All Fall Down Read online

  “That’s right. A report about whether or not she thinks your children will be protected here with you.”

  Sunny’s fingers tightened on the mug. “Of course they will! I love my children!”

  “Nobody doubts that,” said Officer Smith. “And I’m sure Mrs. Umberger will put that in her report. And since your dad and his wife have assured us and Mrs. Umberger that you’ll be taken care of, I’m sure it will all be fine. You and your kids are very lucky, Sunny.”

  With that, they left her sitting at the table. Not even the hot mug could warm her. She hadn’t known it wasn’t just a drill, Sunny thought. But she should have. John Second using Papa’s voice instead of his own should’ve told her that. Or else she should have known when she listened with her heart. There should’ve been the small, still voice Papa had told them would let them know when it was time to leave, except that Sunny had heard nothing.

  Had her mother heard it?

  “Sunny? Hon, are you okay?” In the doorway, Liesel held Bliss. “Did they leave?”

  Sunny nodded. “Is she hungry? I can take her.”

  Liesel looked into the baby’s face with soft eyes and a small smile. “Yeah, I think she is. What a little cutie. I changed her diaper, too.”

  “Thanks.” Sunny held up her hands to take the baby as Liesel handed her over. “Happy? Peace?”

  “They’re fine. They’re playing Candy Land with Christopher.” At what must’ve been a confused look, Liesel chuckled. “It’s a board game. They’re having fun. They’re okay. They’re just in the den. I know it must be weird for you, all of this. If you want to talk about it, hon…I’m here.”

  “I don’t have anything to talk about.” Sunny put Bliss to her breast, noticing how Liesel’s gaze slid away, as if it embarrassed her to watch. The blemished were okay with parading women’s breasts across billboards to sell cars, but feeding children with them seemed to be completely out of line. “Thank you, though.”

  “More tea? I can warm it up for you.”

  “No, thanks.”

  Liesel looked as though she was about to say something else, but then didn’t. “I’ll just go check on Christopher and the kids. Give you some privacy.”

  Sunny fed her daughter. This house was cleaner than any place she’d ever lived, even despite the hours she and many of her sisters had spent on their knees scrubbing floors. It was warm, too. Smelled nice, like flowers, even though it was winter. The water was hot, the food was plentiful and varied.

  They’d bought her clothes. Given her toys for her children. Disposable diapers, which went against everything Papa had ever taught them about being kind to the earth, and yet were so much more wonderfully easy to use than the cloth diapers she’d used for all her kids.

  This could be a good place for them, she thought. Except she couldn’t stop thinking about Sanctuary. After years of preparation, training that had gone on as long as Sunny could remember, John Second had actually done what his father had always promised was coming.

  Her mom. John Second. All the men and women Sunny had thought of as her brothers and sisters, no matter if they didn’t share actual parents. Everyone was related in the family.

  And the children.

  Oh, the children. A strangled sob tore at her throat, and she pressed her lips together to hold it inside. Why had her mother sent her away if she knew John Second was going to have them all leave, make it more than just a drill? Sunny slipped cold fingers over the top of her infant daughter’s head, and thought she understood.

  Chapter 14

  “She’s not a baby. She has three kids of her own, Christopher.” Liesel rubbed lotion into her elbows and arms, then squirted another palmful and started to work on her thighs and calves and butt. Her skin got so dry in the winter, itching, and it drove her crazy. “I’m sure she’ll be fine here by herself.”

  Christopher looked at her from over the top of his glasses. He had a finger shoved into the middle of a thick book, a biography of some rock star whose music he didn’t even listen to. “Yeah, and she escaped with her life from a crazy cult that just all offed themselves only what, two days ago? I’m just saying, I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to be left alone.”

  Liesel flipped back the comforter and slid beneath the flannel sheets. “Lower your voice! Do you want her to hear you?”

  Her husband would certainly never win any awards for subtlety, but at least he managed to drop his voice to something just above a whisper. “You’re the one who thought it would be such a great idea for her to stay here. And I’m not saying you’re wrong,” he added before she could interrupt. “I think we’re the only place she has to go. But there’s no question that she needs some attention. I mean, for God’s sake, the police will probably want to talk to her again, and didn’t they say something about the possibility of another social worker coming out for another inspection or something? Didn’t you see her face splashed all over the TV? They’re calling her the Angel of Superior Bliss or some such shit. Soul Survivor. Christ. What a bunch of crap.”

  Reporters had been calling, too, though so far none of them had shown up at the house. Liesel and Christopher had let the phone ring without answering. Their voice mail had filled up with messages.

  Her neck and shoulders still ached. The bruises from her fall had bloomed spectacularly. Yesterday and today had been spent dealing with all the official stuff that went along with the tragedy. Another day at home wouldn’t be such a bad thing. It just wasn’t as easy for her to get time off as it was for Christopher, who got vacation and sick time.

  “You should do it,” she said, leaving the reason unspoken because she’d said it so many times already. Sunny was his daughter. His responsibility.

  Again he peered at her over his glasses. “I have meetings. I can’t just cancel a national conference call to stay home and play patty-cake.”

  It was so much more than that, but she could see by the set of his jaw that he wasn’t going to budge. Liesel sighed. “You know what a hassle it is if I call in. They count on me there.”

  Christopher rolled his eyes. “It’s not like we’re going to go hungry if you miss a few days’ pay.”

  His comment probably hadn’t meant to sound as derisive as it did, and Liesel tried hard not to take it that way. “Wow, thanks.”

  Christopher shrugged. “Maybe if you miss a few days, they’ll see how much they need you there and appreciate you more. Did you ever think of that?”

  She found a laugh for that. “Oh, that’s hardly likely.”

  Liesel had been working at a local print shop for what felt like forever. Owned by a husband-and-wife team who’d been in the printing business for thirty years, the shop did a little of everything, from mugs to T-shirts to calendars, and Liesel did a little bit of everything for them—some accounting, some sales, almost all the design.

  “I told you. I’ve got meetings. I can’t miss them,” Christopher said flatly. “Besides, you’re better with all that…stuff.”

  “You’re going to have to find a way to be better with it, Christopher.”

  He shrugged, focused on the book she knew he wasn’t really reading.

  “You were okay with them when I took her shopping. You had a good time playing Candy Land with them, didn’t you? They’re sweet kids.”

  He shrugged again. “They’re fine.”

  “They’re your grandchildren,” Liesel said.

  He looked at her. “And she’s my daughter. Yeah. We’ve been over this. Get off my back, okay?”

  “I didn’t mean to be on your back about it.” Liesel scooted closer to him to put her head on his shoulder. He warmed her better than the blankets did. She let her icy toes slide along his warm calves and laughed a little at his muttered curse.

  Christopher sighed a