As if sensing her mood, Silas sat back down in his chair. “Alanna, the thing is, when you drag old baggage around with you, and you find something new, you don’t have a place to put it.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I’ve been carrying mine around so long that I wouldn’t know how to let it go.”

“That’s easier than it seems. Just get rid of the old baggage and allow yourself to make room for new experiences.”

“I don’t want anyone hurt …”

“You said Matthew and Ginny were already hurt by you not letting them in today. I tried to protect my brothers and sisters by leaving to get a helmet. While I was gone, my dad crashed with Leah on a four-wheeler. If I had been there, neither of them would have been riding without a helmet.”

Alanna saw the deep regret on his face. “You can’t hold yourself responsible—”

“No, I can’t. I agree with you … not any more than you can hold yourself responsible for the actions of another person. You can only be responsible for the hurt you cause. You don’t have to be afraid of those two people any longer. The Colemans are a tough breed. We’ve been surviving on this mountain for generations, against all the odds.”

“You never had to deal with people like Owen and Kate before,” she warned.

The look that came over Silas’ face had her nearly dropping her marshmallow stick into the fire.

“They’ve never dealt with the Colemans.”

Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Alanna was cutting another bite of her steak when three trucks pulled in.

“I thought you said they wouldn’t be back until later?”

“They must have finished early. Don’t worry; all the swelling has gone.” Silas wasn’t perturbed by her accusing tone.

Alanna blushed at Silas’ astute gaze as his brothers piled out of the trucks, giving whoops of, “Hell yeah!”

Unable to hold back her smile at their boisterous behavior at sighting Silas at the grill, she held her plate tighter, now knowing why Silas had made so many steaks. They were fantastic! If she hadn’t eaten so many marshmallows, she would have pulled a Greer and taken another one.

“They get excited anytime we grill out.” Silas attempted to excuse their behavior when Jody nearly ran Ezra over to reach the steaks on the folding table first.

“Where are the plates?” Ezra frantically turned his head as he stood guard over the steaks.

“In the kitchen,” Silas told him. “We didn’t expect you back yet.”

“Isaac, get the plates, forks, and knives!” Jody bellowed out, shoving Ezra aside.

Silas stood up. “Ezra, you and Jody get the lawn chairs while I dig the potatoes out.” Silas gave her a wry glance when they took off toward the house without an argument. “We haven’t grilled out in a while, so they’re really excited.”