Sabrina went back to work, but she asked G.o.d for these very things until Jeanette arrived.

Sabrina had not thought about what Rylan's reaction would be.

131 She came to church on Sunday morning, a little earlier than usual, only to have Rylan take one look at her and pull her off to one side of the foyer area.

"What happened to your cheek, Sabrina?"

"Oh." Her hand came up to her cheekbone. She'd almost forgotten. "A box fell from a shelf in Jessie's storeroom."

Rylan looked so surprised that Sabrina smiled up at him, clearly amused.

"Was I almost in trouble?"

"Almost," Rylan had to admit, knowing it was time to face the fact that his reactions to this woman were anything but calm. He honestly thought she'd been out again, and he was ready to put her under lock and key.

"Would that have been so bad?" Sabrina pressed him. "It all depends on the circ.u.mstances."

"So there are rules now?"

"There have always been rules. I thought we were in agreement on this."

"We are," Sabrina agreed, "but I've also been thinking about the fact that if we never go outside of our circle, when will we share Christ?"

"You're right, and it's easy to forget that. It's also easy to forget that going outside the circle has to be done wisely."

"I'll remember. I'll just tell Jessie I need to stay out of the store- MOM.

Rylan tried to look stern, but a smile peeked through. Sabrina's smile had turned a bit cheeky when she saw she'd gained the upper hand, and Rylan chuckled a little.

Trace and Ca.s.sidy, just coming in the door, noticed the smiles between the two in conference, and Ca.s.sidy did not waste a moment. She turned to her husband, her brows raised, her meaning clear. Trace knew she wanted him to question Rylan, but he wasn't ready to do that. It was too much fun watching from afar and asking G.o.d if this might be the one He had for their pastor.

132 "What happened to your cheek?" Jeanette asked, looking instantly upset.

"A box fell on me in Jessie's storeroom."

"Oh, you poor dear," Jeanette said, gently touching Sabrina's other cheek and telling herself to calm down.

Heather joined the women at that moment, and Sabrina had to explain again.

"Don't forget the women come to our house tomorrow, Bri," Heather reminded her.

"I don't think I'll be there. Jessie has me organizing part of the storeroom, so even if we're slow, I'll probably be doing that."

Heather asked a few details, and the women were still discussing that when the service began. Sabrina made a mental note to visit at Jeanette's as soon as she could. There was never enough time to visit the way she liked, and not being with them made her miss Callie as well as feel very far from home.

"Where is Sabrina?" Ca.s.sidy wanted to know when she and Meg got to Jeanette's on Monday.

"Jessie needed her at the store today."

The women of the church gathered at Jeanette's house most Mondays. They prayed together and shared a time of fellowship that each woman enjoyed. The children played in the room with them or in Jeanette's other parlor. Becky did her part with treats and drinks, and Heather managed to go back and forth between both groups and still keep an eye on Theta.

"You can pray for me," Jeanette requested when the ladies had settled. "Savanna's first birthday is coming up, and not having Theta know about it is bothering me."

133 Both Meg and Ca.s.sidy were in the room and nodded with compa.s.sion.

"It's funny when it hits me. Most days, I go along, just thankful that she's here, but when the big events come on the calendar, I ache to have my sister back."

Miranda said she would take that request, and Patience shared about her upcoming trip to New York to see her brother and sister-in-law, Meg's father and mother. She was excited to go back after all these years, but it was a long way to travel and she said she wasn't 19 any longer.

For some reason this got everyone to laughing. It took some moments to settle back to the requests, but before it was over, all the women had shared something they wanted special prayer for. The women each prayed, interrupted only twice by the needs of children, before they broke to have the pastry Becky had made. Not leaving for almost two hours, each one was very thankful she had come.

Sabrina had been correct. She was back in the storeroom at Jessie's, restacking shelves and hopefully making more items and shelf s.p.a.ce available. She was working steadily along when she heard a male voice. Jeb Dorn had come to help her.

"What can I do?"

"Oh, Mr. Dorn, that's kind of you, but-" Sabrina stopped when he put his hand up.

"Patience took one look at that bruise and gave me the look. If you get hurt again, I'll be in all kinds of trouble."

Sabrina laughed, but she believed with all her heart that everyone was overreacting. A vision of her face after a violent customer got done with her one night in Denver floated through her mind. The pain of the memory was intense, and Sabrina was surprised that it took this to bring it back. It would have made more sense to recall it after the night with Eliza.

134 "What shall I do?" Jeb asked, and Sabrina was happy for the distraction.

The two worked along, with occasional visits from the girls, until dinnertime. Jeb couldn't stay in the afternoon, but with his help, Sabrina finished that day. She nearly fell into the door of her apartment, too tired to even eat, and thinking that she was not cut out for such work. The storeroom, coupled with a day of painting last week, was making Sabrina wonder if she shouldn't try to find work at the bank.

"I'll check with Rylan first," Trace said to Ca.s.sidy as they entered town on Sunday morning, "if you're sure you're not up to something."

"I'm sure," Ca.s.sidy said with a laugh. He'd checked with her twice already. "I don't know Bri at all, and if Ry's not comfortable with it, you know he'll be honest."

Trace knew that Ca.s.sidy would never play games with a person's heart, but she was a romantic. He had told her straight up that he was not going to speak to Rylan, but he had agreed to ask him for Sunday dinner. It wasn't until they agreed to this that Ca.s.sidy also mentioned having Sabrina.

"Can you join us for dinner today?" Trace asked Rylan as soon as he got in the building, even before the service could begin. "I can, thank you, Trace."

"Great. Ca.s.s also wants to invite Bri, but if you'd rather we didn't do that, just say the word."

"Why would that bother me?" Rylan asked in all sincerity. "Because it might look like we're up to something. We're just inviting the two of you."

"I don't have any objections. Have you checked with Sabrina?" "Ca.s.s will do that if you're good with it."

"I'm fine," Rylan agreed, but a little part of his heart feared 135 rejection. If he got to the ranch and Sabrina wasn't there, he would know where he stood.

As it was, both Rylan and Sabrina rode to the ranch with Trace and Ca.s.sidy. It meant that Trace would have to take them back to town later, but he didn't mind. Rylan could have taken something from the livery, but Trace was quick to offer.

When they arrived at the house, Sabrina enjoyed the large front porch and thought she could have sat on it all day. However, when Ca.s.sidy went to the kitchen to put dinner on, Sabrina went to lend a hand.

"Is there something I can do?"

"Sure," Ca.s.sidy agreed. "Those biscuits need to go into a bowl. You'll find one in that cupboard on the wall."

Ca.s.sidy glanced over as she worked and had to make a comment.

"You must hear this all the time, but your hair is beautiful." "Oh, thank you," Sabrina said, not having heard that for a long while.

"It looks thick."

"It is."

"I don't know how you wear it down. I have to have mine up when it's this warm."

"I don't get hot very easily. I tend to be cold."

"What are you going to do this winter?"

Sabrina laughed before saying, "Probably freeze."

Ca.s.sidy smiled at her, but an unbidden thought came to mind: Rylan would keep you warm this winter. She pushed the thought away, not wanting to plot against her friend Rylan or Sabrina.

"How's it coming, Ca.s.s?" Trace appeared to check on her.

"Good. The meat is almost hot, and I just have to put these sweet potatoes in a bowl."

136 "Let me know when you need things carried."

"Thank you."

The gesture was so simple. Sabrina was sure this couple thought nothing of it, but for her this small act made her ache. It was the type of thing Danny would do for Callie. Sabrina had resigned herself months ago to never having this special unity with a man, and she was still resigned to that, but at the moment it hurt so much she could hardly breathe.

It was a relief to have Ca.s.sidy unaware. The food was ready faster than she thought, and before she had more time to grieve, they were sitting down to dinner.

"How did you come to Token Creek?" Ca.s.sidy asked Sabrina when they all had dessert in front of them.

"It's a long story," Sabrina said, not unwilling to share, but not wanting to monopolize the conversation.

"We have time," Trace said, already seeing that his wife was very drawn to this woman and fairly certain that Rylan was working to keep the emotions from his face.

"Well, I found myself alone. My parents had both died, and my sister and I had lost touch. In fact she had made it clear that she didn't want me in her life anymore. But then a man and his wife came along, Danny and Callie Barshaw. They took me into their home and cared for me. They found me a job at a laundry. I lived with them for more than six months, and it was during that time I believed in Christ. Their faith is genuine, and they taught me from the Bible and took me to church each week.

"But Denver still held a lot of painful memories for me. Danny suggested I try Token Creek because there's a fine church family here." She smiled before saying, "And I found out he was right."

With her comments about the church family, Trace and Ca.s.sidy 137 naturally looked to Rylan. That man waited until Sabrina looked at him as well.

"Danny Barshaw is my father's cousin," Rylan told her quietly, his eyes seeing more than he let on.

138.

SABRINA LOOKED AS SURPRISED as she felt over Rylan's announcement.

She was too stunned to even speak. Had this not come up before? Did Rylan not know that she wrote to Danny and Callie regularly? And why hadn't Danny mentioned his relationship to the pastor of the Token Creek church?

"So he sent Bri because he knew about your being here?" Ca.s.sidy asked.

"He's done it a few times over the years," Rylan said by way of explanation. "Although none of the folks still live here."

"Did he contact you and tell you Bri was coming?" Trace wished to know.

"No. This is the first I've heard that Sabrina knows them. And I haven't talked to Danny in years. I visited home two years ago, but my family has a farm on the outskirts of town. Danny and Callie live right in the city."

"I had to leave my hometown a few years ago," Ca.s.sidy began to share.

Sabrina could have sighed with relief to have a change in subject. There was no point in guessing.

139 "My mother is still there and sometimes it's still hard to be away from her," Ca.s.sidy went on.

"You should tell her the details," Trace said, and Ca.s.sidy didn't hesitate. Sabrina listened intently, feeling like the day she learned that Callie had been a prost.i.tute. It was too easy to believe that everyone's life was idyllic, with no past pains. Ca.s.sidy's experience with her own brother sounded as difficult as Sabrina's relationship with her sister.

Sabrina did not have a lot to say as the afternoon went on. She had much too much to think about.

"You can drop us here," Rylan said to Trace as they came into town. Sabrina wasn't paying very close attention to where they were but suddenly found herself a few blocks from the church building.

"Thanks, Trace," she said, glad for a chance to walk the rest of the way home.

"You're welcome. Don't forget what Ca.s.s said. Come back and visit us."

"I will."

"Thanks, Trace," Rylan added, shaking the rancher's hand and turning to find Sabrina ready with her goodbyes.

"I'll see you next week," she started.

"Why don't I walk you home."

"It's still light out," Sabrina pointed out.

"That's good, actually," Rylan said, taking her arm and turning her in the right direction. "I'll still be able to see your face when you tell me why it upset you that I know Danny Barshaw."

Sabrina frowned up at him, but Rylan didn't comment. They walked in silence for a time, and Rylan thought that at this rate she would be headed up her stairs and he still wouldn't know.

"I write to them every week," Sabrina suddenly said. "Did you know that?"

140"No. I had heard that someone from Denver suggested you head this way, and I'll be honest and tell you I wondered. I know a lot of folks in Denver, and my family is all there, so it makes sense to me."

Again more silence.

"Why does it bother you?" Rylan asked.

Because for a long, painful minute I forgot I asked Danny and Callie to let me do this on my own, and I feared that Danny wrote and told you about me.

"I think," Sabrina ended up saying very slowly, "that I was just taken by surprise. It's not at all important. In fact it's nice to have someone know them."