Fireflies in December by Jennifer Erin Valent

Author:Jennifer Erin Valent
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Religious & spiritual fiction, Race relations, Fiction - Religious, Christian, Historical & Mythological Fiction, Domestic fiction, Girls, Virginia, American First Novelists, Christian fiction, Family Life, General, Historical, Christian life & practice, American Historical Fiction, Christian - Historical, Fiction, Religious
ISBN: 9781414324326
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2008-12-08T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Otis Tinker came by early the morning after the trial, toting a sack over his broad shoulder.

I ran out to meet him, happy to see a visitor to our forbidden farm. “Hey there, Mr. Otis. You comin’ to see Daddy?”

“Well now, I might like that. But I actually came to see you, Miss Jessie.” He set the bag down on the ground and pulled out a tiny gray kitten. “You know our cat, Tawny? She done gone and had herself a litter.”

“Sure enough?”

“Sure enough, and we thought maybe you might like this one for yourself, if your momma and daddy don’t mind.” My face must have lit up with the excitement of having that kitten, because Mr. Tinker laughed at my expression. “I’m guessin’ you’d like to have it.”

“Unless Duke decides to make it supper,” Daddy said as he came walking up behind me. He took his hat off and tossed it onto a nearby fence post. “How come your pets are always havin’ babies, Otis? You got the most romantic property in Calloway.”

“Can’t keep an eye on ’em all the time, Harley.”

The two men laughed, but once Daddy caught my expectant gaze, he turned serious. “You plan on takin’ care of this here kitten?”

“Yes’r.”

“Like you took care of the puppy that ran away?”

“He was too rowdy,” I said in my defense. “And he liked chasin’ after skunks. I wasn’t gonna track him down when he was trackin’ a skunk.”

“What about the rabbit?”

“I didn’t know those berries would make her sick.”

“And the duck?”

“Daddy!”

Daddy smiled at me and asked, “Otis, why in the world do you keep bringin’ them animals over here when my girl lets ’em run off or just up and kills ’em altogether?”

“Better’n havin’ the missus tearin’ into me because our place is crawlin’ with animals.”

“I see. So you think it best to fill my place instead.”

Mr. Tinker grinned and patted the kitten on its fuzzy gray head. “You ’bout summed it up. Now, can the girl keep the old thing or do I have to drown it in the creek?”

“Daddy,” I cried, “we can’t let him drown the poor thing!”

Daddy shook his head. “Now you done it. You sure know how to put me in a bind, tellin’ the girl you’re gonna drown it and all.”

“Well, I ain’t gonna feed it. I got enough mouths to feed as it is.”

“Like there ain’t another family in all of Calloway that’s in the market for a cat,” Daddy muttered. But he took a good long look at me and said, “Well, if you promise to take good care of it . . .”

I jumped up and down happily and laid a kiss on Daddy’s cheek. “Thank you, Daddy! Thank you, Mr. Otis!”

I ran off right away to show Gemma. “What d’ya think I should name him?” I asked her as I sat stroking the kitten’s fur.

“Don’t ask me. You’re the creative one, always comin’ up with nicknames and stories and such.”

“What about Spot?”

“What in the world would you

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