Sarah's Surrender by McDonough Vickie;

Author:McDonough, Vickie; [McDonough, Vickie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 4562378
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2016-11-12T05:00:00+00:00

Sarah squatted a few feet away from the filthy child—a little girl no older than two. The whimpering girl’s dark blue eyes were wide with fear. Sarah longed to hold her—to comfort her—but she had to take things slowly. “Shh … you’re all right.”

Behind her, she motioned for the men to back away. She glanced at Jack. “See if you can find her mother. Maybe she’s nearby but injured.”

He nodded, and he and the Peterson twins moved away, mumbled for a moment, and then split up, each going a different direction. The girl watched them leave then turned her gaze back to Sarah.

“My name is Sarah, and that tall man was Jack. The other men are Zeke and Zach Peterson. They’re helping to build my house.” She felt a bit dim-witted yammering about such stuff to a young child, but the calmness of her voice seemed to soothe the girl. The poor thing was covered in dirt, and her garment, which looked more like a nightgown than a day dress, was ripped and grass-stained. She had scratches and mosquito bites on her arms and legs, and her face was splotchy from crying. Though she had blue eyes, one thing was obvious by her straight black hair and skin tone—she was part Indian.

The girl rubbed her eyes and yawned.

Sarah dared to take a step closer. “Are you sleepy, sweetheart? I bet you’re hungry. Would you like something to eat?”

The girl stared at her, but Sarah couldn’t tell if she understood anything she was saying. They had to get her help. Sarah was going to have to pick her up sooner or later.

Remembering how Lara comforted her children when they had been injured or were frightened, Sarah started humming the song “Rock of Ages.” The girl watched her but no longer cried out. Would she let her hold her?

Still humming, she moved a few inches closer. She could easily touch the child, but she didn’t. If only she’d brought some food with her, but she’d recently eaten and hadn’t planned to be here long.

Moving slowly, she tugged her handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her own face. Then, ever so slowly, she reached out and wiped the tears from the girl’s filthy cheek. She blinked several times but didn’t pull away. Sarah swiped the fabric down the other cheek and smiled. “That’s a little better. What we really need is a tub of water.”

But even if the girl had a bath, they had no clothing to put on her. Her eyes had a glassy look, but Sarah didn’t know if that was from crying, being scared, or being overly hungry as she most likely was. She’d felt warm, but then who knew how long she’d been out in the sun?

When the wind blew in her face, Sarah got a whiff of an odor so rancid, she nearly gagged. A dirty diaper, no doubt. She’d changed quite a few while helping Lara with her babies, but she sure didn’t look forward to tending to this one.

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