later."
"Hi, Miss Sullivan/' Jonah, who had suddenly run up,
greeted her. "Are you going to eat with us?"
"I think I am, yes/' Reagan said, and it was the last thing
she said for a while. What followed was a celebration
unlike anything she'd ever known. With everyone
laughing and talking, the group lining up to eat couldn't
have been more friendly or generous. Men allowed their
wives to go first and then stayed to help with the children,
much the way Reagan had seen Russell and Holly interact.
It was interesting to watch one family in action; it was
nothing short of amazing to watch a hundred people acting
the same way.
144
Reagan caught male eyes on her from time to time, but
none of the men had inappropriate looks on their faces, and
none of them stood with a woman at his side.
"Have you seen the house?" Russell asked Reagan as the
event was starting to wind down.
"No. Why did the pastor want everyone to do that?"
"Because we've been doing some remodeling for the
past nine months, and it's finally done. The house is not
mat old, but the original owner had skimped in some areas,
so there was rain damage in a number of places. Once we
started working, we found even more places that needed
CUyGirl 81
repair, and so we did the whole job. You should go in. It
won't be as good as seeing it before, but you'll still enjoy
it"
Once Reagan left the table with Holly and Alisa, Cash
joined Russell.
145
"I've set up an elders' meeting for the twenty-fifth. Is
that going to work for you?" Cash asked.
"That should be fine. I'll tell Holly, and she can remind
me."
"Okay. I've got to let Jarvis know before I leave."
"Are we going to be discussing the widow and orphans'
fund at this meeting?"
"Yes. I've got that on my list Have you had more feedback?"
"Yes, some good comments. I've made some notes, and
I'll bring them with me."
"All right"
Jonah, who had played with his friends but was now
tired, had made his way into Cash's lap, and for a time the
tall cowboy let everything else slide.
"How are you, Jonah?" he asked, his arms holding the
boy close.
"I rode a bike."
"A bike?" Cash frowned as though he'd not heard right
"If s Miss Sullivan's."
"Oh."
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Cash was so stopped by this that Russell began to laugh.
Cash looked up at him.
"She has a bicycle?"
"Yes. Elly can ride it alone, but Jonah needs a push."
"Well, now." Cash looked down into the little face again.
"That sounds very fun. Have you done it very often?"
"Every week."
"Wow. And you don't fall?"
"No. Elly has, but Miss Sullivan hangs onto me."
"She sounds very nice."
"She's here today! She ate with us."
82 lori wick
"I saw her."
Jonah suddenly laughed. "She threw water on you."
"Did she?" Cash asked angelically while his fingers
found Jonah's ticklish sides. The little boy squirmed with
laughter as Cash took his revenge.
"I didn't have any cake!" Jonah announced. Cash had
stopped tickling him, and he had remembered his stomach.
147
"Well, go have some."
The little boy was off in a flash, and the men went back
to talking. Cash had horses that needed shoeing and some
work on a few broken wagons.
"I can come out Tuesday," Russell told him. "Will that
work?"
"Yeah. Come at noon. I'll tell Katy to plan on you."
"How are you for hands these days?"
"I have plenty of men. Brad is the best foreman I've ever
had. As you well know, I didn't even have to help with
roundup this year. He can charm the hat off the most cantankerous
cowboy and still get two more hours of work out
of him at the end of a long day."
Russell was chuckling at this description when Holly
and Alisa joined them. Reagan was not with them.
"Did you lose Reagan?" Russell asked as soon as Holly
sat down.
"In a way, yes. I think she was a little overwhelmed by
all of this. It seemed to come on her rather suddenly. I could
148
in the house, she said she was headed home. I don't think
she ate much, but I didn't want to say anything."
'If s hard, isn't it?" Cash interjected. "We don't want to
come across as crazed, but we believe we have the best
news in the world to share."
The Bennetts were in full agreement with that sentiment
Jonah chose that moment to return with his C$ke. His
baby sister saw it and all but crawled from her mother's
arms to get at the plate. Cash volunteered to go tor the
dessert and rescue all of them. They stayed to visit until
City Girl 83
Alisa's cake was gone and she was drooping in her father's
arms.
If someone had reported the event in the local paper that
week, it would have said, "A good time was had by all."
"What do you mean you need Sundays off?" Sally asked
149
in surprise. "What for?"
"Not the whole morning, just long enough to go to
church."
Sally looked clearly skeptical. "And who takes the cakes
from the oven when you're gone?"
"Thaf s what I've been trying to tell you. Til come early
enough to have the baking done. When I come back, I'll
clean up and help with tables."
"Reagan, you don't strike me as the type who needs religion.
Whaf s gotten into you?"
"I don't know," the younger woman said honestly, her
dinner plate forgotten in front of her. She had been too nervous
to eat much at the church gathering and had found
herself hungry that evening. She'd gone to Sally's without
a backward glance and found her in the kitchen fixing her
own meal. The way she'd welcomed Reagan had done the
younger woman's heart a world of good.
"I just found myself at mat church this morning. I'm not
even sure how. And once I got inside, I was just so drawn
to what the pastor was saying."
150
"Pastor Ellis?"
"Yes. Do you know him?"
"No, but his wife is a real person--I know mat."
"Noejle. I met her too. Even their children are nice. Just
like Russell and Holly's family."
"They go to that church too, don't they?"
Reagan nodded.
84 lori wick
"And you want to find out why they live the way they
do."
Reagan stared at her.
"You've wanted to as well, haven't you, Sally?"
The hotel owner shrugged. "Maybe."
"Why haven't you looked into this?" Reagan
demanded. "You've lived here for years!"
"Reagan/' she said with a shake of her head. "I don't
have time for church. This place takes every
minute of
every day. Can't you see that?"
Reagan's eyes narrowed. "Of course I can see that Sally,
151
but you're not going to be here forever! You can say something
to shut me up for the moment, but when you're on your own, are you happy with who you are, fine hotel or
not?"
Sally's eyes narrowed right back, but she didn't say anything
right a way.
"You can take off on Sundays to go to church unless it
doesn't work."
"Why wouldn't it?"
Sally shook her head in amazement "You have more
guts than anyone I know, Reagan. I hand you a favor, and
you're ready to argue."
Reagan didn't reply. In her haste to have her own way,
she often forgot that Sally was her boss.
"Thank you for giving me time to go to church."
"If you get all religious, are you going to start carrying
your Bible and drive us all crazy?"
In a heartbeat,lfceagan thought of the difference between
the two Christians she'd known in New York and Russell
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Bennett. It was not hard to answer Sally.
"I won't say anything unless you ask me."
"Fair enough. Had enough to eat?"
"No/' she said, tucking back into her plate. "Let me
finish, and I'll clean up for you."
Sally, who'd had a long, arduous day, was not going to
argue with that idea.
City Girl 85
**
"Was she here this morning?" Russell asked Cash before
their meeting started at the church just two weeks later.
"Yes. Just like last week. I think she must slip in just
before we start and back out again on the last song. Have
you had a chance to ask her about it?"
"Not really. Holly and I are both afraid of pressuring her.
We're both praying that she'll know where to come if she
153
has questions."
Both men would have been delighted to know that
Reagan was on her way to Holly's door right then. She was
not aware that Russell was not at home, but she had some
questions and could only hope that someone in the big
house had the answers.
even
"HOLLY, ARE YOU BUSY?"
"Not at all, Reagan. Come right in."
Reagan entered the familiar home, but unlike the first
time, she didn't enjoy her surroundings. She was too distracted
for that.
"Have a seat/' Holly invited. She had a word with one
of her children in the kitchen and then joined her guest
"What can I do for you?"
"I have a few questions."
"All right."
154
"I went to church this morning--last week too."
Holly nodded. She hadn't been certain of this, but she
was glad nevertheless,
"If I believe as your church does, do I have to get married?"
Holly had all she could do not to look surprised. This
was the last thing she expected.
"May I ask you a question?" Holly said after a moment's
recovery.
"Yes."
"What do you mean, 'believe'as my church does'?"
"Become a Christian--be saved--like Pastor Ellis talked
about."
"Like the Bible explains?" Holly questioned again,
hoping they were talking about the same thing.
86
City Ctrl 87
155
"Yes. Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and living for
Him."
Holly nodded, now feeling satisfied that she and Reagan
were on the same track.
"No one in our church is going to force you to get married,
no matter what you believe."
Reagan looked so relieved that Holly smiled.
"Why did you ask, Reagan? Can you tell me?"
"It's not something I want, Holly. Marriage, that is. I
don't want a husband. I don't want a man to rule over me
and control my life."
"What about a man to love and cherish you?"
Reagan smiled a little. "I don't think I'm the love and
cherish type."
Holly could not have disagreed more, but she didn't
argue with her.
"Is that all that's on your mind, Reagan? Are you understanding
what you're hearing in church?"
"Yes," she said with excitement, leaning forward a little.
156
"I've never heard any of this, and I think if s wonderful.
What Christ did was wonderful. I don't think I could have
done it."
"I know I couldn't have," Holly agreed. "Only God
could do that for us."
"How do we really know that Jesus is God?"
"The Bible."
"But what if the Bible's not right?"
"Thaf s a good question, Reagan--one that many people
have asked. I think the first thing we have to establish is
whether or not we take the Bible as God's Word or something
less than that. The answer to that question determines
our response to the answers for all the other
questions we ask."
Holly had believed this for so long that she'd started to
take it for granted, but Reagan looked amazed.
"Thaf s it, isn't it? It's all about how I view the Bible!"
88 lori wick
To Holly's surprise, Reagan got up and began to head to
157
the door. The hostess watched as she had her hand on the
knob and then caught herself.
"Oh, Holly, I'm sorry. I just have so much to think about
I didn't mean to be so rude."
"If s all right. Can I help with anything else?"
Reagan looked at her. "Do you have an extra Bible I
could read?"
"Yes, I do. Let me just get it"
It sounded as though someone dropped a plate in the
kitchen just then, but Holly didn't go there. She disappeared
into another room and returned to give Reagan a
dusty Bible.
"This was my father's. You read it for as long as you
like."
"Thank you, HoUy. Ill take good care of it"
"I'm not worried about that. May I tell you something,
Reagan?"
"Sure."
I'm praying for you."
Reagan didn't know what to say. She wasn't overly surprised,
158
but she still didn't know how to answer.
"I've been meaning to ask you, Reagan," Holly continued,
"do you have Sundays off?"
"Not the whole day, but Sally has given me enough time
to go to church."
"That was kind of her."
It was, wasn't it?"
Reagan left then. She had not known exactly how to
thank Holly or say goodbye, but it seemed to Reagan that
she understood.
-
"What is it that makes her tick?" Russell asked that
night.
City Girl 89
"I don't know. She hasn't really said anything about herself,
and she certainly shows no sign of hating men, but
she's not going to trust one to be in charge of her."
159
"I can honestly say that I've never known anyone like
her."
"I wish you could have seen her face when I made that
statement."
"About the Bible?"
"Yes. She was
flabbergasted. And men after she left I
realized there was so much more I could have said."
"Maybe it was best that you didn't."
"Maybe."
A very sleepy Alisa sighed softly from her quilt on the
floor just then, and Holly remembered that she wanted her
in bed early. Russell volunteered to do the honors, and
Holly sat down in the living room to read a book to Jonah
andElly.
"Did Miss Sullivan come today to talk about God?" Elly
asked before the book was opened.
"In a way she did. She's been coming to church and had
a few questions."
"Does she love God like we do?"
"I'm not sure what she believes, Jonah. I think she's
160
searching for answers to tilings in her heart."
"Do I have questions in my heart?"
"I think you must"
"What are they?"
Holly smiled. "Well, the first would be if you have questions
in your heart."
The little boy smiled then, and Holly bent to kiss his
adorable face.
"We didn't pray for her at dinner tonight," Elly said, her little brow furrowed in thought
"Didn't we?" Holly honestly couldn't remember.
1 don't think so."
"Well, we can pray right now. All rigjit? Jonah, would
you like to pray?"
90 lori wick
The little boy nodded and began.
Returning to the living room while Jonah prayed, Russell
listened quietly.
"And please God, help Reagan to be saved. Help her to
161
want Jesus in her heart. Help her not to be afraid anymore.
Amen."
Russell looked at his son.
"Do you think Reagan is afraid of something, Jonah?"
"Well, maybe she's not, but she might be afraid that God
wouldn't want her."
Russell smiled at him very tenderly. The little boy had
summed up so neatly what many people believed. His own
sister felt that she had to clean herself up before she could
approach God. Nothing Russell and Holly had ever said
could sway her. His sister was still trying to work on her
life so she would be "saveable" in God's eyes.
In truth Russell and Holly didn't know if this was
Reagan's problem or not, but when the quiet time was over
and their two older children were in bed, they prayed for
Reagan about that very thing.
*3r -3eagan
had all she could do not to growl with frustration.
She had thought the Bible would be so easy to read
162
and understand, but the different passages she turned to
were about as clear as mud. She read that evening until she
had to turn in and even tried again before work the next