Samantha made a face at him. “Now you sound like you did when we were teenagers. I told you then and I’ll tell you again. If God had cared that much about me, He’d never have stuck me in that dysfunctional family in the first place.”
“But He rescued you by sending Elvina into your life,” John argued. “And when you were older, there was me.”
“You?”
“Yes, me. I would have gladly taken you away with me. I don’t know why you have so much trouble believing that, Sam. It isn’t that the Lord failed to rescue you, it’s that you refused His help when He sent it.”
“I moved in with Elvina. It turned out that she needed me as much as I needed her.”
“Then perhaps that’s the way things were meant to be.” Picking up the plastic bag containing the newest note, John said, “Sleep well. I’ll be keeping watch.”
“You have to sleep, too.”
“I will. Charlie is going to stop by after he goes off duty tonight and take over for a couple of hours so I can get some shut-eye. I’ll be fine. Night, Sam.”
“I wish…”
She broke off before her heart could make her say something she’d be sorry for. This was the second time John had reminded her of his offer of marriage and she was beginning to see that their parting was as much her fault as it had been his.
That conclusion didn’t sit well on her conscience. Not well at all. If she were to accept his version of their failed romance she’d have to admit too much culpability.
She’d also have to admit that maybe God hadn’t forgotten her plight and left her so bereft that she’d wept for literally weeks. If John was right, their heavenly Father had had her best interests at heart all along.
More truths kept surfacing as if linked together by an unbreakable chain. As soon as she accepted one, another appeared, then another and another.
God had given her Elvina Prescott’s love and care just when she’d needed it most.
God had offered her happiness as John’s wife and the main reason she’d failed to see that gift was because she’d been too self-centered.
And, if she were totally honest with herself, the reason she’d stopped attending church had far less to do with embarrassment than it did with her disappointment that the Lord had not seen fit to fix her life exactly the way she’d envisioned.
Astounded and more than a little disconcerted, she closed her eyes, bowed her head and prayed for forgiveness right where she stood.
THIRTEEN
The following two days passed with little change other than that their window of opportunity for rescuing Brutus was closing.
Sam went about her tasks at work and tried not to think about her poor dog all the time, yet there was rarely a moment that passed when her faithful canine companion wasn’t in her thoughts—and yes, in her prayers.
There had been a slight delay in finding a suitable foster home for Danny Southerland so he had remained in the hospital temporarily. No one had seen hide nor hair of his father, Ben, since the man had fled. To everyone’s dismay, the police had no leads.
Brenda Connors visited Danny daily, as did his mother, Lindy. It was evident that she didn’t approve of the legal action that had usurped her parental rights but when Samantha had calmly explained how the system worked and had assured Lindy that she would be given her day in court, the timid woman had seemed to settle down and accept the inevitable.
In many ways, Samantha could identify with her. As Ben’s wife and Danny’s mother, Lindy had spent years tiptoeing through life and trying to keep the peace when she should have been enjoying motherhood.
Ever since Danny had been hospitalized, Sam had made it a point to stop by his room whenever she had a free moment. He wasn’t her patient, per se, but the facility was small enough that she could easily visit. The more she did that, the more the child seemed to open up to her and the greater were her chances of being able to truly help him through her CASA work.
Sam viewed Lindy as a second victim. The trouble was, unless the young woman learned to stand up for her rights and those of her son, there was a chance a judge might permanently remove Danny from her home. And, until Ben was caught, that threat remained, as well.
Yawning, Samantha finished her paperwork for the day and clocked out. She was getting used to driving Elvina’s old green barge of a car, undoubtedly because it reminded her of her late friend and mentor.
Calling good-night to the swing-shift nurses, she started for the rear door, then decided to stop by Danny’s room, tell him she’d bring him a treat in the morning and ask what he’d like.