Author's Note: Thank you to all who are continuing to read and enjoy this story! I appreciate you! Life is going on like crazy around here, especially with Christmas approaching, but this story keeps coming at me day and night, so I'm spending every minute I can get at my computer, writing it all down! Sometimes it feels like I'm just taking dictation while the characters talk it out in my head (have you seen The Man Who Invented Christmas, about Charles Dickens? It illustrates quite well what writing is like for me, though of course I make no claim to be at Dickens' level!). When I started working on the first chapter, I already knew about Sarah Kate and a little about Ramona, but I didn't know Manuel or Haven yet, and I sure didn't realize I'd be talking with Shawna again. Anyway, I'm having a blast writing this and I'm happy to have you all along for the ride!

I'm sure many of you are experiencing the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. For all of you who celebrate Christmas, I pray that you will have a joyful and happy holiday. I know that this can also be a time of stress and magnified grief, and I pray for all who are struggling, that you might find joy amid sorrow and hope amid heartbreak. I am thankful for a God who can take a handful of ashes and work beauty from them. May He bless you all!

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Chapter 8

Johnny sat facing Sarah Kate in the police station lobby. He watched her kick her legs back and forth, sometimes keeping her toes off the ground, sometimes scuffing them across the tile floor. Her arms crossed over her chest, she was letting her gaze wander like any bored little kid. But Johnny knew better. He could see that she was soaking everything in. She had a magazine with her, and every once in a while, she would open it up and stick her nose in it, but she wasn't turning any pages. She was on heightened alert, listening to every word spoken in her presence. On the floor next to her, a battered suitcase and her backpack held all the belongings she'd fetched from the hotel a couple hours ago.

With a glance at Nita, who was pacing the floor, Jamie fussing in her arms, Johnny got up and moved to sit beside Sarah Kate. He put an arm around her shoulders. "I want to thank you," he said quietly.

Sarah Kate shrugged up her shoulders but didn't say anything in response. She also didn't pull away. Johnny imagined she craved a father's attention. Well, he wasn't her father, but he was someone who understood, and maybe that was enough.

He knew what it cost her to come forward. He'd been in her shoes as a kid, sitting outside the director's office at his boarding school just after learning that his dad had died of cancer, trying to hear the grownups on the other side of the heavy oak door as they discussed his fate. At least he'd had an aunt and uncle willing to take him in. And at least I knew what happened to Anki. Sarah Kate doesn't even have that.

The revelation that the nine-year-old had been living alone in that hotel for four months had come as a shock to both Johnny and Nita. Other than being way too skinny, she didn't look like a kid who had been neglected. She was clean, dressed in decent clothes, her hair neatly brushed. Apparently, she had even been attending school and doing her homework faithfully, and she'd made a deal to work in exchange for having her secret kept by the one person who knew she was on her own. Ramona.

Johnny's jaw clenched as the woman's face filled his mind. She'd smiled at him when she gave him his French toast the previous morning. A friendly smile, nothing sinister about it at all. When Sarah Kate first said she thought Ramona had taken JoJo, Johnny had shaken his head in disbelief. Nita was quicker to believe it. She had been bothered by the way Ramona touched JoJo when the women and kids came in for their breakfast. She'd noticed, too, that every time she turned around, Ramona seemed to be watching their little girl.

"Her baby died," Sarah Kate had explained while the Gages and the detectives assigned to the case listened. "Last year, in a car accident. A little girl named Ada. Her husband Oscar died too. Gemma told me all about it. She warned me not to mention the wreck to Ramona because it makes her crazy angry to remember it. Sometimes she talks like it never happened… like Oscar is just away at the store with Ada and they'll be back soon. But we all know better."

Sarah Kate's tip was the first real lead the police had in their search for JoJo. But, according to the detective, they didn't know where to find Ramona. She had left a letter of resignation on Carolanne Hegarty's desk early that morning. When police went to the address in her employee file, it looked like she'd packed all her clothing and left in a hurry.

"We've been trying to identify any family members she might have run to," Detective Seward explained, "but so far we're not having any luck. We found a sister-in-law who hasn't spoken to her since Oscar Martinez died. She doesn't know anything about Ramona's background. It seems no one does. It's like she didn't even come into existence until she married Martinez. Best we can tell so far, she used a false maiden name on her job application. We've got people digging for more information and we hope we'll have something soon."

As Johnny sat thinking over the events of the day, the lobby door creaked open and Swede and Nancy Halverson walked in, accompanied by a middle-aged blonde woman carrying a Manila folder.

Swede waved to Johnny as he crossed the lobby to sit facing him. "Hey, John. Any news yet?"

Johnny appreciated that Swede skipped over the small talk and got straight to what mattered. "Well, thanks to Sarah Kate, we've got a lead. Roy's out getting flyers printed now, and we're going to plaster the city with them. Someone must have seen them." His eyes moved from Swede to Nita, who was still pacing the floor, patting their son's back and singing softly to him. "Nita's had her hands full with Jamie, which is probably all that's keeping her going right now. I'd help, but he only wants her. Poor little guy, his favorite stuffed animal was in the diaper bag, which was in the basket of JoJo's stroller. Nita's meds were in there too. Thankfully, a doctor over at Harborview has already talked with her transplant doctor and has called in a prescription. There's a police officer going to —" Johnny stopped abruptly. He suddenly felt as if he couldn't breathe. Up to now, he'd been doing a good job keeping his feelings in check, putting on a brave face for the rest of his family, but suddenly the emotions he'd been holding at bay threatened to overwhelm him. He missed JoJo so much it was physically painful. He squeezed his eyes shut, desperate to get himself back in control. "Dammit, Swede… my little girl…"

Johnny felt Swede's hand on his back, and at the same time, Sarah Kate's arm snaked itself behind him and she rested her head on his shoulder. He drew in a deep shuddering breath and opened his eyes again, giving a quick nod. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. There's nothing wrong with what you're feeling," Swede assured him. "Listen, every paramedic at the conference has volunteered to help however they can. Get us a bunch of those flyers and we'll hit the streets with them."

Johnny nodded. "Thanks. We appreciate it."

"Whatever it takes, that's what we'll do. But…" Swede rubbed at his chin. "That's not actually why we're here right now."

"Oh?" Johnny was grateful for a change of subject. "Nothing wrong for your family, I hope."

Just then, Nancy and the blonde woman came over, accompanied by a police officer. "Sarah Kate DiAngelo?" the woman asked.

Sarah Kate sighed. "That's me." Johnny kept his arm around the girl's shoulders, and she scooted closer to his side.

The woman made a notation on the folder. "Sarah Kate, I'm Tonya Diehl from Child Services. I've been assigned to look out for you and find you a safe place to stay."

Sarah Kate wrapped her fingers around Johnny's. He squeezed her hand, hoping to encourage her.

Now Swede knelt to look the girl in the eyes. "Sarah Kate, I'm Swede Halverson." He gestured to his wife. "And this is Nancy, my better half. We're friends of Johnny and Roy. You've met Roy, right?"

She nodded but didn't let go of Johnny's hand.

"Well, we're certified foster parents." He paused for a second. "When Roy and JoAnne told me about you, we called the police and told them we would be happy to take you in, and they connected me with Mrs. Diehl here. If it's all right with you, we'd like you to come stay with us, at least for the next few days while they're getting things figured out."

Johnny rubbed Sarah Kate's back. "Hey, this is a good thing, Sarah Kate. The Halversons are good people. They live on a real nice dairy farm. In fact… last time I was here, they had me helping deliver a calf."

Sarah Kate perked up just a little at hearing that, though she was trembling slightly. "I like cows," she said in a small voice. Then she looked from Swede to Nancy, her brow furrowing. "Do you have kids?"

"We have a son," Nancy said, and Johnny could have sworn he saw panic in Sarah Kate's eyes. "But he's all grown up and just moved away from home. He's got an apartment close to the fire station where he's going to work."

Sarah Kate breathed out and her muscles relaxed. The panic in her gaze faded. After a long moment, she gave a quick nod of her head. "I'll go with you. Thanks."

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Matt hated waiting. Melissa had been sleeping for several hours after dropping her bombshell on him — a second bombshell in the space of ten minutes — and he really wanted to talk with her about it. He'd been trying to remember exactly what the little Angel Girl from his dreams looked like, but it had been more than a year since he last had that dream and there was only one thing he remembered clearly — she had dark hair and she wore it back in a braid. Sarah Kate hadn't been wearing a braid.

When the nurse came in to check Lissa's vitals again, she told him he should go get something to eat and promised to send for him if she woke up while he was gone. "Don't worry," she said, smiling softly. "Sleep is good for her right now. Her vitals look great."

"Thanks." He smiled sheepishly. He could have told her that. He'd been keeping an eye on all the monitors and checking her pulse for himself every so often. But here in Seattle he wasn't a paramedic. He was just an anxious husband and now, a father-to-be, sitting at his wife's bedside, hoping and praying for her and the baby to be all right.

He tried a few times to go back to reading Bonhoeffer, but he couldn't concentrate. When he at last looked up from his book and saw Melissa blinking her eyes open, he breathed out a prayer of thanks. "Hi, Lissa." He smiled and reached for her hand. "About time you woke up — you kinda left me hanging earlier, ya know. Want to sit up?"

She nodded, returning a rueful smile. "Sorry… I was awfully tired."

"I know. Understandably so." He pushed the button to raise the head of the bed, then let his hand rest on her belly. "You didn't tell me."

"I'm sorry, Matt. I… I was scared to say anything. Like… I might jinx it." Her eyes filled with tears. "Are you mad at me?"

"No!" Matt stroked her cheek and then kissed her. "Honey," he soothed, "I get that you're scared after what happened last time, but it wasn't your fault. You didn't jinx anything then, and it's good that I know now. You don't have to go through this alone. The doc says this baby's doing great." His hand moved back to her belly. She wasn't showing yet, but he could feel a slight rise to her abdomen that he hadn't noticed before. "Is that —"

She nodded, smiling through her tears. "Yes."

"Wow." The word didn't come close to expressing the awe and joy he was feeling right then, but it was all he could manage to get out. He repeated it for good measure. "Wow." Taking a deep breath, he asked himself silently what Taffy would have done if he were here. The answer came quickly. "Melissa, do you mind if I pray?"

She shook her head, so he wrapped one hand around her fingers and kept the other on her belly. "Father, I thank you for my wonderful wife and for this little life growing inside her. I pray that You will calm Melissa's anxieties and help the baby to keep growing strong and healthy. Please help the doctors as they run their tests to figure out exactly what's going on so that Melissa can get feeling better fast, too. In Jesus' name, Amen."

"Amen," she said, her voice wavering slightly. He knew she was not quite sure about her own faith, but she had been coming to church with him and he thought she found comfort in it.

Now there was another matter they needed to discuss. He gave her hand a squeeze. "Lissa, before you fell asleep… you said something about Sarah Kate."

Melissa nodded again. "Our Angel Girl. I knew the first time we saw her that there was something special about her, but… well… I wasn't sure what until I passed out and… well, I know it sounds crazy, but while I was out, I had that dream again. You know… we're in the park and the girl is there with us and we're playing hide and seek? And when I woke up I knew! That's where I've seen her before! And I feel like she belongs with us, but that doesn't make any sense because she has her dad and she —" She looked around suddenly. "Where is she, anyway? Did they all go back to the hotel?"

Matt swallowed hard. Melissa didn't know anything about what had happened, and he wasn't sure how to tell her about it.

"Matt? Something's wrong." He felt her eyes scrutinizing him. "What aren't you telling me?"

With a heavy sigh, he leaned forward. Lord, help me, he prayed. "Lissa, when you passed out… someone took JoJo. Apparently, that same someone pushed DJ down and he broke his elbow." He could feel her body stiffening.

"It's all my fault." She pulled her hand free of his and turned away from him.

"No, Melissa," he said firmly. "It isn't your fault. You didn't know you were going to pass out. The only person whose fault it is, is the person who took JoJo. And we think we know who that is… thanks to DJ and Sarah Kate."

He had a feeling curiosity would get her to turn back to him, and he was right. "Sarah Kate?"

"Yeah. JoAnne told me the whole story." Matt noticed his wife rubbing the sleeve of her hospital gown across her wet eyes, so he handed her a tissue. "DJ wouldn't talk about what happened, but the doctor got him talking through that old stuffed bear he carries around, and they figured out that whoever took JoJo threatened to hurt JoAnne if DJ said anything. I guess Sarah Kate was paying attention, because she used the same trick and got him to tell her that he had seen the kidnapper at the hotel. She's the one who figured out that it had to be the housekeeper… Ramona, I think her name is."

"The one who made breakfast?" Melissa was fully engaged now and wide awake. "I remember her — she paid attention to JoJo, and I could tell it upset Nita."

"Yeah. Well, they're looking for her. There's something else you should know… Sarah Kate told Jo that she's been living alone at the hotel for the last four months. Her dad paid in advance then left her there, and she doesn't know where he went. She didn't tell anyone because she's scared they'll put her in foster care."

Now ire flashed in Melissa's eyes. Matt was relieved — it meant her spirits were reviving. "Her dad did what?! That's… that's —" she sputtered. "Unthinkable!"

"Yeah. She told Jo because apparently, Ramona had figured it out and was holding it over her — keeping her secret in exchange for Sarah Kate doing chores around the hotel. Sarah Kate didn't want Ramona to turn her in, so she turned herself in."

"Matt…" Now Melissa was the one grabbing his hand. She leaned forward in her bed, the anger in her gaze giving way to determination. "We need to talk with her. She and I… we really hit it off. Our dreams… they have to mean something."

Matt frowned. He was willing to do just about anything for Melissa, but this seemed impossible. They were too young to take in a nine-year-old. They were going to have a baby. And the State of Washington wasn't exactly going to let a couple from California take a kid home with them. "Jo said they're sending her to a foster home tonight. I… I don't know how —"

"Just talk with them, Matt. Please… promise me." That pleading tone in her voice made his heart twist. He couldn't tell her no.

"I promise I'll talk with them," he said as the orderly came in with her supper. "But that's the most I can promise." He kissed her on the forehead. "Do you feel like you could eat?"

"Yeah, I'll try." She waited for the orderly to leave, then looked him in the eyes. "But first, you should pray again… this time for JoJo and DJ and Sarah Kate."

He smiled. "Sure. I've been praying for them all afternoon, but I didn't want you to hear the news that way." He squeezed her hand and bowed his head and, together, they prayed.

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When Ada woke from her nap, she seemed in better spirits. Manuel, who had kept watch the whole time she slept, saw her begin to stir a little before dinner time. When her eyes blinked open, the first thing they fastened on was Haven. "Goggie!" she said, sitting up. She showed no fear whatsoever of the large animal, and Haven seemed quite content to let the little one pat her head and snuggle up to her.

"Ada," Manuel said softly. The girl didn't look up at all, which puzzled him. A child her age ought to respond to her name. Well, maybe it was because her attention was fixed on the dog. Teo had been the same way, even as a toddler — once he was focused on something he liked, it took real effort to get his attention. "Ada, love, are you hungry?"

The name didn't get her attention, but the word hungry sure did. She looked up at him. He was grateful she didn't seem afraid of him anymore. "Hung'y," she echoed, then added a word he'd never heard before. Something like chaffo. Then she looked around and said, "Timma sushki?"

"I don't know what you're saying, honey," Manuel told her.

She looked at him again, her dark eyes big and full of longing. "Mama? Papa?"

"Mama's sleeping, baby. But let's go get you something to eat." He went to pick her up but realized she needed a new diaper. Mona had left the diaper bag next to the bed, so he picked it up and glanced inside. What he saw there made him furrow his brow. In addition to the diapers, there were a couple changes of clean clothing — one for a little girl, but the other clearly for a boy — and two of those new-fangled training cups, the kind that didn't spill — one pink and one blue.

"What are you doing, Papa?!" Mona came from behind him and snatched the bag out of his hand. "She's mine. I'll take care of her!"

Ada wailed as soon as Mona came close, and Haven sat up, bristling, placing herself between the woman and the baby. Ada's chubby little arms went around the dog and she pressed her face against its side and cried like her heart was going to break.

"No, Mona. Can't you see you've scared her? You'll back off and let me change her," Manuel insisted. "I remember how to do it, even if it has been almost thirty years. You go get me a warm wet washcloth."

Mona didn't argue, but she took the diaper bag with her. Manuel had hoped to get a closer look at its contents, but clearly his daughter wasn't going to let him.

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At mass, Tex had always appreciated the sight of smoke wafting upward from the candles, as if it were carrying the prayers of the people to God; and so tonight, he would build a fire. He kept a ready supply of firewood up here at the high meadow so that it was one less thing they had to worry about transporting for camping trips or cookouts, and so he had plenty on hand. Thankfully, it was a still night, but he would have buckets of water from the creek on hand too, just in case.

With Billy watching, he built up the wood and the kindling and then set it ablaze. Before long, the pleasant aroma of pine smoke filled his nostrils. He stepped back to stand beside Billy and clapped him on the back. "A Catholic and a Baptist, praying together… some folk might misunderstand. But it is a good thing for you and me to remember that we are brothers and that your prayers and mine go to the God who hears. Come now… let us pray."

He knelt beside the fire and began a low chant. The words flowed from his heart, rising up with the smoke of the fire towards heaven. He wasn't sure if the words were his own or verses he had memorized from the Psalms over the years. Probably a mix of both, but with them, he spilled out his lament and his longing and his hope for God to protect the innocent and to bring JoJo safely home.