Page 106 - The Last Gift

but more than once she cried when the boys came
home with black eyes, feeling it was her fault.

To make matters worse, there were back
taxes on the house, and the state was threatening
to take it from them. In the midst of this crisis,
Mother Davis proposed selling the house. Rachel
was frightened. The house, with its rickety
outbuildings, wasn’t worth much because of
years of neglect and disrepair, but that was all
they had. Rachel asked her where they would
live. Mother Davis seemed unflustered, saying
she knew of a man who wanted to buy the house
and outbuildings for the land and would allow
them to still live there.

Rachel thought that she was confused. Why
would anyone do that? But Mother Davis
assured her it would be okay; he just wanted to

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