’t even speak. And that rude sheriff.” Patty just eyed Bradley. “She’s sportin’ an engagement ring. Did her and the sheriff get engaged?”

     Instead of making any comments, he asked, “where’s Simon tonight?”

     She rolled her eyes, “he’s at the hippy grocery, 2 of their freezer stopped working.”

     Bradley was stunned, “hippy grocery?”

     “Yeah, you know that new store in town where a head of lettuce is $12.00.” She distorted her voice to sound airy. “It’s all natural. All organic.”

     Bradley sat his cup of coffee down, “some people have to eat that way because they have food allergies. And as far as Ms. Evelyn is concerned; why would she speak? I’m sure gettin’ churched hurt bad enough. But on top of that the added embarrassment of havin’ her morals and ethics questioned in front of the town elders, why would she speak?” He leaned through the service window as close to Rebecca as he could get, “what damn business is it of yours anyway?” And walked away. 

     Patty just eyed Sarah. They both knew how he felt. 

     “Food allergies” Rebecca snorted, “half that is just made up so gullible people can be tricked out of their money.”

     Sarah locked eyes with Rebecca, “dad has a histamine intolerance, he can’t eat a lot of processed foods. That store has been heaven sent for him. Now they don’t have to go to Perkinsville as often.”

     Pastor Sam was lazily leaning up against the door frame, taking it all in. Evelyn hadn’t been back to church since. But she had been dropping her dad off and picking him up. And she continued to pay her tithes. Pastor Sam reckoned in his heart that Evie was pissed at him not God. 

Instead of answering the daily prompt with personal stuff; I’m gonna work the prompt into my story. Hope you enjoy.

Sadness

     -5 below was a new experience for Evie. Had coming home been a mistake? The suv Dillon was driving was good and warm when they climbed inside. 

     “How many vehicles do you have in reserve?”

     “Just 2. If the frame isn’t bent, I’d like to have the other one fixed. I’m not a big fan of all the electronics in vehicles now. There are some things we have to have. But if we can circumvent hackers, why not.” 

     Evie smiled to herself. ‘College words indeed.’ Then she asked, “when did,” she thought. “When we were little Scooter Culley was homeless. Dad would talk about how he lived in a cave in Misty Holler. Don’t know ‘bout you but I wasn’t allowed near that place. Now that I’m an adult, I’m pretty sure Scooter had a mental illness.”

     “For the most part, Scooter was harmless. And yes he did. But what to call it. Before he died, he started wearin’ aluminum foil on his head and trash bags for shirts. He set the hills on fire a couple times. A social worker found him a little house on the edge of town. That’s how he died. He got cold one night; fire marshal said a fire in a tub in the livin’ room was the source.”

     “I take it you got to know him?”

     “I guess the best way there was?”

     They slid to a stop at the bridge heading out of town. A thin trail of smoke was shooting up from one of the rain drains. Dillon pointed the suv toward the lake. For a split second Evie thought they were going in the water. 

     She grabbed ahold of the ‘oh, shit handle’ above the door. “If we go in the lake, this is gonna make for a memorable road trip.”  

     Dillon laughed, “i really wouldn’t count this as a road trip.”

     “We are in a vehicle. On a road.” They didn’t go in the lake. Dillon hit a service road that ran parallel, leading under the bridge. 

     “Not dead yet,” he playfully winked. 

     Someone had a fire in a barrel. “Hello,” Evie called. “Are you okay? We have blankets.”

     A skinny man stepped from behind a bridge support. He was scared of the law. Dillon held up his hands as he spoke, “I’m not here to arrest you. If you want to go, we,” he pointed at Evie. “We are here to take you to a shelter until the weather breaks.”

     Evie waved. 

     “All of us?” A timid voice asked from behind the man. A woman appeared from the shadows with a bundle in her arms. 

     “All of you.” Dillon answered. 

     At the church, they were intimidated by the bright lights. The bitter cold drove them inside. Pastor Sam had the basement toasty warm. Della had soup and sandwiches ready.

     While they were getting this family settled, Bradley came in with a woman. She huddled in the farthest corner of the basement, her back to everyone.

     Evie got a bowl of soup taking it to the new comer. Dillon was ready to jump as Evie raised her hands. He was ready to run to her. Everyone’s heart stopped. A collective sigh was released when Evie started using sign language. A little dog popped its head out from under the woman’s many layers. 

     Rebecca frowned, “someone should take that dog away from her. If you are so poor you can’t feed yourself, how can you take care of a dog.”

     Sarah had opened her mouth to speak not knowing that Widow Blake was about to. “Child,” she voiced. “What about the couple with the baby? You seem more upset over a dog.”

     Sarah added, “people need companionship. Not only is that dog her friend. But a source of warmth, joy, and love. We need more than just food to keep us alive.”

     Pastor Sam said with a meek voice, “I’m allergic to dogs.”

     Dillon walked over to Evie, explaining the situation. This lady agreed to go to the sheriff’s office and spend the night in an unlocked cell as long as she could keep her dog. 

     “When did you learn sign language?” Dillon asked as they helped this lady get settled again.”

     “My roommate in college. She could read lips. But I wanted to learn how to communicate with her better. She taught me sign language and I taught her Appalachian.”

     “Thank you.”

     “Anytime lawman.” She smiled.

     Evie officially met Tiny. Who was anything but tiny. Where Dillon was a mountain of a man, she was his female counterpart. As well as the night dispatch officer. Best of all, she wasn’t allergic to dogs. 

Instead of answering the daily prompt with personal stuff; I’m gonna work the prompt into my story. Hope you enjoy.

First Winter

     Evie was spending her first winter in Sunshine Valley since she was 17. If things ran true to course, there wouldn’t be much sun. She knew her dad was safe and warm. Dillon would make sure Teka was warm and dry. Oh, Dillon. He’d better keep his flat butt safe. She smiled to herself. 

     -5! How was this happening? “-5?”

     Dillon just laughed. “Wanna play in the snow?”

     “Wanna freeze to death?” She smirked. “Thank you.”

     “For?”

     “Encouragin’ me to prepare.”

     “You’re welcome.” He cleared his throat. “If you are going stir crazy, you can go out on patrol with me.”

     “Do you really have to work in this?”

     “Yelp.”

     “Are you allowed to take civilians on patrol?”

    He laughed again and tried to sound like Bradley, “I’m the law in this town.”

     “Alright lawman.” He picked her up at 7 pm. “What are we going to do all night lawman? Eat donuts and play checkers?”

     “Is your opinion of me really that high?” She could tell he was smiling. 

     The night started with making sure the suv would start. Deputy Tolliver gave him a brief report from the day shift. “Pastor Sam has the basement of the church ready, sheriff.” Tolliver reported as he left tipping his hat to Evie. 

     “Ready for what?” She asked.

     “We have a few homeless people here. Wanna come with me to find them. Help me talk them to safety?”

     She gave him a sideways grin, “y Dillon Jackson Pace you didn’t want my company tonight. You want to use me because I’m a soft and gentle female. You scare people. Big ole mean sheriff.”

     “Evelyn Rose Rice, you are right on one count and wrong on the other. Your company is greatly appreciated. And yes, people are afraid I’m going to arrest them. If you would and are able to help me convince them, we just want them to be safe, I would forever be in your debt.” He bowed. 

     She smiled, “lead the way lawman.”

Instead of answering the daily prompt with personal stuff; I’m gonna work the prompt into my story. Hope you enjoy.

Questions 

     Dillon hated this. He hated that Evie’s life was being torn apart again. She was the victim here. Yet again. Why would anyone want to run her off the road? Evie had bought him a coffee mug. He sat behind his desk, rubbin’ his thumb over the picture. Bradley and Clint would be doing the interview. She had asked them to wait a few days. He about died when after asking why, she replied, “I want to contact my lawyer. She might need to be involved in this process.” She said it as if the word lawyer was as familiar or comfortable as saying the word friend, dad, or flower. The word lawyer made his skin crawl. Working relationship was about as good as it got in his world. 

     Sheriff Milo and Bradley entered his office. The 3 men sat and compared notes about Evie. Other than Doug, Milo couldn’t think of anyone. 

     “What about an old business associate that felt slighted?” Bradley asked.

     Milo sighed, “everyone that we interviewed, loved her. Had nothing but good things to say about her. She was outgoing, personable to her ex husband’s quiet, reserved personality.” 

     “Did you get a good mix of business associates? She has some interesting concepts.” Dillon remarked. 

     Milo raised an eyebrow. Dillon filled him in on the Hillbilly Yoga idea. How lightening fast she was able to run with it. Turning it into a possible legitimate business. 

     Dillon got up and walked over to the window. He knew this would be uncomfortable. It wasn’t until the questions started flying that he found out just how uncomfortable. ‘Dammit’, he scolded himself. ‘You’re a professional.’ Nothing so far had been this personal. Once the medical examiners reports came back from Frankfort, the deaths of this parents were over. Evie’s mom had died from natural causes. Nothing criminal there. No need to go prying. ‘Prying.’ Yes, this felt like prying. 

     A loud noise pulled their attention toward the door. Margaret screamed above it, “quit your caterwaulin’!”

     Milo smiled, “mmmm, the way she talks.” He shook his head, “caterwaulin’.”

    Bradley eyed Dillon. Both men smiled. 

     Milo cleared his throat, “I could look this up. But I’m afraid I might not get the desired results. What does sparkin’ mean?”

     Despite his throbbing head, Dillon smiled, concealing a laugh. He could have a little fun with their new colleague. He eyed Bradley. But Bradley was looking at his own hands. “Would you care to give us a little context?” Dillon asked.

     Milo squirmed in his seat, “last night when I picked her up for dinner; she giggled and said, ‘I’ve not been sparkin’ in years’.”

     “Datin’,” Bradley answered still looking at his hands. 

     “And why do you drop the g’s off words?”

     “If you hang ‘round long enough, you’ll notice other things we drop.” Dillon smile. 

Instead of answering the daily prompt with personal stuff; I’m gonna work the prompt into my story. Hope you enjoy.

Unmarked

    An EMT had come over to attend to Dillon.  An unmarked suv pulled in front of Dillon’s smashed one, lights flashing. The moment he spoke, Dillon knew who he was. “Sheriff, he’s out.”

     Milo stood by Dillon. “No! It’s not possible. No one told us.” He got on his phone, screaming into it. 

     “Sheriff, who is that?” Bradley asked. 

     “Sheriff Milo.” Dillon’s head was raging. 

     “Sheriff,” the EMT spoke with caution. “We really need to get you to the hospital.”

     “Ms. Rice?” He asked. 

     “We are loading her up now.”

     With great reluctance, Dillon when to the hospital. He knew Bradley was competent enough to run any investigation. This was personal. Someone had hurt Evie. 

     Much to his dismay and delight, Doug was still in jail. This opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Possibilities he wasn’t prepared for. Now, he would have to remove himself from the picture as much as he could, as much as the law made him, to let Bradley take charge. A thousand questions flooded his mind that needed to be asked. It pained his heart to know these questions would be discussed.

     While he sat, waiting for the doctor, he pulled out his phone. Amazingly, it hadn’t been hurt. He started entering questions that needed to be answered?

Did Evie have any enemies? Personal or professional?

Was this attack related to Doug? ‘Too soon to know’. He wrote as if trying to answer this thought. Doug’s still in jail.

Why would anyone want to hurt her? This question was the most important one. Why would anyone want to hurt her? 

Was the security measures she had at her house overkill? Was this important? 

Was she a millionaire? Was this important? He kept coming back to this thought. Money. The thought of her being richer than 10 foot up a bulls ass made him uncomfortable. This was his problem and he knew it. But the question had to be explored to discover any possible threats to her life. 

Her life. As he sat there thinking about questions to filter through Bradley, what would he have done if something bad would have happened to her? She was his only connection to his childhood. ‘Was she really?’ He played with the thought. Evie was his childhood. Everything good from his childhood was wrapped up in her. This town. Jack. Even this job was a direct result of her.   That wasn’t her doing. It was his. Did everything about him really revolve around her? He asked himself that question twice. His answer was like a jolt of electricity to his brain. Yes, everything about him revolved around her. And he discovered, he liked that thought.