The brothers (and most of the town) watched the next morning as the territorial marshall arrived with the 'jailcoach' to take Jeremy's assailant off to prison. He'd gotten a six month sentence, and the townspeople had celebrated after the court was ended.

The Bolts had not joined them – Jeremy said he didn't think it was something to party about, and, upon reflection, his brothers agreed with him. They had spent the night somberly at home.

As the coach and marshall left the town as undramatically as they had entered, the three stood on their porch and watched it go.

Jeremy sighed. "I hope it h-helps h-him."

"We all do," Jason agreed.

"I g-guess he din't have no b-brothers to teach him how to get to not."

"Or they didn't teach him."

"Maybe nobody taught them." Josh suggested.

Jeremy sighed again. "It IS sad."

"Agreed," said both brothers.

A sudden heavy downpour ran them back inside.

"April," Jason said.

"It's almost over," Josh pointed out.

"Almost only counts in horseshoes."

"Life's a game, so it's almost – haha – almost the same thing."

"Least it's not st-torming."

"Which almost makes it an exception this spring," Jason commented, with a thoughtful eye on Jeremy. "Speaking of storms, Josh. Could it have been spring instead of fall when Da sent you to the Macks in the middle of the night?"

Jeremy looked at him, startled.

Josh thought for a moment before nodding. "Could have been. Might have been. Probably was. Yeah. Yeah."

Jason was amused. "Okay, I'm not surprised. Can you explain your thinking from maybe to probably to yes?"

"Not really, but when I really thought about it, it connected with the time Jeremy was scared of you when you came home with a beard and your face peeling after you'd done a water run. That's a spring thing."

"It is."

"Yeah," Jeremy said suddenly. "B-because Da said the n-next time you'd come b-back even m-more of a m-monster if I d-din't behave. And you l-left again and I was b-bad and the m-monster was chasing me, I k-kept wondering if it was you b-because of m-me, but I really knew it wasn't. Even if you maybe did turn into a monster sometimes –"

"As we all do," Josh agreed.

"- you w-wouldn't b-be a m-monster to me, even if you were one."

"You were one confused kid," Josh said, shaking his head. "But right about that. In your own confused kid way."

"If Jeremy was sick, and sent you away, how did you keep an eye on him?"

"Oh, I'd stop in after school, come home for lunch. Da'd just keep Jeremy in bed – he'd mostly be asleep, anyway, but if he wasn't HE had to stay away from me, by staying in bed. And it was usually at most for one overnight, although sometimes it could be two or three. I guess that depended on how sick he really was."

"Or maybe how hurt he was?" Jason prompted.

"I suppose. Don't know why I'd have to stay away because of him being hurt, though. I'd have been needed for errands and stuff."

"You could have done that, then slept elsewhere, couldn't you have?"
"I suppose. Why?"

Jason shrugged. "Part of the monster dream, besides whether or not I was a monster, is panic over 'where's Josh, where's Josh?' I've been trying to figure out where you were. We all know you wouldn't desert him, especially not with the monster coming out."

"Oh."

"Th-that's why Josh d-did all the errands. Da d-didn't want me to t-tell Josh when he was the m-monster, because Josh would've told you! And you w-wouldn't have b-believed him wh-when he said you'd b-be m-mad at m-me for m-making the m-monster come! Oh, Jason, you're so smart!" Jeremy threw himself at Jason and threw his arms around him.

Jason laughed, hugged the boy back, and even pulled Josh in with them for a moment that they would all cherish, but never mention again.

For now, they would get ready to go home, and to work.

May

The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the trees were large, lush, and green. The forest rang with the sound of axes and saws and the men using them. Nearby the streams ran clear and clean, and there were flowers blooming.

Josh elbowed Jason in the ribs, in front of their tent. "Would you look at that?" He pointed.

Jeremy was coming up from the stream, carrying a bucket of that clear water in one hand and grasping flowers in the other hand. He saw his brothers looking, waved the flowers at them, and brought the water in. He poured some of the water into a cup, and plopped the mixed flowers into it.

"I don't know if you're a girl, or if you think we're girls," Josh teased him.

Jeremy laughed, and Josh laughed with him.

Jason enjoyed their harmony. "Yes, spring is finally here. What a winter it's been."

"Been a long one."

"But a good one. Makes us appreciate the finer things in life. Sunshine. Flowers. Work."

"W-waterfalls."

"Warm breezes."

Jason put an arm around each brother. "We survived it. We grew. We changed."

"I went to San Francisco."

"I stayed b-by myself."

"Together, we faced down the monster that's been haunting us all."

"We're becoming us," Jeremy said. "The Bolt Brothers."

"Watch out, world!"

"We're coming!"