RUNAWAY TWINS (Runaway Twins series #1) Read Online Free

and redouble their planning.
    And yet, the more they concentrated and schemed, the less practical their ideas seemed. The temple guards were everywhere—especially at night; and every exit from the compound was covered. The Prophet explained he was protecting his flock from the harassment of outsiders, so all could focus on the things of God and not on the things of the world. But the twins knew that while he certainly didn’t want to let outsiders in, he was also deathly afraid of letting rebels out.
    “We can’t get out and we can’t stay here,” said Rachel, “not with our wedding coming up in less than four months.” Her bottle-green eyes were filled with frustration and anger, and she hurled a schoolbook against the bedroom wall, causing a small figurine to fall from the shelf. It didn’t break, and she put it back in place.
    “What can we do?” asked Janie. Her tear-filled eyes were lighter than her sister’s, a brighter green, like undiluted antifreeze. Everyone knew the surest way to tell the girls apart was to look at their eyes. But those who knew them best also knew another way to identify them was to see who had taken the lead, for Rachel was the more aggressive of the two.
    “Don’t cry, Janie,” said Rachel, “we’ll come up with something. I’ve been working on an idea.”
    “What?”
    And they began to plan their night run to Sheba.

5
The New Boy
    Twelve-year-old Justin Patrick missed his father, his uncle, and Alaska. He missed the treks the three of them made into the back country; and he missed the rescues his father organized to save the lives of stranded climbers, skiers, and downed pilots. He missed the survival lessons, the rugged Alaskan wilderness, and the camaraderie he shared with the two men in his family. His aunt was now the only family he had left. The landslide had taken his father and his uncle, and his mother had died when he was an infant.
    Aunt Ruby was not blood family. She was Uncle Garth’s wife and related to Justin only by marriage. While Uncle Garth lived, she seemed as solid and stable as her husband; but after his death she began a long decline culminating in her leaving Alaska for Montana and the Sheba Hill congregation.
    Justin was devastated by her decision. After he and his aunt had moved into a small home in the Sheba Hill compound, he went to her and said, “How can we be part of this?”
    “These are good people,” she said.
    He shook his head.
    “The Prophet loves us,” she said.
    Justin scowled. “He loves himself and young girls.”
    “Try to believe in the Prophet,” she said. “He has your best interests in mind.”
    Justin closed his eyes in disgust. “I don’t believe in him, Aunt Ruby, and I never will.” His expression was intense, and his pale blue eyes were defiant. “As soon as I’m able, I’m going to get out of this place.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous, Justin. Where would you go? Who would you go to? I’m all you have—me and our new family here at Sheba Hill.”
    “And your new husband and his other wives?”
    “Elder Tate is a wonderful man, and I’m fortunate he wants me for his wife.”
    Justin shook his head. “One of his wives, you mean. If Uncle Garth knew what you’re doing, he’d crawl out of his grave and come drag you away from here.”
    “That’s not funny, Justin.”
    “I’m not trying to be funny.”
    After his aunt married Elder Tate, Justin tried to stay away from the Tate household as much as possible. He asked if he could continue to live in the small cottage he and Ruby had previously occupied, but the Prophet said Justin was too young to live alone; and besides, he needed the warmth of a family unit.
    Family unit? The Tate ménage was more like a zoo, with children running everywhere and wives in cages of their own construction. Justin’s only relief was to find ways to spend as much time by himself as he could. He often got up at first light and didn’t return to the house until after dark.