Micah by Kathi S. Barton Read Free Book Online Page A

lose it all. If they took him in…well, Nessie
did not want to think about being in prison again. His brother
would not survive the ways of a prison. He was not…adaptable as
Nessie was. Nessie knew that on the first night of his sentence
that Keith would be killed.
    “ I took care of the
issue.” It wasn’t enough and he seemed to know it. “I saw the man
when I was putting her in my van. He came to help me or her, I’m
not sure which, and when he started making noises that he wasn’t
happy with my plan, I hit him. Today I plan to take him to the farm
and make use of your kiln. I should like to have you go with
me.”
    “ I was just there a few
days ago.” Nessie had things to do here. Time, he knew for some
reason, was running short on bringing his love to him. And there
were the pictures he’d yet to cut out. The ones that he’d been
working on when Keith had shown up was still laying upon his desk
with the scissors still on them. “Where is the issue and your van
now?”
    “ In the front of the house
a street over. He is wrapped up in an old rug. No one can see in,
and I was careful where I parked. There is nothing out of the
ordinary about the van either. White with a few dents and marks on
it. The door to the back opens easily enough, but the door on the
side is broken. And the plates are up to date. Nothing to bring
attention to me.” Nessie started to point out that there was the
issue, but said nothing as Keith continued. “I have used tires too,
four of them that are nearly too bald to drive on but will not
leave a mark to trace in the dirt.”
    “ You’ve been learning.
Some of the things on your list are things I’d never thought of.”
And he would from now on too. “I’ll go with you to show you how to
use it, but in the future, you must go on your own. I have things
to prepare myself. My love will need to be here soon as
well.”
    He locked his bedroom door, slipping
the key into the little pocket he’d put on the inside of his shoe.
It was painful if he had to go far, but today wouldn’t be so bad.
As he pulled on his coat and hat, he looked around. Nessie wondered
what his true love would think of the home he’d built for
her.
    ~~~
    He was simply too heavy for her.
Reggie had taken her brother down to the dock so that he could see
the water again. Boyd loved the water as much as she did; more so
now that he had so little to entertain himself. Boyd wouldn’t have
known if she’d taken him to the pet store and let him see the
aquariums, but she would. And it was her time off to spend with him
and after her morning, she needed a little time to be with him as
well. Sitting down next to his chair, she smiled when he flopped
his hand onto her head.
    “ I love you too.” She
wiped at the tears of frustration before speaking again. “I need to
lift more weights or something. Maybe you’ve got a rock under that
blanket. Is that it?”
    The doctors told her that he didn’t
understand her. Not a word she spoke to him. Reggie no more
believed them than she did that her brother didn’t know her from
them. He loved her and that was enough for her.
    “ Hello.” Reggie stood up
so fast that she nearly tripped over his chair. Shielding him with
her body as best she could, she eyed the stranger. His smile did
nothing to soothe her. “I saw you struggling and I thought I’d
come—”
    “ I’m just fine.” Reggie
looked around and realized how late it was getting. She still had
to get Boyd back to the home before nine. “You can go now, we’re
just fine.”
    “ You can’t get him up the
hill any more than I can leave the two of you here. Don’t be
stubborn because you have your panties in a twist.” She wanted to
hit him. That feeling was coming over her a lot lately, and she
didn’t care for it. “I’m going to show you my badge and then you
can see that you can trust me.”
    “ If you reach into your
pocket, I will shoot you.” She lifted her shirt just enough for him
to see