unnerved him the most. For an instant, when she’d fed him the candy and her fingers had innocently grazed his lips, he’d had the idiotic urge to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless. Talk about crazy!
Lost in thought, he mulled over their past. It would have been better for everyone if she hadn’t misunderstood his motives when they’d first met, years ago. The disillusioned look on her young face was one he’d never forget. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her. He’d simply known she was wrong for Mark and he’d said so, as much for her benefit as for his brother’s. Stacy had been naive. Innocent. Shy. The strong-willed Payne family would have swallowed her up and crushed the radiant spirit he’d sensed beneath her unsophisticated demeanor. He ought to know.
Only now she wasn’t shy, was she? Maybe she wasn’t naive, either, in spite of her supposed sweetness. Either way, he didn’t intend to stick around and find out. No, sir!
Coming to his senses he stepped off the porch and headed for the yard where the dogs were kept. He’d done his good deed for the day. He’d brought Missy to see her rescuers. Now, it was time to start home.
Graydon’s gut knotted again when he thought of his unsettling reaction to Stacy. Clearly, it was past time for him to make a hasty exit. Way past time. The sooner he got himself away from her, the better he’d like it.
He went to find Missy.
Chapter Four
When Stacy got to the back yard she found Missy sticking her small hands through the fence and giggling as all seven dogs jockeyed for position to lick her fingers. The comical sight made her laugh, too.
“Hi! Sorry I took so long.” Munching on a yellow Gummi Bear, she unlocked the gate, then paused before opening it. “This candy is delicious. Want some?”
“Sure! Can the dogs have a piece, too? I’ll share.”
“Let’s give them doggy treats instead, shall we? They’re better for them.”
“Okay.” Missy stood close at her heroine’s heels, waiting for the chance to enter the yard. “I can do it. I’m not scared.”
“All right. But first we have to make them sit and behave, or they’ll learn the wrong lessons.”
“Like what?”
“Like pushing and shoving to get what they want. They have to learn manners, just like you and I do.” Stacy noticed the child’s smile fading.
“What’s the matter?”
“Candace says I’m a—a little bar—bar…something.”
“Barbarian?”
“That’s it.” She looked up at Stacy, her eyes wide, her expression hopeful. “I’m not, am I?”
“Well, I certainly don’t think so.” It was hard to keep her opinion of the Paynes to herself. If it hadn’t been for the good of the child, she wouldn’t have held back or made excuses for them. “Maybe it’s just that Candace hasn’t been around kids before. Give her time. She’ll get used to having you there.”
“I wish…”
Stacy sat down on the lawn and opened her arms to the sad little girl. “Come here.”
Missy didn’t hesitate to crawl onto her lap.
“I know how it is to wish for something so hard you think you’ll burst. But sometimes there’s just no way for our wishes to come true, even if they are wonderful.”
“My—my daddy died,” Missy whispered. She wrapped one arm around Stacy’s neck and buried her face against her chest.
Deeply moved, Stacy rocked them both back and forth. “It’ll be okay, Missy. It’ll be okay.”
“No, it won’t.” Her voice was barely audible.
Tell me what to say, Lord, Stacy prayed silently. Show me how to help her. Please?
Folding the woeful little girl in a tight embrace Stacy blinked back bittersweet tears as she fully realized why she’d been chosen to minister to Missy. “I do understand how you feel, honey. My mama and daddy both died in a plane crash when I was ten years old.”
Melissa drew a shuddering breath. “They did?”
“Uh-huh. We were all flying home for my birthday. The plane had a bad accident. I was riding in the back seat.”
The child paled. “Did you get hurt?”
“My leg was broken. And I was very sad,” Stacy said simply. “When I got better, they sent me to live with some people who didn’t like me very much.”
“What did you do?”
Stacy wondered how to phrase her confession so it wouldn’t sound as if she were condoning running away from problems. “I was pretty dumb. I ran away and got lost.” She looked down to see what the child’s reaction was.
Lifting an eyebrow, Missy pressed her lips into a pout. “I don’t believe you.”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s what I did, too. Grown-ups always make up stories like that to fool kids.”
“Well, in my case, it’s all true,” Stacy told her.
“The reason I started working with my dogs is because they sent a wonderful dog to find me when I ran off and got lost in the mountains. When I grew up I decided I wanted to be able to help other lost people the same way.”
Missy got up and faced her, arms folded across her chest. “No way.”
“I can prove it,” Stacy countered. “Want to see my scar?”
“Is it yucky?”
“Not anymore.”
“Okay.” Missy cocked her head and bent down as Stacy adjusted the hole in the knee of her jeans to reveal a faded scar on her lower thigh.
“See? That’s where my leg was broken.”
“Oooh! Does it hurt?”
“No. But I’m glad I have it.”
Subdued, the girl asked, “Why?”
“Because I needed the scar to prove to you that I do understand how you feel about losing your daddy.”
“You do?”
“Yes, I do,” Stacy said with a smile. She knew Missy probably wasn’t the only person she’d be able to identify with, to help, because of her injury. But she trusted God to show her more of His marvelous plans as she went along. Right now, it was enough that she believed she’d been led to this particular child at this precise time. “And I’ll try to help you all I can, because that’s my job.” Her grin widened. “Besides, I like you. You’ve got spunk.”
“What’s
