Read Online Night Light by Terri Blackstock - Free Book Online

they’d probably pigged out on a couple weeks’ provisions they’d stolen out of her pantry.
    Sheriff Scarbrough opened the back of the van and began unloading. There were bags of filthy, reeking clothes for the kids, and a couple of boxes. When he set one of the boxes on the driveway, she saw its contents. They’d brought back a few more of their jars of vegetables, but not all of them. That was probably her dinner hardening on the little ones’ faces.
    Kay herded the children inside, as Doug and Jeff helped the sheriff unload. Deni grabbed her dad’s arm. “Dad, this is a joke, right? They’re thieves!”
    “They’re abandoned children, Deni. They’ve been stealing to eat. They don’t even know where their mother is. She’s been gone almost since the outage.”
    Okay, so they had a story. That didn’t mean Deni was responsible for them! Lowering her voice, she said, “Dad, we can’t feed them!”
    “Tell it to your mother,” he whispered. “She’s dead-set on keeping them until we can find their relatives.”
    Deni watched, stunned, as they unloaded more bags of stinking stuff. “Why do we have to take them?” she whispered harshly. “Do I need to remind you that they broke into our house today? They can’t be trusted. They might slit our throats while we sleep.”
    He shot her a look. “Deni, they’re little kids.”
    “I don’t care how old they are. They’re criminals.”
    Jeff walked up behind her. “Get over it, sis. Mom did the right thing. They have to stay somewhere.”
    “Why not with a neighbor?”
    Her dad sighed, and she got the feeling that he’d already made the same arguments. “If someone at the apartments could have done that, they would have by now. But those people are in squalor. They don’t have gardens, they don’t have yards. I have no idea where they’re getting their water.”
    She couldn’t believe it. “How long do we have to keep them?”
    “Not long, I hope. I’ll start looking for relatives tomorrow. Meanwhile, God will provide, like he always does.” He nodded to the fish on the plate. “Looks like he already has today.”
    Deni looked down at the fish. God had provided for them for three months. He’d even provided for her in her deepest stupidity, when she’d been on the road with a killer. She had surrendered her life to Christ on that horrible journey, and she was learning to trust him.
    But she hadn’t expected this.
    She followed her family in and watched as her mother lined the children up at the sink to wash their hands in a bowl of water. They looked like unwilling captives. The two older ones looked around as if taking inventory of things they could snatch when the family went to sleep tonight. These kids would surely clean them out by morning.
    The two younger ones, with swollen eyes and streaked cheeks, looked more innocent. As her mother washed the dirt off, they didn’t look so evil anymore. Just scared. The little girl was still sniffing and holding her brother’s hand. He kept patting her, like it was going to be all right.
    Deni’s heart softened a degree.
    Logan and Beth came in from outside and gaped at the crowd in their kitchen. “What’s going on?” Logan asked. “Are those the crooks who stole our food?”
    “Logan!” Kay set her hand on the little girl’s shoulder. “They’re our guests. They’re going to be staying with us tonight.”
    Beth sucked in a breath. “Where are they sleeping?”
    Her mother’s voice was soft, markedly cheerful. “You’ll stay in Deni’s room with her, and Sarah and Luke will sleep in your bed. Logan, you’ll sleep with Jeff, and Aaron and Joey will take your room.”
    Logan grunted. “No way those creeps are sleeping in my bed! No way, Mom!”
    Aaron’s lips compressed in a sneer. “Don’t worry. I’d rather sleep on the concrete than in your stinking bed.”
    Logan took a step toward him. “Speaking of stinking — ”
    Kay slapped her hand over Logan’s mouth, her eyes