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simply stay away.” Mrs. Kahler’s voice rose, and her lips quivered.
    Travis wanted to hush the rising voices. He didn’t think this was the first time the siblings’ words had flown at each other over Zack’s behavior.
    “What good would that do?” Mrs. Rainer said. “I’d rather we not discuss this any further tonight. Brother Travis is our guest, and the children don’t need to hear any of this.”
    Travis stood. “I could take the children for a walk if you need to talk.”
    “Are you saying that we should talk about Zack? I am quite capable of taking care of my own son’s behavior.” Mrs. Kahler’s cheeks flamed red.
    Travis sensed his own face growing warm beneath his beard. “Mrs. Kahler, I’m attempting to be accommodating. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
    “The problem is that none of you have any sympathy for what the poor child or my other children have gone through in losing their father.” Mrs. Kahler stiffened.
    Morgan shook his finger in his sister’s face. “He is no longer a child, Bonnie. And you may not have noticed, but Michael Paul and Lydia Anne are well behaved. Zack is fighting and causing trouble wherever he goes.” He stopped abruptly and glanced at Travis, then his mother. “I apologize for this outburst. You’re right. Our discussion is not appropriate for our guest or our children.”
    “And I apologize, too,” Grant said. “We’re not helping the situation at all.”
    “Well, you can continue your dinner in peace, because the Kahlers are leaving.” Bonnie nodded at Michael Paul and Lydia Anne. In the next instant, the three were gone from the table and out the front door.
    The reverend rubbed his face. No one said a word.
    “I lost my temper,” Morgan said. “I just heard an earful from Chad and Lark before we got here. Guess I was already angry.” He gave each of his children a stern look. “All of you are old enough to understand that you don’t repeat family business.”
    “Yes, sir,” the three echoed.
    Grant’s daughters said nothing. Travis believed they were afraid to speak.
    “Brother Travis, I hope the rest of your congregation is easier to deal with than we are,” Morgan said. “I was fixin’ to offer my help with whatever you need, but I have a feeling we need you more than you need us.”

Chapter 5
    Bonnie tossed and turned while the rest of the house slept. She heard every sound outside her window, from the dogs scrapping to insects serenading the night. She despised what had happened that evening—from the incident with Zack to the angry words shared with her brothers. What made matters worse was that Morgan and Grant were right. Horribly, honestly right.
    All of her life, she’d let others take care of her: her parents, Morgan, and Ben. Grant had refused to coddle her, and later Mama had as well. If she thought about it for very long, she realized Mama and Grant had shown the most love. Now she must guide and parent her children, and she lacked the knowledge or the strength. But she could find what she needed.
    Zack’s disrespectful comment proved to her that he had to be reined in or the words of her brothers would haunt her forever. She hated her inability to control her oldest. She stared out the window into the inky blackness, lit only by a half-moon. The morning might look better, but first she needed sleep. A little wine always pushed aside whatever bothered her. She could almost taste it . . . feel the warmth trickling down her throat . . . and the moment her mind dulled to the pain. It rested mere feet from her bed.
    No! I will not. Those days are over.
    The longer she fretted about the future of her children and how she wanted desperately to rise victorious as a strong woman and mother, the more she craved a glass of wine. Guilt scraped its fingers through her heart, but it didn’t stop the desire to simply sleep and forget.
    Bonnie’s head pounded. She could win this war of weakness. She must. Her children’s