City Girl (11 page)

Reagan couldn't say exactly what compelled her, but she slipped into the last pew and sat down just as they finished. There was no one directly in front of her for two pews as she moved as far to the wall as she could get, and the people in the next two pews were closer to the aisle.

Reagan gazed at the man up front and listened to the sound of his deep voice. He was reading from the book in front of him, and although the words were not familiar to Reagan, she knew it must be the Bible. With almost no idea how she'd come to be there, Reagan found herself quite rapt.

“‘The angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias; for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord, their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings.'

“This news from Gabriel was huge,” the pastor intoned, looking up from the pulpit and smiling kindly at the people in the pews. “A special child is about to be born to Zacharias and Elisabeth because Zacharias and Elisabeth are special. Verse six describes them as blameless. They had clearly shown God that they were up to the task of raising this child.

“John is going to be a man with a very special job. The angel compares him to Elijah, one of the most powerful prophets of the Old Testament. We've taken a few weeks to come to these verses because I didn't want to rush. I wanted you to be prepared for the special words here.”

Reagan watched as the man paused, his eyes scanning the pews.

“Look at verse 17. It says John is going to go before Him. Do you understand who the verse is talking about here? Who that
Him
is?”

Reagan could see some heads nodding, but she didn't have a clue.

“It's Jesus Christ,” the pastor continued. “John is coming to prepare hearts for Christ when He starts His earthly ministry. God's Son, who has come to bring salvation to mankind, is going to be announced by John.”

For a time, the man's words were lost on Reagan. She had never heard of this, but she found it riveting. It was almost as if her questions were being answered, but she hadn't asked any questions.

“The events that follow in the book of Luke have paved the way for what we believe today, and we will get to many of those in the weeks and months to come, but don't rush past verse 17. Let me read it to you again. ‘And he,' that's John, ‘shall go before Him,' Jesus Christ, ‘in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.'

“What is the first thing Jesus is going to address? The fathers! Of all the things that could be at the top of the list during this time, we find that God wants fathers to father their children. I don't know about the rest of you men in the room, but this gives me a wake-up call. Are my children hearing from me the way of salvation? Do my children know that my main priority is to teach them of their Creator, their Savior, their God?”

The pastor shook his head in wonder, smiling a little as he leaned forward on the pulpit. “I'm excited about this verse. God never demands something of me that is impossible for me to do. He came to turn my heart to Him, and to help me, as a father, put my children in the right direction as well. With God's help I can do this.”

Again Reagan was swept out of the room as her own father's face sprang to mind. The pastor concluded with a final prayer and an announcement, but Reagan did not hear much of it.

“Father in heaven, thank You for bringing each one here today. We praise You for Your Word and Your love for us. May we go from this place better prepared to serve You and return next week if You do not come for us before that time. In Christ's name I pray. Amen.

“Don't forget now, come out the side door today and see all the remodeling in our home. We'll meet in the side yard for prayer in a few minutes, and then we'll eat. It looks as though we have enough for an army, so don't hesitate to join us.”

The pastor, his family, and almost the entire congregation moved forward to a side door to exit, but Reagan was still in New York as a child. She was aware of things around her but felt apart and separate, her heart a little bruised. It took a few moments for the room to quiet down, and when it did, Reagan finally realized someone was standing in the aisle staring at her. Her head whipped over, and her eyes met those of the cowboy from the alley.

“Do you have your bucket with you today, or am I safe?”

Reagan relaxed in the light of his humor and laughed. When she did, Cash came forward.

“I'm Cash Rawlings,” he said, putting his hand out.

Reagan shook it.

“I'm Reagan Sullivan, and I've wanted to tell you again how sorry I am about the water.”

Cash shrugged. “Accidents happen.”

Reagan shook her head. “You might be more understanding than you should be.”

“I don't think so.”

“Actually,” Reagan admitted, “Russell Bennett told me you weren't angry.”

“Do you know Russ?”

“Yes.”

“They're here,” Cash told her. “Come on. I know they'll want to see you.”

“They go to this church?” Reagan asked as she moved out into the aisle between the two pews and toward the door where the others had gone.

“Yes, they do. Did they know you were coming?”

“No, it was a last-minute decision,” Reagan said, her voice having dropped some. She also had come to a halt.

Cash watched her stare at the pulpit as though Pastor Ellis were still standing there. She then looked to him.

“I think there might be something to this salvation thing.”

“I certainly think so.”

Reagan's eyes widened. “Then you've done it? You know about salvation?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Salvation from God, from His Son?”

“That's right.”

Reagan could only stare at him. Her mind moving faster than she could keep up, Reagan was unaware of the way she gawked at the man, making him feel that he shouldn't question her.

“Cash!” a voice called from without before Russell Bennett came through the door. “Reagan?” he said in obvious surprise.

Reagan seemed to snap out of her trance.

“Are you a Christian?” she blurted, nearly accusing Russell.

“Yes.”

“But you didn't get your Bible out and try to convert me as soon as we met.”

“No.” Russell was as calm as ever. “I wouldn't have done that for a number of reasons.”

“Like what?”

“Well, for one you're a woman, and I wouldn't want to give the wrong impression. Also, you didn't show any interest, so why would I shove it down your throat?”

“That didn't stop certain people in my old neighborhood,” Reagan grumbled.

“Listen, Reagan,” Russell said, having come to a swift decision as the entire church was waiting, “we need to talk about this, but right now Cash has to come and pray for our meal.”

“Oh, right,” Reagan began as she started to back away.

“Come and eat with us,” Russell invited as his huge hand took Reagan's wrist. “Holly is right out here.”

Cash smiled at the stunned look on her face as she was hauled out the door. Russell landed her next to Holly and then walked with Cash to the front.

“That was subtle,” Cash teased him.

Russell smiled. “I had her this far. I didn't want to let her get away.”

“Oh, here's Cash now,” Pastor Ellis said as the men neared.

“Let's pray,” Cash said when he stepped up front next to the pastor and his family. After a few moments of silence, he began. “Father in heaven, thank You for the work that was done here. Thank You for the willing hands and hearts that made all of this possible. We are so blessed, Father, to have Pastor and Noelle with us, and their children, and by giving to them we have an even greater blessing. We pray, Lord, that they would enjoy this wonderful home for years to come.

“Thank You for this food, Father. Thank You for all who worked to make it. May we remember Your goodness to us as we enjoy it. In Your name I pray. Amen.”

In the back, Holly opened her eyes and looked over at Reagan. Their renter was a bit shorter than she was, so it was easy to watch her expression. Holly had not really had time to find out how Reagan had come to be there, and she desperately wanted her to stay but knew that forcing her would never work.

“Reagan,” she finally called her name.

Reagan looked at her.

“I hope you'll want to stay, but please don't feel you must.”

“I didn't bring anything to share.”

“If you mean the food, I brought two dishes, a pie and a beef and bean casserole. We always have plenty at these gatherings.”

“So you've done this before?”

“Eaten together, you mean?”

“Yes—I mean, you don't just come and sit in the pews and then go home?”

“Sometimes we head right out, especially if the children have had trouble sitting still and we need to get home and talk about it, but the majority of the time we visit, and often we eat with another family or have a family to our house.”

Reagan was on the verge of saying she'd never seen anyone there and then remembered she was always working. As though she'd said this out loud, Holly asked her about it.

“Did you get the morning off?”

“Yes. There was a fire in the hotel kitchen last night, and Sally shut the dining room for the day.”

“Was anyone harmed?”

“No, nothing like that.”

“I'm glad. Will it be open tomorrow?”

“I think Sally was planning that. I'll check with her 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.

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 that 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 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.

“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.

“It's Miss Sullivan's.”

“Oh.”

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.”

“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.

“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.”