Chapter 23
POV: Sorsha
Yesterday evening, I was tempted to let the chicks sleep in the bed with me, but Callum wasn’t happy with that idea, so I finally settled on letting them sleep in the basket in my room.
This morning, he was busy fashioning an enclosure in the backyard, but I worried they might freeze. He promised to insulate it and said they’d be fine.
They were so cute, I couldn’t resist playing with them. Eggs would have to wait until these grew up. Wait a minute. Didn’t we need a cockerel for that?
“Callum?” I called, just as he started hammering.
Putting the little chick back, I walked outside and watched my husband’s muscles ripple. As though he could feel my stare, he turned and grinned at me.
Of course, I went blood red.
“Don’t we need a cockerel to… um, you know…”
His eyebrows shot up, and I could see him trying not to grin.
“No.” He shook his head as though he was confused. “What?”
“You’re doing this on purpose.”
“Doing what?”
I sighed. “Sex. That’s what I’m talking about.”
“You want to have sex?” His grin turned wicked.
“I was talking about the chicks.”
“They’re much too young,” he said, barely containing a chuckle.
“Very funny.” I huffed, though laughter slipped out anyway.
Callum did love to tease me. I knew he wanted me in his bed, and one of these days, I would throw caution to the wind and give in.
The thought of his surprise nearly made me giggle.
“I meant for them to lay eggs,” I clarified.
“No, they lay eggs regardless.”
Oh, I didn’t know that. I watched him a while longer as the enclosure took form and he insulated it with old sacks stuffed with straw. I petted Mabel and murmured to her, guilty for neglecting her while my attention had been elsewhere.
“Anyway, tomorrow is the funeral, and I have no idea what time, so I was thinking of going into town to check.”
“Good plan. Do you want me to come along?”
I shook my head. “No, I can do this myself. Besides, I’m trying to give myself a break and not read anything.”
“Hmm. I’m impressed you haven’t picked up a book this morning.”
“Anything you need?”
“There’s plenty. A goodbye kiss would be nice. Or a hug,” he teased.
“Fine.”
I walked up to him, stood on tiptoe, and aimed for his cheek—but he turned at the last second, and my lips brushed his instead.
I did like kissing him, though I’d never admit it. “Next time you get nothing, because you’re greedy,” I mock-reprimanded.
“Don’t be like that… I promise never to do that again,” he said, but I didn’t believe a word.
I sauntered into town, hardly able to believe how much my life had changed in such a short time. Callum had been my crush, and now he was my savior.
I was about to pass the bakery when April came running, calling my name. “Sorsha?”
“Hi, April. I still have bread, but I’ll probably need a fresh loaf tomorrow,” I explained hurriedly.
“It’s not about bread,” she blurted, breathless.
“Oh?”
“You won’t believe this—Edith ran away with your brother.”
My jaw dropped. “No… it can’t be.”
“Yes. And I heard she cleaned out the till and took all the money.”
I was speechless. Here I thought she hated us, thought we were beneath her—trash. But now she runs off with Ryan?
Shocking. Unbelievable.
Had Edith had a change of heart?
No. She must have run away on her own. Ryan would never leave before Pa was buried… would he?
“Are you sure?” I asked April.
“Her mother was at the apothecary this morning in tears, telling Jill what happened,” she explained. “Apparently, Garth is trying to find them, but I suspect they left last night and already have a good head start.”
That’s why Ryan needed his papers. I’d thought he meant Pa’s to organize the funeral.
“Thanks, April. I was going to check with Mortens about the funeral, because Ryan didn’t say anything—and I was so taken aback when I heard my father had died…”
“Your father died?” April interrupted. “Are you sure?”
“Why would Ryan lie about that?”
“I don’t know. But my cousin Jake always collects corpses, and he would have told me,” she said, worry tightening her face.
“Oh dear,” I whispered, and without another word ran home.
By the time I burst through the door, I was completely out of breath. I stumbled through the house and out to the backyard, where Callum was feeding the chicks.
He looked up at once. The moment his eyes found me, his whole body stilled. “Sorsha?” he asked sharply, dropping the sack of corn. “What happened?”
I couldn’t get the words out fast enough, my chest heaving, my thoughts a jumbled mess.
He was at my side in an instant, gripping my shoulders. “Tell me.” His voice was low but urgent, his worry plain.
“My father—Ryan—” I gasped, the words tangled. “April said… maybe he isn’t—”
“Slow down,” he said calmly. “I can’t help unless I understand.”
I forced a breath. “April said Edith ran away with Ryan. She stole money. And she thinks… Pa isn’t dead after all.”
His brows drew tight. “Not dead?”
“She said her cousin always collects the corpses, and he hasn’t. She thinks Ryan lied.”
Callum’s jaw tightened, and I feared he would get angry—but the whites of his eyes were still clear.
“Let me go to the house to verify. You stay here.”
“No. I’m coming with you,” I insisted.
Callum sighed. “Are you sure?”
I nodded.
I was sure—regardless of which state my father was in. The way he’d treated me had long since stripped away any affection. Granted, when Ryan told us he died, there had been a flicker of emotion, but whether it was relief or sadness was immaterial.
Gripping my hand tightly, we walked to my father’s house. Having been away even a short while only emphasized how derelict it truly was.
Callum sniffed and stopped.
The breeze carried a smell of decay.
“Stay out here. Your father is dead. I can smell it, and there’s no need for you to see the body.”
Ryan and Pa had always had a close relationship, and I couldn’t understand how Ryan could be so disrespectful—leaving him lying in the house like that. Was it to save money?
The day I saw Ryan go into the general store… had Pa already died?
The only reason he came to see me was because he needed his papers. If he had had his papers, would he have just disappeared and left my father to rot?
Between Edith and him, they probably had enough money to start over, in some place where no one knew them.
I couldn’t picture the two together. Would Ryan beat her?
Callum came back, the inside of his elbow covering his mouth.
He shook his head and pulled me away. “He’s been dead a day or two, I think, not longer. I imagine Ryan decided to run a while ago, leaving you to sort out the mess.”
“Except he couldn’t run without his papers, so he had to tell me.” I surmised.
“Exactly.”