There would be plenty of time to find out Adam Wallace's story in the morning.
Chapter Fourteen
Adam
I woke up the next morning to the smell of bacon and coffee, murmured conversation in the next room and a distant buzzing that sounded like a low flying plane somewhere far in the distance, or maybe it was a housefly trapped indoors. I rubbed my eyes and winced as my fingers hit what I imagined was a rather large bruise. I tried to remember where I was and how I'd gotten here. It wasn't the first time I'd woken up in a strange place, but it was the first time I hadn't been drunk when I'd fallen passed out. I rolled over and groaned as the pain shot through my body, and the memory of how I'd gotten here suddenly came rushing in.
"Good morning, Adam," a voice said from the doorway. I turned to find the beautiful, but stern blonde woman who'd arrived home late the night before and read her siblings the riot act about taking in a stranger.
"Good morning..." I trailed off trying to remember her name. The buzzing grew a little louder and I looked around the room to see where it was coming from.
"Grace," she said. "My name is Grace Miller. And in case you don't remember, you crashed your car into the ditch across the street from my home yesterday and my sisters, Verity and Honor, took you in."
"Thank you, Grace," I said as I gingerly moved my arm so that I could push myself up into a sitting position and the buzzing abated a bit. Maybe a crop duster? I wanted to ask Grace, but when I realized she was watching me closely, I tried to hide the amount of pain I was feeling. I looked up questioningly as she crossed the room holding a small cup in her outstretched hand.
"Arnica montana," she said. "It's a homeopathic remedy that will help with the bruises and the pain. You're going to feel a lot worse today then you did yesterday."
"You're not trying to poison me, are you?" I joked as I took the cup from her hand and looked down into it. There were several, tiny, white pellets in it.
"Adam, if I'd wanted to poison you, I'd have done it last night," she said dryly. "No, I'm not trying to harm you, I'm trying to help you since you're too stubborn to seek medical attention. Tip the cup up and let the pellets sit on your tongue. Don't chew them, let them dissolve."
"Look, it's not that I'm opposed to seeking help," I said as I followed her instructions and then sat waiting for the pellets to dissolve.
"Are you hungry?" she asked.
Not wanting to disturb the medicine, I simply nodded. She nodded and turned back toward the kitchen, calling over her shoulder, "As soon as the pellets have dissolved, come into the kitchen and we'll get you some breakfast."
I waited until I was sure everything in my mouth was gone and then slowly rose from the couch and followed Grace into the kitchen. Danny was setting the table as Grace and her sisters moved around one another preparing the meal. It was a graceful ballet performed by the three women in shapeless dresses wearing white caps. None of them spoke, only occasionally gesturing toward Danny who nodded in acknowledgment and then did whatever they must have instructed him to do.
"Good morning," I said.
"Good morning," the three women replied in unison. Grace was the taller blonde and was the epitome of her name. Taller and sturdier than her sisters, but still obviously related to them, she looked vaguely out of place in the kitchen. For a larger woman, her fluid movements seemed more inclined to belong to a dancer rather than a farmer's daughter or wife, and her piercing, blue eyes didn't miss a thing.
In contrast, the sister who had taken care of me was shorter and much more fragile looking. Her hair was pulled tightly into a knot that was covered by the white cap she wore and she tended to keep her eyes averted unless she was directly addressing someone. She stood at the stove humming a tune that I didn't recognize as she fried bacon and flipped pancakes.
The third sister reminded me of some of the wild colts at the stables my father owned. She was long limbed and skittish, and loose wisps of hair escaped from under her cap. She shot me suspicious glances as she helped her brother set the table and then poured juice in each of the glasses.
The boy was the dark-haired version of the sister helping him set the table. Lanky and awkward, he said nothing, only gestured to his sisters who quickly replied both in gestures and with words.
"Can you tell me everyone's names again?" I asked as I stood watching them all work together. "I'm sorry I don't remember, but there was a lot going on yesterday."
"This is Verity," Grace said pointing to the sister at the stove. "And those two are Honor and Danny."
"Those are some interesting names," I observed as Danny pointed to the place at the table where I was supposed to sit.
"We have two other sisters, Faith and Hope," Grace said. "But they're married and live with their husband's families."
"Where's Charity?" I joked as I sat down in the chair Danny had pointed me to.
"Where's Eve?" Grace replied flatly.
"Touché," I said slowly settling myself into the chair. “How long has your brother been deaf?"
Danny touched my arm and shook his head furiously as he quickly moved his hands and fingers in a way that I assumed were designed to convey a message. One that I did not understand.
"Not deaf, just mute," Honor said in a tone that conveyed her irritation. "He can hear you, he just can't speak."
"That's interesting," I said. "How does that work? I mean, what happened?"