The next morning, Warren woke on the heated bed in the old house. After putting out the stove fire, he headed home to make breakfast.Once the family finished eating, Warren took Milo to the village school. The boy's nerves showed in every step.The village had only one elementary school, a modest affair with a few dozen students scattered across grade levels and two or three teachers keeping the place running. These days, families with means sent their children to schools in the county seat. Others didn't bother with school at all. If compulsory education hadn't been rolled out in recent years, the building would probably still be half empty.The staff was small, but adequate for elementary instruction.The whole campus fit inside a single courtyard. A two-story building stood at the center, flanked by a basketball hoop on one side and a flagpole on the other. Most of the students were young children passing through, picking up basic literacy and arithmetic befo

After Warren promised several times that he would visit next week, the old man finally grunted his approval and hung up.Warren rubbed his forehead, not sure whether to laugh or sigh. His teacher's temper was impossible to deal with, but this whole situation really was his own fault. When he'd first come home, he'd gotten married right away, and then his leg had been broken. After that, Warren had wanted even less to get in touch. It wasn't that he couldn't accept the injury itself. What he couldn't accept was living the rest of his life under other people's pitying stares.But now everything had changed for the better, and Warren had come to terms with it. Even if his leg hadn't healed, he wouldn't have kept wallowing. So what if his leg was broken? He could still earn money. He could still give his family a good life. He could be there for them every day and watch Daisy grow up. A life like that would have been more than enough.Warren smiled to himself and headed t