A Pack of Their Own novel · Chapter 32 of 32

Chapter 32: Everyone

Dale brought the photographer up the mountain himself.

It was the same man from the Moon Rise steps.

He climbed out of the truck at the orchard with his camera bag over one shoulder.

He looked at the crowd on the grass.

"Is this everyone?" he asked.

I looked at them.

Callie had flowers in her curls. Teddy stood beside her with a biscuit in each hand.

My brother and sister stood shoulder to shoulder.

The younger two stood in front of them, arguing in whispers over who got the end.

Nana Bess had put on her church dress.

Grandpa stood next to her in the funeral suit, and he had combed his beard.

Dale stood with his nine wolves in a row, grinning.

Mom stood a little apart, with her hands folded.

My father sat on a kitchen chair someone had carried out to the grass.

He wore a clean shirt, and he did not look at the camera.

I walked over to Mom and took her by the wrist.

"Not at the edge," I said.

I led her into the middle and put her next to the twins.

Then I went to my father's chair and stood behind it, with my hand on its back.

"Here," I said. "Next to me."

He sat very still.

"All right," he said.

Roark came up on my other side and slid his arm around my waist.

The photographer lifted his camera and counted heads, silently, twice.

"Is this everyone?"

"No," I said.

The grass went quiet.

"One more." I turned my head. "Come on, Nana. Take the last place."

"I'm not in the way?"

"You're the whole reason."

She came and stood in front of my father's chair, and put one flour-dusted hand on his shoulder.

"Now it's everyone," I said.

The camera clicked.

The moon rose over the orchard an hour later, big and low and gold.

Keep reading free with an account. Start A Pack of Their Own from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.