Web of Dreams (Casteel 5)

"Is your family involved in the circus business

now?" I asked him.

"My family?" He laughed again. "Hell, no. My

daddy's been somethin' of a farmer and a moonshiner

most of his life. Ma's a hardworkin' woman. She

raised six of us and it took its toll on her, I'm afraid," he said, his face turning soft and sad. "You know what they say: it ain't how far you've traveled, it's how

rough was the road."

"Six is a lot to raise. How many boys and how

many girls?"

> "All boys, which made it harder, I suppose. She

never had a daughter to help her with the housework." "Where are your brothers?"

"They're spread out all over the place. Two

went bad already. Before I left the Willies, we heard

Jeff and Landon were in county jails for shopliftin'." "I'm sorry," I said. I had never known anyone

whose brothers or close family members were

criminals. I couldn't help being afraid and wondering

if I hadn't made a mistake getting into the truck with

him.

"Yeah, Ma's takin' it hard," he said shaking his

head. "What's a moon . . . moon . ."

"Moonshiner? Boy, you sound like you live

behind some tall, thick walls. Moonshiners make

moonshine whiskey, bootleg whiskey. They got their

own homemade stills and they make this cheap

whiskey and sell it all over the place. Most of the

time, nobody bothers them, but once in a while,

federal agents pop up. Ma don't like Pa doin' it, so he don't do it as much. Lately, he's been doin' odd jobs, handyman jobs. He's a good carpenter. Speakin' of dolls and such, you should see the wooden figures he carves when he's a mind to. Why, he can sit on our porch for hours and hours and work on a dumb piece of wood, turnin' it into a rabbit or squirrel that looks

so real, you'd expect it to jump out a your hand." I laughed. He had such a colorful way of

speaking, yet he sounded real, down to earth, honest. I

couldn't help liking him and, in a way, envying him