Page 135 of Prodigal Son

“This must be overwhelming for you.”

“It is,” Dane agreed. “Not only is there always someone around, you never know who’s in your head.”

Cain found it interesting that Dane didn’t confess his own gifts for telepathy, which made a lot more sense now that they understood his bloodlines.

“Where are you staying?”

“Right now I’m using a room in Ezekiel and Faith Hartzler’s. But it’s getting crowded over there.”

“There’s an old barn not far from here. It’s been vacant for some time. It could make a nice house if someone put the work into it.”

Cain instantly pictured the barn. It was small and isolated. Perfect for a young male who needed time to process. He cleared his throat. “I have a suggestion.” The chatter at the table stopped. “The old barn, just west of here, why not let Dane renovate it into an apartment?”

“The boy has a home,” Eleazar argued.

“The boy is a man. And my grandparents’ plate is full with my mother and father and the baby now living there.”

“That’s temporary.”

Sometimes the bishop could be so dense. “I think it would do Dane well to have his own private space.”

“I’ll consider it.”

That evening, after they left the Esch property, Dane was quiet. He visited Cybil then returned home.

When Cain arrived at Anna’s and Adam’s for supper, Gracie instantly noticed his stress.

“What happened?” Before he could answer, she went rummaging through his memories and gasped. “Is that true? Dane’s…” She gaped in shock. “He’s like us?”

Cain blocked his thoughts. “There’s a little more to it, but yes.”

A burble of silent laughter escaped her lips and her fingers went to her mouth as if to hide her excitement. “This changes everything.”

Cain’s brow creased in confusion. “How so?”

“If he’s immortal—”

“Half immortal.”

She waved away the detail. “He can live like us.”

“We aren’t sure what limits he’s going to face, Gracie. Don’t get ahead of yourself. We visited Maggie Esch today—”

“Magdalene Esch? Whatever for?”

“To find out anything we could about Dane’s condition.”

“Magdalene’s a half-breed.”

“So is Dane.”

“It’s different,” she argued.

“It’s not. They have a lot in common.”

Gracie’s lips pursed. “I see. Well, I’m sure the two of them will be great friends.” She stomped off into the kitchen leaving Cain too confused to even guess what bee just flew into her bonnet.

CHAPTER 39

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