Outside the wind picked up again, rattling the windowpanes and howling across the plains. But inside, for the first time in longer than she could remember, Evelyn Mercer felt warm. The morning after the brothers gave her the room, Evelyn woke up angry. Not at them, at herself. For crying, for feeling grateful, for letting her guard drop even for a second.
She'd survived 3 years on the road by keeping her walls up, and one handmade bed had nearly torn them down completely. She got dressed fast, splashed cold water on her face from the basin, and headed downstairs before anyone else was awake. The kitchen was dark and cold, and she liked it that way. Gave her time to think, time to rebuild the armor she'd let crack the night before. By the time Jonah came down, she had coffee brewing and her expression locked down tight.
He poured himself a cup and stood by the window staring out at the pre-dawn darkness. "Storm's coming." He said finally. Evelyn didn't look up from the stove. "When?"
"Three days. Maybe four." "Bad?" "Bad enough." She nodded and went back to work.
Jonah finished his coffee in silence and left without another word, and Evelyn told herself that was fine. Better than fine. The less they talked, the easier it would be to leave when her week was up. Except her week was already up. She'd been here 10 days now, and nobody had mentioned her leaving.
Holden hadn't brought it up, hadn't asked if she was staying or going, hadn't pushed. And that was somehow worse than if he'd demanded an answer, because it meant the choice was entirely hers, and Evelyn didn't trust herself to make it. The other brothers filtered in over the next hour. Caleb made a crack about the weather. Cain told him to save it for someone who cared.
Levi sat in his usual corner picking at his breakfast like he was afraid it might bite back. Holden came in last looking like he'd already been up for hours. "We need to reinforce the barn roof before the storm hits." He said, addressing the table at large. "Cain, Caleb, you're with me.
Jonah, check the fence lines on the south pasture. Levi, move the livestock closer to the house." Everyone nodded and went back to eating. It was efficient, practiced, the kind of coordination that came from years of working together. Evelyn watched them and felt like an outsider looking through a window at something she'd never be part of.
Then Holden turned to her. "You good here on your own today?" The question caught her off guard. "I'm always on my own." Something flickered across his face, confusion maybe, or concern, but he didn't push.
"Right. Well, if you need anything I won't." He studied her for a moment longer, then nodded and stood. Let's move. The brothers cleared out, leaving Evelyn alone with the dirty dishes and the sound of wind starting to pick up outside.
She cleaned the kitchen methodically, washing each plate and cup and fork until they gleamed. Then she moved to the sitting room and started mending the pile of clothes Jonah had left on the chair. Torn seams, missing buttons, fabric worn so thin it was barely holding together. She worked with steady hands, her needle moving in and out in a rhythm that didn't require thought. It was mindless work, safe work.