Read Blood Stained for Free Online Page B

relished. Morgan, too. Sometimes the two of them would start riffing and lie to fish just for the fun of it. Adam couldn't do that. He liked to have a plan—at least the inkling of one—and he craved routine, security.
    Two things Dad scoffed at. "You guys are the luckiest kids in the world," he'd proclaim as they left one town for the next. "I'm giving you the whole wide world. How many fathers do that for their kids? No one. No one except me."
    He'd honk the horn to punctuate the sentiment and smile expectantly at Adam and Morgan. That smile was a starter gun, triggering a competition to outdo each other with their thank yous. Morgan always won, of course.
    Adam liked Morgan, but he liked it better when it was just him and Dad. Until two years ago when he took a growth spurt and started scaring the fish. That's when Dad began checking in on his other kids. They even came back here to New Hope—although Dad made sure no one saw them—before Dad decided it was time for Morgan to start learning the family business.
    They didn't come back to New Hope after that. Adam wondered how the kids here were doing. He was their big brother. He should make sure they were all right. Dad would want that. Family was everything to Dad.
    He glanced at his watch in the light from the wind-up flashlight. Almost midnight. A good time to check on the kids without anyone seeing him. He was tired but the more he thought about seeing his half-brothers and sister, the more he wanted to. It had been months since he felt a real connection to anyone, especially a bond like what he had with Dad. He missed that so much, his insides ached as bad as when he got food poisoning after dumpster diving in Cleveland.
    Adam re-dressed in his layers, adding a black Steelers knit cap turned inside out to cover his light hair. The cap was a little small—he'd been ten when he last wore it—but it stretched enough to fit. 
    While he sorted through the old clothing, he found the first paracord bracelet he ever made. Mrs. Chesshir had taught the class how to weave the special knots. Some of the other boys laughed, saying it was like knitting. Knowing how to make the bracelets kept him alive in Cleveland. Not just selling them for a few bucks on the street, but having something to do. A purpose.
    The bracelet had been too big for him back then. He'd used about ten feet of paracord, way too much. Now it fit just right. And it was red—Dad's favorite color. That had to be a good omen. He slipped it on, then grabbed his knife and the duct tape he'd taken from the Safeway, the roll smushed flat to fit in his pocket without making a bulge.
    Be prepared, Dad always said. Just like the Boy Scouts. 
     
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    He came out of the woods behind the elementary school and headed west along Pine Avenue. He didn't pass a single soul on the way and only saw the headlights of one car in the distance, but it turned before drawing near. 
    Marty and Darrin lived a couple of blocks away from each other, but their houses were very different. Marty and his mom had a brick ranch house with a small yard and carport and a rope swing dangling from a big old maple in the backyard. 
    Darrin lived up the hill in a house that stood all alone, surrounded by forest as it glared down at the town below. Darrin's house was built in layers like a wedding cake cut in half and welded to the side of the hill, all glass and wood and steel beams jutting out. 
    No one in New Hope liked Darrin's house. Or Darrin's mom's husband who built it. 
    When Adam was about Darrin and Marty's age, six, Mom got sick for the first time and had her surgery. Then chemo. Dad stayed home, took care of her, worked only local deliveries during those two years before she was strong enough to handle him leaving on long-distance hauls. 
    Adam still remembered her crying the first time Dad left. But he came home with a new fish and things changed. Mom had something to do, taking care of the fish when Dad was gone.