Hidden Talents

slowly. “I was here the day her mother arrived, pregnant and all alone in the world. Said her name was Emily Smith and that Serenity's father had been killed in an accident. She didn't have anywhere else to go. No family. No one.”
    “She wound up here with the rest of us who didn't have anywhere else to go,” Montrose said. “Quinton, Ariadne, Julius, Jessie, Blade, and myself were all here then.”
    “We were here when Serenity was born, too.” Quinton rubbed his jaw. “Jesus. I'll never forget the blood. Scared us. We were all so damn young. Didn't know what to do.”
    Caleb frowned. “Serenity's mother gave birth here? No one took her to a hospital?”
    “She went into labor without any warning.” Quinton's mouth tightened. “Ariadne said something was wrong. We called the paramedics but it was the middle of winter. The roads were sheets of ice. Took forever for the aid car from Bullington to get here. We didn't dare try to drive her down the mountain ourselves because the bleeding was so bad. Any movement made it worse.”
    “The medics got here in time, though,” Montrose said slowly. “Or so we thought. They got the bleeding stopped and Serenity was safely delivered. Everyone, even the medics, thought Emily was going to make it.”
    “She was lying on a stretcher,” Quinton said. “The medics were getting ready to transport her. She asked to hold her baby for a few minutes and one of the medics put the infant in her arms. Emily kissed her and said she was naming her Serenity. Then she gave the baby to Julius. Probably because he happened to be standing closest to the stretcher.”
    “She took off her necklace and gave that to Ariadne.” Montrose took another sip of beer and stared into the depths of the pool. “Said it had come from Serenity's father and she wanted to be sure it went to Serenity.”
    “Emily looked at those of us gathered around the stretcher,” Blade said. “Begged us to take care of her baby. We thought she meant while she was recovering in the hospital. We said yes. Told her not to worry.”
    “She died on the way down the mountain,” Montrose concluded. “The medics said she went into shock. But we think she just gave up and slipped away. She told us she loved Serenity's father a lot. We all knew how much she missed him.”
    “It was like she sort of lost the will to live after she did what she had to do.” Blade rested his hands on his knees. “Knew a guy like that once. Got shot up on a mission. Realized he'd never make it out alive. But he hung on until he finished the job. Then he let himself die.”
    “Emily found the strength to survive long enough to get her daughter born and that was the end,” Quinton said. “She had nothing left afterward.”
    “And Witt's End wound up with a baby to raise.” Caleb shook his head in amazement. “I'm surprised the social service agencies let you keep her.”
    Quinton, Blade, and Montrose exchanged significant looks.
    “Well, we sort of made it easy for them to let us keep her,” Blade said cautiously. “Ariadne and Jessie said they'd probably try to take her away from us if we didn't do something. Said Serenity would land in a foster home, just like her mother and father had. We figured Emily wouldn't have wanted that.”
    “Ariadne grew up in foster homes, too,” Quinton explained. “She knew the system inside and out. Knew how to handle the bureaucracy and the paperwork. She told us what we had to do to avoid a hassle.”
    “What did you do?” Caleb asked.
    “We lied on the forms at the hospital,” Montrose explained. “The men in the group went out into the parking lot. Drew straws. The winner's name went down on Serenity's birth certificate. The hospital didn't have any qualms about sending Serenity home with her father.”
    “We had to fake Serenity's birth certificate to make sure there wouldn't be any problem keeping Serenity out of their hands,” Blade said.
    Caleb gazed into the shimmering waters of the pool. “Julius Makepeace was the winner, I take it?”
    “Yes.” Quinton shrugged. “But it didn't really matter. Everyone in Witt's End became a relative of Serenity's that day.”
    “I see.” Caleb studied the label on his bottle of Old Hogwash and wondered why he was suddenly feeling a little light-headed. “Yes, folks, incredible, but true. A fairy princess raised by feral hippies.”
    “Damn it, this isn't a joke, Ventress.” Quinton glowered at him. “And we aren't hippies.