Cassandra Austin Read Free Page A

she rode closer the farmstead seemed to welcome her.
    The little sod house Pa had built so long ago when Ma was still alive was the only home Cally could remember. She knew it wasn’t fancy or pretty, but it was the best soddy there ever was. People didn’t expect a soddy to last nearly as long as this one had. Pa had talked of building a real cabin, but she had never counted on it. This had been enough for the two of them.
    The old barn had a leaky roof and the tiny chicken coop was barely tight enough to keep critters out, but this was home. This was where she was safe and happy, tending her garden and her animals, which were her only friends. That was as much as she had ever expected to do. But she had always expected Pa to be here with her.
    Cally slid off Jewel’s back and led her into the barn. She had already done the chores, but she checked on Belle, the milk cow, and made sure the barn door was securely closed.
    Royal was beside her as she walked to the house. Queen came to her feet at the threshold, and followed them inside. As soon as the door was closed, Queen spread herself out against the door, resuming her previous position, this time inside.
    Cally moved a chair out of her way and sat down on her bunk. Its side and head were against the paper-covered dirt wall, and Pa’s bunk was across from it. The two were so close, a tall man might sit on one and rest his feet on the other. The trunk under the window barely fit between the two bunks. Clothes hung from pegs above the beds and on either side of the window.
    A woodstove, table, two chairs and some crate shelves filled the rest of the house. Once in a while Cally noticed how tiny and crowded it was. Not lately, though. Lately it seemed almost empty.
    She shook herself and rose, quickly getting ready for bed. As soon as she blew out the lamp, Royal came to lie on the floor beside her bed. The two dogs made her feel safe, and she slept almost instantly.
    Early in the morning, Cally opened the door, letting the dogs out and the fresh air in. She dressed in the same clothes she had worn the day before and started her morning chores. By the time the sun was completely over the horizon, she had milked Belle and staked her and Jewel in grass for the day. She had fed the chickens, letting them out of the little coop into the pen, and had checked the fence, as she did every morning, for any signs that a raccoon had tried to find a way in.
    Her own breakfast came last. She fixed a small bowl of corn meal mush, adding fresh cream. She carried it outside and sat in the old rocker to eat it. She liked to think of the little area in front of the house as her front porch, though its floor was dirt like the rest of her yard—and house, for that matter. Pahad built a little sunshade above the door, and set out an old table. Since the house was so crowded, Cally worked outside as much as possible. She would be confined enough to the small space inside all winter.
    She thought of Pa, confined to his tiny cell, and gritted her teeth. It had been weeks since his arrest, but she still expected to find him sleeping on his cot every time she stepped into the cabin.
    With a sigh she looked out at her garden. That and the animals would be the hardest things to leave. She loved her garden, and it had been good to her this summer. Her vines were loaded with ripe tomatoes waiting to be picked, and she had several jars of cucumber pickles, corn and beans already stored for winter.
    “Stored away for whoever finds them,” she said aloud. “‘Cause we ain’t staying.” Last night she had almost given up, but this morning she was as determined as ever to save Pa. There wasn’t anything else a daughter could do. She would go into town again toward evening.
    But what weapons did she have left? The ax? The shotgun? The one knife she used to cut her food?
    Royal sprawled on the ground and yawned noisily. She turned to stare at him. He twitched his ears at her scrutiny. “You wanna take