Once Upon a Family by Amanda Rawson Hill

Author:Amanda Rawson Hill
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Astra Publishing House

“Wow, Linc!” Mom coos. “That was brave of you. And you were so gentle getting Lydia down. What a great kid!” Linc stands a little taller.

Mom knows exactly what to say to make someone feel like the most amazing person in the world.

Mom turns to me. “Thanks for being so fast with the ladder.” She squeezes my shoulder and that same look falls on me. It makes me want to burst into a million sunbeams.

“Oh, Lydia,” Mrs. Peterson cries. She has her hand on Lydia’s forehead. “You’re burning up just like the others. Come on. Let’s get you some medicine and into bed.”

Mom releases me and, in an instant, she’s right behind Mrs. Peterson. “Let me help you, Jen.”

Mrs. Peterson holds Lydia close. “You’d think I’d be used to working with sick people after all my years of nursing. But I swear, five kids at one time? There’s no comparison.”

“I can’t imagine,” Mom murmurs as they walk up the stairs.

That leaves Abigail, Linc, and me standing around the ladder staring up as if the princess with a golden apple is sitting at the top. The ceiling fan is still making lackadaisical circles, little particles of dust filtering down from it.

“Well,” says Linc after a minute. “Who’s going to call the paper about my heroics today?”

Abigail snorts.

Linc puts out his hands as if calming a crowd. “Don’t worry, don’t worry. There will be plenty of time for autographs later.”

Abigail rolls her eyes at me as we both giggle and shake our heads, and that’s when I know she forgives me for the snakes and toads yesterday. “Come on, Mr. Hero,” Abigail says, giving Linc a light push on the arm. “Let’s take back the ladder.”

“I’ll have to call my sister.” Linc grabs a ladder leg. “She’ll be impressed.” He says it like a joke, but I can tell a part of him really means it. “Too bad she doesn’t have her walkie-talkie or I could message her right now.” He makes his voice low. “The emergency is over. Over.”

“Walkie-talkies?” Abigail asks.

“Yeah. We’d use them in our rooms at night before bed, telling jokes and dumb stories, stuff like that. She left her walkie-talkie when she went to college, though.”

“Well, it wouldn’t have worked with her all the way in Laramie.”

Linc nods. “I know.”

It takes some work to collapse the ladder, but we finally succeed and then march it back across the street.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Linc asks while we’re walking. “I mean, what if one of your other siblings decides to try their hand at being a bird again?”

“No way.” Abigail readjusts her grip on the ladder. “Not today at least. They’re all super sick.”

For a second, Linc looks the tiniest bit worried. “But not you, right?”

Abigail shrugs. “I guess not. Which is weird, since I share a bedroom with Lydia and Molly. They’ve all got fevers and have lost their voices. Didn’t you notice how quiet Lydia was up there? That’s why we couldn’t find her at first.

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