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Vanderlind forever.”
    Then I felt a hot sting on my neck like two hornets had synchronized their attack. Grandfather had his mouth pressed against my flesh and I knew he was feeding from me, draining me of all my blood at a rapid rate. I wanted to fight him, but the fever had left me as weak as a kitten. I could barely raise my hands in protest. And when I did try to defend myself, he immediately pinned me to the bed.
    As I lay there, I could feel the blood draining from my body. First my feet went numb. It was like standing outside too long in the snow. Then I could no longer feel my hands. Shortly after that I could feel my heart struggling to beat in my chest. I must have cried out as I struggled to cling to my last moments of life because suddenly my mother burst through the door.
    “Father! What are you doing?” she shrieked. Then she raced across the room and wrenched him away from my shuddering form.
    “He was going to die anyway,” Grandfather insisted. “I’m just facing the inevitable.”
    “But he’s just a boy.” Mother was weeping with rage and grief. “You should at least give him the chance to become a man.”
    “It’s too late now,” Grandfather informed her. “I’ve drunk too much. He’s going to die now, either way. The only question you have to answer is whether I bring him back.”
    “No!” Mother dropped to her knees, clutching my hand. “Oh, my darling Jessie. I should have known. I should have known he would try to do this to you,” she said between sobs.
    I opened my mouth to try to speak. I wanted to tell her to just let me die. My body was already feeling much warmer. I felt like I was floating in a lake on a sunny day. The pain of my illness had been washed away. I was ready to face the afterlife.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 7
    Colette
     
    “I’m sorry, Lilly, but I honestly don’t want to go.”
    “What are you talking about?” my sister exclaimed. We were in the backyard the next morning, clearing out the weeds that had survived the winter, and turning over the soil in Mama’s vegetable patch. “Lev said he had a wonderful time. He wants to see you again.”
    “I just don’t think we have very much in common,” I told her as I tugged at a dead thistle, its little stingers piercing my worn work gloves in a few spots.
    “Men and women never have much in common,” she told me. “You shouldn’t let that bother you.”
    “He doesn’t even like to read,” I grunted, still battling the plant. “Not at all.”
    “You put too much stock in reading,” Lilly said. “I think you’ll find most men don’t care for it.”
    “Papa likes to read,” I pointed out. The thistle finally gave up the fight and I tumbled a little to one side as it released its grip on the soil. “He reads all the time.”
    “Yes, but Papa is an educated man,” Lilly pointed out.
    “I think I would prefer an educated man,” was my response.
    “Yes, but it’s not Lev’s fault he’s not educated. He was going to go to college,” my sister insisted.
    I really couldn’t imagine Lev in a collegiate atmosphere. He just didn’t appear that bright. I wondered if this was something I should mention to Lilly.
    “Please, Lettie,” Lilly pleaded. “You know Walter and I can’t go out again unless you go with us. And I really, really like him.”
    “I’d be happy to meet another one of Walter’s friends,” I told her. “You said he knew a lot of nice boys.”
    Lilly let her shoulders slump. “But what about Lev? Don’t you think that would hurt his feelings?”
    “Lilly,” I couldn’t help but say, “we went out on one date for a soda. It’s not as if we were going steady or anything. Besides, I doubt Lev is desperate for female attention. I’m sure there are a lot of girls who would be happy to listen to him talk about football.”
    Lilly widened her eyes a little, believing she had figured something out. “Is that why you don’t want to see him again? Because he