BooksBarbecue
Back A Penny for Your Thoughts Save as PDF
Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. A PENNY
  3. Dedication
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-One
  26. Twenty-Two
  27. Twenty-Three
  28. Twenty-Four
  29. Twenty-Five
  30. Twenty-Six
  31. Twenty-Seven
  32. Twenty-Eight
  33. Twenty-Nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-One
  36. Thirty-Two
  37. Thirty-Three
  38. Thirty-Four
  39. Thirty-Five
  40. Thirty-Six
  41. Thirty-Seven
  42. Thirty-Eight
  43. Thirty-Nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-One
  46. Forty-Two
  47. Forty-Three
  48. Forty-Four
  49. Forty-Five
  50. Forty-Six
  51. Forty-Seven
  52. Forty-Eight
  53. Forty-Nine
  54. Fifty
  55. Fifty-One
  56. Fifty-Two
  57. Fifty-Three
  58. Fifty-Four
  59. A Sample Chapter of Don’t Take Any Wooden Nickels
  60. About the Author
  61. Other Books by Mindy Starns Clark
  62. About the Publisher

I told him to tie his end around the tree then toss the rest on down to me. He did as I asked, and soon I was using my footholds and the cord to half climb, half drag myself out of the hole. When I neared the top, I could feel him pulling me up as well. In the end, I landed in a heap on top of him, both of us gasping and exhausted. I sat up and looked at him. He couldn’t be a day over 16. He was wearing a gray uniform with Bud’s Rentals stitched over the pocket. Parked next to my car was a gray van with the same name, and I could see that the back doors were wide open, metal chairs piled high in the back.

“We did it!” he exclaimed excitedly. “We did it!”

“Thank you,” I replied. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

“That was like Silence of the Lambs or something,” he said, his eyes still wide with excitement. “You know, the way he kept that woman down in that pit?”

“Afraid I didn’t see that one,” I said, feeling grateful that I hadn’t. I stood, brushing off my pants, and then thanked him one more time before heading to my car. If I hurried, I’d still have time to get cleaned up, change my clothes, and make it late to the funeral.

Then I’d sit back and watch to see just who looked surprised to see me.

Thirty-One

Thirty-One

image

I cleaned myself up in the bathroom of a nearby service station. I had planned to change at the funeral home, but once I looked in the rearview mirror and saw the dirt and mud streaked in my hair and on my face, I knew I’d better not chance running into anyone. I did the best I could, washing my face and rubbing my hair with damp paper towels. I repaired my makeup as quickly as possible before pulling on the outfit I had brought along.

By the time I arrived at the funeral, Ian was well into his eulogy. I hesitated inside the doorway, debating whether to slip quietly into a seat in the back row or head closer to the front where I might have a better chance of being spotted by the person responsible for my little trip into the grave. In the end, I compromised: There was an aisle seat, about a third of the way up, and I headed there, knowing I could watch the faces of the people as they came down the aisle when the service was finished.