Where Heaven Begins - By Bittner Page 0,92

there would be a need for so many such establishments. Yes, Peter’s work was definitely needed in a place like this.

A painted woman came out of the closest saloon, not bothering to cover her bared shoulders and the whites of her breasts against the cold. Elizabeth glanced at her and then kept going.

“Hey!” the woman called out. “Stop!”

Curious, Elizabeth halted Devil and looked at her again.

“Elizabeth?” the woman asked, coming closer.

Elizabeth felt a wave of incredible relief. “Collette!”

Chapter Forty-Three

Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.

—Psalms 111:1 & 2

Elizabeth literally ran to Collette and hugged her.

“Collette! When did you get here? Oh, I’m so happy to see someone I know!” Was she actually hugging a prostitute as though she was her best friend? What was happening to her? She pulled away, and a couple of men who’d been standing outside the saloon walked closer.

“Hey, Collette, who’s this little beauty?”

“Get out of here!” Collette ordered. “Go inside and have a drink on me. This is a proper, Christian lady, and don’t you dare forget it!”

The men looked Elizabeth over and left, and Collette smiled. “I don’t believe it! You actually made it!”

Elizabeth wiped at tears of relief. “We did! I can’t believe we never ran into you.”

“Well, I’ve been here five days.”

“You must have left before us then. I can’t believe you were probably right ahead of us the whole time, especially since you got off the Damsel in Seattle. We got held up because of a shipwreck, and then in Skagway because Clint came down with pneumonia and almost died, and then we had so many misfortunes along the way that slowed us even more, and now Clint is terribly sick again! I’ve got to get him some help. Is there a doctor in this place? Do you know anything about a church? My brother, Peter, came here to start a church and minister to the miners. Do you know about him? Do you know where he is?”

“Whoa, little lady!” Collette put an arm around her and they walked over to the sled. She took a close look at Clint. “You’re right, he’s bad sick.”

Clint opened his eyes and grinned. “Collette,” he muttered.

“It’s me, handsome.” She turned to Elizabeth, and Elizabeth realized the woman must have seen the sudden, uncontrollable jealousy in her eyes. She laughed lightly. “Don’t worry, honey, he’s never been a customer of mine.”

Elizabeth reddened. “I’m sorry. It’s just that…we’re going to be married, Collette. It’s such a long story, and right now I’m scared he’ll die.”

Collette put an arm around her again. “Honey, men like Clint Brady don’t die. And yes, your brother is here in Dawson. Leave it to somebody like me to find out about everybody in town the first couple days I’ve been here.” She pointed to two cabins on a hill several hundred feet ahead. “Right up there. The bigger building is his church, the smaller one his residence. He’s married, you know.”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened in surprise. “What!”

Collette nodded. “I remembered what you told us about having a brother here, so I looked him up myself soon as I got here, told him I’d seen you and that you definitely were on your way. Found out he has a wife. She’s Chinese, and she’s carrying.”

“Chinese! Aren’t they pagans?”

Collette shook her head. “This one is a Christian. Did you think just because someone is Chinese they can’t become Christians and can’t marry somebody like your brother?”

Elizabeth looked toward the cabins again. “I just never thought…”

“Never thought you’d marry a bounty hunter, either, did you? Or that a prostitute would go to church and think about changing her life?”

Elizabeth looked back at her. “I’ve learned a lot, Collette, about people.”

Collette smiled. “I bet you have. Why don’t you just go on up there and find your brother and get Clint some help? I have to tell you, honey, that I’ve actually been praying for you. Can you believe it? I’ll never forget what you did for me and my friends.”

“How are they, Collette?”

“All right, as far as I know. I got Francine and Tricia settled and decided to find me some men to travel with and went ahead and came up here. Left the very next day after I got off the Damsel.”

Elizabeth grasped her hands. “I’m so glad you did, Collette. It’s