Gracie and the Peach Thieves - Part One

Hi, everyone. My name’s Gracie. Carol's a little busy, so she asked me to tell you a little bit about myself.

I was born thirty-two years ago in Fredericksburg, a small town in the Texas Hill Country about an hour and a half west of Austin. The town was established in 1846 by German settlers and named after King Frederick of Prussia. I grew up in a limestone house built not long after that date by one of my great, great and more grandfathers. Except each generation added on to it, so it’s now filled with all sorts of nooks and crannies perfect for afternoon daydreaming.

Of course I wasn't aware of any of that back then. I was the youngest of five children, with three brothers and a sister to keep up with. By the time I entered kindergarten, I knew the key players on the Cowboys, Longhorns, and Red Raiders teams. And the words to a whole lot of George Strait songs. I also knew how to throw a baseball and how to braid my hair.

When I was ten, my two oldest brothers were away at college, and my sister was a senior in high school. By the time my sophomore year in high school came along, I was the only one still at home. It was also the year I became an aunt for the first time. For a few years, I learned what life was like for an only child—the good and the bad.

Daddy worked as a handyman and generated more business than he could handle. All five of us—even Trinka, who is THE girliest girl ever—learned how to do all kinds of things to help him. He also made a pretty good living raising cattle and growing peaches.

Mama kept the peaches from the best trees. What we didn't eat, she turned into prizewinning cobbler and ice cream at the Gillespie County Fair. She still makes those two treats for a few of the priciest bed-and-breakfasts that now dot the local landscape.

The summer I was nine, Mama’s cobbler brought about my first attempt at solving a crime.

She’d sent me out to pick enough peaches to fill her cobbler basket. I’d climbed the tree and filled about half the basket when the voices of two men drifted up through the leaves.

Probably Daddy and Buster, the man who helped him with the peaches every year. I peeked out through the leaves.

The men were strangers. Each was carrying a stack of bushel baskets—not the kind Daddy used for market peaches. If they weren't helping Daddy and Buster, they were peach thieves.

I’d heard about those. Two or three farms got hit every year. Where were Petunia and Daisy? Our border collies were usually too alert for anyone to sneak up on our peaches unnoticed.

The men passed my tree and stopped at the next one. No! All the trees at this end of the row were Mama’s. And the men were too close for me to climb down and find Daddy. 

What should I do?


Want to know more?
How this story ends?
Who I really am?





Comments

We have to wait until Wednesday? She's not in a good spot.
TBM said…
Great idea for a post ... and will try to remember to find out on Wednesday.
Oh for the good old days AND peaches.

Clever idea. A story scattered.
L. Diane Wolfe said…
A peachy good story and quite the cliffhanger.
Melissa said…
Shame on you for that cliffhanger. :P

Reminds me of the peach orchard on my grandmother's farm. There's nothing better than a ripe, juicy peach.
Carol Kilgore said…
Alex - Like the Perils of Pauline :)

TBM - See you at Julie's :)

Teresa - A little nostalgia.

Diane - Dun, dun, dun......

Melissa - Peaches are my favorite fruit.
This is a very cool idea for a post. Eager to see where it goes. We'll see you at Julie's on Wednesday!
Leandra Wallace said…
Neat idea! I also want some peach cobbler w/ice cream now... =)
Anonymous said…
A wonderful story and an equally good cliff hanger.
Wednesday? We have to wait until Wednesday - which will be my Thursday.
So not fair. I will have tumbled over that cliff by then.
Rula Sinara said…
Fun post idea! But now I'm craving peach cobbler...
I can't wait to meet Gracie on Wednesday! I've never hosted a peachy cliffhanger before. I'm thrilled to be in on the fun!

Julie
Carol Kilgore said…
Beer - I should've asked you guys to draw cartoons of this story!

Holly - Glad you like!

Leandra - I made myself totally hungry for peach ANYTHING while I was writing this :)

Yvonne - Thank you :)

EC - I know. I'm horrible.

Rula - You're not alone :)

Julie - I'm glad you're thrilled. Gracie says thanks :)
dolorah said…
What a cool story :)
Jay Noel said…
Leave us hanging like that....!
Helena said…
I definitely want to read how this story ends--what a great narrator! And until Wednesday I will refrain from using peach and peachy in any pun because some other commenters here have already used them in some very funny ways.
Helena said…
I definitely want to read how this story ends--what a great narrator! And until Wednesday I will refrain from using peach and peachy in any pun because some other commenters here have already used them in some very funny ways.
Christine Rains said…
Oh no! What happened next? I want to know! :)
Unknown said…
First we had lightning thieves, and then book thieves, and now we have peach thieves. What could be next?? :O
Luanne G. Smith said…
Ah, very tricksy making us wait for Julie's post to follow up. :)
DMS said…
What a fun post! I am definitely curious to find out what happens next. I feel like I can smell peaches in the air. ;)
~Jess
Why have you left us hanging------
Not nice.
Hi Carol! This is very well-written and intriguing :) can't wait to find out what happens.
Carol Kilgore said…
dolorah - Thanks.

Jay - Yes, I did, LOL!

Helena - Oooh, peachy keen :)

Christine - Must wait until Wednesday!

Lexa - I can think of lots of things!
Nas said…
I'm hooked, what happened next?
Unknown said…
Hi Carol! I loved reading this! Very interesting and will be looking forward to what happens next:)
Jan Christensen said…
What a great surprise, and what a great way to end a blog post. Can't wait to read "the rest of the story."
Carol Kilgore said…
Nas, Gina, and Jan - It's Wednesday morning. Gracie's story concludes at Julie Kemp Smith's blog today!
Mark said…
Very intriguing. I was just in Texas, so I'd like to learn a bit more:)
Anonymous said…
I must know more. I'm visiting the link.
Such a fun idea and story. Yes, I want to know who you are and will hop over the Julie's blog.
Cheers.
Loni Townsend said…
Nice to meet you, Gracie! I hope you catch those peach thieves. Hopping over.
Carol Kilgore said…
Mark - We're like a whole other country :)

Crystal - Gracie likes being a little different :)

Medeia - Cool!

Robyn - Cheers back. Need. Peach. Wine :)

Loni - Gracie says she's trying :)
Unknown said…
Holy cliffhanger! love love love :)
klahanie said…
Hi humans, Carol and Gracie,

Where were Petunia and Daisy? Well, arf, let's find out.

TO be continued and what should you do?

Pawsitive wishes,

Penny :)
Sneaky! Lucky for me, I'm late to the party, and Wednesday is already in the rear view mirror. So here I go... off to read the rest of the story.

Caryn Caldwell said…
Ooh! That sounds really, really good! Going to check it out.
Carol Kilgore said…
Beth Ellyn - Cool!

Penny - It's so good to see you again! Petunia and Daisy save the day, and I'm sure you'd love romping with them here in Texas! Hi to your human, Gary :)

Susan - Timing is everything!

Caryn - Great!
J.L. Campbell said…
You've got a winner here, Carol. Her voice is engaging. I wanna know more!

.