When Jason arrived back at the cabin, two days later, the boys – well, his brothers, he was going to have to stop thinking of them as boys – were nowhere to be found, but the cabin itself was in almost pristine condition.

Jason's lips twitched. Lottie had predicted this.

He tossed the packet containing the papers he'd brought on the table. There was coffee still warm (barely) on the back of the stove and he poured it into a cup and started a fresh pot, stirring up the fire in the stove.

He opened the drawer where he kept his container of cigars, noticed they'd been messed with, and wondered if that could be what had made Jeremy sick. Or if it could be what he'd proved he could (or couldn't) do. This, or something like this, was predictable.

Boys.

Jason shook his head, put one cigar in his pocket and put the others away, made sure he had matches, picked up his coffee (now warmer from being on the stove while the fire had built up), and went out to the porch.

There was weak sunlight, and a stirring of breeze, and Jason was glad to have more time for more thought. He still had to make a judgement of how much of Lottie's advice he should heed. While he had thought over those things, it wasn't dedicated thought, because a man in the winter woods dare not let his thoughts distract him from his surroundings.

The – no, he corrected his thought before it became a word – Joshua and Jeremy had been right that they would not have got any work done had they gone into town with him. From the moment he'd set foot on the outskirts, he'd been besieged by people.

At least that was a more enthusiastic greeting than he had got when he first came home. He may as well have taken the boat to the closest river dock as to have got off in town. But he had thought the – his brothers would be there.

This had been quite an interesting homecoming.

Nothing like what he had expected.

The first thing Lottie had asked, when he finally got to her place, "Where are those boys of yours?"

He had to explain that they hadn't wanted to come.

Since he didn't really understand why, he made a botch of it explaining to her.

Being Lottie, she gave him one of her sharp looks, patted his hand, and said "We'll talk about it later, don't you worry."

"I'm not worried," he told her. "Just confused."

With a look and a laugh and another pat, this time on his shoulder, she went about her business.

/

"Tell me about the boys, Jason." Lottie demanded.

"I don't even know where to start."

"You walked in the door and –"

"And nothing. Jeremy was at the table, didn't even turtn around. Even after I spoke."

"What was he doing? Maybe he needed to concentrate."

"Josh wasn't there at all. When I asked Jeremy where Josh was, he didn't know."

"And then?"

"Then I got a good look at him. Lottie, he looked sick! Pale and red-eyed. Said he hadn't been sleeping. Josh said he thought it was allergies."

"Where did Josh come from? I thought you said he wasn't there." Lottie was warmly concerned, but also amused. Nothing put Jason Bolt off-stride like his younger brothers. Jason was too young to be bringing up teen-agers (Jeremy was nearly there), and his methods were unconventional, but the whole thing was working, and working well, for the three of them.

Except, of course, that Jason didn't see his brothers aging as he aged.

"Oh he burst into the room talking to Jeremy like he didn't know I was there. Neither of them seemed to be expecting me."

"Jason Bolt, are you peeved because your brothers didn't throw you a welcome home party?"

Jason had to squirm at the question. "Maybe. But that wasn't the only thing off."

"Oh?"

"I don't know how to explain it. It's like they know something I don't. Which, of course, they do – they know what they've been doing while I've been gone, and I have no idea."

Lottie's eyes were twinkling. "Oh, I knew they were up to something when they left so quickly. Do you really think it was something serious? No, of course not, you wouldn't have left them behind if you did."

"Serious, yes. Bad, no. But they do seem to have grown up, tremendously. I thought it might have something to do with Jeremy, but they both made that out to be nothing, and I believed them. But something –" he shook his head. "I don't know, Lottie.I feel something, but I don't know what."

"It's a shame you never married and had your own children. You have the parenting instinct of a mother bear."

"That's all I needed. Two bereft boys were enough for me. I didn't need more problems."

"Most young men don't think of a wife as a problem, at least not at first."

"The woman might not have been a problem," Jason's tone said he thought she would have, though, " but babies certainly would. Jeremy was more than me and Da together could handle, plus trying not to neglect Josh in the process. Or force him to grow up too soon."

"Your plate was full."

"And flowing over," he agreed. "Any advice? How do I handle Josh and Jeremy conspiring behind my back on things beyond boyish mischief? I don't want to encourage that but – I don't want to DIScourage their harmony."

"What if you were to discover Jeremy had been ill and they are – conspiring – to keep that from you?"

"Why would they do that?" Jason snapped. "I'd knock their stinkin' heads together to start with."

"Sounds like a perfectly good reason for them to not want to tell you, then."

Jason, after a thoughtful moment, admitted that that did seem reasonable. "But I can't let them get away with that sort of thing."

"Why not? IF you trust their judgement, and remember they are not children. Do you really think either of them would let something happen to the other and not tell you?"

"I don't know. And that's the problem."

"Whatever it turns out to be, I'd hear them out. First, then have a discussion about it. Maybe even decide, together, if any punishment is needed and of what type. If you want them to confide in you, you need to have some confidence in them."

"But they don't know how bad things can be."

"You sound like your father. Your parenting days are winding down, Jason. It's time to worry more – and work more – on being the brother you started out as."

"I may have forgotten how."

"Then let them show you." With that, Lottie again patted his shoulder and went about her own business.

So Jason had gone about his, thinking things over all the way home, and after he got here. And he was still here, waiting for his growing-up rascal brothers who were ganging up against him.

He smiled at the thought. That was putting things bluntly, even for him.

And he heard his brothers' voices, coming from behind the cabin and to the right. Josh was talking ,telling some story. Jeremy occasionally asking a question or making a comment. He couldn't hear what they were saying yet, but the tones of voices were much the same as when he had left to go into town.

What was over that way? The pool below the runoff stream? Had they been fishing? If Jeremy had got wet in this –. Jason stopped himself. Have confidence in them, he reminded himself.

"And when Mama saw me just dropping worms in your mouth, she just screamed! They probably heard her in Seattle!"

"D-did I eat 'em?"

"Well they went in your mouth an' didn't come out. Well, those particular worms did. Mom couldn't get 'em out fast enough."

"B-but, Josh, b-babies don' eat w-worms!"

"Well, I didn't know that! I thought they were being mean to you, only giving you milk alla the time, and sticking it in your mouth instead of from Mama. And that if you got meat, you'd grow faster, and then we could play. I was tired of waiting for you to get big."

"What happened?" The boys came into Jason's sight, Josh holding a string of fish and Jeremy trotting along beside him, with all the equipment, both of them in waders and macs.

"Whattaya think happened, with Ma screaming her head off and crying? I got my behind set on fire. Nobody'd even let me explain!" Josh sounded indignant. Still.

Jason laughed.

"Hey, J-jason's home! Hi, Jason!"

"I'm not blind. Or deaf."

"Or glad to see me? Are you worried about something, Joshua?"

"I'm gonna go clean these fish, and start cooking them. Get that stuff put away, Jeremy."

"D-d'you n-need help? I'm supposed to c-clean 'em when you catch 'em."

"I want to."

"I want to h-help."

"I'll bet you do."

Jason surmised (correctly) that neither of them was in a hurry to sit with him.

They had almost disappeared around the other side of the building, when Jason said casually, "By the way, Jeremy, how'd you like the cigars?"

Jeremy stopped in his tracks.

Joshua whirled around with his jaw dropped. So, he hadn't known. That figured. Jeremy would do his mischief privately if it wasn't something they were sharing.

Jason waited.

Jeremy faced him, slowly, with his head down. "Th-the f-first one, notsom-much."

First one? Josh mouthed soundlessly.

Jeremy looked up at Jason through his lashes and grinned. "The other t-two I c-crumbled up and throwed in the fire!"

"Why would you do that?"

"It m-made it smell like you was here. I m-missed you by then."

"With Joshua here?"

Jeremy looked stricken, and glanced back over his shoulder at Josh.

"Come on, let's get this stuff taken care of," Josh ordered, jerking Jeremy back into motion. He continued to fuss at him as they went to the worktable and the shack.

Hmm. So, Josh had left Jeremy alone more than either of them wanted him to know about? Well, he'd expected some of that. They'd have been at each other's throats if they'd had to stay together all the time. And obviously more good than bad had come from it.

He supposed he could have confidence in their judgement about that.

Maybe. It still didn't set well with him.

Jeremy ventured out the front door with two coffee cups in his hands, and gave one to Jason, who was glad of the fresh refreshment. "D-did Josh really feed me worms? When I was a b-baby?"

"That's what I was told. I didn't see it. I was back working in the garden. Da got to Mom before I did, and then he jerked Josh so hard, I thought I'd better stick to weeding. Although I did look you over to make sure you were okay. But I skedaddled back to my own business. If I had seen him, I'd have stopped him."

"That's why you didn't see it," Josh said, joining them on the porch. "Not after the way you talked to me about the beetles. At least the worms were soft."

Jason laughed.

"B-beetles?"

"Yeah, that was when Jason explained to me babies cant eat real food. You choked. Mom thought it just fell into your box, so I didn't get in trouble, but Jason saw me put it in there. He shook me hard and took me for a walk. To explain things."

"L-like worms were b-better than b-beetles?"

Josh laughed. "No. I figured that out for myself."

"How often were you feeding him worms?"

"Not often and they were only little ones. I remembered what you said about baby sized stomachs."

"Thank god for that. I wonder Mom didn't find any in the diapers. Pretty sure she'd have screamed if she had."

"EW!"

Jason and Josh had a good laugh at Jeremy.

"What in the world got you started on that subject?" Jason asked.

"H-he t-tried to p-put the fishin' w-worms in m-my mouth so we w-wouldn't have to b-bring them home. I d-dumped them out, and he st-tart-ted laughing and said it w-wouldn't be the f-first t-time."

"I'm surprised you remembered," Jason said to Josh.

"Have you forgot the first time Da really whupped you?"

"Point made. I was older, though."

"Lucky you!"

"I d-don't 'member nothin' like that."

"Ma wouldn't let him, probably."

"He was probably afraid of hurting you, like breaking your bones or something."

"Maybe I was just g-gooder?"

Josh hooted. "You got plenty of swats after we moved into town."

"Uh-huh. 'Nother reason to n-not l-like t-town."

"You weren't really old enough for a whupping to work until we moved into town. Younger children don't really remember, so it doesn't teach anything. And then everything was so confused then."

"Especially Da." Josh abruptly went inside to check the fish.

"You'd have got one but good the second time you ran away, if I hadn't been the one to find you," Jason told Jeremy.

Jeremy shuddered. "I remember. He was so m-mad. He scared m-me."

"Scared you into staying home?"

Jeremy shrugged. "Town is n- not home. Just – where w-we live sometimes."

"You're a stubborn one, aren't you?" Jason rubbed Jeremy's head and squeezed his shoulders before standing and gathering cups. "Need any help, Josh?" He went inside, leaving Jeremy sitting on the porch.

Jeremy sat with his chin in his hands, waiting to be called to supper.