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)
“Both correctable mistakes, which you would be more cautious about, to make sure that didn’t happen to your children.”
Alanna stared gloomily at the fire. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. I prefer to be alone.”
“No one prefers to be alone.”
“I do.” Alanna reached for the marshmallows she had placed on the table as Silas sat down on the other chair. “I don’t do well with other people.”
Silas tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“People start to dislike me once they get to know me.”
“Are you sure it isn’t the vibe you’re putting off—that you don’t want to be friends?”
She took a marshmallow out then picked out a long stick. “Matthew is mad at me, and I hurt Ginny’s feelings.”
“Why is Matthew mad at you?” Silas took the thin stick away from her to give her a thicker one.
“He scared me, and I told him to take his filthy hands off me.” Alanna bit down on her bottom lip then grimaced when pain shot through.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t do that. The swelling hasn’t gone down.” His gentle gaze made her start to tear up. “Why did you say that to him?”
“He grabbed me to keep me from falling off that cliff, but I didn’t know that. He startled me.”
“Hmm … Did you tell him that?”
“I started to. Then I figured it might be better if he stayed mad at me. He’s better off not having me as a friend.”
“What happened with Ginny?”
“I asked her last name so I didn’t have to use her first name. She wouldn’t tell me, so I asked the sheriff.”
“For the same reason? Because you make a terrible friend?”
Alanna leaned forward in her seat to put the marshmallow into the flames. “I like your family, you seem to be really nice people, but I shouldn’t have taken the job.”
“Why not?”
Alanna moved her gaze away from the flames. “I don’t want any of you to be hurt. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened.”
“Who would hurt us?”
“Two people who would have no hesitation of hurting anyone, not even Freddy, to get back at me.”
“I see,” he mused. “It’s done.”
“What is?” She stared at him blankly.
“Your marshmallow.”
“Oh …” She grinned. “It’s a good thing I like them crispy.” Alanna blew on it to cool it down.
“As far as Mathew is concerned, he’ll get over his anger. He gets hot, but he cools down eventually. Ginny forgot her hurt feelings within seconds. It’ll just make her more determined to become friends with you.”
“I’m getting that vibe from her.”
They both started laughing.
Alanna continued roasting marshmallows as Silas pulled the steaks off the grill then put more on.
“You must go through a ton of meat.”
“There’s a farm over the state line that I go to; buy from it in bulk. When I go, you can come with me, if you want.”
“The sheriff won’t let me go across the state line.”
Silas shrugged. “Won’t hurt to ask.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Alanna looked at the charred crust on her marshmallow and inexplicably wanted to cry.
As if sensing her mood, Silas sat back down in his chair. “Alanna, the thing is, when you drag old baggage around with you, and you find something new, you don’t have a place to put it.”
Her shoulders slumped. “I’ve been carrying mine around so long that I wouldn’t know how to let it go.”
“That’s easier than it seems. Just get rid of the old baggage and allow yourself to make room for new experiences.”
“I don’t want anyone hurt …”
“You said Matthew and Ginny were already hurt by you not letting them in today. I tried to protect my brothers and sisters by leaving to get a helmet. While I was gone, my dad crashed with Leah on a four-wheeler. If I had been there, neither of them would have been riding without a helmet.”
Alanna saw the deep regret on his face. “You can’t hold yourself responsible—”
“No, I can’t. I agree with you … not any more than you can hold yourself responsible for the actions of another person. You can only be responsible for the hurt you cause. You don’t have to be afraid of those two people any longer. The Colemans are a tough breed. We’ve been surviving on this mountain for generations, against all the odds.”
“You never had to deal with people like Owen and Kate before,” she warned.
The look that came over Silas’ face had her nearly dropping her marshmallow stick into the fire.
“They’ve never dealt with the Colemans.”
Chapter Thirteen
Alanna was cutting another bite of her steak when three trucks pulled in.
“I thought you said they wouldn’t be back until later?”
“They must have finished early. Don’t worry; all the swelling has gone.” Silas wasn’t perturbed by her accusing tone.
Alanna blushed at Silas’ astute gaze as his brothers piled out of the trucks, giving whoops of, “Hell yeah!”
Unable to hold back her smile at their boisterous behavior at sighting Silas at the grill, she held her plate tighter, now knowing why Silas had made so many steaks. They were fantastic! If she hadn’t eaten so many marshmallows, she would have pulled a Greer and taken another one.