Relentless (Elisabeth Reinhardt Book 1) Read Free Page B

children learned about life outside the farm; one by one, they took jobs in nearby towns, went off to war, and developed other skills and interests; the elders passed away and the locus of control shifted from an isolationist patriarchal culture to a more egalitarian one. But Alcott Earl Raines III imbued with the culture of his father and grandfather, ruled his family with an iron hand, struggling against all odds to keep the old ways alive. As extended family members assimilated into the general culture, he became increasingly strident and controlling, determined not to assimilate. His wife and children tried their best not to cross him knowing what he could do when he was mad. The children learned to support each other in their lies and never let the ‘old man’ know the truth about certain things.
    By 1985 only Alcott Earl Raines, III and his wife Hattie, their children and two widowed aunts were left on the farm. Alcott Earl and Hattie moved into the ‘great house,’ and the aunts moved next door. Tearing down the structures seemed like a huge task so they took what they needed, sold some things and left the cabins to their fate. After a few years of neglect, the sprawling complex looked like an assortment of tumble down shacks. Kudzu covered the roofs and crept around window frames; scrub grass and weeds reached through floor boards and doors swung on their hinges. Raccoons took up residence, squirrels dashed in and out the broken windows and bats hung in the eaves.
    Five of the eight children born to Alcott Earl and Hattie Raines had survived the birthing process.  There were three young girls arranged like stepping stones 3, 5 and 7. Reggie Lee was the middle girl. Her younger sister Patty Sue and her older sister Betty Jo became known as the ‘good girls’. Reggie was called the ‘wild one’. No one had ever stopped to think about why. The three girls shared a room on the second floor, next to their parent’s room. It was decorated in old farmhouse décor with faded rose wallpaper, three mismatched beds and a broken down dresser. A few old dolls and toys lay scattered around the room - which was usually in disarray.
    Two older brothers, Clint , 11, Dale, 10 lived on the top floor of the house, along with their cousin Jake 9.  The room was set up like a bunk-house from the old west. Meager cots and a small wooden chest of drawers completed the space. The floor was rough wood and barren. There was one small ceiling light with two bulbs, one burnt out. But, it was all that they needed. They were only up there to sleep and dress. Both brothers, who tested low average, dropped out of school in the 7 th grade to help their father on the farm. As they got older, joyriding jumped to the top of their list. The boys had limited interest in anything beyond drinking and having fun. They leaned a ladder against the back of the house and several times a week they would climb out the 3 rd floor window, steal ‘the old man’s’  truck and drive into town. The brothers always hung out together, usually at bars. More often than not, they dragged their cousin Jake along with them.
    Jake Gennett was born to Hattie’s youngest sister who died giving birth to her 9 th and last child, a little girl.  The motherless Gennett children were divvied up between various relatives and their father turned to whiskey. Jake was 4 when his mother died and never got over her loss. Overt violent behavior was noted when at the age of 6 he pushed his baby sister down a flight of stairs. At the age of 7, he got kicked out of his father’s sister’s home for drowning and nearly killing a younger cousin. Hattie and Earl Raines agreed to take him when he was 9 because he had been kicked out of his third family placement and the next step would be state foster care. Hattie felt that her girls were old enough to take care of themselves. Patty Sue was 3 when Jake moved in.
    Jake was a sneaky, manipulative child - always had been. Scrawny with