Prologue
EIGHT-year-old Seth McDaniel drew in his knees and elbows, completely concealing himself behind a massive armchair. He’d been scolded often enough for sneaking uninvited into his great-aunt’s bedroom, where Auntie Irene and Nana disappeared to have grown-up talks. But he’d overheard his name mentioned more than once and, worried he’d gotten into some kind of trouble (again), couldn’t help his curiosity. Whenever his parents spoke his name when they believed him out of hearing range, he’d either later been punished or received a surprise. Seth swallowed past the lump in his throat. I won’t cry like a baby!he told himself.
Footsteps grew ever closer, the slow, shuffling gait of Auntie’s sensible shoes, followed by the clip-clop of his grandmother’s high heels against the polished wooden floor. “Tomorrow morning I’m taking Seth home with me to Chicago, away from this place.” Nana’s words struck fear in Seth’s heart. What? Chicago? Why?
“You cannot deny the child his heritage,” Auntie Irene stated, far sterner than normal.
“If not for that… thatman!” Nana spat the word like something vile. “If not for that man, my daughter would still be alive! Hit by a car! At thirty-one years old! Run over by a damned Buick like a stray dog!”
“Thatmanwas my nephew Aaron, and he went back for her. Gave his life trying to save your daughter!” Irene snapped back. Her voice softened, taking on the same gentle tone she used to comfort Seth when he’d skinned a knee or woken from a bad dream. “Please. Your grandson also happens to be my nephew’s son, and the last living member of my family. Don’t take him away from me.”
Seth took a chance and peered around the back of his refuge, normally the anchor post of tent forts. The black stuff his nana wore around her eyes now ran down her face, leaving blotchy trails. Both women brushed back tears with their fingertips, only Auntie’s were clear, not black. “I’m sorry,” Nana said. “I cannot allow my daughter’s tragic end to happen to Seth. He’s coming back to Chicago with me.”
Auntie asked, barely above a whisper, “Summer? School holidays? Can he at least visit me occasionally?”
Nana sniffed, steel leaching into her words. “I don’t believe contact with any of your kind is in the boy’s best interest.”
Seth’s heart sank. “Your kind”? What did she mean by “your kind”? No visiting Auntie? No playing fort with his friend Dustin? Nana didn’t play fort, and anyway, her apartment wasn’t big enough for a soldier to hide in. He choked back a sob.
“How is denying who he is, who his parents are… were… serving his interests?”
“I’m sorry, Irene. But I’ve made up my mind and I won’t let you or anyone else convince me otherwise. He’ll live with me, and that’s final. None of this… this… nonsense.”
“But I have visitation rights! He’s my great-nephew!”
“In light of your family’s… issues, I’m afraid I’ll have to say no. And if you make any attempt to contact him without my permission, I’ll guarantee your entire family’s dirty laundry becomes public knowledge. Do I make myself clear? How my daughter ever….” Nana’s voice rose again. “How she ever allowed some freak of nature tochangeher!” Between sobs, she added, “I won’t let you corrupt my grandson! I won’t, I won’t, I won’t!”
“Victoria, Seth’s only half blood; chances are he’ll never change. He’s not at risk….”
“My daughter wasn’t any blood, until… until….”
Auntie dug her heels in. “My nephew didn’t force her. Your daughter made a choice.”
Seth suddenly wished he’d stayed in the living room with the others who’d come to his parents’ memorial service, even if they had confused him by saying, “There was barely even enough to bury.”
“And she chose wrong! Why couldn’t she return to Chicago after college? What brought her here to this godforsaken place?”
“She and Aaron fell in love.”
“Love! Ha! You see where theirlovegot them.”
“Yes, it got them Seth.”
The rest of the conversation was lost on Seth, who fought the urge to both comfort his grandmother and demand that she not keep him from Auntie’s house. Who’d feed the hens and help gather the eggs? Who would Dustin tell secrets to if Seth lived in Chicago?
The two women left the room, one after the other, Auntie’s pleas apparently falling on deaf ears. Seth spread his legs out in front of him, tears dripping down his cheeks. First he’d lost his parents, now it appeared he’d lose Auntie and Dustin too. What did Nana mean about Daddy’s family?
“Seth? You in here?”
Dustin made a beeline for the chair. He always seemed to sense where Seth was, making hide-and-seek an unwinnable game. “Oh, Seth. Are you alright?” Dustin squatted beside the chair, wiping tears from Seth’s face with the tail of his Sunday best shirt.
Red-haired, freckle-faced, and green-eyed, ten-year-old Dustin Livingston was Seth’s best friend. Many nights they’d stayed at each other’s houses, chatting until the rooster crowed. The prospect of never seeing Dustin again broke what little remained of Seth’s heart.
“I want Mama and Daddy back!” Seth wailed, afraid to tell what he’d overheard. If he didn’t tell, it might not be true, right?
“Shhh….” The hands normally used to tickle him, give noogies, or playfully punch an arm lifted Seth’s sopping face. “You got me. I ain’t going nowhere.”
The dam broke and Seth wailed in earnest. “Nana’s taking me away! Says I can’t come back here, ever!”
