and he carried a rifle. A little ol’ squirrel rifle. Lily sniffed in disdain.
He was a grown boy, and his folks owned Estes Hardware and Feed, in town. They were nice, solid people, Mama said.
But Joe raced stock cars like a fool, and he’d been in trouble with the law for things Mama and Daddy would only whisper about, and he liked to hunt. He could hunt from now till the cows came home, but he’d better get off Blue Willow. Furious, Lily stuffed her book and letters back into her pockets, then slipped out the window. She tiptoed down the hill, hiding behind the tree trunks, her heart racing.
When she reached the bushes along the edge of the forest, she hunkered down and began growling. She’d scare him off, make him think a bear was after him. There were still some around these woods. He couldn’t kill a bear with a squirrel rifle.
She rattled the bushes, made the most terrible, low-pitched noises in her throat, growling louder and louder, and peeped at him, wanting to see him run. He turned, staring in her direction.
Then he put the rifle to his shoulder and fired.
An invisible hand slapped her backward. She lay on the ground, blinking in amazement. A pain like fire ran down her right arm. She could hear Joe tromping toward her. Dazed, she looked at her arm and saw blood everywhere. Her shirtsleeve was torn near the top. It revealed a long, deep gouge on her shoulder.
“Oh, my God,” Joe said, when he parted the bushes and looked down at her. “It was your fault, you stupid little shit. I oughta leave you here, but it’d just cause a stink.”
Lily glared up woozily, pointed at him with her good arm, and intoned, “This is my land. If I was a bear, I’d bite your head off.” Then she fainted.
• • •
Aunt Maude and the sisters’ faces appeared over her like angels. Mama and Daddy were looking down at her too. Lily gazed up at them from a dreamy mist, smiled, and shut her eyes again. She was in the guest bedroom at Aunt Maude’s, she remembered. Her bandaged arm was cushioned on a pillow.
“She’ll sleep all afternoon, doped up on those pain pills the doctor gave her,” Lily heard Aunt Maude whisper. “Leave her here till you get through talking to the sheriff.”
“I’d like to kill that damned Joe for hunting on the estate,” Daddy answered, his voice sounding tired and worried. “But I can see how him shooting Lily was just an accident. Good Lord, who expects to find a ten-year-old girl hiding in the middle of nowhere and growling at him?”
“What are we goin’ to do with her?” That was Mama, Lily knew. She sounded upset. “She thinks that old estate belongs to her. She thinks she has to take care of it for Artemas Colebrook.”
Little Sis. Her voice was high and squeaky. “Can’t fault that kind of loyalty, Zea.”
“But I worry about her. She’s not like other little girls. She keeps to herself, reads all the time, hangs out at the old mansion. I can’t keep her away from it.”
Big Sis. Her voice was gravelly. “She’s as tough as a mustang and twice as stubborn. She’ll never get by on dainty temperament or dainty looks—not with her size and that cap of orange hair. But that doesn’t matter. She’s smart. You might as well get used to the fact that she’s odd. It’s a remarkable kind of odd.”
Odd ? Tears pooled behind Lily’s eyelids. What could be good about being odd? When an old man who lived down the street from Aunt Maude had started going outside with no pants on, people said it was because he’d gotten odd . His wife sent him off to a home for crazy people.
“She thinks Artemas Colebrook is coming back someday to marry her.” That was Mama again. Lily’s heart jerked at the tone of disbelief in Mama’s voice.
“Well, you don’t know,” Daddy said slowly. “Stranger things have happened.”
“Oh, Drew , don’t you dare encourage her notions. She’ll outgrow ’em. When she’s older, she’ll figure out that the
He was a grown boy, and his folks owned Estes Hardware and Feed, in town. They were nice, solid people, Mama said.
But Joe raced stock cars like a fool, and he’d been in trouble with the law for things Mama and Daddy would only whisper about, and he liked to hunt. He could hunt from now till the cows came home, but he’d better get off Blue Willow. Furious, Lily stuffed her book and letters back into her pockets, then slipped out the window. She tiptoed down the hill, hiding behind the tree trunks, her heart racing.
When she reached the bushes along the edge of the forest, she hunkered down and began growling. She’d scare him off, make him think a bear was after him. There were still some around these woods. He couldn’t kill a bear with a squirrel rifle.
She rattled the bushes, made the most terrible, low-pitched noises in her throat, growling louder and louder, and peeped at him, wanting to see him run. He turned, staring in her direction.
Then he put the rifle to his shoulder and fired.
An invisible hand slapped her backward. She lay on the ground, blinking in amazement. A pain like fire ran down her right arm. She could hear Joe tromping toward her. Dazed, she looked at her arm and saw blood everywhere. Her shirtsleeve was torn near the top. It revealed a long, deep gouge on her shoulder.
“Oh, my God,” Joe said, when he parted the bushes and looked down at her. “It was your fault, you stupid little shit. I oughta leave you here, but it’d just cause a stink.”
Lily glared up woozily, pointed at him with her good arm, and intoned, “This is my land. If I was a bear, I’d bite your head off.” Then she fainted.
• • •
Aunt Maude and the sisters’ faces appeared over her like angels. Mama and Daddy were looking down at her too. Lily gazed up at them from a dreamy mist, smiled, and shut her eyes again. She was in the guest bedroom at Aunt Maude’s, she remembered. Her bandaged arm was cushioned on a pillow.
“She’ll sleep all afternoon, doped up on those pain pills the doctor gave her,” Lily heard Aunt Maude whisper. “Leave her here till you get through talking to the sheriff.”
“I’d like to kill that damned Joe for hunting on the estate,” Daddy answered, his voice sounding tired and worried. “But I can see how him shooting Lily was just an accident. Good Lord, who expects to find a ten-year-old girl hiding in the middle of nowhere and growling at him?”
“What are we goin’ to do with her?” That was Mama, Lily knew. She sounded upset. “She thinks that old estate belongs to her. She thinks she has to take care of it for Artemas Colebrook.”
Little Sis. Her voice was high and squeaky. “Can’t fault that kind of loyalty, Zea.”
“But I worry about her. She’s not like other little girls. She keeps to herself, reads all the time, hangs out at the old mansion. I can’t keep her away from it.”
Big Sis. Her voice was gravelly. “She’s as tough as a mustang and twice as stubborn. She’ll never get by on dainty temperament or dainty looks—not with her size and that cap of orange hair. But that doesn’t matter. She’s smart. You might as well get used to the fact that she’s odd. It’s a remarkable kind of odd.”
Odd ? Tears pooled behind Lily’s eyelids. What could be good about being odd? When an old man who lived down the street from Aunt Maude had started going outside with no pants on, people said it was because he’d gotten odd . His wife sent him off to a home for crazy people.
“She thinks Artemas Colebrook is coming back someday to marry her.” That was Mama again. Lily’s heart jerked at the tone of disbelief in Mama’s voice.
“Well, you don’t know,” Daddy said slowly. “Stranger things have happened.”
“Oh, Drew , don’t you dare encourage her notions. She’ll outgrow ’em. When she’s older, she’ll figure out that the
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