Chapter 3

** Again, I do not own any rights to the movie "Lawless" or any of the character in the movie. I am just a fan!**

I had been staying at the Station for a few weeks now; Forrest had let me, until my leg healed. I had taken to doing little chores around the place. It kept me busy and made me feel like I wasn't intruding. In my time at the Station, I had become pretty close with Jack and Cricket; Forrest and Howard kept their distance, on account of Forrest being the strong silent type and Howard being drunk most of the time and I felt as if I made him a little nervous. It was true Forrest never said much, but I knew he was keeping an eye on me. Whether it was because he did not fully trust me, or for other reasons, I wasn't entirely sure. He was definitely a hard man to read.

It was a hot summer afternoon when I came back to the Station from picking up a few things at the Feed Store in town. I had gone with Jack, but left him behind when he got side tracked trying to talk to Bertha Minnix, the preachers daughter and whom I suspected he had a bit of a crush on. I was dressed in only a pair of dark khaki slacks and black wife beater with my turquoise necklace; again, it was too damn hot to wear much of anything else. I walked in and grabbed a mason jar of cool water from Maggie, nodding and giving a half smile as she slid the glass across the counter to me. She hadn't quite taken to me either yet. I took a seat at one of the tables and let my body temperature come back down to normal. After a few minutes, I spotted a broom over in the corner by the bar. I grabbed it, trying to make myself useful. I headed out to the front porch, figuring on sweeping it, trying to make the place look just a little bit cleaner.

I had just creaked the screen door open when I stopped dead in my tracks.

Forrest was up out of his rocking chair, having a confrontation with several officers. There were a few cop cars and nicer looking cars parked in the lot. Whatever they were discussing, it did not seem to be going well for Forrest. It was then I saw him. A tall, dark man with greased back hair and fancy suit came walking up to Forrest. He pointed a finger at him, pushing it reassuringly into Forrest's chest. This man looked familiar. I couldn't quite pinpoint it, but I didn't feel like I knew him; rather it felt like he was from a bad dream and I was having déjà vu seeing him. Afraid of what might happen next and not thinking clearly, I pushed the door open and stepped out onto the porch.

I walked out, the door slamming behind me. It was in that instance that I felt my world stop. The man in the fancy suit with greased back hair stopped saying whatever he was saying to Forrest and snapped his head towards me. He looked me up and down; stopping, I noticed, to linger a few more moments looking at where my turquoise necklace fell on my chest. I watched in horror as his arms slowly fell, any menacing look he had in his face sank away, his eyes opening wide. Forrest followed his gaze over to me, keeping a close eye on what this creep might do next. This man had already pushed Forrest to his limit, and now he was just looking for an excuse. Before Forrest could do anything, the man had rounded up his henchmen and within seconds they were back in their cars, driving off into the distance. Not before his car slowed down to give Forrest a one last, "This isn't over yet," before driving off for good.

There were a few seconds of silence, which seemed to last forever, as the dust settled from the cars settled back into the ground. Forrest stayed glued to his spot on the ground, and I stayed put on the porch. That man had knew me, and I had scared him off, or at least, startled him for now. After what seemed like ten minutes, Forrest wheeled around and made his way up the porch not making eye contact with me. As he brushed by me, he grunted out, "Follow me," walking straight into the Station. He was thinking, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

The sun had started to set, and most of the customers had gone for the day. Maggie was cleaning up behind the bar, but after Forrest came in, me following at his heels, she seemed to hurry in her work to make light of the awkward situation. Everyone knew, or at least from what I picked up on they did, that Maggie had a thing for Forrest. Though it seemed as if Forrest was oblivious. Seeing him pay attention to anyone else nearly put the girl in manic depressive states. Ignoring her, I followed Forrest to the back table where Jack and Cricket were sitting. They both were sitting wide eyed, startled, and waiting for an explanation.

"Sit." Forrest ordered. "What tha hell was that?"

I sat for a few minutes in silence, carefully trying to choose my words. I felt like I was already a burden upon the boys and Maggie for being there. And now, out of the blue, this crazy man who had come there to apparently threaten their business and whole way of life, was apparently threatened and scared by me.

"First, I don't know who that man was. I felt like I had maybe seen em' before, like in a nightmare, but I swear Forrest, I ain't got no idea who he is." I looked up from my position of staring at the table, making eye contact with him across the table. I wanted him to know I was sincere, and for what it was worth, a little scared too.

"You may not know him, but he sure as hell knew you" he stated. Not sure how this conversation was going, I offered up the obvious.

"I'll leave the Station then. It's only fair. I've stayed too long anyways, and this guy can't be comin' round here lookin for me. Not with your business and all." While I had been staying there, Jack had leaked the family secret to me; not to mention the obviousness when he kept showing up in nicer clothes…without having a legitimate job. I began biting my lower lip, nervous, trying to figure where I could go next….back to the cabin maybe? But I couldn't remember what had happened the night of my accident, and if it was even safe to go back there.

"No." He caught my attention and I snapped my head back up, making eye contact again. "You need ta stay here, ya can't be runnin' round when this guy is still in town. You'll stay here at the Station until this is taken care of." There was a moment of silence, then he lifted his head to look me in the eye, "Ain't nothin gonna happen to you Kait." He stayed there for a few moments, I felt as if he was peering into the deepest darkest places of my soul, like he knew exactly how I was feeling without having to ask. Whatever fear the greasy man had put into my mind was suddenly gone, I felt safe and relaxed. Then he was gone.