Gloriana nodded and helped him with the mug. “Mrs. Lindquist said there are several children sick with it. It’ll be all right, though. You just need to rest and drink a lot of fluids. We’ll have you well in no time.”

“But tonight . . . we were supposed to go to the church.”

She was surprised he remembered. “It’s all right, JT. We’ll still have the wedding sometime, but right now it’s more important that we get you well.”

“Is measles really bad?” He looked at her with glassy, fevered eyes.

“It can be, but we’re going to make sure it isn’t. Now, you rest while I bathe your body. It won’t take long. I don’t want you to take a chill.”

Sally began fussing in the other room, and JT shook his head. “Does the baby have measles too?”

“No. At least I don’t think so. I hope not.”

“We gotta pray so she won’t get sick. Will you pray with me, Glory?” he whispered.

Rather than rage in anger at God, Gloriana was too afraid to do anything but cling to Him. He had the power to heal her brother and to keep the baby from getting sick. But God had also had the power to heal her family of scarlet fever. Doubt crept in, and Gloriana fought to push it back.

“I will pray.” She squeezed JT’s hand. “Dear God, we need Your help. We need healing for JT and the others, and we need Sally to stay well.”

What if He didn’t hear her now any more than He’d heard her prayers for Mama, Tabby, and Aaron? But He had heard. He had. He had heard and He had been there. He was here now. Prayers might not always be answered the way Gloriana thought they should, but God was here.

Tears flooded her closed eyes. Please don’t take him from me, Lord. Please. I know Your will is all we should seek, and I do want to be mindful of that, but please . . . please . . . I need JT. I need him to live.

When she opened her eyes, JT was once again asleep.

Luke saw the quarantine sign and frowned. He knocked on the door as he always did, but this time he didn’t open it. When Gloriana finally showed up, he could see she’d been crying.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“JT has the measles. He’s very sick.”

“And Sally?”

She shook her head. “So far she’s fine, but she has been exposed, and there’s no telling how it will go with her.”

“Is there anything I can do? I’ve had the measles, so I won’t catch them again.”

“No. I’m sorry, but it means we can’t go to the church tonight. JT was upset about that.” She twisted her apron in her hands. “He was worried about us not getting married.”