door, ready to take off at the least sign of trouble.
Emma glanced at him. “By the way, Miss O’Brien from the orphanage started working here yesterday. She was asking about you and the others. I think she’d be willing to help if you’d let her.”
His heart pounded, and his gaze darted toward the dining room.
“She’s here, if you’d like to meet her.”
“No, ma’am.” Luke shook his head and backed toward the door.
“Emma, did you say something?”
At the sound of the familiar voice, he turned and ran. When he’d put enough distance between himself and Emma’s, he slowed, glancing over his shoulder to make sure he hadn’t been followed.
Did she really want to help? He’d seen her with the deputy several times and that didn’t sit well. Even though she’d brought them food more than once, he still didn’t trust her. Anytime somebody went out of her way to befriend him, he grew suspicious.
He didn’t dare trust anybody, not until he found Mark.
And maybe not ever.
* * *
Things didn’t look good.
“It’s taking too long.” Livy hunkered down and eyed Ginger. Almond-shaped emerald eyes stared back at her, unblinking. Livy stood and paced the kitchen, her arms hugging her waist.
Mrs. Brooks sat at the table, calmly peeling potatoes. “Don’t worry, Livy. She’ll be fine.”
“Supper will be ready within the hour. What will we do then? We don’t want the children to see her giving birth, especially if something goes wrong.”
Mrs. Brooks pushed the bowl of potatoes toward Livy and handed her the knife. “Here. You take care of this.”
Mrs. Brooks took Ginger and her bedding to the storeroom and closed the door. She moved to the washbasin and washed her hands. “Now that’s taken care of. She can have her babies in privacy, and the children won’t have to watch. Does that make you feel better?”
“Yes.” Livy bit her lip, her gaze lingering on the storeroom. “But now I’ll worry about her all through supper.”
“We’ll check on her after we put the children to bed. There’ll be plenty of time for them to see the kittens tomorrow.”
Livy peeled potatoes, worrying about Ginger the whole time. She’d never thought she’d be so concerned about a cat having kittens, but it couldn’t be helped. She’d never seen newborn kittens before. She’d found a half-grown cat once in Chicago. Katie hadn’t wanted her to keep the cat, but Livy had cried until her sister gave in. After a while, even Katie had accepted the mouser, since he kept the rats at bay. Then one night, he disappeared and never came back. Livy cried for days, worrying herself sick.
“Mrs. Brooks?” Livy finished the potatoes and carried the bowl to the stove.
“Hmmm?”
“How many children have you taken in over the years?”
The older woman looked up, a thoughtful frown on her round face. “Oh, I don’t know. Dozens, I guess. Why do you ask?”
She dumped the potatoes in boiling water, thinking of the children she’d known on the streets of Chicago. After she’d recovered from her sickness, she’d gone back to her old stomping grounds, hoping to convince the younger children to come with her to Mrs. Brooks’s orphanage. But she couldn’t find a single one of her friends. They’d simply disappeared. Probably been hauled in and carted off to sweatshops throughout the city. Or worse.
She bit her lip and prayed the prayer that was never far from her heart and mind. Lord, send someone to care for the children still on the streets in Chicago. Send food and clothes and a warm place to stay. Send someone like Mrs. Brooks.
“How do you stand knowing they’ll leave you someday and you’ll never see them again?”
Mrs. Brooks eyed her. “I don’t know. I guess the good Lord just put it in me to let them go. It’s not easy, mind you, but if a family comes along wanting to adopt a child, who am I to say no? There’s always another needy child to fill the vacancy.”
“I don’t think I could stand it for one of the children to be taken away.”
“Livy, if and when it happens, the Lord will help you get through it. I promise you that.”
All through supper, Livy thought about Mrs. Brooks’s words while worrying about Ginger. She hadn’t known the Lord when Katie died, and she hadn’t met Mrs. Brooks for almost a year after that fateful day. There’d been no one to depend on, no one to turn to except the other street kids, and all they knew was heartache and despair and