Sparked by Lily Cahill Read Free Book Online Page B

$200 for bus tickets and renting a room, plus a little extra to see them through until she managed to find regular work. Maybe at a bakery, if she was lucky. Though she’d be willing to do just about anything as long as it meant she wouldn’t have to deal with Butch and her father ever again.
    The fact was, $88 just wasn’t enough to safely leave. Maybe they could do it on $150, but she was nowhere near even that. How long would it take to earn the rest? If she picked up an extra odd job or two and tried to cut back on their expenses it might go faster. She could mend her dresses to make them last longer, and let the hem out on Bethany’s for at least another year. They didn’t really need bologna every week, did they? Butch would complain, but she could cut that back to once a month and can some jelly from the berries this summer for sandwiches. It wasn’t him paying for it.
    And perhaps she’d have better luck finding more work in town now that a few people had trusted her with some of their mending and baking. When she’d first tried after graduation, almost no one would even speak to her—not with her father’s reputation staining her last name. Those who hadn’t slammed the door in her face had laughed in it instead. But now … perhaps it was worth trying again. If she had steady work, her savings would grow so much faster.
    She couldn’t concentrate any longer. Cora stood and wiped her wet hands down the front of her dress. She needed to feel the money in her hands, to verify the exact amount. It was a ritual that always comforted her when she was feeling anxious about her plans. She glanced around the yard to be sure no one was watching, then went to the east corner of the house and knelt down. There was a loose board at the back where she had been stashing all her treasures since she was a child.
    The money would be safer in a bank, but that wasn’t possible. The day Cora had turned eighteen, she’d foolishly put on her best dress and walked into Briggs Bank—the only bank in town—hoping to set up an account for herself, but they refused to do business with her. In fact, they’d threatened to call the police if she didn’t leave the premises. Cora’s face still grew hot at the shame of the memory.
    She pulled the board aside from the house and reached for her tin. Right away, she knew something was wrong. It felt too light. There was no clink of coins inside at all. She tore the lid back.
    It was empty. 
    Her stomach went weak. 
    No. Please, please, no.
    That was all she had. That was everything. Without it, they’d be stuck here forever. Who had taken it? How had they even known where it was?
    Just then, the three men sauntered out of the house. She straightened quickly out of habit, trying to conceal the hiding spot. Then she realized she was looking at the most likely culprit.
    She marched toward Butch. “Where’s my money? What did you do with it?”
    Butch grinned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Cora could see the lie in that smile. Sure as day, he was the one who had stolen from her.
    “You do know. Give it back. Or so help me God, I’ll—”
    Butch grabbed her arm. “You’ll what?”
    Cora punched at him, but his fist was quicker than hers. Before she made contact, he had both of her wrists held tightly in just one of his meaty fists.
    Tears stung her eyes as she struggled against him, but her efforts were useless. He was built strong, just like their father—bull-chested and over six feet tall to her scrawny five-foot-six. “You can’t just take it. You can’t. That’s everything I had.”
    “It’s stealing from the family is what it is,” Huck said. 
    Ralph stood at Butch’s side, gawping at them all.
    “It wasn’t stealing. I earned every penny of that money.”
    “And who owns the roof over your head? Who put the clothes on your back?” 
    Clothes from five years ago, Cora wanted to say. And a house my mother inherited from her grandparents.