nice for him to show some concern.
He’d been so kind and supportive during the whole ordeal. Sharing about his life. Perhaps it had only been to help her calm down, but she felt she understood him a bit better.
“You’re smiling,” Laura said.
“It the circumstances had been different, I might have enjoyed the afternoon.”
“Because of Ryder?”
“Maybe.” But was this feeling because of the situation they’d been in? Or was it real and lasting? Only time would tell.
Laura yawned, and Delcie knew it was time to go to bed. She had to accept that he wasn’t coming back tonight.
She had a hard time falling asleep and several times awakened with a jolt as she dreamed the children were being snatched.
Sally woke in the night crying and Delcie took her into bed with her, cuddling her close and singing softly to calm her. Shortly after, Kent pulled his blanket off his bed, wrapped up in it, and lay down on the floor next to Delcie’s bed. She reached over and stroked his head as she continued to sing.
At some point they had all fallen asleep and she awakened to light peeking through a slit in the curtains. She eased from bed, leaving the children sleeping, dressed hurriedly, ignoring the pain in her ankle, and went out to join Laura.
“I overslept. I’m sorry.” She grimaced as she put more weight on her sore ankle.
“You were tired. I heard the children in the night. Are they still asleep?”
Delcie nodded and hobbled toward the worktable to help with the food preparation. “I suppose we’ll have a few more customers now that those men are locked up.”
“I expect so.” Laura tried to make conversation as they worked but Delcie struggled to give more than one-word replies. It was a relief when the preacher emerged from his room. He’d removed the bandage from his head. The swelling on his face had gone down. Black and blue bruises still colored much of his face, but he was looking more like the man she was used to calling preacher.
“I can lend a hand,” he said.
Laura spoke to Delcie. “He proved a good help yesterday.”
“It was my pleasure. Miss Morton, I hope you and the children are none the worse for your ordeal.”
“Thank you. I’m quite all right. But I expect the children will be fearful for a time.” As if to verify her words, Sally screamed. Delcie rushed into the bedroom, her heart burning with fear and fury. Alonzo would never give up. His greed was ruining Sally and Kent’s childhood. If only she could trap him into confessing he was responsible for kidnapping them. Because knowing it was one thing. Proving it was another.
Kent and Sally clung to each other. Sally sobbed. Tears streamed down her face. Kent cried silently, his quiet misery as heart-wrenching as Sally’s full-throated terror.
Delcie sank to the floor and pulled them both into her arms. “You’re safe now.” She wondered how long it would be before they truly believed that.
They clung to her, arms about her neck, hot breath about her ears. She closed her eyes. It wasn’t fair for them to be so frightened.
After a bit they calmed, and she helped them dress. The three of them went to the kitchen, the children clutching her hands.
Kent looked around the room. “Where’s Mr. Remington?”
Laura and Preacher Peabody worked at the big table. There was no one else. Nor had she expected there would be.
“I don’t think he’s coming today. He has his own place to look after.”
Sally wailed.
Kent got a stubborn look on his face. “Why isn’t he coming? We need him.” He raced for the door.
Suspecting he meant to go find Ryder, Delcie caught him. She led him to a chair, sat down, and pulled both children to her. “Perhaps he’ll come over for breakfast.” They both spun around. They would have gone to the dining room to wait for him except Delcie stopped them. “You need to eat your own breakfast.”
Laura carried food to the table and she and the preacher joined them.
It was good to have the preacher there to ask the blessing. But in the depths of her heart she missed the familiar words both Sophie and Ryder had spoken.
They had barely finished when the door to the dining room opened. Before she could stop them, the children ran in to check and see who it was.
“It’s not him,” Kent said as they returned.
Delcie caught them both. “You must remember the rule. You are not to run into the dining