Chapter 5 — The Welcome Dinner

From the front of the house came my sister-in-law Brenda’s laugh and her daughter’s footsteps.

“There’s my sweet Paige!” my mother-in-law, Martha, cooed from the dining room. “Everyone come sit — dinner’s nearly ready!”

I came in the back way and stood just outside the archway. The long table was set with Martha’s good china, a covered dish steaming in the center. Then Lia appeared at the foot of the stairs, head down, edging toward the doorway because she’d been told to come at six and was too frightened not to.

“There you are,” Martha said, a bright, false warmth in her voice. “Sit by your cousin. You look so pale — a good hot meal will fix that right up.”

I stepped into the room. “Lia, come here to me.”

Martha’s smile thinned. “Nora. We are having a nice family dinner. Sit down.”