His Heart for the Trusting Read Online Free PDF Page B

you, Sara.”
    A quick burst
of warm emotion spread through her chest like hot frosting on a toasted bun. 
Mitch needed her help with the baby.  There was a time when she thought no one
needed her.  Her ex-husband had made it clear that he had wanted her. 
Possessing her was more like it.  But he'd never really needed her.  The
children she cared for at the daycare had needed her care, but it wasn't the
same thing as with their parents.
    Deep down, Sara
had always thought that someday she'd have a loving home again.  One that
needed her and loved her.  Mitch didn't love her, he was merely asking her to
watch this little baby who was an innocent in a story she knew nothing about. 
    What makes a
mother toss away a child?  What did this child's mother go through to lead her
to leaving her child on the doorstep of a father who didn't even know he
existed? 
    It wasn't her
problem to figure it out.  She wasn't staying very long anyway.  Mitch didn't
need her, but she could be of help.  Feeling part of her old world again, even
if she weren’t on the reservation, would bring her closer to home.
    “Like I said, I
will watch the baby until you get settled.  But tonight, I do have to go to the
reservation to see my family.  Can you manage until then?”
    “Most of the
cooking is under control now.  I can watch Jonathan while you're gone, unless
of course you want me to go with you,” Mandy said.
    Sara smiled
even though her heart beat louder with each passing second.  “Having you there
as an ally would make things so much easier.  But I have to do this one
myself.”
    * * *
    As Sara
expected, her homecoming was both shocking and emotional.  The Apache people
valued family ties.  Deep down, she knew her family wouldn't turn her away. 
The wind had carried her home, her father had said.  The apprehension in her
mother's eyes was apparent when she told them she was going back to The Double
T.  As she feared, her family wouldn't believe she was truly home unless she
remained on the reservation. 
    She wanted
that, too. 
    As she drove
back to Steerage Rock, she decided there was time for all that.  Time for more
healing, and to put in place her plans to teach the young Apache children the
stories of their culture.  These old stories were something she knew had been
slipping away as the modern world clashed with old-time beliefs.
    It was after
eleven o'clock when she pulled up the main road to The Double T.  Those who'd
been participating in the barn raising had long since returned to their own
homes.  There were just empty tables and chairs on the back lawn to indicate
their presence now. 
    The main house
was dark, and Sara's eyes were immediately drawn to the lights in the bunkhouse
out back and the foreman’s house beyond that.  She pulled her car up next to
the parked pickup truck out front of the foreman's house and killed the
ignition.  As she stepped out of the car into the cool night air, she groaned. 
Jonathan was crying.
    * * *
    If tonight was
any indication of how his life was going to be from now on, he was in deep
trouble.  Mitch stood helplessly on the other side of the room, leaning against
the wood grained wall he'd sanded and stained no less than two weeks ago,
watching as Sara worked her magic to calm Jonathan once again. 
    Mandy had taken
charge of Jonathan's care most of the time while Sara was at the reservation. 
Corrine had given her a break to eat and then passed the baby around for some
of the other women at the barn raising to dote on. 
    Mitch marveled
as Beau carried Jonathan around, announcing that he'd have a kid of his own in
just a few short months.  There was such joy in Beau's eyes that Mitch found
himself a little jealous of his friend.  He didn't feel that joy yet. 
    He wondered if
he'd ever feel it when not ten minutes upon returning to his house after the
festivities, Jonathan started fussing.  And he hadn’t a clue of what to do! 
When Sara had arrived,