Michael R. Phillips - A day to pick your own cotton

A DAY TO PICK YOUR
OWN COTTON

Books by Michael Phillips

Is Jesus Coming Back As Soon As We Think?

Destiny JunctionKings Crossroads

Make Me Like JesusGod, A Good Father

Jesus, An Obedient Son

Best Friends for Life (with Judy Phillips)

George MacDonald: Scotlands Beloved Storyteller

Rift in TimeHidden in Time

Your Life in Christ (George MacDonald)

The Truth in Jesus (George MacDonald)

AMERICAN DREAMS

Dream of FreedomDream of LifeDream of Love

THE SECRET OF THE ROSE

The Eleventh HourA Rose Remembered

Escape to FreedomDawn of Liberty

SHENANDOAH SISTERS

Angels Watching Over Me

A Day to Pick Your Own Cotton

The Color of Your Skin Aint the Color of Your Heart

Together Is All We Need

CAROLINA COUSINS

A Perilous ProposalThe Soldier s Lady

Never Too LateMiss Katies Rosewood

A Day to Pick Your Own Cotton
Copyright 2003
Michael Phillips

Cover photo of girls by David Bailey
Cover design by The DesignWorks Group

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Uncle Remus stories are the creation of Joel Chandler Harris (18481908).

Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 978-0-7642-2701-1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Phillips, Michael R., 1946

A day to pick your own cotton / by Michael Phillips.

p. cm. (Shenandoah sisters)

ISBN 0-7642-2706-8 (hardback : alk. paper) ISBN 0-7642-2701-7 (pbk.)

1. North CarolinaFiction. 2. Female friendshipFiction. 3. Plantation life Fiction. 4. Race relationsFiction. 5. Teenage girlsFiction. 6. Reconstruction Fiction. 7. OrphansFiction. I. Title. II. Series: Phillips, Michael R., 1946- , Shenandoah sisters.

PS3566.H492D396 2003

813'.52dc21 2003001434

MICHAEL PHILLIPS is one of the premier fiction authors publishing in the CBA marketplace. He has authored more than fifty books, with total sales exceeding six million copies. He is also well known as the editor of the popular George MacDonald Classics series. Michael and his wife, Judy, have three grown sons and make their home in Eureka, California.

Contents

CIVIL WAR SISTERS
1

I RECKON ITD BE ALMIGHTY PRESUMING OF ME TO guess what was going on inside the brain of the lady who ran the general store and post office in the town of Greens Crossing in Shenandoah County, North Carolina. But I do know what was going on inside mine. If we cant fool Mrs. Hammond, well go hungry. Or worsetheyll come and take us away.

Elfrida Hammond wasnt the kind of lady a body could draw a good bead on just from looking at her. Except for one thing, that is. She had a grum expression set permanent-like on her face. Suspicious, thats what Id call the lady, her eyes a little squinty. Id only seen her once before, and that was from an upstairs window, where I hid when she came to the house. But just from listening I could tell that hers wasnt a cheerful kind of voice.

It wasnt my house. Ill explain that later. But what I was about to say was that she wasnt smiling then, so I doubted she was smiling today. Fact is, I dont know if Elfrida Hammond ever smiled.

Who can say what she was thinking, or whether she saw the wagon pull up in front of her store, or what went through her mind when the door opened and the little bell above it tinkled to announce that she had a customer. But I do know that when she turned to greet the young lady who had just walked in, her eyes narrowed yet a little more.

Kathleen she said in a slow, worrisome tone that trailed off and then went up at the end like a question.

Good morning, Mrs. Hammond, said the girl. She was only fifteen, and had only turned that about a month before. But she had a special reason for trying to sound more grown up than her age.

I see your mamas not with you.

No, maam. She couldnt come to town today. So I came instead. I want to get some supplies, Mrs. Hammond. Heres the list of what we need.

She handed a piece of paper over the counter. The lady took it and looked it over like a schoolmarm grading a test.

There are a lot of things here, Kathleen, she said.

Yes, maam.

Did you tell your mother what I told you about her account?

We talked about it, maam. She said to tell you she promised shed get it taken care of real soon, and asked if you could just help her out a little longer.

I declare, said the lady, I dont know what she expects me to do.

Mrs. Hammond looked at the list again, then at Katie, then glanced outside her shop where the wagon sat. Her eyes narrowed a little more.

Whos that darkie you got with you? she asked.

Shes myer, one of our house slaves.

Ive never seen her before. Is she Beulahs pickaninny?

No, maam.

Shes ugly as sin.

Not when you get to know her, maam. And shes real smart.

Well, she doesnt look any smarter than she does comely, huffed Mrs. Hammond, who didnt like anyone telling her anything, especially a young girl. She took any statement by someone else, especially if it expressed an opinion on just about any topic under the sun, as grounds for contradiction. No, she doesnt look like she has a single brain in that little black head of hers, she added after a minute. Im not sure I like the sound of it one bit.

Well be back when weve done our other errands, said Katie, when youve got our order ready. Then she turned and walked back outside.

The black girl they were talking about, sitting in the wagon outside, was me. Course I couldnt hear everything from where I was sitting, but Katie told me all about it later. This is our story. Hers and mine together.

Im Mary Ann Jukes. But folks call me Mayme, which I figure you might as well too. The girl inside the general store and post office was named Kathleen Clairborne. Folks called her Katie, at least her friends did. Thats what I called her, or Miss Katie.

Katie and me were in a pretty bad fix cause the war had left us all alone in the world. Thats what we were doing together.

I reckon I ought to tell you a little about it.

You see, Katie and me had found ourselves together about a month and a half before, when some real bad men called Bilsbys Marauders had come through Shenandoah County after deserting from the army.

When the marauders came through, they killed people at both my masters plantation and at Katies. Id been fetching water and was away, and thats why I didnt get shot.And Katies mama had hidden her in the cellar of their house, so they didnt find her either. But they killed both of our families.

I left as soon as Id finished the burying. After wandering a spell, I found myself at Katies plantation. When we first saw each other, neither of us knew what to do. But gradually we started talking. I spent the rest of the day there, figuring at first that Katie needed someone to take care of her for a spell until she got used to what had happened. But she wanted me to keep staying. So I did, and gradually a week, then two, then finally three passed.