Sunset Rubies

Settling In

“Untul Keif! Untul Keif! Midun tuck!” Keith sat on the long bench showing Jamerico how to sharpen the small knife he had given him for his thirteenth birthday. He lifted his head to see Lilith running into the cabin as fast as her little legs could carry her, crying hysterically.

“Hey now, My Sweet,” Keith said, lifting her onto his knee. Her small body shook as tears streamed down her face. Keith wiped them away with his thumb and kissed her hair. “Take a breath and tell me what is wrong.”

“Midun tuck. Her tuck in da sed.”

“Again?” He set Lilith down and allowed her to tug him to his feet and out the door. Earlier that week Midlyn had discovered a new litter of kittens and was continually bothering them. The mother cat had already moved them several times, but Midlyn always found them before the day was over. Finally the mother had been forced to hide them away on the top shelf in the shed.

Keith already moved them lower the first time Midlyn got stuck, but the mother snuck them back during the night. This was the second time in the last few hours Midlyn had gotten herself stuck while trying to reach them. When Keith walked through the door and found Midlyn sitting on the shelf ledge, sobbing.

“I can’ ge’ down, Uncle Keith. I though’ I coul’ this time, bu’ I just can’.” She started crying harder. Keith tried not to smile as he lifted her into his arm and hugged her. Lilith tugged at his shirt and with one arm he scooped her up as well.

“What am I going to do with you two?” He looked around the shed trying to decide how the two little girls got past the barricade he had built. The large water barrels were still lined against the shelves with large sacks of potatoes sitting on top to weigh them down. It would be next to impossible for the girls to move the m and they were too high for them to crawl on. The smaller boxes the girls could have used as stepping stools were still stacked against the far wall, each weighed down with heavier items. Everything looked as it did when he had “child proofed” it earlier.

“How in the world did you get up there?” He asked. Midlyn snuggled deeper into his shoulder, hiding her head guiltily. Lilith answered by pointing her small finger towards the shaded corner under the window.

At first he didn’t see, but after moving a few steps towards the corner he sighed. “Why you little…Clever!” He kissed the top of their heads and set them down. Sighing again he walked over to inspect the girl’s handy work.

They had collected some of the thicker branches from the yard and wedged them between the wall and one of the barrels. The branches formed an X with rocks piled on the ground for stabilization. It made the perfect stepping stool for a small child. Keith shook his head as he bent over to pull the branches loose and kicked the rocks away from the barrels. The girls whimpered behind him.

He looked over his shoulder to see them holding each other and staring wide-eyed at the branches in his hands. He instantly understood and set the branches down carefully. He approached the girls slowly and squatted to put himself at their eye level.

“Let’s go inside, I’ll clean this up later.” He smiled softly and although they visibly relaxed, tears still streamed down their cheeks. “Come on.” He spread his arms wide and waited for them to come to him. It only took seconds for them to fly into his arms and cling to him tightly. He held them close as he stood and walked out the shed door. As he crossed the yard a movement from the path caught his eye and he looked up to find Claire returning from the village with arms and knapsacks full of supplies.

“Top shelf?” she asked as she approached. He nodded.

“These girls are three times the trouble you were!” The girls began to wiggle as soon as they heard Claire’s voice and Keith set them down, shaking his head as they dashed to Claire’s side.

“Laire, Midun go’ on da sef adain an go’ tuck!” Lilith exclaimed. “An Untul Keif go’ er down adain.” She tugged urgently at Claire’s elbow as she tattled on her sister.

“Wha’d you ge’? Wha’d you ge’.” Midlyn asked at the same time, pulling on Claire’s other arm. With both girls pulling at her Claire lost her balance and stumbled, sending the load she was carrying scattering over the ground.

“Uh oh.” Two little voices cried out together. Claire was sure she saw fresh tears begin to form before they ducked their heads.

“My Darlings, it’s okay it was an accident,” she smiled kindly. “Look, everything is okay.” She gestured towards the scattered, but unharmed items in front of her. “Nothing is broken. Why don’t you help me gather these things and then you can have a treat.” The girls looked uncertainly at Claire and then to the items on the ground. Keith stepped forward and picked up a few things, smiling encouragingly at the girls. This emboldened them and they began loading smaller items into Claire and Keith’s arms.

“Look, over there. Why don’t you take that inside and share a few pieces with Jamerico?” Keith pointed to the jar of candy that had rolled under a small bush beside the path.

“Yippee!” Midlyn cried out while running for the jar of candy. She scooped it up and ran towards the cottage. Lilith followed, stumbling once in her attempt to keep up with her sister’s longer legs.

“See what I mean? Trouble!” Keith said, watching them disappear through the front door screaming for their brother. Claire grinned.

“Well…there are two of them. They are bound to be more trouble.” Keith took several heavier items from her arms to add to his own load.

“Exactly, I feel incredibly outnumbered. At least when you were little I had Mark around so it was two against one. With all the other adult’s gone today, I fear the odds have turned slightly in their favor. I am mentally wiped out and frankly I’m going to need to beg Cal for another day off to recoup before I start his training regimen again!”

“They are the monsters you created!” Claire laughed. Most of the time her brothers and Cal would cave to the girls’ every whim without noticing they were doing it. Not only that, Midlyn and Lilith were learning how to work together to accomplish most anything. Together they were a bundle of trouble, constantly ganging up on the grown men to get exactly what they wanted. They had the fearsome men utterly smitten.

“Poor Keith, are you having a hard time playing man of the house without backup?”

“You could say that. Where’s Mark?”

“Not sure, he left me on the path before I started up the hill. Where’s Marcel and Shaylee? I thought they were staying home today.”

“They went out in the woods to do some witchery training of some sort shortly after you left and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of Cal since he left this morning. I’ve been on my own with the kids most of the day. I had to barricade the shelves in the shed to keep Midlyn away from the kittens. Lilith managed to “redecorate” the entire cottage in the few minutes it took me to cut firewood for tonight. I finally got them to lie down for a nap after lunch, but just when I thought they were asleep and started helping Jamerico sharpen his knife Lilith comes in carrying on about Midlyn in the shed. They are sneaky little buggers!”

“You have had all three kids, by yourself, all day?” She couldn’t help but giggle at the frazzled look on his face. “I’m sorry Keith. I know it must have been a crazy morning for you.” She tried to keep the laughter in, but it made her shoulders shake.

The girls were gradually learning to trust the adults of the house and because of it they were beginning to test boundaries. Partnered with their recent obsession with the new kittens they were becoming more of a handful every day. It was hard enough for six grown adults to watch them let alone only one.

“Sure, laugh at the misfortunes of others. I thought I raised you better than that.”

“Nope!” she grinned. “You didn’t.”

“Well I was going to help you, but now…you can carry the supplies yourself.” Despite his words, he grabbed the last candle from a patch of grass and began walking towards the cabin by her side.

“Baby,” she grinned, leaning sideways so she could kick his butt with her heel. He nudged her with an elbow and returned the behind kick. They laughed and tried a few more times to land a kick as the other dodged. Just before they reached the cabin Keith stopped her.

“Claire, I want to ask you something about Cal and I want you to be honest with me.” She felt a sinking stone lodge itself in her belly.

“I’m always honest, Keith,” she said, batting her eyelashes innocently at him. He chuckled.

“Do you hate Cal as much as you pretend to when you are around Mark and me?” She was afraid he was going to ask that.