I drummed my heels against the bale of hay beneath me. “You know, I’ll swear it was all my idea.”
“But, Katie, it was.” Tom reached behind his back and pulled out a flask. “Except for this.”
“Are you getting sly on me, Tommy Wolff?” He never tried anything without checking with me first. “What’s in it?” Other than something to get us both into trouble.
He shrugged and leaned back against the side of the shed. “Nothing much. Just a little rum to go with the sodas I brought.” He cracked open a can and handed it to me. “Drink some out, so I can spice it up for you.”
Tipping the can back, I swallowed as much as I could in a mouthful—no dainty sips for this girl—and gagged. The bubbles flew up my nose, triggering a coughing spasm.
Tommy slapped my back until I caught my breath again. “Are you okay, Katie?”
The urge to sneeze gripped me and I held up an index finger. When it came, the sneeze nearly blew me off the hay.
“Next time, give me more of a warning.” Tommy stuck a finger in his ear and jiggled it. “I might be deaf.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Sorry.”
“You’re so ladylike.” He snickered. “NASA should hire you for testing sonic boom levels.”
I smacked his shoulder, then passed the soda back to him. “If Daddy finds out, he’s gonna blow a gasket.”
Tom’s grin faded. “You gotta admit, you make things tough for your dad. I can hear the news at eleven now.” He rolled into his impression of a TV announcer. “Tonight’s feature is on Sheriff Ron McCabe. Honest and upright, Sheriff McCabe stands for truth, justice, and the American way, keeping our county safe.”
I groaned. Trust Tommy to work in a comic book reference.
“But all superheroes have their kryptonite, so let’s explore the secret he’s hiding.” He pulled the corners of his mouth as far down as he could. “While Ron McCabe upholds the law, his only daughter, Katie, is the biggest troublemaker this town has ever seen.” Tom burst into laughter.
“Stop, already.” I leaned back on the hay and studied the whorls in the ramshackle beam and board ceiling. If I had to hear one more time how I’d compromised Daddy’s position as sheriff … I turned my head toward Tommy and winked. “But you have more fun with me than anyone else.”
He snatched up the rum and made his eyebrows dance. “Ready for some fun?”
Laughing, I sat up. “What made you think of this?”
He concentrated on pouring the rum into the can. “If we're going to start smoking, we should mark the occasion with a drink.” He doctored his soda and set the flask on the pallet flooring. “Anyway, you’re always saying I never come up with my own ideas. So, I did.”
“I’ll say. And what an idea.” I gave him a high five.
A faint flush of pride colored Tom’s cheeks. Although the afternoon sun shone bright, the inside of the shed remained dark. The only light filtered through the cracks in the walls. We kept the light off so we didn’t attract any attention—not that we would, because a clump of trees screened the shed from the house. Even with the lights on and the door open, no one would see us. Besides, Mr. Pickford rarely ventured far from the house these days. And since I took care of his animals for him, he didn’t have any reason to come out to his shed.
Tom held up his can. “Cheers.”
I jumped off the hay bale to click cans and knocked the flask over. “Oh, Tommy, I’m sorry.” I grabbed it and stood it upright. “I only spilled a little.” I bit my lip. If his dad found out, Tommy would catch fire … more for letting it spill than for taking it in the first place.
“Forget it. I should’ve put the cap back on.” He raised his can. “To our adventure in smoking.”
This time we clinked without mishap, and I took a big swig. My first alcohol at thirteen—I felt so worldly. Shivers scurried up and down my spine and heat warmed my cheeks.
Having watched other smokers do it, I smacked the pack of cigarettes on my palm and took two out. I stuck one in the corner of my mouth and handed the other to Tommy. “Light me.”
Tom tore out a match. “I'll warn you, my dad smokes strong ones.” He struck it and watched it flare. “Here you go.” He dropped the matchbook and held the burning flame toward me.
Not wanting to gag, I didn’t inhale all the way on my first puff. I had an image to preserve. Tommy struck another match and held it to the end of his cigarette. Though he tried not to, he coughed. I took another drag, a little deeper this time. I’d ease into smoking, one puff at a time. I snatched the packet Tom dropped.
“It’s interesting how people get engrossed in watching a flame.” I lit a match and stared at it while it flickered. Right before it could burn my fingers, I shook it out and dropped it. Lighting another, I held it in front of Tom’s eyes. “What do you think about?”
He gazed at it without answering.
Over the summer, a new Tommy had emerged, and I didn’t know exactly how to handle the changes. For instance, he wanted everyone to call him Tom instead of Tommy. Try as I might, the old, familiar name slipped off my tongue before I could stop it. He’d been my best friend since Daddy and I had moved here when I was two, but after he’d turned fourteen, he wanted more, and I wasn’t sure I did. Neither of us understood what we were going through. Why couldn’t things stay the same?
“Ouch.” The flame burned me, so I shook it, and flung the match over my shoulder. I blew on my fingers then looked into Tommy’s hazel eyes. “So? What do you think about when you stare at a flame?”
Tom stroked his jaw and gave a little half shrug. “I don’t know, I kinda stop thinking. It mesmerizes me.” He perched next to me on the hay bale. “Katie, are we still going to be friends once I start high school?”
“Are you kidding? Of course.” I hated the thought of being left behind in middle school just because I was a year younger but couldn’t fathom life without him. “You’re my best friend, and nothing, not even you going to a different school, will change our friendship.” I bumped my shoulder against his. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
Tommy slouched and stared at his sneakers. “But you might make all sorts of new friends and won’t need me to hang out with anymore.”
Was he nuts? “Hey, look at me.”
He gave me a sideways glance.
“New friends? We already know everyone in this podunk place. Any new friends I have will want to be friends with you. You’re a great guy, so don’t let anyone tell you anything different.”
Tom straightened, but then his eyes got big. A crackling noise came from behind us. Smoke overpowered the smell of the cigarettes.
I spun around. The dry hay had caught fire and the flames raged.
