“It’s awful hot. Maybe I should join you.” Royal hadn’t put her collared shirt back on. She began to slip out of her trousers and then she waded into the water in a tank T-shirt and boy’s style boxy undershorts. The long-hanging shorts had buttons at the front and drawstrings at the sides. She pushed off the bank and swam out to the center of the pond where Lovey was still treading water.
“I’m so embarrassed.” Lovey blew bubbles over the surface.
“You shouldn’t be. You did the right thing.” Royal skimmed her arms back and forth across the surface a few feet away. “Bees are serious business. They hurt like hell.”
They paddled around each other for a moment not talking. Then Royal swam a little closer. “Are the bites still stinging?”
“A little.”
“If you let me I could put some wet clay on the bites. It’ll pull the stinging out.”
“I’m soaked through.”
“I’ve got a blanket I could spread out near the truck in the shade.” Still facing Lovey, Royal started swimming backward toward the bank where the truck was parked.
Chapter Six
Lovey knew that if she climbed out of the water, the soaked, thin cotton dress would leave little to the imagination, but she figured there was no way to avoid that now. She followed Royal to shore and stood, arms across her chest, while Royal spread a blanket out for them on a patch of thick grass between the truck and the pond. This spot was far enough away from the crest of the road and additionally sheltered from view by a small grove of live oaks.
“Here, sit down and let me have a look.” Royal was kneeling next to an open space on the blanket. Lovey settled herself as best she could, shyly aware of how her wet clothing clung to her torso and breasts. Her hair was mostly dry except at the ends where she pushed it self-consciously away from her flushed cheeks.
Rivulets of water ran across Royal’s shoulders and down her arm. She was just as exposed through her thin tank style T-shirt as Lovey, but somehow seemed less bothered by it. Her soaked shorts clung tightly to her thighs as she stood and moved to the red clay at the edge of the pond. She returned after a moment, stirring the dampened red earth around in the palm of her hand.
“Show me where they got you and I’ll dab some of this on.” Royal knelt next to Lovey.
“Here.” Lovey pulled the fabric of her skirt up to reveal a red welt on her calf. “And here.” She pulled the dress up further. Two more stings glowed, hotly raised against the pale skin on her thighs.
“Wow, they really got you good.” Royal dipped her finger into the pool of soft clay in her palm and tenderly dabbed it over the sites of injury.
Royal was kneeling so close that Lovey could feel the heat off her skin. She knew warmth was spreading through her entire body from their nearness. Why did she have such a strong physical reaction to Royal? Lovey studied Royal’s features as she continued to apply the soothing mixture to the bee stings up and down Lovey’s legs.
“There. I think I got them all.” Royal rocked back on her heels and smiled at Lovey.
“Thank you,” whispered Lovey. She found her voice and spoke a little louder, clearing her throat. “Thank you, Royal.”
“Would you like something to drink? I brought some things in the truck.” Lovey nodded and Royal stood to retrieve a basket from the front seat through the open door of the beat up old truck. “I had planned to stop by your place to see if you wanted to go for a ride. And to apologize for leaving the way I did this morning.”
“I was a little surprised by your absence. I was expecting to see you.”
“I figured it’d be better if I met your father under more pleasant circumstances. I was sort of a mess this morning.”
Lovey reached over and brushed a fallen clump of hair away from the bandage on Royal’s forehead.
This time Royal didn’t flinch, but rather smiled at Lovey. “I’m having the strangest sensation of déjà vu.”
“Are you?”
“It seems like I was in this same spot last night, talking to a girl.”
“What sort of girl?”
“Pretty. Mysterious. Kindhearted.”
Lovey tried with limited success to ignore Royal’s flirtatious tone. “How do you know she was kind?”
“Well, she took me home and bandaged my head.” Royal tentatively touched the gauze over her eyebrow. “Oh, and gave me lemonade.” At that, Lovey couldn’t help smiling.
“Want to take a drive with me?”
“You forget that I’ve seen you drive. What sort of dimwitted girl do you take me for?” Lovey surprised herself by flirting back.
“Oh, not dimwitted at all. On the contrary, one of the most interesting girls I’ve met in quite some time.”
“Is that so?” Lovey leaned back on outstretched arms, somehow no longer bashful about the damp blouse and skirt clinging to her body like she was sealed up tight in pale blue fabric.
“Absolutely.” Royal pulled some saltines and sliced cheese from the basket and laid them out on a gingham print cloth napkin. Then she pulled a small glass bottle out and popped the cork free. She offered the bottle to Lovey.
“What is it?”
“Blackberry cordial. My mother makes it. Mostly for cooking, but I like to drink it sometimes.”
Lovey accepted the bottle and took a couple of sips before handing it back to Royal.
“Why were you out driving last night?”
“I run moonshine for my grandfather.” Royal took a swig from the bottle.
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, it’s sort of my family’s side business. Well, truthfully, farming is our side business. Whiskey is a bit more profitable than farming at the moment, given the price of corn.” Job opportunities in the rural hill country of north Georgia remained sparse, and income from liquor sales kept families afloat. “Our family has a long history of turning crops into spirits.
