"The question is whether you"ve seen that snake Zeke?" Crystal said, still not answering the question.
"No, I keep hoping he"ll be picked up."
"He"s probably on the run, thinking he killed you."
"I hope he"s long gone," Sabrina said, and then got to the reason why she"d come. "I"m going to look for a new place. I won"t be back here to live."
Crystal nodded, having known all along it was just a matter of time.
"Well, it"s been nice knowing you."
"I"m not leaving town, just the neighborhood."
Crystal nodded, but her eyes told of her disbelief.
"Don"t give me that look," Sabrina said, standing up to her. "I"ve never lied to you, and I"m not going to start now."
Her tone made Crystal smile and say, "You talk awfully feisty for someone who"s a bruised mess."
Sabrina chuckled and stood. "I hope I"ll be out and around in a week. Don"t forget that I"m praying for you."
"Go on, now," Crystal said. "And take this walking mountain with you."
Rylan had to laugh, but he followed Sabrina to the door, waiting while she hugged Crystal. He had so much in his heart as they walked away from the apartment that he didn"t know where to start. He wanted to tell Sabrina how special she was and how much he appreciated her, but not now, not in the dark when he couldn"t see her face.
205 "I need to find an apartment," Sabrina said when they were partway back.
"Why the hurry?" Rylan asked.
Sabrina was quiet and Rylan waited.
206.
"NANETTE IS WONDERFUL,"SABRINA began. "So are Becky and Heather, but the house is hard for me."
"The house itself-the building?"
"Yes. It looks like a home my sister lives in, and the memories are painful."
"I"m sorry, Sabrina. I wish we had all known."
"It"s not exactly something I can explain. "Oh, by the way, every time I see your house I"m reminded of my sister-the one who got me involved in prost.i.tution and then deserted me to marry a wealthy man." ,, "Tell me something, Sabrina," Rylan said, her words cutting like a knife. "When was the last time you felt cared about?"
"I"m sorry I said that," Sabrina said, her voice contrite. "I wasn"t rebuking you. I really want to know."
"Well, I feel cared for here," she said, her voice now a little confused. "And Danny and Callie care for me."
"Before that," Rylan pressed.
"Oh," Sabrina said and then didn"t speak for a longtime. Jeanette"s house was in sight before she said, "I can"t really remember. I was probably 12 or 13-sometime when my father was still alive."
207 They were back at the house before Rylan could frame a reply, and there was no chance to speak of it further, but the entire evening stayed on his mind until he fell asleep that night.
"Well now," Rylan said to Jessie when he was in the store that week. "This looks fun."
"Oh, it is," Jessie spoke sarcastically. "I love it when the shelf breaks."
Rylan went down on his knees to have a look, having to shift canned goods and boxes out of the way.
"What happened?"
"It must have given way in the night. It was like this when I came down this morning."
Rylan saw that the board was beyond repair, but he also knew that Chas could cut one for her in little time at all. So could Jeb, but he and Patience were still on their trip, something Jessie must have been very aware of.
"Do you miss Sabrina?" Rylan asked.
"Well, she doesn"t work for me on Thursdays, but if she were here, I"d have had her down the street looking for Chas right now." "Tell me something, Jessie. How do you keep up with it all?"
"I don"t know. I guess I"ve just been doing it for so long. I never remember a day in my life without this store."
Jessie was smiling at him, clearly not bitter about the thought, when Clancy came up.
"Did you break it, Pastor Rylan?"
"I didn"t break it, but I"m going to talk to Mr. Vick and see if he can fix it."
Jessie began to protest, but Rylan waved a hand at her and kept talking with the little girl. "Do you think a bear came in and sat on this shelf?"
"I don"t know," Clancy said, her eyes growing with the idea.
208 "Or maybe it was an elephant," Rylan suggested next. "How do you suppose he got in here?"
"He wouldn"t fit," she said so seriously that Rylan had to laugh. "Can I get a little help up here, please?" an irrate voice called from the front counter, and Jessie went that way.
"Well," Rylan said when they were alone. "What are you going to do today?"
"We might go to the creek," Clancy told him. "We can get wet." "That sounds fun."
"Do you like to get wet?"
"I do, yes. Especially when the weather is this hot."
"Is it hot?" Clancy asked, and Rylan had to smile. Leave it to a child not to notice temperatures as warm as they were having.
Rylan had actually come in for some soap but noticed that Jessie was still busy. He gathered the fallen items and stacked them as neatly as he could on the floor. When he finally went on his way, the broken board was in hand. He would stop by and see Chas or leave it with Miranda if Chas was somewhere at a building site. Once he was free to look at it, that man would probably have the board cut and sanded in under ten minutes.
"Just a bit more," Heather said as she leaned close to Sabrina"s face, using powder to cover the last of her bruises. At last she stood back and smiled at the younger woman. "Well, now, that"s the face we all know and love."
"Do I look all right? I can go out?"
"I think so. Jeanette will be surprised to see you, and Jessie and the girls will go wild."
"Oh, Heather," Sabrina said, grat.i.tude filling her eyes.
"Now my powder is a little bit pale for your skin, so let"s try it out on Becky first."
The women went to the kitchen and stood, waiting for Becky to 209 notice. She was bustling around as usual and did not immediately look up. Not that she hadn"t started talking as soon as they walked in, but it took some moments before she actually saw them.
"Well, now!" Becky suddenly exclaimed, coming close to stare at Sabrina.
"Is it better?" the youngest woman asked.
"If I hadn"t seen you the other way, I would have never known. What did you do, Heather, use some of your powder?"
"Yes, ma"am. Doesn"t she look great?"
"I"m going to work," Sabrina said, only to have Becky come to full attention.
"At the shop?"
"Yes, and then to Jessie"s."
"And then where?"
"After that I"ll head to the worst part of town, and since it"s Sat.u.r.day I"ll pick a fight with the first drunken man I find."
Heather didn"t even try to hold her laughter, but Becky drew herself up like a small hen and got ready to give Sabrina what for.
"No," Sabrina cut her off. "I"m leaving now. I don"t have time to be scolded. I"ll see you both tonight."
The women stood still as she slipped out the kitchen door and went on her way, but they were not done talking.
"If only she would marry Rylan," Becky said wistfully.
"That would be perfect," Heather agreed. "He would take such good care of her."
Becky nodded before both women went back to work.
"Excuse me," Jessie said to the woman who could not make up her mind about a pair of shoes. "I"ll check back with you," she added before heading to the door. Sabrina had just arrived, and Jessie got there as fast as she could, giving the other woman a hug.
210 "How are you?" Jessie asked.
"Better. Can you tell Heather used some powder?"
Jessie studied her and said, "The color is a little light for you, but you look good."
"Can you use me?" Sabrina asked.
The desperate look on Jessie"s face made Sabrina laugh. Jessie would have enjoyed the moment with her, but she suddenly remembered the woman with the shoes.
"Well, now, I didn"t think you were still in town." Bret Toben had come to Jessie"s and found Sabrina behind the counter.
"h.e.l.lo, Mr. Toben. What can I get you?"
"My mail, please. Where have you been?"
"At Jeanette"s, taking it slowly. I ran into a man with a vendetta and found myself on the wrong end of his fists."
Bret"s eyes narrowed, and as with the last time, that surprised him. He didn"t expect to feel angry, but he thought if the man were on the spot, he"d be tempted to shoot him.
"Any broken bones?" Bret asked, keeping his voice light. "No, just some bruises."
Bret"s eyes narrowed as he studied her, and Sabrina made a point of pushing his letter toward him, not sure he"d seen it.
"Are you still living at Sandgren"s?"
"No. I haven"t collected my things, but I will."
"My offer still stands," Bret said quietly and found himself alone. Sabrina had glared at him, turned, and walked away.
Bret made his way from the store, not sorry that she"d walked away in anger. He thought any emotion was a sign that he might be getting through. As long as she wasn"t indifferent to him, he believed he might have a chance.
211 "How was your week?" Rylan asked of Sabrina on Sat.u.r.day evening. He"d had a very busy week and had seen her only briefly. He had not been there for supper but came by afterward and asked Sabrina to go for a walk.
"A little bit long," Sabrina admitted, "but I was finally able to sew again, and that was nice."
"No more pain when you bend over the work?"
"No. It"s almost all gone unless I touch my face."
"And you worked today?"
"Yes, in both places." Sabrina smiled. "That was nice."
They were walking beyond Jeanette"s house. The sun was dropping slowly in the sky, but there was still plenty of light, and because Jeanette"s house was away from the businesses of downtown, it was quiet.
"Is it going to bother you if I ask you questions about your past?"
"No," Sabrina answered. It made sense to her that it might be a curiosity. "It"s not a fun story."
"No, I imagine it"s not. I a.s.sume your sister is older?" "Yes, three years."
"Is she your only sibling?"
"She is. I think we were a pretty normal family for a long time. I mean, Sybil was always willful, but Mother was sure she would grow out of it." Sabrina suddenly shook her head in wonder. "I never saw what a selfish person my mother was until I came to Christ."
"What did that reveal?"