Spirit of the Revolution by Debbie Peterson Page B

bit,” Jo replied.
    “No never mind, Miss Jolena, I’ll take him out for you,” Jedediah whispered. “Come on, buddy. You’re making the neighbors a bit nervous.”
    Jo dipped her head downward and suppressed a smile by rubbing her lips together. After all, the dog had nothing to do with Gloria’s uneasiness.
    Mathias elected to stay put as Jo set about her errand. He didn’t want to leave the Parkers unattended with the door wide open. Sam stepped forward then and blocked the entryway, just in case they developed a little collective backbone.
    “Oh, I hope she hurries,” Gloria whispered as she leaned toward her husband’s ear. “I don’t know why I ever agreed to come to this place. This house is simply horrid.”
    “Because it’s our civic duty,” Douglas replied between clenched teeth. “And because if we didn’t come, we would chance her finding out about the community effort through other sources. We don’t want her to take offense. Ellen would never forgive us, if that happened. After all, she’s the darling of our community.”
    “Yes, be that as it may, I’m not going to do this again,” snapped Gloria. “They can get someone else to come to this creepy old house or better yet, Ellen can do it herself.”
    Mathias glanced over at Sam who rolled his eyes in annoyance.
    “Bunch of sniveling cowards. And I especially don’t like the looks of that sullen young doodle. Just look at him. The boy has a major chip on his shoulder, and his twitchy eyes are all but defiling the place. That’s two things that don’t bode well,” Sam muttered.
    “You got that right,” Alexander said.
    Sam spared them each a mischievous glance, bounced his eyebrows, and then turned toward the offending party. He leaned forward and conjured a lengthy hiss. Catching the spirit of his game, William and Alexander whispered words unintelligible and almost inaudible. Mathias stepped back, allowing them greater access.
    The startled group turned frightened gazes toward the sounds and peered into the entryway, seeking the place of origin. The boys inched forward. They could hear the erratic thumping of each mortal heart. Just as Gloria dropped her mouth and drew in a deep breath, Jo bounded down the stairs with a box full of blankets. Sam stepped to the side, cast his gaze to the ground, and sighed in disappointment.
    Jo gazed briefly at the boys as they stood off to the left allowing her passage. She handed the box to Douglas. His hands trembled as he accepted it and stepped back. In all likelihood, the reason or reasons for that display, stood right beside her.
    She tossed the hair away from her face and said, “The bag on top has a check inside to go toward any supplies you may want to buy. I also found some extra hand soap, toothpaste, combs, and brushes, still in their packages. I’m sure they could use those as well. Anytime you need my help with something like this, just give me a call. I’m happy to help.”
    She tilted her head to the side as Gloria swallowed past the obvious knot in her throat. Yet, the woman said nothing in return. She placed her hand in front of her husband as if to protect, nodded and backed away from the porch. Then, at what she might consider a safe enough distance, Gloria turned, grabbed hold of her husband’s elbow, and the three visitors fled to the safety of their car.
    Jo leaned against the doorjamb, biding her time until the car disappeared from view. She turned toward her boys then. All of them returned the round-eyed gaze of an innocent child. They overdid it just a little bit. She assumed a stern expression, but failed miserably to carry off the persona when she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from twitching upward. “Come on now, I believe I asked you all to behave?”
    “As I recall,” Sam protested, “you told Mathias to behave. And I can testify, on my honor, he complied with your request.”
    A full-fledged smile burst forth as she replied, “Which means, of