and send her home now, so he leaned his elbows on the table and gave her his attention.
“Holy, holy, holy.” Though she didn’t bother with the h.
He recognized the tune but very few of the garbled words.
She stopped, a puzzled look on her face. “Why is God full of holes?”
He knew better than to express his surprise and puzzlement at her question. So he smiled and asked gently, “What makes you think He is?”
“’Cause the song says so.”
Holes and holy. He could see why she might be confused. “Come here, and I’ll try and explain.” She came to his side and he lifted her to his knee. He reached back for one of the belts he had tooled. “See this?” He pointed to one of the holes. “This is a hole so a man can keep his pants up.”
She giggled.
“But God isn’t that kind of hole. He’s holy because…” How did one explain it to a child? It was something he hadn’t had the opportunity to do with Myra. He meant to get it right for Sally. “It means He is always good, always loves us, takes care of the whole world, and never does wrong.” His own words convicted him. If God was holy—and Ryder believed He was—and He didn’t make mistakes, then why did Mirabelle and Myra die? And why was Cole accused of murder when he didn’t do it?
“Holy not the same?” She touched the belt to indicate she meant the holes.
“Nope. God’s holy is perfect, all-seeing, all-knowing, ever-patient…” Lessons learned at his mother’s knee came back as if they had been taught yesterday. “He is full of goodness and love.” Somewhere inside, a small flame, almost extinguished by long neglect and disappointment, flared and warmed.
“He is full of light. He made everything and keeps it in order.”
Sally studied him with awe and amazement. “God is big?”
“Yes.”
He could tell she was considering Ryder’s words, and he waited for her to say what she thought.
“Bigger than you?”
“Much, much bigger.”
“Oh.”
Her awe brought a flicker of answering awe in his own heart. Yes, God was big. Maybe even bigger than Ryder’s disappointments and pain. Though he wasn’t sure what that meant.
Kent poked his head into the shop. “Sally, Aunt Delcie is worried about you. Come home now.”
Sally dropped to the floor and went to her brother. “God is holy.”
“Yeah? You know better than to wander away.”
“Sowwy.”
As the pair turned to leave, horses galloped into town. One of the riders called, “We found the preacher. He needs help.”
Ryder hurried to the door, his hand on the shoulder of each child as if to protect them from harm. Or at least to make sure they didn’t run into the street when horses pranced there.
Miss Fisher came out of the café. She turned to relay a message to Miss Morton.
Burnsie hurried from the store and looked at the man barely clinging to his horse. “He’s bad hurt. He needs a place to rest.”
Ryder sent the children toward the café and trotted out to help Burnsie catch the preacher. Blood poured from a head wound.
“Laura, he can stay in our spare room,” Miss Morton called.
No one gave Miss Fisher a chance to say if she approved of the idea. Ryder and Burnsie half carried the man up the steps and across the dining room floor, following Miss Fisher. She led them to a small, narrow room. They lowered him to the bed. He opened his eyes enough to squint at them, but Ryder wondered if he was even aware of his surroundings. There appeared to be more than one cut, and several bruises.
Miss Morton hovered at the doorway, clinging to the back of a chair for support.
Some of the men who had rescued him crowded after them. There soon wouldn’t be room to move.
“You men wait outside or in the dining room,” Miss Morton called. “First, someone tell us what happened.”
“He kinda was in and out. Not making much sense. Near as I can figger, someone robbed him and beat him. Found him about five miles from here, just around the bend by the river. His horse was gone. No belongings on him.” The man grunted. “Even took his Bible. How low can you get?”
Burnsie nodded. “Good place to wait for some innocent passerby. Now you ladies leave whilst we take care of gettin’ him comfortable.”
Miss Fisher blushed bright red and scurried away, grabbing the children by the hand and taking them with her. She ducked into one of the bedrooms and closed the