Read A Smidgen of Sky for Free Online Page A

as if Ben and Ginger horsing around was the cutest thing she’d ever seen. It reminded me of Miss Claudia’s face when she talked about her great-grandbabies.
    The old lady looked from Ginger to me, and I could read what she was thinking just as plain as if it were stamped on her wrinkled face. She thought Mama and Ben were married and Ginger and I were their kids.
    And for just a second, I wished it were true.
    But then I thought of Daddy. I owed it to him to set that old lady straight, to tell her she had it all wrong. That Ginger wasn’t my sister and Ben wasn’t my daddy. That my daddy had been an Air Force pilot and not just a prison guard.
    But of course I didn’t say anything. I just glanced down, and it felt as though somebody had jabbed me in the chest with a sharp stick.
    Ben reached into his back pocket for his wallet. He pulled out four one-dollar bills. “This is all I’ve got, so if it costs more than this, you’re out of luck.”
    He offered two of the bills to Ginger and the other two to me. Ginger grabbed hers.
    I squirmed, staring at the money. It would’ve been okay if Mama had offered it, but I just couldn’t take it from Ben. After all, going to buy ice cream was the very last thing Daddy and I had done together. I took a step back. “That’s okay. I’m still full from supper.” I fumbled with the hem on my shorts.
    â€œYou sure?” Ben asked.
    No,
I wanted to say,
I’m not sure about anything.
But I just said, “Yes, sir, I’m sure.”
    Ginger wrinkled up her nose. “You don’t got a speck of brains, Piper Lee.”
    I turned my back on Mama and Ben. Ginger sped off through the crowd toward the ice cream stand and returned a few minutes later with a giant scoop of strawberry swirl. It looked so good, I could hardly stand it. I wanted to grab it and splat it in her face.
    â€œMmm,” Ben said. “I think I need some of that. Want to share a scoop with me, Heather?”
    â€œI don’t know. I’m supposed to be watching my figure.”
    â€œOh, come on, now,” he said. “That’s my job.”
    Mama giggled. “You and your sweet talk, Ben Hutchings.” She winked at me as Ben pulled her off toward the ice cream stand. “Be right back, honey.”
    I shrugged. Ginger found a shady spot behind an old Chevy to sit. I tried to act interested in the Chevy, but the tears in my eyes made it too blurry to see.

7

    Â 
    I T TOOK ME three days of brainstorming to come up with what I named “Operation Finding Tina.” The details took another two days. But by late Sunday night I’d boiled the whole thing down to two simple steps.
    Step one: find Tina. Step two: convince Ginger to call her.
    Things would just happen natural-like after that. Ginger and Tina would talk, and then Tina would come to visit. She’d realize what she was missing out on, that she never should’ve left in the first place, that she still loved Ben. The two of them would get back together. Mama and Ben would cancel their wedding.
    I grinned into the darkness as Mowgli purred beside me. It was a perfect plan—as slick as spitting watermelon seeds. How come I hadn’t thought of it sooner?
    The only downside was Mama—she’d be pretty disappointed. But I knew she’d be okay. She’d still have me. And I’d find some way to make her feel better.
    â€œMama, can I ride my bike to the library?” I asked the next morning.
    Mama gave up her struggle to open a plastic bag of Toasty O’s and reached for the scissors. “The library? By your lonesome?”
    â€œIt’s only a couple miles.”
    â€œBut you’ve never done it alone.”
    â€œI can do it, Mama. I’m not a baby, you know.”
    â€œI never said you were. I’m just not comfortable with you riding around downtown by yourself yet.”
    I clamped my teeth. Getting to the library was