Free Too Long a Stranger (Women of the West) by Janette Oke Page B

deep emotional needs of her own.
    "Of course," she answered Mrs. Galvan. "A kitten would be good for her. She loves animals so."
    Michael had loved animals. Sarah had often teased that she was sure he would have filled the barn—and the house—had she permitted it. In fact, Michael was about to choose himself a dog. Sarah wasn't too fond of dogs—at least not in her house. But Michael had assured her that the dog would sleep in the barn with the horses and go with him each day to haul freight.
    "If—if you are going to allow Rebecca a kitten, then—I thought you might like to be the one to—to tell her about it," went on Mrs. Galvan.
    "But it's your—"
    "I've just given it to you," said the woman without even looking Sarah's way.
    How wise—and caring she is, thought Sarah. She knows — she knows how I ache because — because Rebecca is slowly .. . But Sarah did not allow herself to finish the thought. She would accept Mrs. Galvan's offer. She would take advantage of the opportunity to give Rebecca something special. She had so little chances for such expression of her love.
    Sarah let her eyes rest on her little girl who sat on the floor cuddling the kitten in her arms. The child turned eyes toward her mother as though she knew she was the subject of interest. "Kitty love me," she said with confidence.
    "Do you want a kitty?" asked Sarah, and she left her chair at the kitchen table and crossed the room to the little girl.
    The two other kittens rolled beneath a nearby chair, clawing at imaginary somethings in the air around them.
    Rebecca looked up, her large brown eyes wide as they met her mother's. Then she pressed the kitten she held against her soft baby cheek.
    Sarah fought to keep the tears from falling. How like Michael's eyes were those of her little girl.
    "Next week is your birthday. You'll be two years old," Sarah told her daughter. "How would you like a kitten for your birthday?"
    Rebecca looked puzzled for one moment, but then her eyes lit up.
    "For me?"
    "Yes. For your very own."
    Rebecca giggled and held the kitten out where she could get a better look at it. Then she giggled again and pulled it back to press it against her little chest.
    "Aunt Min says—" began Sarah, then caught herself and started again. "You may pick whichever kitten you like the best, and we will take it home to our house. It will be yours."
    Rebecca looked around her. She studied the two playing kittens, held the one in her arms out and surveyed it carefully and then looked at the other two again.
    When she turned back to her mother she seemed confident of her decision. "This one," she said, holding up the kitten in her hands. "This one."
    Sarah reached out her hand to stroke the softness of the kitten. She was a cute little thing.
    "What shall we call her?' she asked gently.
    Rebecca appeared to be thinking. "Unca Boy," she said, her eyes sparkling.
    "Boyd?"
    Rebecca nodded emphatically.
    "But Boyd is a man's name—this little kitten is a girl."
    "Unca Boy," insisted Rebecca.
    Sarah shrugged and laughed gently. "Uncle Boyd it is, then. I wonder how he'll feel having a cat named after him."
    Mrs. Galvan joined the laughter from the stove where she was removing loaves of bread from a hot oven.
    "It is so good to hear you laugh, Sarah," Mrs. Galvan said approvingly. "Here—I baked an extra loaf for you and Rebecca to have with your supper."
    ***
    All through the hot summer and into the fall, Sarah fought to keep her freight line going. The competition became almost unbearable. Sarah would have given up in defeat many times had it not been for little Rebecca. But because of her love for the little girl, her commitment to provide for her, she struggled on.
    "I'll never make it," she said as she counted out her monthly loan from her meager earnings. "I'll never make it. I have barely enough. What will we ever live on?" She looked at the few bills and coins spread out on her bed.
    Sarah knew she had to swallow her pride and accept