Kitty made a face at the mention of the Tillman boys. The middle boy, Ralph Tillman, had come up in some of the same classes Kitty used to take and had spent hours torturing her outside the school house. She was old enough now to know it was his way of flirting, but he'd sent her home crying one too many times for her to feel apologetic. 

Of course, when Vi found out, she'd hit him so hard, he'd lost a tooth. So maybe they were about even.

She rolled her eyes and grinned at John, but the grin vanished as soon as he said her brother's name. Jacky Avett was too good, too damn [i]noble[/i] to really despise anyone, but he'd started being real bitter about the Normans around the same time Daddy had started teaching Kitty how to clean the still. 

Except John Norman. He'd always liked John. And that made Kitty absolutely crazy.

But she made herself smile, because it wasn't John's fault her asshole older brother respected him. She nodded once, avoiding the topic of Jack completely. It was easier that way, for all three of them. 

There was more she could have said -- sort of -- but how was she supposed to say what else had been going on? Even if John suspected she'd been at the still, it wasn't like she was going to just out and tell him about it. She could drop hints about skipping school, maybe. She was pretty sure he wouldn't make her go. It wouldn't make a difference, anyway. But if that got back to Willa, she'd be barred from the still for a week, and she'd already promised to help Vi run the new batch. 

Instead, she pointed to his badge and shrugged, her haze half playful, and half concerned, asking a question she wouldn't have known how to word even if she could.