woman who knew absolutely nothing about being a mother. Her own mother had not been much of an example.
But when it came right down to it, Susannah felt a bit nervous about using the Devotees’ tiny urgent-care facility for regular maternity checkups. She wasn’t too sure why she felt that way. After all, she’d been ready to turn over the rest of her life to the Devotees. Their facility and most of the town for that matter was brand-new and sparkling clean, and everyone was so pleasant. But she just wasn’t comfortable at their urgent care. And though she’d heard a new doctor had also recently come to town and opened his own office, May had already volunteered weeks ago, and Susannah was happy it turned out so well.
The two of them developed a great relationship in the couple of months they’d known each other. They were like sisters almost. May even invited her to have the baby at her cottage instead of Susannah’s tiny room at the boardinghouse in town.
For two weeks after Melody’s birth, she and the baby had stayed at May’s while she learned how to breast-feed and care for a tiny infant. Everything seemed nearly perfect … until May began putting thoughts into her head.
And then this morning …
Clouds suddenly covered the moon, and Susannah heard an odd noise. Turning her head to the sound, she jolted at the sight of gleaming yellow eyes staring at her from out of the bushes. Night creatures. Were they dangerous? Visions of wolves came to mind, sending chills down her spine.
It was time to leave.
But which way? She knew she couldn’t travel much longer without resting, and the baby desperately needed feeding. But she was becoming turned around in the darkness. How far had they come?
Taking a deep breath, Susannah made a best guess at the right direction and started out through the forest again. Within seconds, the moonlight broke through clouds and canopy, leading her way. She found what looked like a path. Well, maybe it was not a real path but at least a wide place where the brush was not so heavy and the ground seemed level. She rejoiced and followed along. Positive she was at least not headed back toward town, she picked up her pace and hoped to quickly find the highway she’d been seeking all day.
Another ten minutes went by until she came upon a fence. It wasn’t much of a fence, just a few wires strung together, but it gave her hope. There was hope for civilization ahead.
She bowed her head to go under one high wire while stepping over the lowest one. Before long, she came to the realization that a fence could be very bad news. What if she’d gotten turned around worse than she’d thought and the fence belonged to the Devotees? They did own property, like the creek and a few isolated houses, which backed up to these same woods. This fence could be at the edge of their property.
She couldn’t guess how many miles she might have traveled today. It was difficult going, fighting her way through the woods with an infant. But she was determined to keep moving ahead. There could be no going back.
As she kept walking and left the fence behind, the woods became less and less dense. Through the trees, she began catching glimpses of structures in the moonlight up ahead—buildings … civilization … people.
She hesitated again, unsure about this. Maybe it was a bad idea to barge in on a stranger, one who could likely be another Devotee.
Gritting her teeth, she walked on in fear. In moments, she came to a clear area surrounding what looked like farm buildings: big barns and sheds. Bright floodlights blazed from every corner of each building, but it seemed no one was around. She hadn’t heard of the Devotees owning any ranch or farm.
Listening closely, she couldn’t hear a sound except the same crickets and night noises she had been hearing since sunset. Maybe everyone had gone to bed.
She started trembling. The air felt chilly in the woods at night, and spring in Wyoming was known for its cold nights and warm days. But she felt sure her trembling must be coming more from fear than from the weather.
Still, she and Melody needed to get in out of the elements and rest—right now.
She held her breath and prayed again that the baby would sleep quietly through the next few minutes; she gingerly tiptoed over the short grasses and bare dirt. Fortunately, the nearest building wasn’t too far from the fence.
She noticed a small door at the back of the huge barnlike structure. Mentally crossing her fingers, she tried the latch. It was open. With another deep breath and with a tiny protest of the hinges, she and Melody were safely inside.
Susannah had to wait a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the lower lighting, but once they did, she moved farther into the barn. As she carefully looked around, she decided this place must be used for storage. Near the back door, saddles and tools were strewn across worktables, and all kinds of ropes and equipment hung on the walls.
Walking silently along a wide aisle, she checked right and left. Nothing; there was no sign of human life. As she took a deep breath, she smelled the scent of hay. She knew it must be hay because it smelled a little bit like new-mown grass, only stronger.
Susannah turned onto the center aisle and moved past a wooden half wall to find a large room full of bales of hay. One of the bales nearby was broken open and had spilled out in a blanket of hay on the barn floor.
Just at that point, her knees gave out and she sank into the soft hay. This was as far as she could go for now. Surely it wouldn’t hurt anything to stay here for a few hours—just long enough to feed the baby, have the last protein bar and maybe catch a little sleep.
She pulled the pack off her back and leaned against it for support as the baby began to stir. “You’ve been so good, my love. It’s time for us to eat now. You first.”
Peeling the carrier cover back, she found Melody making sucking motions with her eyes closed. Trying to wake her enough to eat, she tapped lightly on her cheek. “Come on, baby, don’t give up. It’s finally your time.”
After inching her child out of the carrier and into her lap, Susannah checked on her diaper. It was dry, and that could not be a good thing. Melody must not be getting enough fluids.
Peering through the low lighting at her beautiful child, she repeated in her mind what she knew for certain—Melody was perfect. The baby had all her toes and fingers. Susannah had certainly counted them enough times since her birth. And a soft cap of baby fuzz covered her perfectly shaped little head. Big blue eyes, which may or may not change later, stared at the world full of curiosity and followed things as they moved in front of her face. She was perfect.
So, no, the large raspberry-colored birthmark covering her ear and halfway down her neck did not detract from the baby’s perfection in any way. It did not!
As she settled Melody at her breast, Susannah tried to relax the way May had shown her. She chewed the protein bar and thought back to a few days after the baby was born. She’d been so enthralled with the miracle of her child’s birth that she hadn’t noticed the birthmark—not at all.
Then, as May was showing her how to give a real squirming baby a bath, she’d mentioned it for the first time. “The color and the mark itself will probably fade over time. I wouldn’t worry about it affecting her life in the future. It’s just now that concerns me.”
That remark had thrown Susannah a curveball. “How can a birthmark hurt her? I don’t understand. Can it make her sick?”
May tested the bathwater and nodded that it was the right temperature. “The mark has nothing to do with her health. But …”
“But what?” Susannah held her daughter in the cradle of her forearm and dunked her body into the water.
“I’m afraid it qualifies her as imperfect in some people’s eyes. And that scares me.”
Susannah began fighting panic. “Why? What are you talking about?”
“Think about it,” May said as she gently wiped a soft, wet cloth across the baby’s chest. “When have you ever seen a child, or anyone for that matter, in Cold