"And what shall I do?" McKenna asked behind him.
Again, everyone stood up and again, Hannish urged them to sit back down. He set his tea down, put his arm over her shoulder, and turned her around. "That."
"That what?"
"That, my dear sister is the door to a very large pantry that needs fillin', and if you are very good, I shall let the cooks help you make your list. Winters are harsh in Colorado and we must be fully prepared. No one goes hungry in my house."
"I am happy to hear that!" Sassy said, quickly slipping around McKenna. She sat down at the table and snatched a strip of bacon off the platter in front of her. "Old Mrs. Forthright sure wouldn't believe this. Bacon on an ordinary day? We was only allowed bacon on Christmas."
"Bacon for Christmas?" Charlotte asked.
"Aye and a slice of ham for dinner, if we were very good. I managed the 'very good' part two years in a row. 'Twas not easy, I mean to say. She never called me 'Sassy' but that's what she thought of me, right enough. I should not have done it, I suppose."
All eyes were on her, but Sassy stopped talking to enjoy her first bite of bacon. She closed her eyes, savored the taste, and slowly chewed until Dugan could stand it no more, "Should not have done what?"
Sassy was not about to let him hurry her and chewed several more times before she swallowed. "Hide her paddle, is what. It took nigh on to a week for her to learn the truth of it, and were we not all happy it took that long!"
"How did she know you hid it?" Sarah asked.
"Confession be good for the soul, Old Mrs. Forthright always said." Sassy took another bite of bacon and again savored the taste for a while before she continued, "She'd not let us have another meal until someone told where it was, so I was forced to say."
"Did she paddle you?" McKenna asked.
"Not too awfully bad. James got it worse than me and all he did was laugh when I refused to cry." She glanced at all the horrified expressions and smiled, letting the deep dimples in her cheeks show. "Never you fear, we got her back."
"How?" Keith asked.
"The poor soul fell off the walkway into the pond and bruised her very own backside on the rocks. She could hardly sit, even with pillows beneath her."
Halen smiled and then wrinkled her brow. "How did you escape the orphanage?"
"Had I knowed how easy it 'twas…"