Mother’s eyebrows lifted and fell as she realized the implication. “The girl’s got guts. Good for her. Seth, he can be proud he’s got blood kin that brave. And he can be proud a man like Ray was his granddaddy.” She paused to put the finishing touches on the subs. “I think Ray and Stella would’ve liked that girl.”

“Do you?” Phillip murmured.

“Yep. I like her.” Mother grinned again as she quickly wrapped the subs in white paper. “She’s not hoity-toity like Nancy wants to think. Girl’s just shy.”

Phillip had reached over for the subs, and now his mouth fell open. “Shy? Sybill?”

“Sure is. Tries hard not to be, but it costs her some. Now you get that meatball back to your brother before it gets cold.”

“WHY DO I have to care about a bunch of queer-os who lived two hundred years ago?”

Seth had his history book open, his mouth full of grape Bubblicious, and a stubborn look in his eye. After a ten-hour day of manual labor, Phillip wasn’t in the mood for one of Seth’s periodic snits.

“The founding fathers of our country were not queer-os.”

Seth snorted and jabbed a finger at the full-page drawing of the Continental Congress. “They’re wearing dorky wigs and girly clothes. That says queer-o to me.”

“It was the fashion.” He knew the kid was yanking his chain, but he couldn’t seem to stop his leg from jerking on cue. “And the use of the word ‘queer-o’ to describe anyone because of their fashion sense or their lifestyle demonstrates ignorance and intolerance.”

Seth merely smiled. Sometimes he just liked making Phillip grind his teeth the way he was doing now. “A guy wears a curly wig and high heels, he deserves what he gets.”

Phillip sighed. It was another reaction Seth enjoyed. He didn’t really mind the history crap. He’d aced the last test, hadn’t he? But it was just plain boring to have to pick out one of the queer-os and write some dopey biography.

“You know what these guys were?” Phillip demanded, then narrowed his eyes in warning when Seth opened his mouth. “Don’t say it. I’ll tell you what they were. Rebels, troublemakers, and tough guys.”

“Tough guys? Get real.”

“Meeting the way they did, drawing up papers, making speeches? They were giving England, and most especially King George, the finger.” He caught a flash of amused interest in Seth’s eyes. “It wasn’t the tea tax, not really. That was just the platform, the excuse. They weren’t going to take any shit from England anymore. That’s what it came down to.”

“Making speeches and writing papers isn’t like fighting.”

“They were making sure there was something to fight for. You have to give people an alternative. If you want them to toss out Brand X, you have to give them Brand Y, and make it better, stronger, tastier. What if I told you Bubblicious is a rip-off?” Phillip asked, inspired as he snatched up the giant pack on Seth’s desk.