Revolt of the Rats by Reed Blitzerman (feel good novels .txt) 📕

He said nothing and she continued. “What you’re talking about is risky. We could lose everything.” She repeated the last word slowly, for emphasis. “Everything.”

She’d been through this before when he’d started treating sick neighbors. She’d told him then that if he got sick or died, she would kill him. It wasn’t until the home baked pies and thank you notes started arriving that she’d relented. Then he had got sick and she’d ruefully failed to follow through on her promise.

He responded so quietly she barely heard him. “We could lose everything if we do nothing.”

She definitely wanted to kill him now. “You don’t know that. We’ve finally got something good.”

Eli rocked the porch swing. The last seven years with the four of them had been the most fulfilling of her life. Working beside her son, and having her sister back had given her a serenity she’d never experienced. He’s asking me to give that up with nothing promised in return.

She’d never seen him move this fast. Awareness dawned. Something had changed. She watched him exhale.

He nodded his head, as if speaking to himself. “I had another dream.”

“You have got to be kidding. If this is how you get your way....” Just like his patients, her eyes traveled down to watch the hands resting in his lap.

Patient might not survive.

She studied him. He’d been a different man after the pox. More silent, if that was possible and well she couldn’t put her finger on it. Smarter maybe? Stripped down. That was what came to mind. The old Eli had liked nice things and a bit of impressing the neighbors. He coveted.

The new Eli cared nothing for that. The new Eli wasn’t interested in anything beyond family and that damn barn full of machines. How had she ended up here? So far from the farmer’s daughter she’d been when they married. Now it was farming, machine tools, and ledger books.

She’d underestimated what she’d bought when she’d married Eli Steiner. He was a good husband, but oh so odd. She sighed now and moved on, hoping she wouldn’t have to save them again.

“This isn’t something we decide by ourselves,” She said. She stood up and hooked his elbow. “Let’s talk to the rest of the family and see what they say.”

They crept through the doors. Everett and Dill looked up from their work.

Eli started, without preamble. “I think we should sell off all the land except the barn and the house,”

Everett and Dill tried to read Judith’s reaction. Her face was immobile. She nodded curtly at Eli to continue.

“We can use the money from the sale to pay off our debt and buy new machines. The machine tool business is growing. We don’t have to wait until spring to get our money. We’re not tied to one place for our customers. We’ve already proven that we can make this work. I think we should double down.”

Judith was nauseous. Gambling words. Perhaps he’s more like Daddy than I ever thought. Her sister shifted foot to foot and a thorn pierced her heart. Dill’s “happy feet” betrayed her. You’d think she’d been paroled from prison. She’d come to help and she had. But maybe she’d given up too much.

In the city, she’d had her own place, her own job, and her own life. Dill probably hadn’t considered the weight of the decision until well after she’d received the telegram. But now with the door open a crack she could see all the possibilities. She was already gone.

Everett was a harder read. He could tell they were holding something back. His mouth was pressed in a hard, flat line, eyes on Father’s hands, clasped low along his belt.

Patient might not survive.

Eli’s turned to focus on him and said, “I had another dream.”

When he finished explaining there was just the cicadas singing. From the silence alone Judith knew they’d decided. They were going to do this come hell or high water. She just hoped it wouldn’t cost everything she loved in the process.