Chapter three

"I'm home Adam." Guthrie said softly to his eldest brother.

"Just where in the heck have you been? You know better than to run off without checking in with Hannah or me!" Adam said, getting up from the pile of paperwork on the desk. "What's gotten into you?" Adam asked angrily.

"I'm sorry Adam. I've been down by the creek, with Alex and Billy. I kinda lost track of time. I didn't mean to be gone this long, honest." Guthrie replied. He figured it wasn't a total lie. He was by the creek, true enough and it was the same information that he had given Daniel.

"Are your chores done yet?" Guthrie gulped and looked over his shoulder at Daniel making sure he was going to keep their little secret. Daniel slightly nodded his head at the youngster, then Guthrie quickly turned back to Adam and replied, "yep, all done."

"Well, this is the last time you pull a stunt like this. Next time you run off without reporting in, you will be grounded...two weeks and no discussion about it." Adam stated emphatically.

"Yes sir." Guthrie replied quietly then walked away from his brothers' and into the kitchen. Maybe Hannah would be more pleasant to hang around. He knew it was his turn to set the table for dinner anyway. Guthrie hated being bossed around by all six brothers. He just hated being the youngest. At least Hannah seemed to sympathize with him...most of the time.

"Well, I think you were very fair, Dad." Daniel said with a smile.

"Don't. Call. Me. Dad!" Adam said, putting emphasis on each word.

"Sorry, but you did sound an awful lot like Ward Cleaver getting onto the Beav! At least, a grumpier version of Ward." Daniel replied with his silly high pitched laugh.

Adam reached out and took a playful swing at his middle brother, missing him by a hair as Daniel leaped up to the bottom step of the staircase and proceeded to bound up them, taking two and three steps at a time.

Adam couldn't help but grin. It was certainly good to see Daniel even be able to maneuver that well on the stairs. He shuddered thinking back to a time when that wouldn't have even been possible for Daniel to do.

Which is exactly why Adam was so concerned with all the younger boys whereabouts these days. They had suffered enough tragedy for one lifetime and Adam had no appetite for any more. He was determined to keep a vigil eye on all of them. No one was gonna be risking life and limb on his watch.

Adam let out a tired breath and decided to join Guthrie and Hannah in the kitchen. He was sure Guthrie intended to wash up and maybe help Hannah set the table. That boy did anything he could to stay in Hannah's good graces. She was his number one go to person when he was trying to get out of trouble and she usually obliged him too, Adam thought to himself while scratching his head. His dear sweet wife would walk a mile to get his baby brother out of trouble...especially if he was in trouble with Adam. He shook his head in exasperation at the thought.

7Bf7B

Supper was as lively as usual, for the most part, with the exception of a brooding Guthrie. Ford and Evan had done their best to get a conversation going with him, but their attempts were by the way of teasing.

Guthrie wasn't having any of it though. He ate heartily enough, but Hannah noticed him being much quieter and moodier than normal.

"Since when did you eat less than three hamburgers in one sitting Guth?" She asked the boy, trying to sound unconcerned. She had been corrected numerous times by him saying to her 'quit fussin' over me like I'm a little kid', so she usually tried a more nonchalant approach.

"I wanted cheeseburgers." Guthrie complained.

"I realize that but Brian forgot to pick up any cheese at the market today." Hannah offered as an explanation.

"Sorry there, partner. I got distracted by the new cashier. She looks a heap better than ol' Ms. Martin." He said, looking up at Daniel seated across from him, giving him a quick wink.

Adam rolled his eyes at Brian and then looked at Guthrie and said "Guthrie, don't be ungrateful. Hannah works hard fixin' supper every night. It's not gonna hurt you to do without a slice of cheese."

"I didn't say it hurt me. I just don't like it as much without the cheese." Guthrie replied without looking up from his plate. He then realized how hateful he sounded. Not wanting to Hurt Hannah, he looked over at her and added, "but they taste real good Hannah, they really do."

"Well, thank you Guthrie. Next time I'll make sure we have cheese before I decided to make burgers.

"Hey Bri, did you get that cashier's number?" Evan asked with a grin.

"Does a bear sh-" Brian began but stopped short, remembering his sister in law was present. "Course I did." He replied smugly.

All the boys and Hannah snickered at Brian's near slip up.

After supper was finished and the table was cleared, Ford and Guthrie were tending to the dishes. It was actually Daniel's and Ford's turn, but Daniel had wanted to skip out early for band rehearsal. He asked Guthrie to take his place, to which at first, Guthrie had refused.

"Come on Guth. I helped you out earlier, remember? You owe me one." Daniel had whispered to his baby brother.

Guthrie was trapped and he knew it, so he had begrudgingly relented. It didn't take long for Ford to get on his nerves.

"Hey, stop splashing me!" He shouted as Ford purposely dropped a bowl hard into the water, getting the front of Guthrie's shirt all wet.

"Told you to wear the apron!" Ford said, laughing.

"Stop acting stupid, for Pete's sake!" Guthrie exclaimed.

"Who's Pete?" Evan laughed as he walked by and heard the exchange.

"Guthrie, you know better than that. We don't call each other stupid in this house!" Hannah scolded.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm sick of everybody picking on me all the time."

"Okay guys, can we just lighten up on the teasing so we can enjoy our evening, please?" Adam scolded, walking up to Guthrie and tapping him on the shoulder, then added. "Would you settle down a bit, sport? What's got you so wound up tonight?"

"I just want to be left alone. I wish I were an only child." Guthrie grumbled.

Still standing behind Guthrie at the sink, Adam said"Well, that would make things a lot different around here, I suppose. But if you think about it, it sounds kinda boring, dont'cha think?"

"Doesn't sound boring to me. Sounds like Heaven." Guthrie replied.

"You know Guthrie, we all tease each other. We don't mean to hurt one another's feelings. Is there anything in particular bothering you?" Crane asked. He had been quietly listening to the exchange as he sat at the table, tuning his favorite guitar. He was hoping to get his little brother to open up a bit.

"No, nothin's bothering me. I'm just tired of being picked on." Guthrie whined.

"Okay, fair enough. We won't pick on you." Crane said.

"Much." Brian piped in and Crane and Ford both began to giggle.

"That's enough guys. Come on, leave it alone." Adam said in his best fatherly tone. The rest of the evening was quieter than usual. Everyone's mood had been dampened by Guthrie's behavior.

Each family member spent the evening pondering to themselves what in the world could be eating Guthrie. The kid usually relished in being included in the teasing.

Until recently, his biggest complaint had been being ignored by everyone. At least when the older boys were teasing him, he seemed to feel that he was "included".

Hannah had pointed that fact out to all of the boys plenty of times. No one knew where this change of attitude was coming from, but no one else dared to ask the boy anything further.

Adam had spoken and everyone decided that for the sake of self preservation, they would let sleeping dogs lie for now.