Chapter Thirty-Five

Everywhere around her there was commotion.

Her brothers were busy shoving shells into shotguns and tucking knives into the band of their dunagrees while Ellie May was preoccupied with a crying Grace, pacing back and forth behind the bar of The County Line, lightly jigging her daughter on her hip. Jack and Cricket were running around fetching this and that for the older Bondurant men and joyously doing so, happy to be of help. Everyone was acting as calm as could be, carrying on like it was just any other regular Monday or Tuesday morning.

And Emmy couldn't stand it.

This was wrong. Something was going to happen. She knew it. Ellie May knew it. Even Cricket, who, after all their fetching was done, huddled in the corner, his body half-shielded by Jack as he observed Forrest and Howard, knew it.

Despite the dryness in her throat, Emmy had to speak up and when she did, the words scratched and clawed their way out, pouring from her mouth like sand. "Forrest, look at me. Please, just stop for moment, and look at me. Don't do this, Forrest. What happened to Gummy was awful and never should've happened but what you're doin' isn't gonna solve anything! Y'all are only gonna make things worse."

There was no hitch in Forrest's movements as his little sister's words fell on his apparently deaf ears. Emmy scoffed, disgust rattling through her. How dismissive could he be? She knew she was only a little girl in his eyes but she was still his sister and her opinion was valid. Especially when it came to the safety and wellbeing of her family. Since the day Forrest and Ellie May married, Emmy had taken over as the caretaker at the Bondurant farm. She was the one who looked after their father and saw to it that Jack and Papa were fed. She was the one who made sure they had clean clothes and fresh bed sheets and a clean house to come home to. She was the one who kept an eye on Cricket when her brother was in the fields. She was the one who shined their father's shoes before church every Sunday and reminded Jack to read his Bible every night. She was the one who cut her eyes at Jack when he stopped using his manners at the table or when he stared at a girl for too long in town. She was the one who lent a hand at the restaurant when Ellie May was pregnant. She was the one who-

Damn it, she might've been the youngest but Emmy took care of her family and she was tired of being the only one who seemed to be concerned with their wellbeing.

Furious, Emmy set her sights on her eldest brother. "And what about you, Howard? Are you always gonna do what Forrest tells you?"

"Watch your mouth, Emmy Bondurant," chided Ellie May. The words were soft, but spoken firmly. As if reminded of her presence, Emmy rounded on her sister-in-law, "Ellie May, stop them. You can reason with Forrest! Please!"

For the first time that morning, Ellie May lifted her gaze from the baby in her arms to level Emmy with a sad but resolved stare. "There's nothing to reason," she said simply. And that was when Emmy saw the accepted defeat in Ellie May's eyes. The older woman was just as distraught as Emmy was but had long ago accepted the ways of her husband and knew there was little, if nothing, to be done. Such was the compromise of marriage.

Howard stood at the bar sharpening a Bowie hunting knife. The long, sleek blade shimmered under the restaurant's lighting as he repeatedly pulled it across the sharpener, each time with a satisfying shing! He listened to his baby sister's whining with a bored disinterest. Women. Then, he caught Forrest's glance across The County Line and nodded to his little brother.

Suddenly, there came a subtle shift in the atmosphere of the restaurant. The guns were loaded and ready. Outside, Everett was busy filling up the trucks' tanks with gas. Any minute now and they would be all set to leave.

Forrest mirrored Howard's nod and picked up the loaded shotgun off the bar top. He headed out the front door, Danny hot on his trail, and Emmy not too far behind. Howard remained inside, slicing the knife back and forth across the sharpener, his eyes dull but focused. Jack and Cricket stood uncertain in the corner. They waited for Ellie May or Howard to tell them to stay inside and when no such orders came, the young boys darted outside after the rest of the bunch.

Howard could hear Emmy's desperate shouts as he continued his work on the knife. He didn't know what she was so worried about. They could handle themselves. And though he was not overly fond of what he was about to do – he was getting older now and fighting took more outta him than it used to – Gummy had been their friend, their partner, and he deserved to be avenged. They couldn't let his death pass meaninglessly. He had been murdered and it was their job to right that wrong because he couldn't.

Dorothy Grace tucked into her side, Ellie May watched Howard drive the knife across the sharpener over and over and over again. If he kept it up for much longer, he was gonna saw the knife away completely. She pressed a kiss onto the tip of her daughter's nose as the baby girl wove her fingers through her momma's hair, tugging and pulling. Ellie May smirked, "Just like your father…" She glanced at Howard. "You about ready to go?"

"I reckon."

He slowly pulled the knife through the sharpener one final time. Lifting the blade to the light, he examined it, his finger on the tip. That'll do. With a lazy breath, Howard lifted his hat from the bar and placed it atop his unruly mess of curls. When he stepped onto the porch, his was met with his sister's bright red face, her lips curled in anger.

Forrest and the others didn't look too pleased themselves and when Ellie May stepped out behind Howard, she ordered Jack to take his sister inside. Emmy let loose a roar of outrage. Jack took one arm, Cricket taking the other, and they hauled her back into the restaurant. Howard slipped the knife into its cover, then into his pocket. He towered over Ellie May. Smirking down at her, he muttered, "She means well."

"She's getting on my damn nerves."

Howard snickered. "Thought you said we couldn't use no foul words in front of the baby."

Ellie May rolled her eyes at him but didn't argue. Howard elbowed her playfully. "She reminds me of you, ya know."

"Who? Emmy?"

"Mhmm," he nodded. Ellie May scoffed and Howard let out a barking laugh. "Don't be too sure of yourself, now. If I'm remembering correctly, you've thrown fits like that a time or two."

"Then you ain't remembering correctly."

"Naw. I am. Remember when those fuckers, Cardinal and Fensky, messed with you in town and we took care of it? Don't think I don't know you stayed up all night waitin' on Forrest to get home. You were just as much a big ole mess then as Emmy is now."

Ellie May pursed her lips. "Maybe," she admitted. "But that's when I was younger and so sure you two were gonna get yourselves killed. But now I know better."

"S'right. You know can't nobody take us down."

Ellie May snorted. "Not exactly. I just know there's no use in arguing with two stubborn, pig-headed men such as you Bondurants."

Glancing out at the yard, Ellie May watched her husband, Danny, and Everett prepare the convoy of trucks and the back of her throat tightened. She leaned to the right just-so until her arm was touching Howard's. "You bring him back to me, you hear? I don't want any excuses, Howard Bondurant. You make sure that man comes home to me."

Howard tipped his hat forward. "Yes ma'am."

Tears of worry stung Ellie May's eyes. Her stomach clenched as she withheld the tears and she spared a glance up at the giant man beside her. "And bring yourself back, too," she told him. Howard smiled, a genuine but silly smile, "Aww, now, Ellie May, don't tell me you're starting to get attached?"

And, though he was joking, Howard dipped down to press a kiss on the top of her forehead. He gave her shoulder an affection squeeze, kinda touched that she was concerned about him, too. "The only thing you need to worry about-" he said. "-is what kinda supper you're gonna have ready for us when we get back. I want a nice, fat roast with some cabbage and potatoes and carrots. With some cornbread and fried okra, on the side. Maybe a few slices of honey-glazed ham, too. Whatchu think, you got that? Oh, and for desert, a nice blackberry cobbler topped with some hand-churned, homemade vanilla ice cream. But don't put too much salt in the ice cream like last time."

"There was not too much salt," she muttered.

Howard grinned and kissed the crown of Grace's head. "While I'm gone, you're the one in charge of driving your momma crazy, alright, baby girl?"

"Shush!" Ellie May swatted Howard away, muttering something about hoping he got shot and put on bed rest so he couldn't bug her quite so much. She turned to the baby in her arms. "And you-" She gently poked her daughter's tummy. "-know better than to listen to your Uncle Howard."

Dorothy Grace blew a spit-bubble.

Ellie May smiled. "That's what I thought."

The slamming of a truck door jarred her from her playful thoughts and when Ellie May looked up, Danny, Everett, and Howard were in the trucks, waiting, as Forrest approached the steps. She moved forward and met him halfway. "When I get back," Forrest spoke, his voice low so that only she could hear him. "We're gonna do what we did last night in every room of this place."

Her cheeks flushing crimson, Ellie May jabbed his ribs. "Is that really where your head's at this mornin'?"

"S'where my head's at every mornin'," he confessed. Taking her in his arms, he kissed his wife goodbye. His kissed her soundly, undeterred by their audience, and when he released her, Ellie May's lips were swollen and pink. Forrest ran his fingers over his daughter's head, her light, wispy hair tickling his fingertips. He brushed his nose against hers and placed a light kiss on Grace's cheek. "I love you, girls. Y'all try not to stir up too much trouble while I'm gone. I'll be back soon."

Forrest retreated down the steps and when the sole of his boot hit the Virginia clay, Ellie May called casually, "Just so you know, I will not bury you, Forrest Bondurant."

He fought the ghost of a smile twitching at the edge of his lips at this little game they always played. "Guess I better not die then."

She stood on the porch, Grace drooling on her neck and dress, and watched them go. Her eyes didn't leave the road until the last taillight vanished from her view. Then, she sighed and lifted her daughter in her arms. "You ready for breakfast, Gracie? You hungry, baby girl?"

The front door creaked as Ellie May returned inside. Cricket was teetering nervously on his heels by the staircase. His gaze flickered back and forth between the two youngest Bondurant siblings. Emmy was seated at a table, her fists clenched. And Jack was leaned against the bar looking about as bewildered as a person could get. His mouth opened and closed like a fish as he sought the right words to battle his sister's hysteria.

"Emmy, that's enough now," Ellie May called, bringing Emmy's verbal assault to a sudden stop. Emmy had been berating Jack for so willingly helping Forrest and Howard, for not being more concerned, for not being on her side. But the second Ellie May spoke, Emmy launched up from her seat and whirled around, eyes set on a new target. "Why didn't you stop them?!"

Anger flared within Ellie May. "If you don't stop all that yelling in front of this baby, Emmy Bondurant," she warned, her gaze narrowed to slits. Ellie May clenched her jaw and tried to bite back her rage. "Enough. You've got more sense than this. Stop acting like a fool."

"Stop treating me like a child," spat Emmy. To which Ellie May immediately lifted her eyebrows and scoffed, "Stop actin' like one, then. Jack, Cricket, why don't you boys take Grace upstairs and put her in her bed? I'll be up in a minute to feed her."

Wordlessly, they did exactly as requested.

Once the room was clear, Emmy leveled her sister-in-law with a face of disbelief. "I get it, Ellie May, I do. You don't argue with Forrest because you don't want him to be mad at you. But it won't really matter if he's mad at you or not, if he's dead."

"Is that what you think this is? I didn't stop them because I don't want him to be mad at me?" Ellie May could've laughed if she was so disturbed. What kind of a woman did Emmy think she was? "Honey, Forrest gets mad at me once a day! He gets mad when I make him close the restaurant before eleven and when I don't dry his pants the way he likes or when I put too many strawberries in the jam. He gets pissy with me all the time. But so what? He's a man. Half the time, they're more blindsided than a horse, but that's alright. I love him all the same."

"Then why let him risk this pointless danger?"

Ellie May sighed. Damn if it wasn't like talking to wallpaper. "Because to him it's not pointless. I love your brother for the man that he is. And it's things like this, these acts of necessary violence, that make him who he is. He's doing this, not because it's easy or fun or because he gets a kick out of hurting people, but because it's the right thing to do."

"The right thing?" Emmy repeated her words. "Please! They're going to murder people. How is that the right thing to do?! This is madness! It's nothing but senseless violence, and it makes them no better than your daddy!"

Ellie May froze.

She hadn't thought about her father in years and never before had she ever had the urge to strike someone in anger. Her hand twitched at her side, ready to slap the stupidity out of Emmy. But she wasn't that kind of person. More importantly, Emmy hadn't uttered those words out of spite, but out of ignorance. Emmy was a rational creature. Of all the Bondurant children, she was the only one who'd completed all her years of schooling and she read just about anything she could get her hands on – books, magazines, recipes, newspapers, how-to instructions on farm equipment. Ellie May knew if she was going to get through to Emmy, she was going to have to appeal to her logic, not her emotions.

"Have you ever seen your brother beat a child? Or put his hands on a woman with malice?" she asked quietly. Emmy licked her lips, jaw clenching. "Your brothers are nothing like my father. My father was a sick, sorry man, who could offer this world nothing but hateand pain. Your brothers are the most loving men I know and, child, you are blind if you can't see that."

Ellie May brushed passed Emmy to drop down onto one of the stools at the bar. She pressed her face into her hands. She suddenly felt very tired and briefly entertained the idea of a nap. She knew she couldn't, though. Too many things to do. She had to make breakfast, sew up that hole in one of Forrest's good shirts, feed the baby, sweep and mop the floor of the restaurant, restock the kitchen shelves, finish the load of laundry she'd started yesterday – and all of this was to be done before noon, when she, Grace, and the younger bunch would head off to the Bondurant farm to have lunch with Papa.

Sneaking a peek over her shoulder at Emmy, Ellie May felt a tiny twinge of guilt for snapping at the young girl. She loved Emmy dearly. Emmy had always been her favorite. Well, once Emmy had gotten over her shyness as a child and acknowledged Ellie May, that is. She gestured for Emmy to join her at the bar. The young girl did so begrudgingly, the tips of her ears pink from embarrassment. She hadn't meant to say those things, or bring up Ellie May's father. She was just so frustrated and so worried.

"I know you love your brothers and I know you're just concerned for them. But you have to realize that they aren't just doing this out of anger, or vengeance. They're doing it for us, too."

"To what?" asked Emmy. "To protect us? That's just an excuse. We aren't in any danger. Those men don't care about us, just the liquor."

Ellie May gave a sad frown. "I'm afraid you're wrong there, sweetie. Not entirely wrong, but…yes, they care about the liquor. They care about it so much that they're willing to do just about anything to get it. Emmy, two of Vaught's men came here just before Grace was born. They waited until Forrest left, until I was alone, to break it." Emmy gasped, her slender fingers covering her mouth in shock. "They could've done awful things to me. Things like my father used to do. Thankfully, Howard happened to have been sleeping in the back room. If he hadn't been here, Emmy, I might not be here. Grace, either. Think what you want, but those boys-"

Forrest and Howard, she meant.

"-don't make a single move until they know that it's what's best for us."

"I-I had no idea. Were you-I mean, they didn't-"

"They didn't touch me. Didn't get the chance to."

"I'm sorry," said Emmy softly. She reached over and wound her arms around her the older woman's neck. They hugged for a few moments in the stillness of morning that comes just before the day begins. Until there came an abrupt crash from upstairs, followed by Grace's dramatic wails. Cricket appeared at the top of the stairs. "Um, Miss Ellie May, you might wanna get up here…it looks like an outhouse exploded in there."

Ellie May face dropped. Lovely.

Outside, the first rays of morning sunlight were beginning to sleepily peak over the mountains. Damn, Ellie May thought. So much had happened already that morning and it wasn't even dawn, yet.

That evening when Ellie May returned home from the Bondurant farm, she went straight to their bedroom and laid their daughter down for a nap. Dorothy Grace, having been fussy for the better part of the afternoon, went to sleep with little protest. Ellie May smiled down at her daughter, the quietness of the house enveloping her. Everything was silent.

Ellie May blinked, her head cocking to the side as she strained to listen. Everything was silent.

Where was the soft pitter-patter of doggy paws on the wooden floors? Where was the warm greeting of barking when she opened the front door? Where was the swoosh of a happy puppy's tail? Where was Dixie?

A chilly breeze blew through the room, drawing Ellie May's eyes to the window. The curtains had been pushed to one side, the window hitched open. The same window that she had closed before they'd left earlier that day.

That was when Ellie May realized she was not alone. There was someone in her home.

I don't think this story is going to be quite as long as I'd originally imagined. I guessed about forty-five chapters but now it's looking more like forty. We're almost there!

Are you excited to see what happens? I am, but I'm also sad to see it go. I love the Bondurants. I love their story. Maybe I'll revisit it one day.

In response to a few guest reviews I couldn't reply to:

Kimberly Anderso(n?)- You're very sweet to suggest so, but no, this will not be made into a movie. This story is complete fiction, whereas the original story was true, and it would be a little absurd to try to make a prequel to Lawless based on the fantasies of a teenage girl who'd never even heard the name Bondurant until Tom Hardy's name became attached to it. You also asked which actor I thought could play young Forrest and I'm sticking with Tom Hardy. The entire duration of this story, Tom was who I pictured, even when I was writing them younger. I simply pictured him with less facial hair and shorter, without so much muscle.

Joe D- I don't know if you're aware, but I totally consider you a friend. I always look forward to your reviews because you give it to me straight, no bullshit. But you're never rude. I respect your opinion a lot and I hope you like where the story goes. Sorry there wasn't much action in this chapter, either. Guess you'll just have to read the next one!