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Chapter 20
Iain’thadtimetotakeyouinhan’.Iwillnow.Youtakethishereknifean’gettothempotatoes.»
Thegirlkneltdownandobeyed.Shesaidfiercely,«Wait’llIsee’im.I’lltell’im.»
Masmiledslowly.«Hemightsmackyou.Yougotitcomin’withwhinin’aroun’an’candyin’yaself.IfhesmackssomesenseinyouI’llbless’im.»Thegirl’seyesblazedwithresentment,butshewassilent.
UncleJohnpushedhisrustynaildeepintothegroundwithhisbroadthumb.«Igottotell,"hesaid.
Pasaid,«Well,tellthen,goddamnit!Who’dyakill?»
UncleJohndugwithhisthumbsintothewatchpocketofhisbluejeansandscoopedoutafoldeddirtybill.Hespreaditoutandshowedit.«Fi’dollars,"hesaid.
«Stealher?»Paasked.
«No,Ihadher.Keptherout.»
«Shewasyourn,wasn’tshe?»
«Yeah,butIdidn’thavenorighttokeepherout.»
«Idon’tseemuchsininthat,"Masaid.«It’syourn.»
UncleJohnsaidslowly,«Itain’tonlythekeepin’herout.Ikep’herouttogetdrunk.IknowedtheywasgonnacomeatimewhenIgottogetdrunk,whenI’dgettohurtin’insidesoIgottogetdrunk.Figgeredtimewasn’yet,an’then—thepreacherwentan’give’imselfuptosaveTom.»
Panoddedhisheadupanddownandcockedhisheadtohear.Ruthiemovedcloser,likeapuppy,crawlinguponherelbows,andWinfieldfollowedher.RoseofSharondugatadeepeyeinapotatowiththepointofherknife.Theeveninglightdeepenedandbecamemoreblue.
