Page 239 - My FlipBook

T R A I L O F C R U M B S

through a minefield. He’d shaved and changed his shirt, but
dark pouches marked his eyes.
Ash bristled. Greta was sure even his arm hair prickled,
his arms in gunslinger position. Greta peered around his
shoulder. She’d sent Roger away in fury, and he’d come back
to fight for them. Relief, a streak of tenderness, then boom.
Up went the wall, the one that reminded her of everything
that smiling face had done. Or hadn’t.

Ash spoke first. “What’s he doing here?” His lips barely
moved, drawn tight. He directed the question at Elgin,
bypassing Roger.
“Your father and I have been talking for the past hour.
Come in, please. This is a family matter.”
“I have no father,” Ash said, not moving.
Both men blinked at that, Roger sucking in a breath.

“I’ve asked Alice to come pick me up,” Elgin said (which
explained the pants), “so you three can have your own
heuristic. Remember, it’s about finding a functional solution
in a less-than-ideal situation.”
Greta wasn’t sure why he didn’t just banish them all back
to the basement pit. At that moment, Alice squeezed through
the doorway behind them, jamming three people into two
square feet. “Um, excuse me,” she said, her voice muffled by
Greta’s shoulder.

“Elgin and Alice stay,” Ash said. “Or I go.”
Greta wasn’t sure if Elgin and Alice wanted to be part
of their family’s heuristic, especially given the way the first

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