The Secret of Hoyt's Farm : Chapter 20
**Chapter 20 :** **The Cost of Family** Megan had skipped the evening shift in the barn. She spent the rest of the day with Cassidy and Millie in her bedroom. They all cried a lot, but there was laughter too. Sadness over the time they'd lost, and...
The Secret of Hoyt's Farm : Chapter 19
**Chapter 19 : ** **Stay** Cassidy had just finished showering and getting dressed, making her way to the living room to begin another day of being a lump on the couch between rounds of stuffing her face. It was about all she could manage...
The Secret of Hoyt's Farm : Chapter 18
**Chapter 18 :** **Hunger** Penelope led Eli into the barn some time after one in the morning. She moved the way she always moved, with a practiced grace so smooth and confident that she almost seemed to float across the concrete floor. Eli on...
The Secret of Hoyt's Farm : Chapter 17
**Chapter 17 :** **Drifting in Space** "My name is Judge Robert. C. Gregory, and I have committed a crime." The judge was sitting calmly at the desk in his home, looking directly at the camera filming him. He had no notes in front of...
The Secret of Hoyt's Farm : Chapter 16
**Chapter 16 :** **Bare With Me** "You know, I almost hate to ask this, but..." Megan was setting up the equipment for the morning milking, talking to Clairibelle who was leaning in the doorway nearby wearing nothing but her shorts and a...
The Secret of Hoyt's Farm : Chapter 15
**Chapter 15 :** **The Caregivers** Meals took place in one of two locations. Breakfast was informal and always indoors, pretty much wherever someone could find a space to eat it. Lunch pretty much didn't exist as an organized event. If...
The Secret of Hoyt's Farm : Chapter 14
**Chapter 14 :** **Show and Tell** The next morning was uncomfortable, to say the least. The girls all filed into the barn in silence, tip-toeing around Annabelle like she was made of glass. She'd spent the entire night in Henry's house with...
The Secret of Hoyt's Farm : Chapter 13
**Chapter 13 :** **Honey and Vinegar** "Hold up, Eli." Eli had been walking up the dirt road that passed through the property, following along behind a groggy brigade of little girls all heading toward the big truck that was waiting to...
The Secret of Hoyt's Farm : Chapter 11
**Chapter 11 :** **Something Better** Megan woke up from a deep sleep sometime around one in the morning to the sound of a truck coming up the road. Traffic this far out into the country was rare enough during the day. This late there was...
The Secret of Hoyt's Farm : Chapter 10
**Chapter 10 :** **Rosie Deerest** "Well, I'm off to kill some fish." Rosie was headed out of the bunkhouse just a short while after the morning shift, grabbing her wide straw brimmed hat as she went. The room was big, and split into sections...
The Secret of Hoyt's Farm : Chapter 9
**Chapter 9 :** **Alone Together** Henry and Megan had left on a delivery not long after the end of the late shift. It was her first time helping with a delivery of the cheese milk, and it hadn't taken as long as their normal trips did. Just...
The Secret of Hoyt's Farm : Chapter 8
**Chapter 8 :** **Acceptance** Megan stepped out of the guest home after getting ready for the morning shift, fiddling with her new flannel shirt to get it sitting right. Her first paycheck had gone toward buying time on some old debts, though...