Dirty Faces- Book 1

Chapter 6: Tobacco

Chapter 6: Tobacco

This is ridiculous, Ginny thought as she swayed idly to and fro on the rope swing by the creek where her brother was fishing. She was clad in her yellow Sunday dress with the little pink flowers on it, minus her shoes, which she'd left in the truck. Kody had driven out the mountain road and pulled off to a creek he liked to fish; this was how they were to spend the time they weren't spending in church. Hiding.

When it was time for church to be over, they would return home and go to Jack's house for dinner, still in their Sunday clothes. Kody had insisted that the truck needed to be gone during church hours and they needed to be in church clothes "in case" Aunt Betty and Uncle Bill dropped by their house. Meanwhile, Ginny was just struggling to not get her dress dirty and blow their cover. She wondered what would happen when Mama returned and the first time she went back to church some well-meaning parishioner greeted her with, "Welcome back! We missed y'all." She supposed- hoped- Kody had it all figured out.

The sky was beginning to fill with gray clouds and the breeze seemed to be picking up. "Looks like rain," she observed.

"Maybe," he replied, his focus on the fishing line. She knew he had no intention of bringing home anything he caught this day because though he could clean fish, neither of them could cook them. They had survived the remainder of the week on bologna sandwiches and were looking forward to Aunt Betty's cooking later today.

Ginny's soft, pendulating motion was the most serene she was capable of being. She could not find it in herself to sit still long enough to enjoy an activity that revolved around patiently waiting for a subtle tug on a string and she wondered how anyone could. Her brother certainly could, it seemed, and looked to be rather enjoying it.

She noticed the leaves on the trees turning up in the wind, and the tree tops swaying in the distance. It wasn't about to rain; it was about to storm.

She swung quietly for a few more minutes before she decided to take advantage of the calm, content mood Kody appeared to be in today.

"You really oughtta come play ball with us sometime, ya know," she said.

"Thought I'd already agreed to it," he replied, his eyes still on the fishing line. "Least that's what Jack tells me anyway."

He turned his head now to look at her, a sarcastic grin spreading across his face. "Thought you were slick, didn't you?"

She shifted her weight to slow the rope swing, the realization that her scheme had failed a punch in the gut. She searched for a worthy come-back but none came to her; she would have to accept defeat. Kody was stubborn and she knew that this most recent "No" would stick, if for no reason other than spite. And no Kody would mean no Jack, either; they usually came as a package deal. Tommy would have to find some other people to fill the holes on the team himself because she could provide no further assistance in the search.

The wind was getting louder and stronger and thunder rolled off in the distance.

"Should church be out yet?" she asked, thinking only of the mud that was sure to splash up on her dress when the rain started.

Kody looked up at the sky, then pulled a pocket watch out and inspected it.

"Getting there." He pushed himself off the ground, reeled in his line, and dusted off his pants.

"May as well head home," he said, walking toward the truck. The thunder rolled again, this time louder, closer. Ginny leaped from the swing and raced to the passenger side, sliding in just in time to beat the first fat drops that fell from the sky.