Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 68004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Alanna hated for the day to come to an end. She had enjoyed spending most of the day with him. Even before she had found herself in jail in Treepoint, her days had been plodding along with boring regularity. Even the happiness she found babysitting or tutoring was short lived, as if there was a storm cloud just waiting to break and send catastrophe showering down. She hadn’t felt like that today. The whole day had been spent with the sun shining down and no cloud in sight.
Matthew waited at the bottom step when they reached the trailer.
“Other than the fishing, I had fun today. Thank you.”
Matthew put his hand over his heart. “I’m crushed that you didn’t like fishing. Next time, I’ll teach you how to shoot a bow and arrow so you can be my hunting buddy if fishing isn’t your thing.”
Alanna gave him a baleful look. “What have you got against animals?”
“Nothing. I love animals, especially when they’re large enough to have four points on their antlers, and I can get a couple of roasts out of them and several pounds of stew meat.”
“Are you a better fisherman or hunter?”
“The same.”
Alanna opened the door to go inside, but couldn’t resist a parting shot.
“Then I think the animals are safe.”
Chapter Eighteen
Matthew walked back to the pond without bothering to get the flashlight. He could easily see in the dark. The only reason he had gotten the flashlight the night before was so Alanna could see where she was walking.
Slinging the nylon cooler strap onto his shoulder, he gathered the poles, blanket, and tackle box then walked to his house, where he dumped everything on his front porch before he started walking toward Silas’ house. Each step he took, the mix of emotions he had been holding all afternoon assailed him in wave after wave of grief.
As he neared Silas’ porch, he had to bend over to place his hands on his thighs to catch his breath. His whole body was shaking with raw fury and anguish so deep that he felt the burning sting of tears in his eyes. Righting himself, he went around the corner to walk up the steps of the porch.
He slowed when he saw all of his brothers and Ginny were there, waiting for him.
Reaching the porch, he went to the banister to grip it tightly next to where Ezra was sitting on top.
After two deep breaths, he was able to manage to turn his head to stare at Ezra. “You knew.”
Ezra’s eyes were filled with pain yet stoic. “Yes.”
Turning around, Matthew pinned his eyes on Fynn, who was standing next to Silas, who had a protective arm around their younger brother. “You saw.”
Fynn only nodded.
Matthew took a step forward, unable to prevent himself from reaching for Fynn.
“Matthew, he’s only a boy.”
Matthew pulled himself out from under Silas’ hold to pull Fynn close. Giving Fynn a hug, he had to clear his throat before releasing him and turning him toward the door. “Go inside.”
The boy didn’t move.
“I want to stay,” Fynn argued.
“Go inside, Fynn,” Silas ordered.
Reluctantly, his little brother went inside.
Matthew waited until the door was closed to ask the question that had been pounding through his head all day.
“Why can’t she have children?”
Silas went to sit on the banister next to Ezra. “Owen.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Matthew vowed, taking a step toward the end of the porch.
Isaac, Moses, Jacob, and Jody blocked him.
“You can’t,” Ezra warned, remaining seated where he was.
Matthew clenched his hands into fists by his sides as he glared at his brothers blocking him. “Did you know?”
They all shook their head.
“Silas only told us a couple of hours ago,” Isaac said.
Around the same time Alanna told me, Matthew surmised.
Matthew spun around to glare at Silas accusingly. “But you knew all along, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I found out when she came out of the doctor’s office when her case manager took her when her foster mother became worried after Alanna didn’t start having her periods.” Silas’ face was stone cold as he talked, yet his eyes shared the grief Matthew was feeling.
Silas paused, knowing how the next words would affect him. “She was thirteen.”
“That’s when you said she quit talking to you.”
Silas nodded. “She grew depressed, quit eating, and all she wanted to do was talk to me and you, whether she was inside or out. The medicine they put her on muted my voice, regardless of how hard I tried.”
“Why in the fuck did you tell me I would have ten children, Ezra?” he shouted at his brother.
“You will have ten children—five boys and five girls. They just won’t come from your body.”
“You left that last detail out.”
“I had to.” Ezra sighed. “If I or Silas had told you before, you would have killed Owen, and Alanna would have never come to Treepoint. I can’t change the way the stars are written. I wish I could.” Ezra’s expression became resigned. “There was no way they would have let you have ten children. We’re too powerful. Generations have grown on this mountain.” Ezra nodded at all his brothers. “Yet, there are eight of us. Other than the Porters, we don’t have any kin spread out in the county or living in other states. We all want big families. If each of us has at least four children, and they have four children … they will always limit our numbers to protect us.”