Susan's Sunrise

A prequel, parallel, and a tiny bit of a sequel about Susan from my story 'Shotgun'. I would strongly suggest reading Shotgun first for context of things Susan sees and says.

My universe. My rules. Almost nothing on this site is realistic.

No explicit sex in this one.

Information you may need: There was a country song called Coal Miner's Daughter by Loretta Lynn

Southern West Virginia Westward toward Kentucky is some of the poorest areas of West Virginia (and the entire US)

Susan's Sunrise

The midnight of life.

My name is Susan, there isn't anything especially unusual about me, but here you are reading my story. In my youngest years, I grew up working class. We never had a lot of money but we had some until I was five in 1991 then things got even worse when my father was laid off. Coal was a dying industry and one that also was losing many jobs through better and faster machinery. This was a combination that was devastating to my family.

I don't remember much about my father other than he was a coal miner, was tall, had a great smile... and he loved me. He was laid off when I was five and briefly employed again in 1992 when I was six. I remember when he got called back to a coal mining job again he was so happy that he bought me a small silver ring that I still have today.

As a young girl, I never understood why I had my mom's last name and it was different from my dad's last name, unlike my classmates. My parents had never married and some kids even made fun of me when they found out. I was just an illegitimate hillbilly girl from the coal fields of southern West Virginia.

I literally was a coal miner's daughter. How fucking cliche. I'm a walking country song.

My father was killed in a mining accident a week before he was due to be laid off again in 1993 and things never got better. The apartment building we were in burned two months after that. We lived on the first floor and escaped easily, but the building burned to the ground. It was a big wooden building that there was no hope of saving. I remember the heat coming from the fire being so hot we had to walk further away to escape the intensity. We lost everything. We had nothing and I had nothing, save that silver ring on my finger. The county took care of us for a few months and mom got some welfare. We ate but had little else.

Once my father died, things got worse and kept going. My mom became a prostitute and sold herself then drowned her sorrows in booze. In my teens, I was just a dumb rebellious kid who got knocked up by a boy three years older named Troy at age thirteen and delivered my daughter, Kelsey, at age fourteen in the year 2000.

I didn't become a prostitute, but kept company with the boy who knocked me up until I was twenty. In our first years together, we would occasionally do fun family things. Our best time ever was the county fair before Troy was laid off. We were passing by one of those chance games where you throw a ring and if one of the three rings you get lands on a bottle, you win a stuffed animal. Kelsey was five at the time and looking up at all the stuffed animals with a huge smile. Troy scoffed and said that no one ever wins those. I took a dollar out of my purse and handed it to Troy. He scoffed but gave in and threw the first of the three rings which landed right on a bottle!

The first one was a winner so he casually tossed the last two at the same time. All three landed on bottles and the odds against that were extremely low. Kelsey was squealing in delight as Troy lifted her up to get a closer look at the stuffed animals she had to choose from. She chose a brown stuffed cat that she named Daisy. When Daisy was put into her hands, she hugged it so tight I thought it would come apart. Delight in my child's eyes, truly a mother's delight.

My mom died when I was eighteen. I remember a policeman came to my boyfriend's house where I was living and told me. He came to the door and I knew something was bad because of his face. I could see it in his eyes. He told me and I was sad, but not crushed. I had never truly felt my mother's love. They found her in an alley in Bluefield. I didn't ask for details on how she died.

I'm pretty sure we used up any and all luck that we would ever have that night because things went downhill two months later when Troy was laid off. I was with him until he was killed while driving drunk. He was kind to me, but I never loved him nor did he love me. He was a drunk, but I never feared him. He was a happy drunk... and a stupid one. He was nice to me and our daughter. He even had my silver ring resized when he got his job back. He doted on our daughter and truly loved her. Fear would come from the next man in my life.

Somehow I managed to finish high school. Some teachers are heroes, my English Teacher, Mrs.Hawkins was one. I had her for all four years. She accepted all my late assignments with a smile. Other teachers were also patient with me, but none as much as Mrs. Hawkins. Being a teenager with a young daughter was no picnic even with the help of relatives of my boyfriend.

At the age of twenty-one, I was on the verge of being homeless when I met Earl. Sixteen years my senior, he was interested in me and he was a man with the self-confidence that I lacked. He wasn't much to look at but his swagger and self-confidence attracted me because I had none for myself. While others in my high school class had escaped to better places, I was still in the same poor county I was born in with no prospects of a better life.

I gave myself to Earl then I married him in 2008 and I became Susan McCoy. Yes, it was foolish. Earl hit me barely six months into our relationship. I learned to avoid Earl's anger for the most part, but he was an angry violent man. Why did I stay? I had a daughter, and no place else to go, and Earl at least had a trailer and a modest income from his garage. I had no income or skills and made my own trap. He lived in one of five trailers in a clearing west of Bluefield, West Virginia in a place called Coalton. Coalton was a scattering of houses and trailers more than a town. Earl's cousins were in three of the others and his parents lived in the center trailer. It was my own open prison cell.

Earl was an auto mechanic and something more. I never knew what it was exactly other than it had to do with drugs because I never asked and he never volunteered. He would go away for several days and then come back. My life was hell, but I tried to raise my daughter right. Kelsey was my one chance to not be a complete failure... And... I mostly succeeded. Kelsey graduated high school with a three-point seven grade point average. She was not the valedictorian, but damn... My baby girl did it and did it without the drama of having a baby as a teenager. She was not a star student who would get scholarships so I was at a loss on how to get my daughter the hell out of Coalton.

It got worse after she graduated high school in May of 2018. Earl told me that morning that Kelsey would have to move out because she was eighteen and had graduated high school. I tried to argue, but he was out the door in a minute simply with the words, "Bring Kelsey to my garage this morning and we will figure out a way to get her the hell out of here!"

In a dust cloud, Earl left in his Bronco.

We caught a ride from a neighbor, so I brought Kelsey to Earl's shop to try to convince Earl to give me some time to figure something else for Kelsey. I wanted her to go to college... to be someone... to live a good life with a good man. Everything that my life wasn't. People put down good men as weak, but I want her to have a good man who will love her and treat her with kindness. Goodness knows I know what a bad man is.

I wanted her to live in a decent house and not a trailer. I had no idea how I was even getting her out of Coalton, let alone the other parts about a good man. A good man could get her out of Coalton and she had a lot to offer him. She was sweet, smart, and a good person living in a terrible situation. I was pretty sure she was still a virgin at the end of high school. Even if she wasn't, she was not an easy girl. She was a smart quality woman who would make an excellent supportive wife for a lucky man.

I know you are screaming at me to make her the ultimate independent woman. With no money, power or influence myself I was powerless to get her to a place where she could do that. Opportunities near Coalton were nearly nonexistent so I needed to pair her off with someone who could get her away. A good man. A smart man. A man who would take her away and I hoped, help her to soar on her own in ways I could not. I had no idea how to even find such a man... until the day I brought Kelsey to Earl's shop... and one walked right inside...

*******

Friday, May 25, 2018

Our ride dropped us off, we got out of the pickup and walked toward Earl's garage. My heart was in my throat and I don't think Kelsey was doing much better. She knew Earl's disdain for her and that he wanted her gone.

We walked inside as Earl was finishing up with a gas customer. Once the customer was gone, Earl said, "She needs to get the hell out. I'm done supporting her."

Kelsey sat with a worried look on her face on a tattered old black leather couch as I was arguing with Earl, "Please! Kelsey just needs some time to leave. She will be homeless."

A young man came in and patiently waited.

Earl argued angrily, "She ain't my daughter. She's eighteen now and graduated from high school. YOU figure out what to do with..."

Earl interrupted himself, and looked at a young man who had walked in and waited patiently for us to stop arguing. Earl asked angrily, "What?"

The man said, "Something killed both my driver's side tires and I need two."

I could see Earl was thinking of something but I did not know what. He looked at the man's car then back to the man and asked, "You're not from around here are you?"

He shook my head and said, "I'm from near Middletown, New York."

Earl looked back at the car, it was a newer Toyota parked by the door Earl said, "Nice car. What do you do?"

He said, "I'm a project engineer."

Earl looked down at the man's left hand and didn't see a wedding ring. He nodded thoughtfully and asked, "You have a college degree?"

He nodded and said, "A Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering. Why?"

The man looked out at his car as Earl picked up his 'block knocker', a padded old sock full of old batteries Earl uses to knock out the junkies that periodically try to rob him with sticks and knives. Earl asked the man, "You like fishing?"

The man seemed confused with the question as Earl brought the block knocker back and then forward as he looked at me.

The man said, "Yeah... I..."

Earl swung the sock and knocked the man out as Kelsey screamed. He staggered then Earl caught him. Earl ordered Kelsey, "Get off the couch."

Earl set him on the couch then announced, "He'll be out for a while. I'll be back in an hour or so. If anyone asks, he drove all night and needed a nap."

Earl took the man's wallet then left as the man was laid out on the couch.

A little over an hour later, Earl came back with a smile and said, "Problem solved. Kelsey will marry the guy on the couch and he will take her away."

I looked at Earl like he was an alien, not believing it would work... then I realized... a good man... and I became part of a plot to kidnap a man and force him to marry my daughter. I am ashamed of what I did, but I have no regrets; because it worked.

Kelsey asked incredulously, "You want me to marry some random guy?"

Earl honestly tried to sell it to both of us, "It gets you away from here and married off so you are his problem now."

Kelsey said, "And what if I don't accept the marriage?"

Earl said, "I can just boot you out now and not allow you to come home. His place or no place, your pick. It makes no difference to me as long as you are gone."

Kelsey clammed up trying to make a retort to Earl's ultimatum.

I thought for a second as my eyes locked on Kelsey's and I sighed. A minute passed as I realized two things, one was Kelsey was going to be kicked out soon regardless, the second was that the guy seemed polite and I hoped that meant nice. A nice guy from New York State being my daughter's husband was a solution I had not thought of, but was a road out of Coalton.

A road I was powerless to provide by myself.

I looked at my daughter and said, "You don't have a choice, and think about it. As his wife, you will gone from here and... look at his car. It's not a Ferrari, but it's a nice newer car and he has a degree. He can give you things I cannot hope to even approach."

Earl shrugged and said, "His place or no place, kid. Pick one... Plus... It will make your mom happy."

Earl was abrupt and said, "I'm gonna call Carson and get you a ride back to the trailers. Come back with her in that old yellow dress she has. I called my cousin and he will marry them to each other this afternoon."

Earl looked at the man's phone and then his wallet again. He looked at the New York State driver's license and read it, "Andrew Abrams, age... twenty-two, From Wallkill Township New York."

He looked at Kelsey and said, "Your new last name is going to be Abrams."

Earl opened Andrew's phone which did not have a passcode then looked through the contacts. He selected, "Dad." and started texting.

Earl powered off the man's phone then his phone rang a few minutes later.

"Hello?"

"Yeah. This is Earl McCoy. I own a service station in Coalton, West Virginia. He got two flat tires and I am going to get him the tires, but it won't be done until late Sunday."

Pause

"Yeah. I know. No, he said he can handle the bill. Anyway, I mentioned that the fishing is very good down on Brush Fork Creek."

Pause

"Yeah. Well, my cousin was driving by and offered to show him where to go so he took off with him. You know young people. He said something about making a weekend of it. You called him? Oh, there is no cell reception down by the creek."

Pause

"Yeah. I know. To be young and irresponsible like that again. Wouldn't it be great?"

Chuckle

Pause

"Yeah, My cousin has a cabin he can rent to him for beer money. It's not all that nice, but hey, it's near the creek and it's cheap. My cousin has a shitload of fishing gear in it too!"

Pause

"Yeah. Hey, no problem. Don't be too hard on your son for only texting. He seems like a smart young man. Perhaps a bit impulsive."

Pause

"Yeah, that does sound impressive. Sounds like he is doing well in life."

Pause

"No worries about a father bragging about his son. He sounds like a winner."

Pause

"Yeah. Have a good one!"

Earl ended the call, smirked, and said, "Problem solved and he is all he said he is. He has a good job and it sounded like he had his own house when his father started bragging about him."

Andrew woke up later on the couch, groaned, sitting up slowly trying to find his balance and figure out where he was.

Earl looked at Andrew and simply said, "You are marrying Kelsey."

He shook his head and rubbed the back of his head where Earl had hit him.

Andrew asked, "What happened?"

Earl smirked and said, "You fell."

He paused a second then began to understand what Earl had said, "Wait! What?"

Earl lifted his shirt a few inches and showed Andrew his gun.

Earl looked at him and said, "I texted your mom and dad using your phone. You said that you were waiting on tires because two blew out and were staying until they came in. The local fishing was good so you were going to make a weekend of it. Here is how this is going to work. In ten minutes, we are going to that church right over there where my cousin is the pastor. I went to the courthouse and picked up a marriage license for you. Good thing I know someone there. You are getting the short version service and you will say 'I do.'"

Andrew countered, "And what if I don't"

Earl said, "Did you know people can disappear here? Happens a fair amount of the time. Drug crime and all."

Earl patted his gun, pointed at the door, and said, "Go out the door make a right, and don't forget I can make you disappear without a trace and I will be behind you the whole time."

Earl herded us toward the church, Brush Fork Creek Baptist, and told us to go inside. It was an old wooden country Baptist Church that had perhaps twenty people attend on a typical Sunday.

His cousin was waiting at the front of the church where Earl handed him a marriage license and they conferred for a few minutes. Andrew was ushered to the front then Kelsey joined him a few minutes later.

With no fanfare, his cousin, Gunnar, gave the short version of vows. Yes, there actually is a Pastor Gunnar McCoy.

"Do you, Andrew Abrams, take Kelsey to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for richer for poorer, until death do you part?"

Andrew said, "I do."

"Do you, Kelsey Malley take Andrew as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for richer for poorer, until death do you part?"

Kelsey said, "I do."

Gunnar said, "By the power vested in me by the state of West Virginia, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride."

It took a second, but they kissed.

I looked at my daughter and smiled, she felt that kiss and liked it. She was smiling. I was hoping she saw this road out of Coalton as I saw it.

Andrew's eyes roamed over Kelsey and I hoped he liked what he saw. Kelsey was a lean young woman with decent-sized boobs a man should like and a decent face. She wasn't a model, but she certainly was no dog.

Earl told him that everyone was going to head to our trailers and that he would have Andrew's car done late Sunday.

Andrew said, "I am needed at work on Tuesday after the holiday. Are you holding me forever?"

Earl shook his head and said, "You will leave Monday morning with your wife after you have consummated your marriage a bunch of times here. I will return your phone and your wallet to you then."

Andrew looked pissed but wisely said nothing.

Earl reinforced, "I heard there is a drug dealer looking for someone of your description. It would be a shame if you disappeared."

Earl led us all to his Bronco and put Andrew next to Kelsey in the back seat. He then blindfolded him, and told him we were headed to dinner and that he would be there until Monday morning.

Earl watched us all enter our trailer then I shooed him away. I knew they had to consummate their marriage, but a mean guy with a gun wasn't going to help matters.

I said, "Okay. This is it. Consummate your marriage. Do it on a towel so you won't have to avoid wet spots when you want to sleep. I have to verify it afterward, so Kelsey... come out after you are... done. If you don't..."

I indicated we did not want Earl to return to force things then closed the door and waited a few feet away. No, I did not listen with my ear up against it. I knew what needed to happen, but I did not need a play-by-play.

After a few minutes of voices and not much else, I said loudly, "I don't hear fuck noises!"

Finally, I heard a few giggles and a few grunts and hoped it had happened.

Fifteen minutes later, Kelsey opened the door and stepped out nude, and showed me cum running down her legs. She seemed embarrassed but less than I would have thought.

I brought back a pack of wet wipes, handed them to her, and said, "You may come out after round two."

A bit later I heard more and longer fuck noises and smiled. Sex, even with Earl can be enjoyable. I've never had an orgasm with him, but the act is enjoyable. Hell, I've never had an orgasm. I was hoping he was a good lover for Kelsey.

I started dinner then at six that evening, I came back to Kelsey's room, knocked on the door, and said, "Time for supper."