Broken Branch by John Mantooth Read Free Book Online

seem even more ominous. It was almost like he hadn’t existed. When the others had left, it was hard to go anywhere in Broken Branch without hearing someone saying how they’d made a mistake to leave, how times were hard and God might not be as merciful as they assumed.
    She tried to bring him up a few times, but folks either ignored her or, in some cases, walked away as if she wasn’t there at all.
    It doesn’t matter,
she thought.
A few more days and they can forget about me too.

19
    She’d set her sights on Saturday night for leaving because most folks went to bed early on Saturdays on account of church the next morning, and on Thursday night, she stood out on the porch before bed, looking at the clear sky, thankful that no clouds appeared on the horizon. The stars were bright and she remembered what G.L. had said about being born on the night so long ago when they fell. What a wonderful legacy, she thought, to be so connected to magic, to something beyond the flesh and bone of everyday life.
    Later, when she climbed into bed, she felt a deep peace. Her life would go on beyond this place, and one day she’d look back on these days as a mistake, but also a lesson. A lesson that taught her that attaching oneself to another for any reason other than love was foolishness. It would also remind her of how those that claim to know the most about God and His ways are the scariest people of all.
    She sat up abruptly several hours later when the rain began its furious assault on the roof. At first she thought it was Rodney. Sometimes at night when an attack came, the thudding of his knee against the wall sounded like this. The noise was unbearably loud, so much that it almost became a kind of silence, a great, impenetrable wall that pressed on her from above. She wanted it to stop, but she realized this was going to be another big one.
    She climbed out of the bed and went into the front of the house. James had fallen asleep with the Bible open on his knee, his head tilted back as he snored openmouthed. In that moment, he seemed more vulnerable than ever, and in a way he reminded her of Rodney. She almost felt something for him then; not love, but something familiar, something like kindness, but she shrugged off the urge at the last minute. These were the thoughts would make her want to stay. Staying wasn’t an option.
    Out on the porch, she saw the woods were on fire. Damp smoke drifted toward the cabin and beyond that flames licked the hollows of the night. Tree fires during the storms were not uncommon. Most of the time the rain put them out, but Trudy was surprised to see how bright the fire was, and she wondered if this one wasn’t larger than normal.
    She was about to go back inside when a blast of lightning turned the world white and she saw Ben sitting on his porch across the way. The world went dark again, and she reached for the door. Another strike illuminated him and this time he spoke, his voice sounding like it was coming from a long way away.
    â€œIt’s good weather for just sitting and thinking,” he said. “Hold on.”
    And then he was on the porch with her, soaked to the bone, shivering. Another flash of lightning and she saw his smile. “Would you mind bringing me a blanket or something?” Ben said.
    She went inside, moving slowly and carefully so as not to wake James, and returned with a dry blanket. He sat down in James’s chair and nodded at the one next to it. “I don’t bite. Not much anyway.”
    â€œIt might look improper.”
    â€œNever knew you to be one to worry about such things.”
    She looked through the window into the darkness of the house. If James did wake up, would he come out onto the porch? And what if he did? She had already told him she was leaving him. That made her decision easy. She sat down beside Ben.
    â€œI been meaning to tell you that what you did the other day was something.”
    Trudy looked at him.