Sophie Parker didn't know what she was getting herself into when she decided to work at the Cold Mountain Penitentiary in Louisiana. Her father had talked to his old friend he called Toot and asked him to put in a good word for her brother, Carey, since people were losing jobs left and right. But, Carey was killed in a bar brawl, and Sophie really needed work. She traveled from California to Louisiana looking for Toot, but she never knew what he looked like. Only Carey had met him and she wasn't even sure what kind of man he would be. So when she talked to one of the head prison guards waiting in the main office that knew Toot and her need for a job, he took her to see the warden, Hal. She was met with an, "Absolutely not. I will not have a woman working on the mile. I can not, in my good conscience, allow a woman to be put in danger with convicted criminals, murders, and rapists. I'm sorry, Miss Parker, but no." And in her sweetest demeanor, she pleaded and begged trying to convince him that she would be careful. Hal didn't know why, but the look in her chocolate brown eyes melted his heart and he, reluctantly, agreed.
Now, she had been working there for since the beginning of the year and she was used to the steady rhythm of things. Percy Wetmore was an incompetent asshole who loved to walk around with such pride of his connections. And of course, he loved to hit on her every chance he got. Paul Edgecomb was the head prison guard and was friendly to her...in a distant kind of way, which she was used to. Brutus Howell, called "Brutal" by most was as rough as his name, but always a teddy bear with her. Dean Stanton was a fairly calm guy that just blended in, but not in a bad way. It was just interesting. Toot was kind of disgusting and rude and perverted, but that was her father's friend so she just ignored him. Although, she could live without his need to touch her. Even in that god awful uniform she wore that was similar to his, he still saw the attractiveness in her.
As for inmates, she adored them. She knew it was wrong to get attached to prison inmates, especially those who were sentenced to die, but she couldn't help it. She would practically beg Toot to let her clean the mile so she could see them, and she prided herself on the friendly conversations she would have with them. For instance, Edward Delacroix, called Del, always lit up whenever he saw her. He called her an angel. Arlen Bitterbuck, before he was executed, loved her and said she was the breath of fresh air he wished he could breath. And despite his size, she wasn't afraid of John Coffey, and found him to be almost childlike and gentle. However, there was one inmate that made her flesh crawl...William "Billy the Kid" Warton called "Wild Bill" by the guards. The way he stared at her gave her nightmares and she had to pretend to be strong, because she could just hear the thousand, "told ya so." from Hal. Wild Bill would always say things to her like, "Sweet thing." and stuff about fucking her until she was sore. She ignored him and kept talking to the inmates she liked.
However, on this day, the routine life of Sophie Parker was about to be turned upside down. She was cleaning the mile as usual starting with the end closest to the desk working her way down to the padded room. Paul and Dean were at the desk keeping watch as she cleaned. She heard Wild Bill grunting and assumed he was asleep and dreaming, he was lying on his cot and his back was turned toward her. Her back was turned to him, and she didn't see him get up and when she turned around he flicked his hand towards her and threw semen onto her face and clothes.
"Good shot weren't it!" he gleefully gloated laughing as she screamed wiping off her face not knowing that a large portion of it got into her long brown hair.
"Goddammit, Wild Bill!" Paul yelled and he ran from behind the desk and Dean joined him.
"I thought I told you not to call me Wild Bill..."
"Shut up...Now, apologize to Miss Parker."
"No, little cunt deserves it. Betcha she's used to it, ain't ya sweet thing?" he said to her and she nearly vomited. Dean was holding her away from his cell.
"Now, you apologize or you will be making another trip to the padded room." Paul said and that confident cocky smile vanished and he made a half-ass apology to her and she nodded. "Dean, take Miss Parker somewhere to get cleaned up. I'll cover the mile until you get back." he said and Dean nodded in compliance.
"Oh, I must look hideous." she said feeling embarrassed that she was covered in semen. Dean, just stayed silent as he led her to the showers.
"You could wash your hair out with this." he drawled handing her a bar of soap and a towel before turning his back.
"What are you doing?"
"Well...um...I wanted to give you some privacy, ma'am."
"It's okay, Dean, I don't mind. I'm not like these coy Southern women." she joked as she began unbuttoning her work shirt. She looked up at Dean and giggled when he turned around and saw her bare breasts then turned back around.
"So, where are you from, Miss Parker?" Dean asked knowing that she wasn't from the South. She talked and acted like a Yankee. Yet, she didn't look at all like the pictures of women from the north with more fashionable shorter hairstyles and fancy clothes.
"Oh, please, no need to be so formal. I've been here since February and you still call me by my last name. My name is Sophie. And to answer your question, I'm originally from New York, but I traveled a lot with my family. See, this might sound strange, but I was a part of a circus before...before we went out of business...That's when I settled in California."
"Really? Are you sure you're not pulling my leg?"
"I'm serious. We would travel all over this country setting up for a couple of days and moving on. I think we've been in Louisiana at least twice. Yeah...my mother was a fortune teller, my brother was a juggler, and my dad...well, he was just our manager."
"Wow! What were you?"
"Um...I think I might need your help, Dean."
"Okay..." he said backing up trying to prepare himself to see a naked woman. Not that he was afraid of a naked woman, but he was married with kids and he felt it was wrong to see a woman naked that wasn't his wife. "What can I help you with?" he said as he turned around and his heart pounded at the beautiful sight before him. She was naked and wet. Her skin was pale with a hint of olive tone to it suggesting she had the gypsy background she claimed, her wild, long hair was dripping wet and clung to her back and shoulders stopping at her luscious breasts. Her hips rounded in soft curves leading down to milky soft thighs. He knew that this was a bad idea.
"I've seem to have gotten soap in my eye and I can't see. Would you, please, hand me that towel?" she said with her eyes closed and hand outstretched.
"Sure." he said as he handed her the towel and she rubbed her eyes before removing the towel from her face and blinking several times.
"Thank you." she said as she stared at him. She had forgotten that she was completely naked and wet when he hugged him, but within an instant she pulled back. "Sorry..."
"Oh, it's quite alright..." he said in a daze as he couldn't look away from her embarrassed smile. For the first time, he saw her lips...he saw her face and she was beautiful. "I mean, I'll just wait outside the door while you get dressed" he said as he backed up taking her beauty in before turning around. He had sinned and he knew he would sin again because of her.