Free The Blessed Blend by Allison Shaw

herself into an exhausted sleep.
    Her children! Where were they? Oh dear God, Euan had found her!
    She leapt up and stumbled as her equilibrium tried to catch up with her. It was nearly dark outside. She felt her way to the door and stepped out into the hall. The lights were on in the kitchen so she headed down the hall. There were voices - her parents and siblings, her children, and two foreign voices.
    Euan and John were still there. With her children! Fear clutched her chest and made her movements jerky as she pushed herself to get to her babies.
    When Callie stumbled into the kitchen, she found those assembled, including Layla and Eli, eating supper. The smell of venison stew and cornbread filled the air. Her stomach flipped over and she thought for a moment that she was going to throw up.
    “Mama, are you sick?” Mountain Rose asked. “You look awful!” The child had absolutely no tact. Yet more proof that she was indeed Callie’s child.
    No one else said anything but they all saw how poorly Callie looked. Her eyelids were swollen and her nose and eyes were red from crying. Her face was pale and pinched and her hair looked as if it hadn’t been combed at all that day. She swayed as she stood, still shaky and a bit dizzy.
    She saw Euan and gave him a filthy look. Jim got up, walked over, and gave her a hug. “Feel like eating, baby girl?” he asked.
    “ I’m your baby girl!” Mountain Rose interjected.
    “She was my baby girl first,” Jim replied. “Still is.”
    “Then me,” Layla noted. “You’re third in line to the throne, Rosie-Posie.”
    “I’m Mountain Rose!” the child insisted.
    “Rosie-Posie puddin’-n-pie, smacked the boys and made them cry…” chanted Eli and Layla.
    “Just stop,” Callie mumbled as Jim guided her to the table to sit by Mountain Rose.
    Euan was seated between his children and had been getting acquainted with them. He had learned that Red Wolf had been named by Jim’s aunt, who had dreamed of Callie holding and petting a red wolf the night before the children were born. Mountain Rose had been named for her mother’s favorite flower, which had also been in the dream. They had been born three weeks early, weighing about six pounds each, and Mountain Rose was the elder by a few minutes. They could already read second-grade books, count to one hundred, and add and subtract. Their mama read to them every night, and Maw-Maw sang them old-timey Mountain songs.
    They had dogs, cats, horses, goats, cows, and chickens and turkeys too. They had friends among the wild critters and there was an owl that would fly over to perch near their mama in the early evenings before he went hunting. And there were Mama’s wolves that lived up in the woods but spent some of the time at their cabin playing with the dogs and Fugly.
    They were delighted to find out that Euan was a farmer just like Papa. “I think he’ll like you, Daddy,” Mountain Rose opined cheerfully. “Papa can look in people’s hearts. Mama says he knows people better’n they know themselves.”
    Darlene dished out a small bowl of stew for Callie, serving it with a slice of cornbread. Callie felt queasy and looked it. Mountain Rose put a hand on her mother’s arm and patted it, and then smiled up at Callie when she turned to look at her. “Eat some, Mama,” she said. “You’ll feel all better!”
    Callie wasn’t so sure. She felt like death warmed over and her head hurt so bad that she was sure it was going to pop off her shoulders. She picked at her food.
    There were a few minutes of awkward silence before Darlene restarted the dinner conversation by asking Euan how long he was planning on staying. He wiped his mouth and replied, “I hae a tourist visa for six months. After tha’, I doona ken wha’ I’ll do.”
    Jim took a bite of his cornbread. “Well since you came to get to know your children, you can stay here if you don’t mind working for your keep.”
    Callie choked on a spoonful of stew and began