THE DEVIL’S SHOES
by K. David
Published by Bestsellers at Smashwords
Copyright 2011 Kay David
ISBN 978-1-4659-1116-2
Discover other titles by Kay David at Smashwords.com
License Notes: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
***~~~***
THE DEVIL
Rachel DuBois was ten years old the first time she saw the Devil.
He was dressed in a pair of stained overalls with beat-up boots and a crushed cap sittin’ on a head of greasy hair. He pretty much looked like any of the other poor farmers for miles around, including her granddaddy, except for one significant difference.
He was fat. Really fat. In fact, she’d never seen anyone so fat in her whole life. In the Year of Our Lord 1937, as her grandmother liked to say, it was hard enough to get a decent meal, much less one that could make a man look like that.
Before the Devil had appeared, Rachel had been hiding in a sea of dusty, dead grass, crouched behind a yucca plant, her grandfather squatting beside her with his rifle clutched in his hands. They’d set out early that morning, hoping they could spot a squirrel or two that might have escaped them before. A relentless heat shimmered in the distance, the taste of red dust filling her mouth as it swirled over the Oklahoma plain. The still, quiet air seemed like it couldn’t even catch its own breath. Sweat dripped into her eyes and all she could think about was getting back to the rusted pump outside the farmhouse and sticking her head under its tepid stream of water. She tried to pay attention but her mind kept wandering like a dog off its leash. Her grandfather’s earlier warning skated through her mind.