The young men at the reservation had intended to send the message that the women didn't have to have anything to do with whites or their culture, but the destruction of their work had had a rallying effect instead. The women worked twice as hard and fast on the quilts and needlework. They seemed somewhat ashamed of the boys' behavior and were finally treating Sister Ruth as a friend instead of just an authority figure.

Sully occasionally had work to do away from the reservation. Sister Ruth spent those days in town visiting with friends. She always made sure to stop by the saloon.

"You got all them Indians singing Amazing Grace yet?" Hank asked with one of his irritating grins on one such day.

Sister Ruth handed him the usual amount to pay for Helen's time. "If you're trying to ask me how the work's going at the reservation, it's going just fine, brother."

Helen came over and led Sister Ruth to her room. She never got heavy-handed about religion with Helen. They mostly chatted about casual, everyday things that maybe didn't have a lot of meaning on the surface, but it meant the world to Helen because she didn't often get that kind of conversation. It meant even more because she knew she was paying to have these chats.

When the 30 minutes was about up, Helen said, "If all church people were like you, Sister Ruth, I don't think the churches could hold all the people that would fill it."

"Church people are still people, not saints. We make plenty of mistakes, myself included. But the lovely thing about church is that it's a place to hear the Word of God preached and explained to us to help us on the road to becoming sanctified, and in a good church, it's a place where believers are supporting and encouraging their brothers and sisters in their daily walk with God. Not to mention nothing is quite as wonderful as a chance to worship and glorify Him."

"Except when you're a misfit like me, they'll all be staring at me and whispering behind my back if not to my face. Judging me for what I do for a living."

"They just have to get used to your being there is all, but those things are less likely to happen at the reservation church, and you could sit by me like you did at the picnic. I promise nobody there bites, well except maybe some of the young ones."

"I'll think about it," she promised with a smile.

Their time was up, and she walked Sister Ruth through the saloon, but their path became impeded by a fight going on.

"You don't hit my girls," Hank said, his face a mask of fury. "I don't care how much you've paid." He pushed the man in question to the floor.

A quick glance revealed one of the saloon girls was sporting a black eye and red marks up and down her arms from being held to tight that were bound to become bruises. The other girls were soothing her and holding a steak over her eye.

The man got up and swung, and Hank took a punch in his nose, which only fueled his rage. The man took a hit to the stomach and the jaw, flooring him once again. Then Hank picked him up by his clothing and threw him through the swinging doors.

Hank turned around and rolled his eyes when he saw her standing there.

"Sit down and let me clean you up a little," Sister Ruth ordered.

He looked like he was considering tossing her out too, but then he took a seat.

"You ain't all bad. You ain't all good, but you ain't all bad," she said, using her handkerchief to wipe the blood off his face.

"Did you ever think maybe I just don't want them damaging the merchandise?" he asked, clearly not happy that Sister Ruth had saw any good in him.

"There's plenty of vulnerable girls out here with no family or means of supporting themselves. You could talk some of them into this kind of lifestyle easy enough."

"And have," he mentioned.

"My point is the women can be replaced. I know some saloon owners who are too far gone to care about another human being even if they are their merchandise as you put it."

"Just don't go thinking you can clean me up on the inside cause I let you take care of a bloody nose," he grumbled.

Sister Ruth smiled. "I wish it were so easy, but the Lord's the only one who can do that, and He won't do it if you don't ask Him to." His face and beard cleaned off, she gave him the handkerchief. "Dr. Mike's expecting me to ride back to the homestead with her, so I'll see you and Helen next week if not before then."

He stuffed the bloody handkerchief in his pocket, grumbling and muttering about Sister Ruth and religious people in general.

sss

Sister Ruth felt unexplainably tired just walking between the saloon to the clinic.

Michaela had already picked up Katie from Dorothy. She'd been quietly playing with the blocks that Sully had made for her, but when she saw Sister Ruth, she abandoned them and came running over and tugged on her skirt as she called pleadingly, "Ru, Ru."

"Hold on, honey. Let Ru sit down first." Seated on a chair, she let Katie climb onto her lap.

Michaela had been closing and locking the windows and had just got a good look at Sister Ruth "You don't look like you're feeling very well. You look a little pale, in fact."

"I'm alright," she said, rubbing the area around her collar bone. I must've eat something that disagreed with me is all."

"And you're in a sweat. You haven't been doing any heavy work, have you?"

"Naw, just the heat and my age, I reckon. And there was a little excitement at the saloon. I'm sure that didn't help improve things, but I'm fine."

"Let me be the judge of that. It wasn't that hot today, and that's not that normal," she said as she went for her doctor's bag.

Katie, seeing her mom with the bag, seemed to know that was her cue to go back to the blocks, and she climbed down from Sister Ruth's lap.

"I'm not sick," Sister Ruth protested.

"You're probably not, but I'd feel better if I checked you out," she said, opening the bag.

"I suppose it won't hurt nothing," Sister Ruth acquiesced.

Michaela put on her stethoscope and put the bell over her chest. It was just as she had feared; Sister Ruth's heart was pounding furiously.

Memories of Maude flashed through her mind, and she had to remind herself that she had plenty of digitalis on hand now. There was still reason to worry though. It had been her experience that older couples sometimes followed each other, dying days or months apart, but she wasn't going to lose another friend to death so soon if she could help it. "You have to go to bed right this minute."

Sister Ruth's eyes widened in surprise.

"You can use one of the clinic beds," she continued, "until Sully can help get you in the wagon and home."

"I know better than to argue with my doctor, I guess," she said, trying to put on a smile as she followed Michaela upstairs.