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One Year After the Harper Tragedy | Selah is a Baby
Asa Harper stepped out of the warm musty air of the old barn he and his brothers were restoring for the old lady next door. He and his six brothers had been desperate for something to distract them from the memories of the first anniversary of their parents’ and baby sister’s deaths. At twenty-two years of age, he had already been working to buy his own farm until the loss of their family members in a horrible accident.
Now, he was the owner of their family farm with his brothers, ran the dairy, looked out for the market they ran, and helped with the old car shop that had been in his family for nearly ninety years.
He dusted off his hands on his jeans when the sound of a car caught his attention. Turning to look at the long dirt road, he squinted against the glare of the sun. The ratty old car bouncing down the drive was one he sadly recognized with barely bated breath at the coming storm.
The way that his father’s cousin had so often dragged herself into some mess or another was well-known in their family, however, he did not want to deal with it on an already bad day. Though, he could no more leave it to his brothers to deal with than turn her away when she needed help.
Shaking his head, he retraced his steps. Taking his hat from the fence railing and pressing it onto his head. Nearly jogging across the two farms, he was at the porch steps at the same time as his youngest brothers were rushing to the front door with hollers that someone was there.
Jamie-Ann shut off her vehicle and stepped out. Her eyes darkened with a lack of sleep and sadness that had him ready to cry. The pitiful sight was a reminder of how she had once come to his parents begging for a place to stay.
“Hey, there, little cousin.” He greeted her as she stared at him without a word before turning and yanking open the back door of her car. Climbing in, she seemed to be grabbing something.
Jamie-Ann stepped away from the rust-dented old four-door. Her hair was in a mess of a bun on the top of her head, a headband thrown on to hold back overgrown bangs. Her dark brown eyes were lined with dark smudges, leaving no doubt as to a lack of sleep. Her favored white Converse shoes with black laces were worn, and her ratty jeans and old tee shirt under a much too big leather jacket had a slept-in look. In her arms, she held a small bundle with flailing arms, tiny hands making grabby motions as if begging for some form of comfort.
Gulping at the terrified look in his cousin’s eye, while fearing just what she would be asking. He relaxed his tense stance and smiled, “Hey, Jam.” He began to greet her again when she burst out crying. Rushing forward, she buried herself and the baby in his arms sobbing.
Nehemiah Harper dreaded the coming mess as he caught the look that his youngest brothers, Gabriel and Isaac, exchanged when they saw him setting out different sweeteners and such for the market in a couple of days. There was no way he could keep them both out of everything and he resigned himself to adding cinnamon rolls to the to-do list.
It seemed like just yesterday when he had helped his mom, little brothers, and their baby sister get ready for the market and now it was just him and the younger boys.
Hearing a coming vehicle, he smirked when his brothers dashed for the door shouting to their other brothers.
Watching from the window as their second cousin fell into Asa’s arms with the baby clutched tightly between them he knew life would be changing.
Twenty minutes later when he heard Isaiah and Asa going over ideas with Jamie-Ann and heard the words Deaf and temporary custody he smirked. Both his older brother and twin brother were never able to leave anyone behind even if they pretended it was only because of their parents’ teachings Nehemiah knew it was more than that and that they both had bleeding hearts leading to them always rescuing anyone they could.
Somehow, he knew this was the beginning of the brothers’ healing from their loss.