Sacrificial Love

Oh, my. “Okay, hurry back then. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Kim held the snowshoes above her waist and carried them back to the truck along the same trail she had forged in her haste to get to the puppy. Inside, she left the snowshoes within reach in the back floorboard. With the equipment secure, she explored the backseat for blankets and water. Christian had a virtual department store/drug store/dime store neatly stacked in tubs on one side of the back seat and a case of water in the floorboard. Stunned, but impressed, she prayed, “Dear Lord, heal me. Make me worthy of this man.” Christian wrenched the back door of the Riviera open after digging two feet of snow away from it. A pile of blankets had been stacked in the back seat, but the puppy had not buried himself under them. Curious. He stuck his head in the door and breathed a sigh of relief when the baby Yorkshire terrier blinked up at him. Christian reached for him, bracing himself on one knee. Something hard lay beneath the blankets. When he raised it up to look, panic pushed bile into his throat. “Oh no. Lord, no.” A small child lay still and cold beneath the blankets. Anger surged through him in an instant. What kind of fool would abandon a child and her puppy in the middle of a blizzard? What, to save themselves? He could scarcely believe what he was seeing. Pressing two fingers to the child’s neck, he felt a faint pulse. That one tiny bit of hope kicked him into high gear. He reached for the puppy, tucked him inside his jacket and zipped it back up. Then gently, ever so gently, he swaddled the young girl in the blankets. She couldn’t have been more than three years old. He held her close. Close enough to keep the cold air away from her tiny body then carried her back to the truck, tears streaming down his face. His lips moved in constant prayer for the child and her dog, even as he pushed down the rage that flooded through his veins. “There’s a small child in these blankets,” he said, soon as Kim opened the door. “She has a weak pulse. We need to get her to UMC Emergency. It’s the closest clinic. Hopefully, they have power. I’ll call them on the way.” Tears spilled over the instant Christian placed the child in her arms. She lifted the blanket away from the little one’s face and cried harder. Her skin was so pale, her lips still and white. She looked like an angel, or as Kim’s mother would say, a cherub. Blonde curls outlined her face and long, thick lashes rested on chubby cheeks. Kim unzipped her jacket and cradled the child close to her, trying to pass on her body heat. Holding the small child with one arm, she reached up to cradle her small face with her other hand. “Please, please, stay with us, baby girl. We’re going for help now. Don’t be afraid. Everything is going to be okay.” She spoke softly, as rivers of tears soaked the blanket. Could this really be happening? How long had this precious child been in that car? Alone. “Here,” said Christian, offering Kim a bottle of water. “Put a little water on her lips, see if you can rouse her. Maybe she’s dehydrated. I sure would like to see her make it. And if I ever meet her parents, they’ll be sorry they left their baby in a snowstorm. Abandoned her! Makes me more than a little angry. The worst kind of negligence.” Then he giggled and Kim looked sharply over at him. “Sorry. It feels like the puppy has thawed out, and he tickled me. Sorry, I couldn’t help it.” Kim smiled, her heart broken, but full of love and compassion at the same time. Seeing more and more of the benevolent Christian Devereaux made her wonder why she had just, this weekend, noticed it. Another corner of ice melted away from her heart as she gazed into the oceanic depths of his beautiful eyes, lit up with humor. “Can I see him?” she asked. Christian unzipped his jacket enough for the puppy to wiggle his head into view. He yipped out a tiny bark and the child in Kim’s lap stirred. “Yappy, hush,” whispered the child, as her eyes fluttered open. Immediately, those eyes got big. Really big. “Where’s my mommy?” Tears flowed steadily down her cheeks. “Don’t worry, little one. We’ll find her,” said Kim, cooing, taking every precaution not to scare the little beauty. “But first, we have to make sure you and Yappy are completely okay. Will that be all right?” The anger that surged through her had never been so hot. Not even when a victim had lost the battle against abuse. This dear child had had zero control over her situation. Innocent and precious in God’s eyes, she had been left to, could she dare say it? Left to die? Could anyone really be so cruel? Maybe they’d find out why and be totally surprised. Maybe a mother out there had been searching for her daughter, with no idea in the wide world what might have become of her. In her wildest imagination, she couldn’t wrap her head around that level of fear and agony. One glance at Christian and she knew in an instant—neither one of them would give up until they got to the bottom of the mystery. The tiny girl sniffed. “Where is Yappy?” “I have him,” said Christian. “Keepin’ him warm for you.” “Thanks,” she said, peeking over the pile of blankets. “Where are we going?” Innocent, trusting, only as children could be. Gratitude filled Kim’s soul. She and Christian had found the little girl in time. Thank you, Lord. Thank you. Guide our hands. Show us the way.