Emily's face lit up. "Really? That's great!"
Jessie gave her little sister's head a gentle pat. "It's a secret for now, okay?"
Emily stopped walking and looked up, serious as a judge. "I know. I promise I won't tell."
About ten minutes later they reached the Bennetts' place in Northfield.
Grandma Shirley and Grandpa David were just sitting down to lunch when they spotted the girls. Both of them stood up smiling, each taking a granddaughter by the hand and pulling them toward the table.
Lunch was simple—cornbread, spicy pickled cabbage, and water.
Shirley looked at the two skinny girls, then quietly slipped into the kitchen and fried two eggs.
She meant for Jessie and Emily to each have one. But the girls had always been like that. They split the eggs so all four of them got half.
While she ate, Jessie said, "Grandma, I want to go stay at the county hospital with Mom and Dad for a few days. Could you keep Emily here?"
Shirley didn't even hesitate. "Of course we can. Don't be so formal with us. Your grandpa and I would be happy if you both stayed forever. We were just talking about going to see your parents this afternoon. Since you're going, I'll wait. We'll finish the wheat first, then I'll come."
She went back into the kitchen and put another pot of eggs on to boil.
After they finished eating, Jessie started clearing the dishes. Shirley tried to stop her. "Jessie, leave those. Go lie down in my room a bit. You can head to the hospital after you rest."
Jessie felt the warmth of it. "I'm not tired, Grandma. Really."
Shirley gave up arguing and let her wash. Emily wiped the table without being asked.
Once the kitchen was clean, Shirley went into the bedroom, opened the old tin where she kept her cash, and took out a small roll of bills.
Ten minutes later Jessie was ready to leave.
Shirley handed her a clean cloth bag. She'd slipped the money into the bottom first, then packed six hard-boiled eggs and a few pieces of cornbread on top.
"Take these to your parents. Help them get their strength back."
In the last life Jessie hadn't come here at this time, so she never knew about the money. She didn't refuse it now.
She borrowed a basket and a small shovel on the quiet, made up a quick excuse, and left.
She didn't head straight for town.
She went up Cedar Hill instead.
Might as well try her luck.
Being reborn meant she knew there were good medicinal roots up there. She just didn't remember the exact spots—only the general area.
Find something valuable and she'd have her first real money. Even the common stuff would bring in a little.
Twenty minutes later she was walking under the trees. It was still summer-hot, but the woods were thick and full of shade. Perfect place to get out of the sun.
Everybody else was down in the wheat fields. The mountain was empty except for her.
She followed the half-remembered paths from the old life, working the slope, digging whatever she found. Mostly common roots—nothing rare. She didn't care. She filled the basket anyway.
An hour later it was heavy. She walked to a little stream to rinse her hands.
That's when she saw the stone.
About the size of a quail egg, dark green, shaped like a teardrop. Sitting right there in the clear water.
She picked it up. Looked at it from every angle. Same stone. Exactly the same one she'd found in this stream in the last life.
Back then she'd thought it was pretty. She'd taken it down the mountain, had a hole drilled through it, and worn it on a red string around her neck for years.
This time she'd found it months earlier.
Something loosened in her chest. In the other life that stone had stayed with her longer than anyone. Her parents, her grandparents, even Emily—all of them gone before her. When the end came, the stone had been blown apart with her.
This time she would protect her family. And she would protect this stone too.
She closed her fingers around it and kept searching a while longer. Still nothing precious. Finally she gave up, settled the basket on her hip, and headed down.
Around five o'clock she walked into the county seat. First stop was the pharmacy that bought wild roots. She sold the whole basket for five dollars.
Then she went straight to the hospital.
John and Helen Carter were in the same room.
Jessie's throat tightened when she saw them. Bandages, wooden splints, the whole mess.
Helen had hurt her neck, shoulder, and left arm. John's legs were both bad.
It had happened three days ago, saving Mike Quinn.
The village warehouse roof was leaking. They called for strong backs to fix it. Uncle Ray, John, and Helen all went.
Ray was scared of heights, so he volunteered to hook the ropes on the hoist—the four lines that would lift the iron box of bricks. He never checked the box or the ropes the way he was supposed to.
When the load reached the top, two of the hooks slipped. Bricks started raining down straight toward Mike's head.
John lunged to pull Ray clear. Ray stumbled and went down; John landed across his back, taking the hits like a shield. Helen saw her husband in trouble and ran in with her arms over her head, managing to cover John's head and upper body.
The remaining bricks kept falling, the weight shifted, and the last two ropes snapped. The whole iron box came down.
Ray walked away without a scratch. John and Helen took the damage.
The village officials offered to cover the hospital bills and said they'd push for real punishment on Ray. Margaret panicked the second she heard it. She talked John and Helen into saying Ray was fine, that the village didn't need to pay, all for Ray's future. In the end they gave in.
Jessie looked at her parents and made a quiet decision. She would talk to them soon. She wasn't going to let them keep being that soft-hearted and foolish.
She kept her face steady and pulled out the eggs and cornbread. "Mom, Dad—Grandma Bennett sent these. I'll soften them in some hot water for you…"
That was when she felt the roll of bills at the bottom of the bag.
It touched her, but she didn't show it. She had her own plans. Quietly she slipped the money into her pants pocket, then found a lunch tin on the bedside table and started soaking the eggs and bread.
John's eyes were full of guilt. "We've made your grandparents spend money again. I didn't even protect their daughter right. I don't deserve to eat this…"