As the song concluded, Jinx stood from the group, grabbed his Bible, and returned to sitting beside me. He flipped through the pages until coming to Ecclesiastes. “Chapter 4, verses 9 through 12 are verses your daddy has brought to life.” Jinx gave me a meaningful look and then read the Scripture to us. “‘Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.’ Austin, I know y’all feel broken, but you’re not. We’ll help you get Dave some help if you will allow us.”

“I don’t even know what he needs.”

Walynn reached over and placed her hand on mine. “Sweetie, we’ll figure it out together. The point of today is to help you realize you’re not alone in this.”

Her words released another surge of tears.

Miss Wise spoke up. “And we’ll do what you always do. We’ll research and educate ourselves on what Dave will need.” She scooted closer. “I’m going to go up to the house and help Charlotte pack. I’d like to invite her to stay with me for a while or for as long as she wants, if you’re okay with that.”

“I . . . That would be Pa’s decision.” As I said that, I knew he wasn’t in the right state to be making any type of decision.

“We just want to help,” Walynn reassured me. “If you agree, I’d love to bring Nash and Knox home with me this week. That way you can focus on caring for Dave.”

“And since Boss works with me and I have an extra bedroom, he’s welcome to stay with me for a while,” Tripp offered.

“Raleigh and Peg will stay with us,” Foxy said.

I looked around at the concerned faces surrounding me, wondering when they’d come up with this plan. Truly, I did have a lot to figure out with Pa, and giving my siblings a break from the farm seemed like a solid idea.

Chapter 16: CHANGES