Free Catching Moondrops by Jennifer Erin Valent Page B

he’d expect you to come around good and quick if there’s any trouble around here.”
    â€œYour daddy ought to know I do my best.”
    She positioned her hands on her hips and put on her best spoiled-baby face. “Your best! Your best would have been to get here quick. Instead, we were all left here to face them hooligans alone, and if it weren’t for Jessie, we’d have all been dead.”
    Sheriff Clancy looked like he was struggling to keep his composure. “I highly doubt you’d have died.”
    â€œHow would you know? You weren’t here, were you?” She waved a hand at him in dismissal. “Anyways, you may as well leave now since you ain’t no use to us. All’s well, thanks to Jessilyn.” Then she caught sight of the blood on her steps and nearly fainted over dead. “Will you look at that? That might never come off, and I’ll be blamed for it. They might take it out of my pay.” She pointed angry eyes at Sheriff Clancy. “See what happens when you don’t take care of things quick?” She ran inside.
    Sheriff Clancy shook his head and sighed. “Y’all quit playin’ with guns, you hear?” He walked off as slowly as he’d come, surrounded by a cloud of smoke.
    Luke nodded toward the post office and whispered, “What d’you think she’ll do when she notices that headless eagle?”
    I smiled at him, but our lighthearted moment was interrupted by Noah walking up to stand at the bottom of the steps and glare at his brother. “How long’s this goin’ to go on?” he asked. “You goin’ to keep this up till Momma’s got to bury you? Is that what you want? You tryin’ to get yourself killed?”
    â€œNoah, I ain’t doin’ nothin’ but standin’ up for what’s right.”
    â€œThis ain’t standin’ up for what’s right. It’s pickin’ fights.”
    Malachi took the three steps in one leap to land in front of his brother. “I ain’t got to be scolded by my little brother. It’s my life, and I got the right to do with it as I please.”
    Noah’s whole body shook as he stood there in front of his brother. “Fine, then. You go ahead and ruin all our lives, because that’s what’ll happen when you end up hangin’ from the end of a rope one day.”
    Disgust ran across Malachi’s face, and he turned away to walk off alone. “You tell Momma I won’t be home for supper.”
    â€œWhat’s new?” Noah called after him. “You just make sure there don’t come a day when I have to tell her you won’t be home ever .”
    Luke slipped his arm through mine and led me down the steps to where Noah stood. He dropped his other arm around Noah’s shoulders. “Don’t feel bad. Ain’t nobody can get through to him right now.”
    â€œI don’t feel bad for nothin’ except Momma. It’ll kill her if somethin’ happens to him.”
    Dolly came back out muttering about “stupid men bleedin’ all over her steps,” so we wished her the best in cleaning it up and said we’d get on our way.
    â€œOh,” I called to Dolly as Luke darted past her into the post office, “tell Mr. Bates I’ll pay for the eagle’s head to be fixed.”
    Dolly narrowed her eyes quizzically until she caught sight of the beheaded bird. “What in tarnation?”
    Luke came back down those stairs as fast as he could without dropping Miss Cleta’s bags. “Let’s get on out of here before she starts screechin’ again.” He gave Noah’s shoulder a nudge. “Come on, I’ll ride you home. You need to let things cool off around here.”
    We found Mr. Stokes where I left him and sent him on his way, then piled into Luke’s truck for the trip home. It had all been fine and good to make jokes about my shooting, but as we