Saving Rain

by Kelsey Kingsley

I left the room and heard the voices of people I didn’t know coming from the kitchen. “Daddy, you let a criminal stay in your house?” “Mom, how could you let him do that?!” The first voice scoffed. “Oh my God, what if he kills you in your sleep and takes everything you own?” The second said, “Wait. Has he killed anybody? Why was he in prison in the first place?” Harry sighed. “Okay, first of all, he’s not going to kill anybody. He was in prison for manslaughter and—” “So, wait. He has killed someone,” the second voice interrupted. “Oh my God, Pamela. Daddy invited a murderer to Christmas. Isn’t that awesome?” I pulled in a deep breath and decided it was time to stop eavesdropping and get the introductions with Harry’s daughters over with and out of the way. I couldn’t force anyone to feel comfortable in my presence, but the least I could do was be polite and hopefully prove to them I wasn’t a threat. So, I cleared my throat and entered the kitchen to find two blonde women. They looked nearly identical to their mother, and they turned at the sound of my footsteps. “Girls, I’d like you to meet Soldier. Soldier, these are my daughters—” “Wait,” one of the two cut in, holding her hands out. “Soldier. I knew a kid named Soldier. He was one of my students, and he …” Her voice trailed off as something dawned on her, and she laid a palm over her chest. “Oh my God, are you Soldier Mason?” “Um …” I swallowed as it dawned on me that she had heard of my case. “Yeah, I—” “Soldier, oh m...