The Family Origin

Chapter Seventy-Seven: MAISIE POV

1891

After I found Clara's apple pie recipe tucked in the back of her bible, Jasper asked me every year to bake one for his birthday. The delicious smell filled our home all day, and Jasper had already asked multiple times for a slice. Miles told him to wait until dinner was cleaned up, and he eagerly helped me put the dishes away.

He was now fifteen years old, but he had already been towering over my small frame for the past few years. One day, he would probably be as tall and broad as Miles. Seeing him grow older always filled me with a bittersweetness. Knowing he was healthy and strong was good, but my little boy was disappearing before my eyes. For the past year, I have been hearing his voice change and seeing the spots of acne forming on his cheeks.

"Is it time now?" he asked as he placed the last plate in the cupboard.

"Now it is," I said with a giggle. "Bring the pie and a knife to the table. You need to share with the family."

Jasper nodded as he grabbed the dessert and hurried over to the table. I grabbed a small stack of plates and a few forks before following behind.

Miles sat at the head of the table. Once Joseph died, he changed his usual seat at the table and I did not question it. Over the past few years, grey streaks formed in his dark hair and a few wrinkles appeared around his eyes. We were both getting older, and I tried not to worry about him having trouble with his heart like his father.

Simon sat at the side of the table with his novel open in his hands. It used to be a fight not to have him reading while we ate dinner. Almost any time I looked at him, there was a book in his hands. Each time they went into town for supplies, Miles let him buy a new one to add to his bookshelf. A few new covers showed up sometimes between trips into town, and I suspected it was from one of the outsiders they killed. I was just happy my homeschooling worked and the boys knew how to read and write.

Miles sliced pieces of the pie. I smiled when I noticed he made Jasper's twice as big as the rest. Simon kept his book open while eating, and Miles did not complain. We only had a few special nights together, so we needed to cherish these.

Miles and I told Jasper a few stories about when he was a baby and toddler, and he blushed as he ate. Each time Simon glanced up from his book, he was smiling. In a few months, I would give him the same kind of nostalgic embarrassment. He was almost twelve.

Miles grabbed a pack of cards when I got up to wash the desert dishes. I expected him to play a game with our sons, but he placed his hand on my hip as I began to wash the dishes. My hands were in the warm water when I looked up at him. He placed his other hand on the edge of the sink so he could lean in closer.

"Jasper really enjoyed the dessert," he said.

"I am glad," I said. "It was the least I could do."

Miles's hand moved off my hip so he could brush the few stray hairs out of my face. His fingers grazed along my ear, and shivers ran down my spine. After all these years, I still loved the way he touched me. His hand trailed down my back as I continued to wash the plates. He leaned in closer, and his warm breath fanned across my skin.

"I had an idea," Miles said.

His voice was low so that the boys could not hear. From their mixture of arguing and laughing, I could tell they were already deep into a game.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Jasper is getting older," he said. "He is becoming a man. One day, he will be the head of this family, but he also needs his own family."

I furrowed my brows as I looked up at him.

"A girl? A wife?" I asked. "Is there someone he has been talking to in town?"

"No," he said. "Those people don't talk to us, and we don't talk to them."

"Then what are you suggesting?"

Miles slid his hand around my waist so he could pull me closer into his body. The plate slipped from my wet hands but did not shatter in the sink. His fingers curled tightly into my waist.

"Jasper deserves a wife. He deserves his own family," Miles said. "My father brought you into my life. I want to do the same for Jasper. I want to save a girl and bring her into our family."

I tried to look over my shoulder at Jasper, but Miles was blocking my view. My stomach twisted into a knot as I thought about Miles's suggestion. Jasper deserved to have his own family, but this was not how I pictured it. There was no clear vision of how my sons would fall in love, but it did not involve forcing outsiders into our home.

"No," I said. "You want to bring a girl here? You said no one will talk to you in town. Who do you think will agree to this?"

"Do you not remember how you acted when you first came here?" he asked. "You did not want to be in this family. You screamed, cried, and tried to hit us because you did not understand that this was where you were supposed to be. We loved you, but it took you a bit to realize this was where you belonged."

I let out a shaky breath as I finished washing the final dish. I wiped my hands on the rag, hoping it would give me a few more moments to think. My fear when I woke up in Miles's bed eighteen years ago seemed like a distant memory that did not belong to me. Miles pulled the rag out of my hands and tossed it so it was out of reach. Miles lowered his head so that his lips brushed against the top of my ear.

"We would be saving a girl," he said. "A girl in a horrible situation who wants to be loved and wants a family. A girl like you."

I swallowed past the lump forming in my throat. Meeting Joseph in that terrible tavern was the best thing to happen to me. It changed my life for the better. It would be like repaying the favour if I could do the same for another girl. It would be like getting a daughter.

"He is too young," I said.

"When he is twenty," Miles said. "I will find a girl around his birthday. That was when I met you."

Miles curled his fingers into my hip as he spun me around. I placed my hands against his hard chest as I looked up at him. There was a small smile on his lips. He loved this idea. How long had he been thinking about it?

"I will do the same for Simon," he said. "They can do the same thing for their sons. They deserve their own families. We cannot let the Wilcox name die with us."

Jasper chuckled, and I leaned to the side so I could see him. He was pulling cards away from Simon. He shuffled the deck as Simon rolled his eyes. My children were happy, and I never wanted that to change. Miles and I would not always be around, and they deserved to be in love and have their own children.

"When he is twenty," I agreed. "And she has to be someone who wants a family. You need to save her."

"I promise she will be just like you."

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against Miles's chest. His heartbeat was strong, and I melted into his warmth.

My life changed with Joseph, and another girl's life would change with Miles.

THE END