moonshine, and you get back to the business of being a preacher.â
âThis is part of the business of being a preacher.â The preacher sighed. âLook, Doctor, I understand your point of view. Really, I do. But you must understand that itâs not my job to just tell people what they want to hear. Sometimes itâs my job to tell people exactly what they donât want to hear. No matter the cost.â
Ruby Mae watched as the preacher tenderly stroked Princeâs withers. She could see the pain in the manâs dark eyes. Could it be he was as upset as she was?
âYou didnât see anyone, did you, Ruby Mae?â he asked softly.
âNo, sir.â
âYouâd tell me if you had, wouldnât you?
Even if it was someone you knew?â
âI didnât see my step-pa, if thatâs what youâre gettinâ at.â Ruby Mae fought back a sob. âI didnât see anyone.â She scratched Princeâs right ear. He gave a soft nicker, then lay his head on her shoulder.
âHe was so purty, with that long mane of his a-sweepinâ back in the wind,â Ruby Mae said. âAnd now he looks plumb unnatural, like a muleâno offense to you, Old Theo. He wonât even have nothinâ to flick off the flies with.â A wave of anger washed over her. âI wish I could knock the livinâ daylights out of them that done this. Even if it were my own step-pa.â
âI canât believe anyone could be this cruel,â Miz Christy said in a sad, faraway voice. She was crying, too, Ruby Mae suddenly realized.
âIt could have been worse,â said the doctor. âThey might have injured him, even killed him.â The doctor leaned against the wall. He looked weak and pale. âGetting even is considered a virtue around here. The mark of a strong character. Truth is, you were lucky this time. They let you off easy.â
âEasy?â Miz Christy cried.
âYouâre sitting on a powder keg, Christy,â the doctor said. âIt only takes one match to set it off. David came close to it with his sermon.â
âNo doubt youâre right about that, Doctor,â the preacher said, his voice growing angry again. âThere is a powder keg here. But you canât simply wish evil away. You have to stand up and oppose it. You know as well as I do that this illegal liquor is behind at least half the terrible things that happen in these mountains. And I donât see you offering any solutions.â
âI donât have any easy solutions to offer,â the doctor said, rubbing his shoulder gingerly. âI just know that the Cove people donât see anything criminal about making a little homemade brew. After all, itâs know-how thatâs been passed down through their families for centuries. To them, itâs not a moral issue. Especially when they canât find any other way to make a living here in these mountains.â
âBut it is a moral issue, Doctor,â said Miz Christy. âYouâre an educated man. You can see it. Moonshining has horrible resultsâ feuds and terror and even death. How can you ignore all that? How can you ignore that painful wound in your own shoulder?â
âIâm not ignoring any of it,â the doctor said. His voice was suddenly full of rage. âIâve been taking care of these people a whole lot longer than you and David. The two of you come along and decide youâre going to tell people how to live their lives. What gives you that right?â
Silence fell. Ruby Mae gulped. She had never heard this kind of grown-up argufying. Sure, her ma and step-pa fought all the time. But those fights were just made of loud words, flying around the cabin. This fight was about loud words and big ideas. Ruby Mae wasnât sure she understood everything, but one thing was clearâthe doctor and Miz Christy and the preacher were nowhere close to