Chapter 1

My name is Mina Montgomery, I've lived in Franklin County, Virginia for almost my whole life. My mama and daddy died when I was just a little thing, and after that it was either go live with my Auntie Barb and her new husband, or end up in an orphanage. Sadly, it was a pretty hard choice to make. My Auntie Barb and my mama didn't get a long too well when she was alive, something about Auntie Barb being a home wrecker or some sort.

Soon as I got to Franklin County me and her had some awful fits about the way I should be raised. My daddy had always wanted a little boy, a strong son to carry on the family name. But he never got one, so he raised me like I was that little boy. I loved it, taught me how to hunt, fish, work the land, and even fix up the old farm truck. Auntie Barb got it in her head I was gonna be a lady, whatever that meant. She'd dress me up in what she called 'pretty little outfits', and I'd come home with them all tore up and muddied.

I hated them stupid dresses, I couldn't do nothing in them. I missed my old beat up overalls and my dusty boots. I missed my old life, and my mama and daddy more than anything. When my auntie would tell me to go say my prayers before bed I'd always pray that they'd come back. But, they was dead, and no amount of praying was gonna bring them back.

Auntie Barb just got worse once I hit my teen years. Started strapping me up in these evil contraptions called corsets and girdles. Once she'd gotten me tied up in those she'd start painting my face with terrible amounts of make-up. Saying all the while that I had to look the part if I was gonna marry a man that mattered.

She wanted me to marry a man with money, and land, and prospects. But I was already in love, head over heels in fact. He was the most handsome man I'd ever laid eyes on, and when our lips met my knees done turned to melted butter. But we was stupid, I guess it was more that I was stupid. I got myself knocked up.

I think my Auntie Barb would of rather just took me out back and shot me like a sick dog. But her husband made the decision to send me away, let me have my baby and give it away. It was the worst time of my life, even worse than when mama and daddy died. I was shipped off to some place that wasn't a church but sure as Hell had a lot of nuns running around. All I wanted was to be with the man I loved, get married and raise our child. But that wasn't in the cards for me.

I gave birth to my baby boy when I was just seventeen. I guess everyone there liked me a bit, cause they didn't want to have to make me give up the baby. But it was the rules. They let me have a picture though, it was the first picture I'd ever had taken of me. It was just of me and my little boy in a rocking chair. After that they took him away, and packed me up to go back home.

Never did show my Auntie Barb that picture. I hid it til I was allowed to go out, then I snuck it out to the baby's daddy. He was mighty angry that I had just upped and left, not like I had no choice, but he didn't know nothing bout why I had to leave. All the yelling and hollerin' he was doing was pissing me off something mighty. So I just handed him the picture, turned tail and got the Hell out of there. Ended up locking myself in my room for a few days, crying my eyes out. When I was done with that my auntie's husband came to talk to me. My Auntie Barb didn't want nothing to do with me no more, which was fine by me, but he figured since I was a disgraced woman around Franklin County, no harm would come outta me joining up with him and helping him out with his business.

Moon shinning and bootlegging, the new family business.