Coal Black (Book 5)

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Brothers in Spirit

"Tell me about your brother, Edwin," said Jonas.

Before their conversation could continue, the sounds of children's voices interrupted them. Jonas looked startled as the herd of blonde children ran into the barn all talking at once.

"Mama, are the bad men gone?"

"Did the calf make it?"

"We were so scared."

"That man said he would cut off our tongues."

But as soon as the children saw Jonas, they stopped talking, signaling Ethan to talk to the brood.

"Children, I would like you to meet my cousin, Erik Taylor."

Jonas smiled; he liked the sound of his new name. He felt a peace come over him as he sat amongst this family, his new family.

"Well, who do we have here?" asked Jonas.

"This is my son, Edwin; he is eight years old."

"Nice to meet you, son. Edwin would be proud to know they named you after him."

"These are our daughters; Vivian is six and Charlotte is four."

"Nice to meet you ladies," said their cousin.

Vivian giggled at being called a lady. The other two smaller boys clung to their mother's skirt. His heart dropped, afraid that Grace was married, and her husband was not here, possibly on an errand. The thought overwhelmed him.

"Erik, these are my two boys. Nicholas is five years old, and my youngest is Jeffery; he is three years old with a birthday coming up at the end of the month," said their mother with pride.

"Nice to meet you, boys."

He needed to know whether Grace was married or not. Could her husband be trusted? He trusted Ethan and the women, but would her husband be as understanding?

"Ma'am, if you don't mind asking, is your husband around?"

He looked with panic at Grace as she looked at Rachel.

"My daddy died. A bear killed him when he was hunting," said Nicholas.

"Well, I sorry to hear that, son. I'm sorry for your loss," said the new Erik Taylor.

Inside, his heart was racing with joy. He knew in the back of his mind that he had nothing to offer this woman in the way of marriage. Marriage? Jonas shook his head, throwing the notion out of his mind. He felt his forehead and wiped the sweat from his face. He felt feverish as he sat on the stool, surrounded by people.

"How did you get hurt?" asked Edwin, looking at the bandaged leg.

The adults in the room looked at each other.

"Children, do you want to see the new calf?" asked Rachel, and she herded the youngest children over to the stall.

Edwin remained looking with skepticism at his father's cousin.

"Your uncle was tracking the escaped prisoners for the bounty, and they shot at him, wounding his leg."

"Ethan, I can't have you lie for me. I'm going to tell him the truth. They shot me, robbing a bank, and the judge sent me to Stillwater Prison for my crime. Our wagon had an accident on the river road to the prison, and we escaped. There were five of us chained together, and we ran all night to get here. Then I helped your dad deliver the calf, and I decided I couldn't travel anymore."