The fact that he would also snatch all this away the moment his guilt faded wasn't lost on her, and she knew she would have to move quickly. Somehow she had to get her hands on the Kennedy chest soon.

"Hasn't it occurred to you that I may run off with your sister-in-law's car, and she'll never see it again?"

He gazed distastefully at the battered Escort and handed her the keys. "We couldn't be that lucky."

She watched him walk away, then heard his car start. Edward came up behind her.

"Is he really giving us that car?"

"We're just borrowing it." Despite its condition, she thought it was the most beautiful vehicle she'd ever seen.

Edward looked toward the house. He scratched the back of his calf with the opposite sneaker and watched a bluebird fly from an old magnolia and settle on the peak of the tin roof. His eyes were filled with yearning. "Do we really get to stay here?"

She thought about the mysterious Kristy Brown. "For a little while. A woman is already living here, and I'm not sure how she's going to like having the two of us move in with her, so we'll have to see what happens."

Edward scowled. "Do you think she'll be mean like him?"

No need to ask who him was. "Nobody could be mean like him." She gave his cheek a quick peck. "Let's go get our things and put them away." Hand in hand, they crossed the small stretch of grass toward the house.

In addition to the living room and old-fashioned kitchen, the cottage had three bedrooms, one of them a small room that held a narrow iron bed and an old black Singer sewing machine. She put Edward there, despite his protests that he wanted to sleep with her.

Bonner's comment about turning Edward into a sissy stung. He didn't understand about Edward's illness and the effect their chaotic lifestyle was having on her son. Still, she knew Edward was immature for his age, and she hoped having his own room, even if it were only for a few weeks, would give him a little self-confidence.

She chose the other unoccupied bedroom for herself. It was simply furnished with a maple bed, a wedding-ring quilt, an oak chest of drawers with carved wooden drawer pulls, and an oval braided rug fraying a bit on the edges. Edward came in to watch her put her things away.

She had just finished when she heard the front door open. She shut her eyes for a moment to gather her strength, then touched Edward's arm. "Stay here, sweetheart, until I have a chance to introduce us."

A small, rather stern-looking woman stood just inside the front door. She appeared to be a few years older than Rachel, maybe in her very early thirties. She was modestly dressed in a tan blouse buttoned to her throat and a straight brown skirt. She wore no makeup, and her dark-brown hair hung straight to just below her jawline.

As Rachel drew nearer, she saw that the woman wasn't really homely at all, merely a bit drab. She had small, regular features and trim legs, but there was a severity about her that overshadowed those attributes and made her seem older than her smooth complexion indicated.

"Hello," Rachel said. "You must be Miss Brown."

"I'm Kristy." The woman wasn't unfriendly. Rather, Rachel received the impression of deep reserve.

Rachel realized her palms were sweating. As she tried to surreptitiously wipe them on the legs of her jeans, her index finger caught in one of the tears. She snatched it out before she did any more damage. "I'm really sorry about this. Reverend Bonner kept saying you wouldn't mind having us stay here, but…"

"It's all right." As Kristy walked into the living room, she set the paper sack she'd been carrying on the pine-blanket chest, next to the watering can of wildflowers, and placed her rather matronly black purse on one of the brown wicker chairs.

"It's not all right. I know this is an awful imposition, but I don't seem to have anywhere else to go at the moment."

"I understand."

Rachel regarded her doubtfully. Kristy Brown couldn't be pleased with the prospect of housing the most hated woman in Salvation, but her expression gave little away. "You know who I am, don't you?"

"You're Dwayne Snopes's widow." She straightened the quilt that lay over the couch with an efficiency of motion that Rachel guessed was characteristic of everything she did. Rachel noticed that her hands were small and graceful, her neat oval fingernails covered with clear polish.

"Taking me in won't make you too popular in the community."

"I try to do what's right." Her words were sanctimonious, and she spoke them a bit stiffly. Still, something about her manner made them seem genuine.

"I took the unoccupied bedroom and put my son in the sewing room. I hope that's all right. We'll try to stay out of your way as much as possible."

"That's not necessary." She glanced around the room toward the kitchen. "Where's your little boy?"

She forced herself to turn toward the bedroom. "Edward, would you come out here? He's a little shy." She hoped this explanation would keep Kristy from expecting too much from him.

Edward appeared in the doorway. He'd tucked Horse head-first into the waistband of his tan shorts, and he stared at the toes of his sneakers as if he'd done something wrong.

"Kristy, this is my son Edward. Edward, I'd like you to meet Miss Brown."

"Hi." He didn't look up.

To Rachel's annoyance, Kristy didn't say anything to ease his shyness but simply stared at him. This was going to be even worse than she'd thought. The last thing Edward needed around him was another hostile adult.

Edward finally lifted his eyes, apparently curious why he hadn't received a response.

Kristy's mouth curled into a full-fledged smile. "Hello, Edward. Pastor Ethan said you'd be here. I'm happy to meet you."

Edward smiled back.

Kristy picked up the sack from the blanket chest and walked over to him. "When I heard you'd be staying here, I brought you something. I hope you like it." Rachel watched Kristy kneel down until she and Edward were on eye level.

"You brought me a present?" Edward couldn't have sounded more surprised.

"Nothing fancy. I wasn't sure what you'd like." She handed him the sack. He opened it, and his eyes widened. "A book! A new book!" His features clouded. "Is it really for me?"

Rachel's heart felt as if it were breaking. There had been so much bad in Edward's life, he couldn't believe anything good was happening.

"Of course it's for you. It's called Stellaluna, and it's about a baby bat. Would you like me to read it?"

Edward nodded, and the two of them settled on the couch as Kristy began to read. As Rachel watched, a lump grew in her throat. He interrupted Kristy with questions, which she patiently answered, and as they continued reading, her plainness disappeared. She laughed at his chatter, her eyes sparkled, and she looked pretty.

Their interaction continued through the supper she insisted they share. Rachel ate sparingly, not willing to deprive Edward of even a bite of the chicken casserole he was devouring. With a feeling of pure pleasure, she watched the food disappear into his mouth.

After dinner, Rachel insisted on cleaning up, but Kristy wouldn't let her do it alone. While Edward sat on the front porch with his precious book, the two women worked in awkward silence.

Kristy finally broke it. "Have you thought about putting Edward in day care? There's an excellent facility at church, with a nursery school attached."

Rachel's cheeks burned. Edward needed to be around other children, and it would have done him so much good to be separated from her for a little bit. "I'm afraid I can't afford it right now."

Kristy hesitated. "It won't cost you anything. There's a scholarship I'm sure he'll qualify for."

"A scholarship?"

Kristy wouldn't quite meet her eyes. "Let me take him with me when I go to work tomorrow morning. I'll get it all straightened out."

There was no scholarship. This was charity, and more than anything, Rachel wanted to refuse. But she couldn't afford pride where her son was concerned. "Thank you," she said quietly. "I'd appreciate it."

The compassion she saw in Kristy's eyes filled her with shame.

That night, after Edward was asleep, she let herself out the back door and down the wooden steps. They creaked as she turned on the flashlight she'd remembered to take from the Impala's glove compartment before the car had been towed. Even though she was so tired that her legs felt boneless, there was something she needed to do before she could allow herself to sleep.

Keeping the beam low to the ground, she swept it along the line of trees behind the house until she found what she was looking for, a narrow path that curled into the woods. She walked toward it, picking out obstacles so she wouldn't trip.

A branch brushed her cheek, and a night bird cooed. Having been raised in the country, she liked being outside at night when she could be alone with the quiet and the clean, cool smells. Now, however, she could barely concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other.

Annie Glide's cottage was set high on Heartache Mountain, less than half a mile from Rachel's destination, but she had to stop several times to rest. In the end, it took her nearly half an hour to reach the notch. When she got there, she collapsed on a small outcrop of rock and looked down the other side of the mountain. Down toward the house where she had lived with G. Dwayne Snopes.

It sat brooding in the valley below, built on blood money and deception. The windows were dark now, and moonlight picked out the structure's shape but not its details. Still, Rachel didn't need light to remember how ugly it was, how overly grandiose and phony, just like Dwayne.