Watching Miles murder another man was like being stuck in a nightmare. I was unable to move as I watched Miles stab this man over and over. My stomach twisted into a tight knot as both the man and my husband were covered in blood.

Who was this stranger? Why was he here? Was he another intruder? What did he say to make Miles attack him?

Joseph watched the attack, but he did not interfere. He looked at me a few times before walking toward the house. I was frozen as I watched Miles continue to stab the man. The lock clicked as the front door opened.

"Maisie," Joseph called out.

The floor creaked as he hurried into the living room. Squeezing my eyes shut, I managed to tear my gaze away from the bloody scene on the front lawn. I turned and sunk into the couch cushions. Burying my face in my hands, I took in a deep breath ro push away my tears. Crying over Briar made them force me to be unconscious for days. Miles said my mind was exhausted and needed rest so that I could handle my emotions. I could not let that happen again. My eyes burned with tears, but I needed to control myself. I could not start sobbing.

"Maisie-" Joseph started.

"Who is that?" I cut him off. It was a miracle that my voice did not waver or crack. "Who is outside?"

I bit down on my lip as I lowered my hands. A crushing tightness was in my chest, making it difficult to breathe. I clutched at the front of my dress to calm my pounding heart. I needed to push the tears away.

Joseph stood off to the side with his arms crossed over his chest. From his angle, he could see both me and whatever Miles was doing outside. I curled my fingers tighter into the front of my dress to prevent myself from turning around.

"Remember the man who Miles had to kill a few weeks ago because he came into our home wanting to hurt us?" Joseph asked. I nodded, remembering the violent mess when Miles slit his throat. "That was his son. He also came here to hurt us, so Miles had to kill him. He is doing this to protect you and keep you safe."

Joseph slowly walked toward me with his hand stretched out, like I was a wild animal he did not want to scare off. I swallowed past the lump forming in my throat.

My skin crawled earlier when I had listened to the man screaming, but now there was an eerie silence outside. Was he finally dead?

I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes as my mind tried to process what Joseph had said. Miles was keeping us safe, but I hated the violence. I always hated the violence. Joseph was supposed to speak to Miles, and this was supposed to end, but would it ever be able to stop? The man looked so angry as he was screaming at Miles and Joseph. I had seen so many angry men in my life, especially when I was in the tavern. For the first time since coming to this home, Amos's disgusting face flashed through my mind. His anger caused him to be violent with me on many different nights, including some encounters I thought I would not survive.

If the man outside was near me, would he be just as rough and physical? If Miles had not attacked the man, would he attack us first? Would he try to hurt us like the intruder that killed Clara? Miles was doing whatever he could to keep me safe.

I let go of the front of my dress and stretched my sore knuckles. My breath was shaky as I tried to hold back my tears and panic. My hand trembled as I ran my hand over my hair. I bit down on my lip to help fight the urge to turn and look out the window.

"You know that Miles loves you, correct?" Joseph asked.

"Yes." I nodded. "I love him too. I love him so much, but there has just been so much violence in my life, and I hate every moment of it. I never want to see it again."

My voice cracked, but I managed to push away the tears. Joseph crossed the small distance between us and sat next to me on the couch. His thigh brushed against mine, and he threw his arm around my shoulders. Thankfully, his touch lowered my temptation to turn and look at the front yard. I leaned in closer to him to make his arm block my view more.

"You will never have to witness it again," Joseph said.

"You think Miles will keep killing people?" I asked.

He hesitated before answering. "You will never need to watch another murder again."

It was not a direct answer to my question, but it provided an odd sense of comfort. A warmth spread through my muscles, taking away the tightness in my chest. I could live safely in this house in ignorant bliss. I could continue to pretend this was the loving family I had always dreamed about.

"He is not bad," I muttered. My words were not directed at Joseph, but to provide myself with more comfort. "He is not a bad person."

Miles would do anything to keep me safe. Even covered in blood, he looked like my saviour. He was my protector.

"Of course not," Joseph said. "He would never hurt you. Everything he does is to keep you safe."

My husband would never hurt me. He was so much bigger than me - he was even larger than the men who would torment me in the tavern - and he never harmed me. It would be so easy for him to hurt me, but he never did. I had to keep reminding myself of that.

I closed my eyes and let out a slow deep, breath, trying to push away the images of Miles murdering Oliver out of my mind. I prayed he would not come inside covered in blood.

"Everything he is doing is to keep me safe." I repeated what Joseph had said. "He never wants to see me hurt."

Joseph curled his fingers into my shoulder and pulled me in slightly closer to his side.

"Trust us, Maisie," he said. "We need to keep our family safe and healthy."

I nodded. Another odd sense of comfort spread throughout my body as my heart fluttered in my chest. This home was my safe haven. The locks on the doors protected us from the people wanting to hurt us, like the intruder who killed Clara. Miles was putting himself in danger to protect us from the people who came onto our property. It all sounded so absurd in my mind, but I needed to believe it. I had just stopped crying over Briar's death, and I did not want to cry over a stranger's death. The last thing I wanted was to be forced to sleep for days again.

My mind was cloudy with a mixture of chaotic thoughts. Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to cry. Without thinking and with my eyes closed, I moved toward Joseph. I leaned into his side and lifted my legs onto the couch. My head rested against his shoulder, and I crossed my arms over my chest. Joseph tensed and held his breath as I settled myself into the side of his body.

"Maisie," he said with hesitation in his voice. "You should-"

"Thank you," I cut him off. "I do not want to be emotional. I really don't want to be, but so much has happened. You were right: crying does not make me feel better. I just want everything to be normal again."

"We have gone through a lot lately, but we always care for each other. Nothing is more important than family. We will stay together no matter what."

The silence outside caused my skin to crawl. I focused on my breathing to try and calm my mind, which racing with a thousand questions and absurd thoughts. Were they still on the grass outside? Was everything covered in blood? Where were they going to put his body? Where had they put the other bodies? After I had found my parents' bodies in the blood-splattered kitchen when I was a child, I never wanted to see death again. There was a difference between their deaths and these murders. Miles did not kill because of a jealous rage.

"Everything will be back to normal soon," Joseph said.

An ache spread throughout my empty stomach.

"We're still hungry," I said.

"Not forever."

–

I was unsure how long Miles had been outside. Joseph and I stayed on the couch, my head resting against his chest. My eyes were closed, and I had almost drifted off to sleep when I heard the click of the lock. Miles came into the kitchen, and Joseph pushed me away. I dug the heel of my hand into my eyes as I sat straighter on the couch.

Joseph took a few steps toward the door before turning to look at me. He chewed on his lip as he watched me run my hands over my hair. The stairs creaked as Miles went up to our bedroom.

"Stay down here," Joseph said. "When you see Miles, tell him to meet me outside."

He turned and disappeared into the hallway. I stayed on the couch until I heard Joseph lock the door. My knees buckled when I stood. Taking a deep breath, I looked over my shoulder to look out the window. It all looked so normal, like no one had been murdered.

When I walked into the kitchen, I glanced at the steps. Joseph told me not to go upstairs, probably because I would not want to see Miles covered in blood. To distract myself, I decided to start making dinner. I was standing by the sink peeling potatoes when I heard the familiar creak of the stairs.

I did not look up at Miles because I was unsure if he would have any of Oliver's blood on him. He crossed the kitchen and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist before leaning down to bury his face in my neck. There was no warm stickiness of Oliver's blood seeping through the back of my dress, and Miles smelled strongly of soap. The tension left my muscles and caused me to melt into his hold.

"I love you," Miles said.

The words were simple, but they were what I needed to hear.

"I love you too," I said.

Miles's breath was warm against the crook of my neck, causing goosebumps to spread across my skin.

"Where's my Father?" he asked.

"He left a few minutes ago," I said. "He wants you to meet him outside."

Miles groaned. His arms tightened around my waist into a crushing hold.

"We are going to fight," he said. "Even if we wait until after dinner, we are still going to start yelling at each other."

I looked down at the half-peeled potato and knife in my hands. Once again, our dinners would only consist of potatoes and vegetables. My stomach ached with hunger. Miles and Joseph were much larger than me and spent all day outside working. I could not imagine how hungry they must have been. They did not want to fight, but they could not help it. We needed meat.

I turned my hand to get a better look at my wedding ring. If I gave Miles the ring, they would be able to afford some meat, and our hunger would disappear. Guilt sat heavy in my chest because Clara died for this ring. I could not give it away so easily.

"We need to find meat," I mumbled.

I did not mean to say it out loud. The realization flooded my mind that we could not afford meat, and the words slipped off my tongue.

"Find some?" Miles asked.

Would we have to steal from somewhere or someone? Miles and Joseph could not risk robbery. If they were caught, they would be arrested. Our family would be permanently ruined. Miles killing people to keep us safe was already enough of a risk. Oliver's body was somewhere on the farm, waiting to be buried and hidden.

"We could..."

I tried my best to speak, but my words trailed off when I was hit with a wave of nausea. It was absurd. How could that thought even cross my mind?

Miles lifted his head from my neck, and a chill ran through my body. He kept his arms tight around my waist.

"What is it?" Miles asked.

I let out a shaky breath and shook my head. Looking down at my hands, I started peeling the potato again. I prayed he would not question me.

"Maisie, what is it?" he asked again. "What were you thinking?"

"Forget I said anything," I said. "It is ridiculous."

"You need to tell me."

My hands were trembling as I continued to peel the potato. The knife slipped and nearly cut my thumb. Miles let go of my waist with one hand and pulled the knife away from me before tossing it into the sink.

"You have an idea," he said. "I want to hear it."

"We need meat, and someone just died on our property. You are going to need to hide the body. I was thinking instead of burying the body to hide it, we could..." My words trailed off again, and I shook my head. "It is a wild idea, but we would only have to do it once. It will stop us from being hungry until we can afford-"

"I like it," Miles cut me off.

"You do?"

"Yes." He kissed the side of my temple. "It's a good idea. It would be a waste to bury him."

Miles turned me in his hold so that my back was pressed against the edge of the counter. He cupped my face with his hands, but I could not look him in the eye. My attention was focused on my wedding ring as I spun it around my finger.

"Say nothing to my Father," he said. "He does not need to know."

"But he will have questions," I said.

"Let me answer all of them."

I nodded. He pressed his lips against my forehead before walking to the door. I returned to peeling potatoes as I watched him hurry across the farm and over to the barn.

Joseph was right. We were not going to be hungry forever.