Page 25 of The Payback Adventure
“What creek?” Elisabeth asked.
Caitlin pointed at a stream of water rushing from her vegetable garden. “That one.”
“Oh no.” Elisabeth ran, squishing through the mud and pooling water in her only pair of dress shoes. Forget about the shoes. They were dirty, but that was the least of her problems. She would have to replant because they lived off the food they grew, even during the rainy autumn and winter seasons. She shut off the spigot.
How could this have happened? Turning off the water was the first thing on her to-do list for Henry.
“Is it bad?” Sam asked, his voice quieter than usual.
Yes, it was bad, but the kids didn’t need to know the truth. Life was hard enough for them already.
She struggled against the frustration seizing control of her. She couldn’t lose it. Not in front of her brother and sisters. Elisabeth shrugged, hoping that put them at ease. “We’ll have to replant a few things.”
“I like to plant seeds.” Caitlin bent over near the edge of the flooded garden.
Elisabeth reached for her sister. “Be careful—”
Plop. Caitlin fell knees-first and sank into the mud.
“Owwww.” Crocodile tears streamed down her cheeks. “My knee. My pretty dress. And tights. Th-they’re ruined.”
Elisabeth picked her up. “We can wash the tights and the dress.”
“I’m b-bleeding.” Caitlin sniffled. “I need a bandage.”
“Yes, you do.” Bandages usually made any boo-boo feel better, whether they were needed or not. “When we get inside...”
“The house is on fire.” Panic filled Abby’s voice.
“Fire!” Sam screamed, only to be drowned out by the screeching smoke detector.
Smoke, thick and black, billowed out the kitchen window.
Elisabeth set Caitlin on her feet, away from the mud. “Grab the hose, Sam. Keep Caitlin away, Abby.”
As Elisabeth ran to the house calling for Henry, her heart pounded. Everything they owned, including every photograph of their parents, was in the house. But so was a living, breathing person.
“Henry!” She yelled the name again. And again.
The back door flew open. Smoke, not as much as before, filtered out. The smoke detector fell silent.
Henry stood in the doorway, a burned towel in his hand. “Did you have a nice time at church?”
Who could think of church at a time like this? Elisabeth’s heart rate had yet to slow down. Henry, however, seemed unaffected by any of this. That bothered her. A lot. Not to mention the fact that he was wearing her apron, and it was covered with…
She wasn’t sure what it was. “What’s going on?”
Her voice was steady and calm, not high-pitched. The house had been on fire, and she hadn’t lost it. A definite improvement compared to her reaction to Sam’s failing grade on last week’s math test.
“I wanted eggs Benedict for breakfast,” Henry said.
Caitlin frowned. “Sounds yucky.”
Abby got a thoughtful expression on her face. “They say Benedict Arnold was a traitor, but there’s compelling evidence to suggest—”
“Quiet,” Elisabeth ordered. “What happened?”
“I was making myself breakfast,” Henry explained. “I love eggs Benedict, but I don’t know how to make a hollandaise sauce, so I figured an omelet and toast would be a good substitute. But I realized I don’t know how to make an omelet either. Or toast. I’m not much of a cook. In fact, I’ve never cooked in my life.”
