Page 22 of Dead Rattled
“We’ll check it out.” Hope stood up and offered Everly a hug.
Ten watched closely as Everly’s eyes slid shut. Seconds later, they popped open and Everly giggled. “You’re not gonna believe what I just saw!”
“Tell me,” Hope said, sounding curious.
“Bow and Arrow are gonna have triplets!”
“What?” Ten asked, wondering if Everly had misunderstood what her gift was telling her.
“My son, Beau, has been dating a girl named Arya, and my other sons jokingly call them Bow and Arrow. Everly’s right on the money. Are they boy triplets or girl triplets?” Hope looked absolutely enchanted.
“All girls, Miss Hope! One of them is gonna be named after me.” Everly beamed.
“You know, I’ve been sitting here thinking what a beautiful name Everly is. Now I’m going to have one of my own. Thank you so much for all of your help.”
Everly nodded. “You’re so lucky getting to have two moms, just like I have two dads. Everything is gonna be great, I promise.”
“I appreciate all your help, Everly.” Hope bent down to give the little girl another hug. “Please let us know if you’re able to figure out what happened to me and the other babies unaccounted for at St. Agnes House.”
“We will,” Ten promised, walking the family out of the conference room.
Waving goodbye, Ten couldn’t help but wonder if they would ever find out what truly happened. Fifty plus years was a long time to go without answers, but Ten would do everything in his power to solve the mystery.
9
Ronan
Ronan stood in front of the freshly tilled plot for this year’s garden. His bright red wheelbarrow sat nearby, filled with shovels, spades, extra potting soil, gloves, and pads for their knees. The seeds he and Everly had planted several months ago were now strong enough to be transferred to the garden. “What do you think, little miss?” Ronan asked, surveying their land.
“I think we should put the vegetables on the left side this year. They were on the right last year. When the corn and tomato plants got too tall, they blocked out the sun to my witchy plants.” Everly giggled.
Everly’s “witchy” plants were herbs. She grew rosemary for protection, which tasted delicious in chicken dishes. Sage, for wisdom, which also was great with chicken. Basil for prosperity and use in Ten’s tomato sauce. Thyme for courage and Ronan’s pot roast, and lavender for peace. Last year Cope had helped Everly make up potion pouches and taught her how to make her own sage bundles.
Not only had Cope volunteered to work with Everly again, but had started his own garden. After Ronan planted their garden, he and Everly were going to help Cope and Wolf with theirs. “That sounds like a good plan. He set the plants where he thought they should go and turned to Everly for her thoughts.
“That’s perfect, Daddy. Let’s get to work.” Everly grabbed the gloves and kneepad she would need from the wheelbarrow and knelt at the front of the garden. She set both of her hands atop the soil. “Earth below and sky above, Bless this garden with your love. Grant it soil rich and deep, And bountiful harvests we shallreap." She repeated the blessing twice more, with Ronan joining in on the last recitation.
Ronan grabbed a spade from his wheelbarrow and handed it to Everly like a nurse handing a doctor a scalpel. “You were amazing today with Hope, Monica, and Natalie.” Ronan grabbed a pot of rosemary and upended it into his hands. He passed it to Everly who set in the hole she’d dug.
“Thanks, Daddy. It was hard work. I’ve never felt so many emotions all at once before.” Everly gathered dirt to fill in the hole and packed it around the seedling.
“What did you feel?” Ronan, with only his five senses, had felt tension and anxiety, which, if he thought about it, were his exact emotions.
“There was love, pain, anger, joy, fear, and lots of anxiety.” Everly set her spade down and looked up at Ronan. “What do you think happened to Hope?”
Ronan sighed. If it had been Ten or Jude asking the question, he wouldn’t have hesitated to answer, but with Everly, he needed to be a bit more delicate. “I’m not sure, honey. Finding out that Frederick paid someone a lot of money for the baby is a huge clue to what happened.”
“You shouldn’t be able to pay money for a baby,” Everly said, digging her next hole.
That was the understatement of the century. “You’re right. There are people in this world who will do anything to become parents and others who will do anything for money.”
“That makes my tummy hurt.” Everly reached for the next rosemary plant. “Natalie is the saddest person I’ve ever met. Idon’t really know how to describe it, but if sadness were dolls, they’d fill up an entire mall.”
Ronan knew exactly what Everly was talking about. “Grief does that to a person. It grows and changes over the years.”
“That’s how you feel about Mimi Erin.” It wasn’t a question. Everly knew what she was talking about.
“That’s right,” Ronan agreed. “When she died, I was in a lot of pain. Then I felt guilty for not taking her last call. Then I was angry at myself, until the sadness swamped over me, like a big wave at the beach.”
