Free Coal Black Blues by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

some kind of license to sell food, though. I’m probably breaking the law now. And, I need to go grocery shopping, too. Are you busy Saturday?”
    “No, not really.”
    “Would you go with me?”
    “Sure, Carrie, I’ll go.”
    She smiled.
    On Saturday morning, with Neil riding shotgun, they headed up to Charleston. Caroline’s mind brimmed with plans for the store, things she wanted to buy today and things she wanted to do in the near future. They had stopped in one of the towns along the way for a sausage biscuit and coffee. Conversation had been light and quiet. She wanted to spill out all her thoughts at once but held back, respectful of his request to take things slow.
    Since years had passed since she spent any time in the state capital and had been no more than a teenager, Neil directed her where to find what she wanted. Caroline ended buying two super-size twelve-quart slow cookers, twice as large as what she had been using. She planned to purchase one, but Neil insisted she would need two.
    “If you’re going to expand into serving food, you’ll need both, sooner or later.”
    Caroline sighed. “All right, I’ll get them. I checked online and I should have already gotten a Food Service Establishment Permit through the state. I’ve got the application, but I’ll need to pay the fees and someone has to come out to inspect before I can legally open.”
    “Then do it. I’ll help you as much as I can.”
    He would, even if he worked till he dropped over with exhaustion. “I know, Neil, but you work so hard anyway…”
    “But I enjoy helping you, Carrie.”
    “Then please do. I need it. I already feel like I don’t know what I’m getting myself into.”
    Neil laughed. “You’re just getting started. I have some ideas I want to show you. If the store’s closed tomorrow, I could then.”
    “It is until I get everyone’s schedules in place and I’m confident they all know what they’re doing.”
    “So I’ll show you tomorrow, then.”
    “All right, it’s a plan.”
    So was lunch. After dining on a pair of thick cheeseburgers, they headed for one of the larger supermarkets where Caroline loaded down a cart with groceries, divided between things for her use and items to cook for Neil. She eyed some of the things she might buy when she expanded the store’s hot selection, chicken tenders, catfish strips, even frozen chicken fried steaks although Neil pointed out she would find cheaper prices at a wholesale club or restaurant retailer and she agreed.
    “I’m just getting ideas now,” she told him.
    On the way home, he offered to drive and she yielded. Although Caroline hated to admit it, the long hours at the store fatigued her. She had shifted from an unhappy marriage to caring for her terminally ill uncle to running a store without any break at all. Since June, Caroline had commuted back and forth from Virginia, making frequent visits from the tiny, cheerless one-room studio she had rented before the divorce. In September, she moved into her grandparents’ old home after her uncle deeded it to her along with the store. And without warning, Neil McCullough walked back into her life. Too much too fast, she thought as she shut her eyes for one short moment, but she wouldn’t trade having Neil around for anything. Being back home suited her and so did his companionship.
    As the miles spun out and they headed back to Coaltown, he tuned in a distant radio station that sometimes cut out when the signal failed to make it through the mountains. Caroline kept her eyes closed and let her mind drift, content until she slipped into a light sleep.
    She might have slept all the way back home if the car hadn’t lurched to a sudden stop, with a great squall of brakes and a colorful burst of curses from Neil’s mouth. Caroline slid forward, caught by the seatbelt before she hit the dash or windshield. Before she came fully awake, Caroline realized two things, neither good.
    Beside her, Neil stared straight