Need to Know by Michael Stackpole

Author:Michael Stackpole [Stackpole, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stormwolf.com
Published: 2021-08-31T00:00:00+00:00

Grant had no trouble staying awake at Mass, but if it weren’t for years of training that made responses automatic, his parents would have realized just how much he wasn’t paying attention. He tried to, hoping that the readings or homily might provide him some insight. They didn’t. Mindful of the fact that the day was going to be beautiful and that it had already gotten hot inside the church, Father Kinnian kept to a light, feel-good message, and sped through the liturgy.

Two thoughts chased themselves in a circle through Grant’s mind. They orbited a hub representing the desire to keep his family safe. The first thought was that being a hero would be an extraordinary thing. He knew he had gifts which would be of great advantage in being a hero. Any doubt of that vanished in light of Lemuel asking him to help.

Hot on its heels came the central fact of his life: the only way he could keep his family safe was to be ordinary. Sure, a secret identity could safeguard his family, but the very fact of his public existence would mean that people would start looking for who he really was. The people with the greatest stake in piercing his secret would be those who would be happy to prey on his family. And as much as he and Lemuel might work to hide his secret, there was no protecting him from someone making a wild-ass but correct guess based on erroneous assumptions. As the old saying goes, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and again.

He had spent his entire life being ordinary. He did everything he could to avoid calling attention to himself. He’d made mistakes, but they’d been easy to cover up—often with Polly’s help. If he became a hero, he was just opening himself up to making more mistakes, and papering them over would be even more difficult.

After mass he rode in silence back to the farm. He and his father retreated to the barn. “I know why you’ve been quiet, Grant.” His father kept his voice low but warm. “No matter what decision you make, I’ll support you.”

Grant nodded. “Thanks, dad. I think I know…”

“Wait. I have one more thing to say.” Hank lifted his chin and clasped his hands at the small of his back. “The toughest thing about being a hero isn’t saving people—it’s living with the fact that you couldn’t save them all.”

Grant covered his face with his hands. A scenario where an emergency requiring him to rescue a group of people would result in his revealing his true identity blossomed in his mind. He might make a tiny mistake, one of which he wasn’t even aware, and that would put his family in jeopardy. At the same time he was getting a medal from the President, enemies would be slaughtering his family.

His hands fell away and he met his father’s gaze. “I can’t do it. I can’t put you and mom and Polly at risk. I can’t.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.