"And now they have a baby," Sabrina put in.
"Isn't she adorable?" Patience asked, not afraid of anyone disagreeing.
"Yes, she is. I noticed that she smiles all the time."
"Have you seen her with Brad or Trace?" Jeb asked. "She adores her father and uncle."
The whole evening went this way. Jeb and Patience shared their lives with Sabrina and put in gently asked questions of their own. Sabrina was as open with them as she had been with everyone else, but for some reason, talking about Denver this night made her ache. She missed Danny and Callie and wondered for the first time in a long while what might have happened to her sister.
96 For this reason, she walked back to her apartment very slowly. There was plenty of light in the sky when she left the Dorns, and she assured Jeb she would be fine, but she dawdled and before she knew it, the air was cooling and the sky was growing dim. She was on Willow Street, her building just ahead, when she heard a commotion, a man yelling, a woman crying, and the pathetic, tinny cry of an infant.
97
SABRINA DIDN'T THINK, AND she didn't hesitate but went to the door
of the house in front of her and opened it. A man was standing over a woman, his arm raised to strike her, and strike her he did.
"Stop that!" Sabrina ordered and started toward him, but the man only reached back long enough to slap her away.
Sabrina was thrown back, her face hurting, but she was made of sterner stuff. As soon as she scrambled to her feet, she attacked the man from the back, raking his face with her nails. He turned from hitting the woman and bellowed, throwing Sabrina off in the process before running for the door.
Sabrina went to the woman, who had fallen into one corner. She was unconscious, her face a mass of bruises. She heard noise behind her and turned for another attack, but it was a woman.
"What happened?"
The light was too dim, but Sabrina knew that voice.
"Crystal, is that you?"
"Yeah."
"Go for the doctor and the sheriff. Hurry!"
It was no small task, but Sabrina lifted the small woman and took
98 her to the bedroom. She laid her across the rumple of bedclothes and covered her as best she could. Not until all this was done did she go back to the living room and pick up the tiny creature in the basket. Her heart caught in her throat when she realized how small it was.
Oh, God, please, Sabrina's heart prayed. It's so tiny. Please God-please help it.
Sabrina suddenly felt the warmth and the wet all at the same time. The baby's skin was very warm, but the thin blanket was soaked through. The lantern was dim, but she rummaged near the basket and found a dry cloth. Stripping off everything, the baby in a crying frenzy, Sabrina rewrapped the infant and snuggled her close. A girl, a small baby girl, so new her umbilical cord was still long.
She had only just quieted her when a man came in the door. He identified himself as Sheriff Kaderly and asked what had happened.
"A woman's been beaten. I put her on the bed."
Nate said nothing else but went toward the bedroom. Sabrina sat in the room's only available chair, held the baby close, and begged God for some kind of miracle.
Rylan had not been home ten minutes when oneof Nate's deputies, Lewis Varner, came for him. Not for a shooting this time but for a woman who'd been beaten. There was a newborn in the house, and the woman was in a bad way.
Rylan came into the small home, little more than one room and a bedroom, and found Sabrina sitting in one corner, the baby in her arms. The emotions that rushed through him at that point were a surprise, but he didn't take time to question her. Nate had come to the bedroom door, expecting him, and Rylan went that way.
Doctor Ertz was present, and the woman was talking a little. Rylan came in and waited while the doctor saw to her needs. He then pulled a chair close the bed.
"I'm Pastor Rylan Jarvik. Can you tell me your name?"
99 "Eliza," the woman whispered. "My baby..."
"Your baby is in the other room. A friend of mine, a woman, is holding her. Would you like to see her?"
Rylan saw the sheriff leave to get Sabrina. Rylan kept his eyes on Eliza and saw the relief when she spotted her infant, now quiet in Sabrina's arms.
"How old is the baby?" Rylan asked.
"Two days."
"What's the baby's name?" Rylan asked next.
"Mirabel."
"You need to feed her," the doctor ordered, having checked the baby before Sabrina went in. "She needs milk."
"I'll help her," Sabrina said, and waited only for the men to clear out. It took a little doing-she learned this was Eliza's first baby-but eventually the baby was settled at her breast.
"You're the new one," Eliza said when the baby had latched on. She looked up at Sabrina through swollen eyes.
"The new what?"
"The pretty one who's in the wrong neighborhood."
"Don't believe everything you hear," Sabrina said, watching the baby eat.
Eliza gave a small sigh and closed her eyes. Sabrina stayed for just a moment more and then slipped from the room.
Not until she came from the bedroom did the men see the marks on her face. Nate, who had been joined by another deputy, Thorn Koeller, wasted no time asking Sabrina what had happened.
"I can't remember all of it. He was hitting her, and I grabbed him."
"And he hit you," the sheriff supplied.
"I fell back, so he must have. I scratched his face. I remember that."
Rylan watched her intently during all of this, thinking he didn't know another woman in town who would be as calm as she was in the midst of this situation. The sheriff was starting to say something
100 more, but Sabrina quickly excused herself. Nate did nothing to stop her, but Rylan followed her outside.
"Crystal," Sabrina called to the woman who had walked past. She
came back. Very little light spilled out of the house, but it was enough
to show Rylan the type of dress the other woman was wearing. "Who was that man?" Sabrina asked.
"He takes care of Eliza sometimes," she said, not willing to give his name. "I don't think he knew about the baby."
"Will he be back?"
"Sure." Her voice was matter-of-fact. "He lives there when he's in town."
"She needs someone to sit with her."
"I'm working."
"Take the night oft" Sabrina ordered, her tone flat.
"I'll go in," Crystal said after a long-suffering sigh, "but not with the sheriff there."
"I don't think he'll be much longer. Stay close."
"Yes, Mother," Crystal said in angry sarcasm, but Sabrina ignored
it.
"I'll check on her tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Haven't you heard?" Sabrina's own sarcasm came to the fore. "I'm the pretty one who's in the wrong neighborhood."
Crystal couldn't help herself. She laughed.
"Who's that?" she asked when she had her breath, and Sabrina turned to find a huge shape behind her.
"Hello," Rylan said calmly. "I'm Rylan Jarvik, Sabrina's pastor." "I've heard of you," Crystal said. "You helped Maggie last year." "How is she?"
"I think better."
"Tell her I said hello," Rylan said and then spoke to Sabrina. "I'm going to go back in to see if Eliza wants me to pray with her. Then I'll walk you home."
"It's not that far," Sabrina began, but Rylan took her hand and
101led her back inside. He didn't relinquish that hand until he was back in the bedroom. The chair was still close to the bed but vacant, and Rylan sat back down.
"Your baby seems happy to be back with you," Rylan said, his voice kind as he gazed down at the sleeping infant.
"She's a good baby."
Rylan nodded. "Sheriff Kaderly sends for me when someone's been hurt or grieving, but I don't have to stay. I can pray for you if you like, but it's your choice."
"I haven't talked to God in a long time.
I never make it to church."
"Since God is everywhere, we don't have to be in a church building to pray. We can call out to Him wherever we are."
"I don't want God here," Eliza said. "It's not a nice place."
"He's here, Eliza, all the time, but I won't force you to talk about
it."
Eliza's head shifted uncomfortably on the pillow, and Rylan rose.
"Hey, Pretty," Eliza said, but Sabrina didn't turn.
"Sabrina." Rylan had caught it and called her name. "Eliza wants to speak with you."
Sabrina turned to the woman in the bed and went a little closer.
"Thanks for taking care of my baby."
"You're welcome. Crystal's going to come tonight. I'll check on you tomorrow."
Eliza stared at her but didn't comment. Sabrina didn't either. She turned and walked from the room and found Rylan waiting for her. Without a word, he led the way outside, clearly planning to walk her the short distance home as he'd said.
"How did you come to be in that house?" Rylan asked when
102 they both stood at the bottom of Sabrina's stairs. There was a bit of a moon, but they were basically talking in the dark.
"I heard a woman cry out and went in."
"From your apartment?"
"No, I was walking by."
More retorts than Rylan could keep track of sprang to his lips, but he didn't utter any of them.
"Does Sheriff Kaderly always send for you?" Sabrina asked, finding this rather interesting.
"Yes. He has for so many years that it seems normal to me." "And what do you do?"
"Just what I did tonight. I come and I pray with folks if they want it."
"Do they ever?"
"Some have. In fact some folks in the church family are people I met with during times like this."
Sabrina wanted to ask if any were former prostitutes, but she kept the question to herself.
"Are you all right?" Rylan asked.
"Yes, are you?"
"I didn't get hit tonight," Rylan explained. "And unless I misunderstood what happened, you haven't even had time to put a cool cloth on your face."
"You're not like I thought," Sabrina said thoughtfully, feeling safe to admit it in the dark.
"How's that?"
"I don't know. I just didn't picture you being so kind." "It's easy to be kind when you care about people."
"I can see that you do."
"I think I would have to say the same about you. After tonight, I don't know how I could think anything else."
"That's a good thing, isn't it?" Sabrina asked, suddenly feeling uncertain.
"I think it is," Rylan said, even as he wanted to tell her that she
103 couldn't keep breaking up fights, that tonight she might have gotten off easy.
"Thank you for walking me home, Pastor Rylan."
"You're welcome. I hope you sleep well."
"Thank you. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Sabrina."
Before he could move away, she told him she would see him Sunday. Rylan didn't correct her, but he planned on seeing her before then. He would be at Jeanette's tomorrow, as soon as he could manage it, to check on her face.
Rylan was at Chas' door first thing in the morning. Chas was the elder he was closest to, the one who tended to ask him the toughest questions and hold him most accountable. Rylan was feeling things about a woman he barely knew, and he needed prayer. He started by explaining his evening to Chas and then waited.
"She went in and stopped this man's attack?"
"Yes. I haven't seen her today, but he hit her and there was some bruising."
Chas stared at him, and Rylan's heart spilled over.
"There's something special about her, Chas. I've never been drawn to anyone like this."
"And your heart wants to gallop."
"It does," Rylan agreed, laughing at the very words he'd used in the pulpit many times. mostly stopped today to talk to you because I need your prayers. I need to think clearly and not be blinded by emotion."
"Well, you certainly have my prayers. Do we know what happened with this woman or the man?"
"No. My next stop is the sheriff's office. The woman was not open to talking about God, so I probably won't see her again. However," Rylan remembered, "Sabrina was headed back today."
104 "She said this?"
"Yes, and she had another woman go there last night." Rylan had to stop and shake his head. "I wish you could have seen and heard her. I've never seen the like."
Chas didn't know what to say. There was certainly a whole lot more to Sabrina Matthews than a tall woman with a pretty face, but finding out the facts and details might not be so easy.
Chas felt speculation coming over him and knew there was no point. As he'd told his friend he would do, he started to pray.
Sabrina knocked softly and carefully opened the front door of the house down the street. Not looking at all good, but on her feet, Eliza stood in the living room, the baby in her arms.
"How are you?" Sabrina asked.
"How do I look?"
"Awful." Sabrina didn't mince words. "I assume that's how you feel."
"Have you got a cigarette?" Eliza asked.
"No, sorry."
"Crystal probably does."
"Did she come last night?"
"Yeah. She left an hour ago."
"Can I get you anything? Maybe some breakfast?"
"No, but thanks."
There was a note of finality to her voice that Sabrina could not help but hear. The baby gave a little squeak of a cry then, and Sabrina, seeing no help for it, backed toward the door. She knew how resilient women in this life could be and also that she was looking at one. It wouldn't have surprised her if the man from last night was already back in the bedroom, sleeping off a rough night of beating his woman.
Seeing that there was nothing left for her to do or say, Sabrina went
105 on her way. She had to slip back into her apartment to get her reticule and then get to Jeanette's. Eliza did not want her help, and she had a job to do. She was almost to Jeanette's before she remembered that she could pray for Eliza and the baby every time they came to mind.
"How is the machine working, Jeanette?" Rylan asked as soon as he was in the door of the shop.
"Just great, thank you," Jeanette answered with a smile. "I'm glad to hear it. No Sabrina today?"
Jeanette's smile disappeared. "She's in the back. She insisted on working back there."
Rylan started that way, but Jeanette was not done. She called after his retreating back, "I might not be done with you, Rylan Jarvik. I might want someone else's side of the story."
Sabrina had certainly heard all of this, so she wasn't at all surprised when Rylan appeared. There was one small window at the back, and Sabrina had positioned herself under it to give her the best light to sew.
"How's the eye?" Rylan asked the moment he saw her. "I'll live," Sabrina said lightly.
Rylan went to the window and bent in such a way that he could see her face in the full light. She had a shiner high on one cheek bone and a scratch on the same side. Sabrina watched him take in the marks and then look her in the eye.
"I don't think I want you to do that again," Rylan said slowly. "Well, I don't plan on it," Sabrina said.
"But it might happen?" Rylan asked.
Sabrina had to smile a little at his tone, and Rylan did not press her. Instead he asked her if she'd seen Eliza and the baby. "Yes. She was on her feet but looking as awful as she felt."
106 "I stopped to see Kaderly. They found a very drunk man with scratches on his face and hauled him in."
"She won't press charges," Sabrina said.
"But you could," Rylan said, having already discussed this with the sheriff.
"Not if she cares about him. As soon as he gets out, she'll welcome him back."
Rylan nodded, knowing how true it was. Sabrina thought she might try talking to her again but wasn't sure if that was
a good idea.
Both were still thinking to themselves when Jeanette made an appearance.
"What am I going to do with her?" she asked Rylan. "Getting herself hurt like that! I tell you, Bri, you need to move home with me."
Sabrina smiled at her but didn't comment. Rylan had all he could do to keep his mouth closed. She was not the least bit afraid after what happened, and she lived in that neighborhood.
"Well, ladies," Rylan said, feeling a need to get out before someone asked him what he thought. Also, Jeanette's back room was not a large place. He barely fit on his own without two other people joining him. "I've got a sermon to work on. If you need me to check that machine again, Jeanette, I'll be at home."
"Thanks, Rylan," she said, still a bit put out. "I hope you preach on folks letting others take care of them."
Sabrina laughed out loud over this. Rylan would have joined her, but he caught sight of Jeanette's scowling face and decided to make his exit.
Sabrina found herself glad that folks only saw what they wanted to see. By Saturday afternoon when she was working at the mercantile
107
the bruises had faded but the scratch was still slightly discernable. Jessie had noticed, and Sabrina had given a brief explanation, but not until late in the day did anyone else say a word. Unfortunately the person who paid the most attention was Bret Toben. He wanted more tobacco and a razor, but before Sabrina could find what he needed, he'd stepped in front of her.
"Who scratched you?" he asked quietly, all charm and teasing gone. Indeed, he looked angry or concerned; Sabrina could not tell which.
"It's a long story," Sabrina answered as she slipped around him to find the razor. But Bret wasn't done. He followed Sabrina to the back of the store.
"I think I AAT.nt you to tell me about this. What time are you off?" "It's kind of you, Mr. Toben, but I'm fine."
Her tone and expression told Bret he wasn't going to get anything out of her, but he still wasn't done. Bret got and paid for his things, but he left with a whole lot more. He didn't care how long it took, he was determined that someone was going to tell him what happened to Sabrina Matthews' cheek.
"How are you doing with your memorization?" Rylan asked at the end of his sermon, having assigned a new verse from Colossians each of the last few weeks. "Does anyone want to give chapter two, verse six a try? Okay, Franklin," Rylan said, smiling at how fast the boy's hand went up. "Let's hear it."