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Why she was acting that way

Craaack The ax sla and split it down the middle Jack paused, backhanded the sweat fro

As he raised the ax again, he heard a strange sound He paused, listening

A sweet sound rode the gentle spring breeze, underscoring the gay chirping of the ss and finches careening overhead The song was at once fae stop-and-start rhythm, as if the words had been memorized but never actually heard before But the voice?ah, the voice?now, that was soet

He turned slowly, knowing as he did that it was a mistake

A Caleb the strangest version of "Rock-a-bye Baby" he'd ever heard The wistful strains of her song brought a bittersweet se; she'd never sung to her children before

If only The thought was there before he could stop it

sw, ?<

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If only she were really the loving, gentle soul she appeared right now He thought about the bath, reiven him to be ministered to by her For a few short moments it had been like the old days, when he'd trusted her with his soul and crawled eagerly into her bed When he hadn't been afraid

She looked up suddenly and saw hi he couldn't dislodge, hers wide and filled with joy She shtly and waved him over

He shouldn't go; he knew that He should turn his back on her and keep cutting firewood But he wanted to go Just this once The ax slipped froher on his brow, he sidestepped the pile of half-chopped wood and headed toward her

She was still s when he reached the porch

"Hi," she said quietly, scooting sideways in silent invitation

He stared at the empty space beside her Damn, it