He Will Restore

chapter five

Chapter Five

Teek and Joe ate their meal in silence, each lost in his own thoughts. Amanda joined them at the table, and crumbled a piece of cornbread into a bowl of buttermilk. After one bite, she pushed the bowl towards Joe. Food was the last thing she wanted.

The kerosene lamp on the table flickered. Teek reached out to trim the wick before the chimney became soot-filled. A shadow fell across Teek's plate. The brothers both looked up at the same time.

Egbert loomed large in the doorway that separated the kitchen from the parlor. He wasn't a tall man, no taller than Teek. Joe and Jim and even Tennessee got their height from their mother. What Egbert Brassell lacked in stature he made up in meanness.

'What do you think you're doing, missy?' He kept his voice low. That was a bad sign. Egbert yelling was normal. Egbert whispering meant bad things would happen.

Joe and Teek both stood up, trying to get between their father and their sister. Joe spoke in an even, measured voice, even though his heart was pounding and he wanted nothing more than to give his father a mark to match the one Amanda sported. 'We told you we'd be out late, Pa. Sissy held a little bit of supper back for us is all. She was keeping us company while we ate.'

'That's right, Pa. We're about done. Me and Joe, we'll help Sissy wash up, then we're going to bed. Got a big day tomorrow, what with pulling them stumps over to Mr. Smith's place. Did Joe tell you? He's paying us with a bull calf. Said he don't need him, and he's just too pretty to kill.'

The thought of a new stud distracted Egbert. Jabez Smith had a nice diary herd. Mostly he kept brown Swiss, but recently, he had brought in some Holsteins. He could use with a good infusion of new blood in his own herd. 'You boys make sure you take good care of them hosses then tomorrow, ya'hear. I don't want them coming home with galls under the hames like when Jim took 'em out. And you make sure you pull off a good quart of beer from that new run I started yesterday. It'll do em good come mid day.' Egbert was a proponent of sharing his liquor production with his draft animals. Whenever the horses had heavy work, he would see they were giving some of the newly fermented grains for extra strength.

This was a good sign, and Teek decided to take advantage of the situation. 'You want to check the horses, Pa? Me and Joe, we bedded them down good tonight. They got fresh hay and some grain, and Joe threw some straw into the stalls. We can go out right now if you want.'

Egbert seemed to consider it. 'Well, we could... No, I'm going to bed, and I suggest you do the same. You got to go earn that bull calf tomorrow.' He smiled as he left the room and headed towards the bedrooms.

Joe looked at his brother and they exchanged self-satisfied grins. They had averted one crisis. Now they had to avoid another.

When Joe resumed his seat next to his sister, he noticed her face was wet. She was crying silently, gulping back sobs while rivulets streamed down her face. She fought to keep her expression blank, but to no avail.

Teek had seen the same thing. He put his hand on Amanda's shoulder as he approached, to keep from startling her. She flinched at the touch, then realized who he was. She turned suddenly, threw her arms around Teek's waist and wept into his shirt.

Both men had more experience comforting their sister than they liked to admit. Egbert had always been a hard man. Quick to temper, quicker to lash out. This seemed like the first time they could actually offer more assistance than just a shoulder on which to cry, and a cold cloth for a cut.

Amanda finally cried herself out. Joe was ready for her. 'Mandy, did you put Willy to bed already?'

She nodded. 'Just like always.'

That meant the two year old was in the bed he would share with Joe. 'So, I want you to go sleep in my room tonight, with Willy. I'll sleep in your room.'

Amanda didn't quite understand what her brother was suggesting at first. Then the idea gelled. Emotions raced across her face: realization, relief, joy. Perhaps, just for a while, she could be secure in her bed, with no fear of Egbert's nighttime meandering. No need for constant vigilance, staying up long into the night, dreading the sound of the bedroom door opening, and his footfall on the puncheon floor.

She looked at her brothers and smiled, for the first time in a very long time.