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A particularly large drop landed in her eye She wiped the wetness aith her sleeve and blinked

A flash of yelloinked at her froround and crawled through the wet grass

The wilted, broken dandelion crown lay forgotten in the weeds

She picked up the linked flowers in cold, shaking hands The bright yellow blurred before her tear-filled eyes She held it to her chest, srass and rain

She tried to be brave and strong for the girls and Caleb and Jack, tried to s her tears and force her mind away from the pain But she couldn't do it Not this time

And so, kneeling in the wet grass, alone, with a bunch of silly, wilted flowers plastered to her breast, Tess let herself cry She cried until her throat was raw and her

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eyes burned, until her chest ached and her legs were icy cold

She cried until she had noher bloodshot eyes, she clambered to her feet and walked slowly into the house

She felt better then Stronger Ready to figure out a way to get Jack out of jail

Chapter Twenty-seven

Tess was out of breath by the time she reached the Hannah far normally as she walked toward the s down the pitched roof and plunking on the weathered planks of the porch

Be calm, Tess Be calm

Grasping her linsey-woolsey skirt,

she climbed the wooden steps and rapped sharply on the front door There was a rush of shuffling feet from inside the house, then suddenly the door hisked open Minerva stood in the doorway