Page 67 of The Outsider

Sarah looked surprised at my interjection, but she quickly nodded without further comment. John gave my hand an appreciative squeeze. Sarah ladled soup into bowls and set a plate of hearty brown rolls on the counter. The scent of food was making me light-headed. When she set a bowl in front of me, I dug in without so much as a thank-you; I was too hungry, and afraid I might faint.

It was delicious—leeks and carrots in hot, golden chicken broth. All things I hadn’t eaten in months. A bite of one of the sturdy brown rolls only bolstered my bliss; I hadn’t had bread since I left the compound.

“Dr. Irons died a couple weeks ago,” Sarah said. “And there’s been no school since. We really do need to find someone.”

“Honestly, I thought that old bastard was gonna live forever,” John said, taking a bite of bread. “You know what they say—evil never dies.”

“John,” Sarah scolded, but Kimmy choked on her soup laughing.

“Who’s Dr. Irons?” I asked.

Sarah gave John a reproving look as he opened his mouth to answer, likely predicting that he was about to speak ill of the dead again. For his part, he shrugged at her, completely unrepentant with a mouthful of bread, which made me giggle.

“The teacher I had growing up,” he said to me once he’d swallowed. “He was a university professor in the Old World. He was always offended when anyone didn’t call himdoctor, and Danny and I…may have pushed his buttons on that more than once. He must’ve been like eighty by now, right?”

He glanced at Sarah, who nodded.

“Oh,” I said, pausing. “Is that the one who got so fed up with you that he gave you the strap once?”

John grinned. “Yeah. Granny nearly killed him. Never piss off a tiny Irishwoman, I guess.”

“Yes, well, speaking as your former babysitter,” Sarah said, trying to look severe and failing, “you weren’t always easy to reign in.”

“In my defence, Danny was a horrible influence,” John said, holding up his hands. “He was also a much better liar than me, so I took most of the heat.”

“Didn’t you release frogs in the schoolroom?” I said, eyebrow raised.

John shrugged. “No comment.”

“That means yes,” Kimmy said, elbowing him. “His daughter was always nice. Can’t she take over? She probably has his old notes.”

Sarah shook her head. “She’s already working at the wood mill. Jenna started as his assistant a month ago, but she doesn’t feel ready to take over. So, we’re homeschooling for now.”

I didn’t speak up, even though Asha and I had taught teenagers before and had some student teaching experience with younger kids. However, considering I didn’t even know if they’d be letting me stay, and if I was in danger here, I wasn’t going to suggest I be allowed access to the Valley’s children. For all I knew, they’d interpret that as a threat or an insult, coming from an outsider.

Still, I felt a surge of hope and tucked it away to revisit later. I glanced at Asha, but she was focused on her food and didn’t seem interested in the conversation. I wondered what she was thinking, but as usual, her expression was unreadable.

Just then, the front door opened, and a moment later, a tall, lanky man with brown hair appeared in the kitchen doorway, rosy-cheeked from the cold. He was followed by what I could only assume were the other Armstrong children: a young man who looked just like his father; a teenage girl with brown hair and brown eyes; and a younger, preteen girl that was Sarah’s spitting image, with blonde hair and grey eyes.

“We have company,” Sarah said, a twinkle in her eye.

“John!” the younger girl screeched, and a second later, he grunted at the force of her small body colliding with his.

“Hey,” he managed to get out. “Allie, I…can’t breathe.”

She released him, grinning from ear to ear. “You look terrible.”

“Gee, thanks,” John replied with a laugh. “Happy to see you too, kiddo. You promised not to grow too much while I was gone—what happened?”

The next few moments were a happy reunion where Asha and I might as well not have existed. The two older children—Matthew and Maisie—exchanged hugs with both John and Kimmy, while Bruce, their father, looked on with a broad smile.

I might’ve felt left out except that their genuine happiness was infectious, and it warmed my heart to see how much John and Kimmy were loved. They deserved it, even as a hollow pang of loss crept into my chest. I wanted what they had. I wanted to be part of something the way they were.

Of course, the moment quickly passed, and silence fell as eight pairs of eyes were suddenly fixed on me and Asha.

“Who’s that?” Allie said frankly to John, pointing at me.

“Allie,” Sarah scolded. “It’s rude to point.”

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