“We’re here!” Leah shouted excitedly.
Evangeline nervously sucked on her candy as her new papa got out of the car.
“Silas, Isaac, Jacob! Get your asses out here!”
She jumped at the shout as he slammed the door closed.
“I told you he does that a lot. You’ll get used to it.”
Evangeline patted the bib pocket, wanting to call her other papa to come get her. The shouting scared her. Before she could reach for her shiny phone, both back doors were opened and unfamiliar faces bent down to look in the back seat.
“She’s a puny little thing, isn’t she?” the lanky teenager remarked critically, hunkering down to unfasten the seatbelt on her car seat.
“You sure she’s a Coleman?”
She jerked her head to the other male teenager who was unfastening Leah’s. Both boys made her feel as if there were something wrong with her.
She firmed her jaw. “I don’t like you.”
The teenager unbuckled the latches of the car seat so that he could take her out, then raised a brow at her.
“Which one?”
Evangeline reached up, tugging the straps back over her shoulders. “You.” Then she pointed to the other one. “And him.”
The boys laughed. Then the first boy slipped her out of the straps despite her tight-fisted grip, and Evangeline was lifted into his arms.
“She’s a Coleman.” Winking, he gave her a friendly smile. “Don’t worry; we’ll fatten you up.”
“Silas, don’t scare her off before she gets inside the house.”
“I’m just teasing her, Pa.”
Evangeline inquisitively looked toward the two-story house that he was bringing her toward.
At the sound of Leah’s giggles, she glanced to the side to see the other teenager carrying her while a smaller version of the boy carrying her was following them, holding the baby carrier.
As Silas went up the steps to the porch, her nose twitched at the aroma filling the air. It was cookies. Her grandmother had made them at Christmas.
Evangeline almost choked on the candy in her mouth when she saw the large group of boys who were waiting inside.
“Aw … she’s so cute.”
“What’s her name?”
“She’s awful skinny, Pa. Is she sick?”
“Hush! Let me introduce her before you start jabbering at her. Jody, take Ezra and change his diaper. I’ve been smelling it for the last two miles.”
“It’s not my turn; it’s Moses’s.”
“I don’t care who changes it, just get it done before I puke up my left kidney.”
“I’ll do it,” Silas offered, placing her down on the floor before taking the baby carrier and leaving the room.
“Line up, you heathens, and I’ll introduce you to your new sister.”
Amazed, Evangeline watched the children form a line in the huge living room. It had a big fireplace that took up a whole wall. Two huge couches sat opposite each other with chairs between them.
Her new papa went to the end of the line, placing a hand on the tallest boy at the end. “This here is Matthew. Isaac will grow on you. Don’t pay no never mind to what he said outside.” He moved to the third one and placed his hand on his head. “This is Jody.” Going down the line, he introduced her to her new brothers one by one. “The handsome one that looks like me is Jacob.
“Moses broke his arm milking the goat. Don’t worry; we’ll wait until you’re older before we give you that chore.” Turning, he took the baby from Silas, who had come back in the room as he was finishing the introductions. “You’ve already met Silas, and stinky butt here is Ezra. Boys this is your new sister, Ginny.”
She turned to look at Leah, who moved to her side. “They’re all your brothers?” she whispered.
“Now they’re all your brothers,” Leah whispered back, taking her hand.
Looking around the room she noticed someone was missing.
“Where’s the momma?”
“We all have different mothers,” Leah explained matter-of-factly. “Except for me and Ezra. “All the boys live with Papa, me and Ezra live with my mama and stay here part of the week.”
“Oh…” It was kind of like her. She had two papas, but they had six different mamas. Did that mean she now had six different mamas?
“Do you want a cookie?” Leah asked.
Nodding, she let herself be tugged through the wide doorway and into another room with a long table with a long bench seat on each side and one chair at the end.
Climbing onto the bench, she reached for a cookie set out on a plate on the table. Leah took a bite of her cookie before she did hers.
“Jody must have made these. He always burns them.” She dropped to her butt, tugging Evangeline down on hers.
About to set it down on the table, Evangeline looked away from Leah to see that the boys had moved to the other side of the table to watch her.
Embarrassed, not knowing what to do, she nervously started to take a bite. Before she could, the cookie was taken out of her hand.