And the children seemed to like her—Belle was not crying, and Simon clung to her skirt as if it was Madelaine’s.
Not waiting for her answer, the young woman sat down on the edge of the bed. “My name is Evelyn. Evelyn Whitfield. I’m Caleb’s wife.” She put Belle down on the blanket, who happily crawled on all fours toward Madelaine. “I believe you have met him? He is the sheriff’s deputy.”
“Yes…” Madelaine said, but her voice came out a croak.
Evelyn smiled softly, grabbed a pitcher sitting on a small table next to them, filled a cup with water, and handed it to her.
Only then did Madelaine realize how thirsty she was. She drank the whole cup all at once. “Yes,” she tried again, and this time she sounded more like herself. “I met him. And the sheriff.”
“Yes. Luke is my cousin,” Evelyn announced as she lifted Simon, who was pulling at her skirt, off the floor and onto her lap again. “How is your head?”
Madelaine lifted her hand and felt for the bandage. “It hurts. My head is pounding.”
Evelyn nodded empathetically. “Oh, yes. You must have taken a bad fall. I had to tend to a small cut at the back of your head. It wasn’t severe, but I thought it would be best to cover it with bandages. So it wouldn’t get infected.”
Evelyn smiled again, and this time Madelaine responded in kind. “Thank you.”
The woman filled the cup a second time, and Madelaine took it gratefully, drinking all of the water to the last drop.
“We have called the doctor to come here so he can check on you. Just in case,” she explained. “They found you lying in the cold snow. You seemed to have passed out.”
Madelaine nodded hesitantly and handed her the cup. “Where are we?” she asked.
“We are at Luke’s ranch. He wanted to make sure you were all right. We live next door, so I came right over to look after you.”
“We had pancakes!” Simon piped up, clapping his hands excitedly. “They were so yummy!” Evelyn laughed at that.
“Do you remember what happened?” she asked. Madelaine opened her mouth but didn’t answer immediately. Evelyn raised her eyebrows questioningly. “Your horse was injured…”
“Yeah! Tinsel was shot!” Simon added with a worried expression. “I heard them talk about it.”
“I thank the Lord for saving all of you,” Evelyn said.
Madelaine couldn’t help it, and her eyes filled with tears. “Tinsel was shot? Is she…? Is she dead?”
“No!” Simon and Evelyn both said in unison, and grinning at each other because of it.
“Caleb took her back to the barn, and our ranch hands have been tending her wound. She is doing fine. Her leg was grazed by a bullet, but it wasn’t very deep and will heal in time,” explained Evelyn. “Do you not remember anything that happened to you?” she asked again.
Looking up into Evelyn’s kind face, Madelaine felt deeply conflicted. She didn’t like to have to lie, especially as a Christian woman. Would God forgive her if she did? She might have to in order to stay in this house for a little while longer. They seemed safe here, and Phineas wouldn’t be able to find them.
Please, God, forgive me!
Swallowing hard, taking a deep breath, Madelaine slowly shook her head. “No.”
Evelyn nodded in acknowledgement.
Simon made a face and curiously cocked his head to his side. “What do you mean?”
Madelaine didn’t want to lie to her little brother, too, so she just shrugged her shoulders, as if she didn’t know the answer, still trying to figure out how far she needed to take it. Internally, she prayed to God in earnest to be merciful.Please, God! Please understand what I am trying to do. I love You, and I beg for Your forgiveness. You are my Lord and Savior. I will not stray from my faith in You. Please understand. I am so sorry.
“You remember Tinsel… Do you remember me?” Simon asked. He seemed alarmed. “You are my big sister! Don’t you remember me?” Simon jumped off Evelyn’s lap and scrambled past an oblivious Belle to Madelaine. Putting his little hands firmly onto both of her shoulders, he forced her to look into his eyes.
“I am Simon!” he said a little too loudly and obviously panicked.
Madelaine couldn’t take it. “I know you, Simon,” she said, pulling him tightly into her arms. “Of course I remember you! How could I not?”
The little boy almost choked a sob as he returned the embrace with a fierce hug. Madelaine was surprised at his unbound strength. Then he leaned back and searched Madelaine’s face. “What about Belle?”
