Chapter 73

Over the next few years, Simon was growing fast and strong, just like Jasper.

There were three nights when he was barely a year old and ran a fever. Maisie panicked. She refused to leave his side as she laid cold cloths on his forehead. When she cried and begged to bring him to a doctor, Miles dragged her away from the side of the crib. I had not seen her so rough with her since Briar was ill. He instructed me to get a coil of rope from the barn, and I listened. He kept her tied to the bed until Simon’s fever broke.

Clara would have loved Simon. He was full of energy. Even when he could only crawl, Maisie would often be chasing him around the home. It was a challenge for her to manage caring for two young boys, but she loved them so much. There was so much love in our home. This was what I fantasized about when I first met her in that horrible tavern.

By the time Jasper turned eight years old, Miles brought him outside almost every day. If the weather was nice, he had Jasper doing small chores next to us. He loved feeding the chickens and collecting the eggs. Some nights, Miles would bring Simon outside with him to sit around the fire. When we would leave during the day, Simon would whine wanting to join us. It was great knowing he wanted to be outside.

We had finished our chores and were piling the split firewood along the edge of the barn, I heard a drunken slur of curse words. I looked over at Miles, but there was no change in his blank expression. I had not seen people near our property in a long time, but there was always meat for dinner. Miles was still killing, but I pretended to be naive about what he was doing to outsiders.

I picked Jasper up and placed him on my hip. Images of Clara’s lifeless body on the kitchen floor filled my mind. I could not let some drunken intruder hurt my grandson. Jasper initially wiggled in my tight grip, but when he saw the dishevelled man come around the side of the barn, he stopped. He has not seen anyone outside our family since Alice came to our house when he was a baby.

The man’s coat was dirty, and his shirt was splattered with stains. He muttered to himself as he ran his hands through his long and greasy hair was long and greasy. When he saw us, he stumbled over his feet. Jasper leaned his head against my shoulder and grabbed a fistful of my shirt.

“Why are you here?” I asked.

There was no reason for anyone to come near our family. There was no good reason for anyone to be near our home.

The outsider coughed when he tried to respond. It was an awful sound like he was choking on his phlegm. He stumbled a few steps closer, and the pungent smell of old whiskey filled my nose.

Miles watched the outsider, but there was no glimpse into his mind. He stood like a statue as he watched him come closer. The outsider was so drunk he could barely stand. He tripped over nothing and fell onto his knees in the grass. His attempts to stand were pathetic, but his drunken curses did not stop.

I stepped backwards, not wanting Jasper to witness what was about to happen. I had to hide him in the barn or lock him in the home with Maisie and Simon. He needed to be somewhere safe.

My movement caused Miles to look in my direction. He gave his head a slight shake, and I stopped retreating into the barn. My chest tightened, and I struggled to take in a deep breath. He did not want Jasper somewhere safe? What was he planning?

“Stay here,” he said.

I looked down at Jasper. His eyes were wide as he watched the outsider and clung to my shirt.

Miles walked over to the outsider, who was continuing to struggle to get onto his feet. He was on his knees, and his hand was propping him up on the grass. Miles swung his leg, and the toe of his boot collided with the outsider’s chest. He screamed as he fell onto his back. Miles placed his boot onto his chest and pinned him onto the ground. His fingers curled around his boot as he pathetically squirmed. Miles pulled his knife out of his pocket before lowering himself onto one knee.

He looked over his shoulder at us. Why could I not understand his mind? He was my son. I should know what was going on behind that blank stare. Did Maisie understand the way he thinks?

Miles waved his hand, motioning for us to come closer. My stomach twisted into a knot as a wave of nausea crashed over me. He wanted his child near the outsider.

“Jasper, come over here,” he said.

Jasper’s breath was shaky, but he let go of my shirt. Miles waved his hand again, not paying attention to the man screaming and writhing under his foot. Jasper pushed against my chest and whined.

“Grandpa,” his soft voice said.

He loved his Father, and would probably do whatever he asked. Not wanting to fight Miles, I set Jasper down on the ground.

Jasper’s steps toward Miles were short and slow. When he stopped and hesitated, Miles gave him a small smile. It was the only indication of how he was feeling. He was not scared about Jasper being near this outsider.

Jasper chewed on his fingernails as he walked closer. Miles wrapped his arm around Jasper and pulled him close to his side. He flipped the blade of the knife out, and the outsider thrashed under the boot while screaming. Jasper flinched, but Miles held him in place when he tried to step away.

“There are people out there that want to hurt us,” he told Jasper. “The world is full of bad people.”

“Why?” Jasper asked. His soft voice was barely audible between the drunken shouts. “Why do they want to hurt us?”

“Because nobody cares about our family except for us,” he said. “We have to do whatever we can to keep our family safe. We cannot let someone bad like this hurt your mother or Simon.”

“What do we do?”

“We kill him.”

Jasper tried to take a step back again, but Miles kept him firm against the side. Jasper shook his head as he looked down at the screaming man. The outsider was clawing at Miles’s boot as he continued to curse.

“We will kill this one together,” Miles said. “When you’re older, you will be doing this on your own.”

My head spun as I listened to Miles speak. Picturing Jasper grown and covered in blood nearly made me bend over and lose all the contents of my stomach. Jasper was going to have to carry on what Miles does to protect the family. There was no way our family would ever be accepted by those vultures in town anyway. Simon would grow up and do the same. Would they then teach their sons the same lessons to keep the family safe?

Miles held onto Jasper with one arm as he swung the knife down into the man’s chest. His screams turned into a garbled mess as the blood rushed into his lungs. Miles ripped the blade out of his chest, and blood splattered across Jasper and himself. Jasper cringed but did not fight against Miles as he placed the handle of the knife in his hand. Miles kept a hold of his wrist, and together they stabbed the intruder. Miles muttered a few things that I could not comprehend.

The outsider’s screams were silenced, and his legs stopped twitching. More blood sprayed across Jasper’s young and innocent face. Once the man was dead, Miles let go of his son.

“Go inside with your grandfather,” he said. “Mother should have dinner ready soon.”

Jasper nodded and hurried over to me. A shiver ran up my spine to see not only he was covered in the dead outsider’s blood, but he was smiling. It was so similar to the way he would smile would Miles taught him a new chore on the farm.

He followed me as I walked up to the house. I prayed I could sneak him into the bathroom and clean the blood off his skin before Maisie saw. It would be better if she never knew what had happened. Unfortunately, I could see her through the bars of the kitchen window as she was preparing dinner.

I unlocked the door, and Jasper rushed into the kitchen. Thankfully, Simon was not in the kitchen. Maisie turned to look at us, and I watched as the colour drained from her face. Her eyes widened, and her jaw hung open.

“Momm-” Jasper started to say.

I snatched his wrist and pulled him toward the staircase, not wanting him to tell Maisie he had just helped Miles murder a man. Maisie charged forward, and I held out my arm to push her back. I could not deal with her emotions right now.

“Oh my god, what happened?” she asked. “Is Jasper hurt? Who’s-“

“Maisie,” I cut her off. “No questions right now. He is safe. No one is hurt. I am going to help him get clean.”

Maisie knew better than to fight me. She stood and watched us walk upstairs. I was halfway to the staircase when I stopped and turned to look at her.

“Miles will be outside for a while,” I said. “We should eat without him.”

Maisie covered her face with her hands as she shook her head. She knew exactly what had happened.