Page 14 of Bound in Ashes

“The End of Days. I’m glad Kathleen is not here.” He shook his head again. “Didn’t ever think I would say that. But seeing what I’ve seen…”

I squeezed my uncle’s hand but didn’t say anything, knowing how hard that admission was for him.

“Well, let’s go inside and talk,” I said.

“Yeah,” my uncle agreed, but he lingered for a moment, looking at the ugliness that marred a place that had been so beautiful for so many.

Together, we walked into the house. When we made it inside, I was enveloped in the smell of pine cleanser and instant coffee.

The smell of home.

Bridget was the first to greet us. “You okay?” she asked, her expression tight with concern.

“I’m fine.”

Her eyes said she knew that was a lie, but she let it go.

She turned on her smile and looked at Uncle Levi. At that moment, I saw her, my first friend at the courthouse, a memory of a past that was gone forever.

I pushed that thought away. “Bridget, you remember my uncle?”

“Of course,” she said, brightening. “Mr. Griffin was there when you got admitted to the bar.”

She walked over to my uncle, extended her hand. “It’s good to see you, sir. And thank you for taking us in.”

“Oh? Is that what I’m doing?” Uncle Levi asked, his tone deceptively mild.

Everyone’s hope had hinged on getting here, getting help, and in those seconds, that help felt as fragile and ephemeral as a soap bubble. Then Uncle Levi shook his head.

“Y’all look awful and don’t smell much better, so it’s probably not the best time for this conversation. Let’s go sit for a moment. Calm down. Get you all clean, fed, and watered.”

Caitlin scoffed, and I turned to her where she stood off to one side. Her body was ramrod straight, and she sneered, but I could see beneath the veneer. Saw that she was still on high alert. “I don’t want to calm down. We need to talk about what we’re going to do and make plans. This obviously isn’t a solution,” Caitlin said, her nose crinkled as she looked around at my uncle’s living room.

Frowned at the dated furniture with plastic covers and crocheted dollies on the armrests.

The wall with pictures of Jesus, my high school graduation, and Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Levi’s twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.

“No offense, Mr Griffin,” Caitlin said before she looked at me, “but wasn’t this farm in the middle of nowhere supposed to be safer than Atlanta?”

Now was not the fucking time, and I had negative patience for Caitlin’s bullshit, but before I could tear into her, Uncle Levi jumped in.

“Young lady, why don’t you make yourself useful and go around to the shed out back? Bring in a case of water. You think you can handle that?” he said.

Caitlin looked like she wanted to say something else, but she didn’t.

I wasn’t surprised.

Uncle Levi had a way about him, and it was a rare person who would defy him so openly.

Jack, I worried about. I was sure Caitlin was no issue at all.

She started to leave, and Elliot jumped up.

“I’ll come with you. We should probably stick together as much as we can,” he said.

“A man with some sense.” Uncle Levi nodded approvingly.

Once they were gone, Uncle Levi looked to Lourdes and Miles, who stood off in a corner looking like they expected to be kicked out at any second.