Gloriana unhooked the top of her corset and hid the bottle under her arm, then tucked her corset cover around it. Next she lifted Sally in her arms and maneuvered her to the bottle. At first the baby protested, but finally she latched on to the leather nipple and sampled the goat’s milk. Gloriana waited to see whether the baby would like the offering. She hadn’t even thought to warm it up, but thankfully, it didn’t feel all that cold. Luke had no doubt kept it close to his body, and that had warmed it some.

Sally continued to feed, pausing now and then to look at Gloriana as if to question this new arrangement. She finally seemed to accept the situation and ate her fill, falling asleep as she fed.

Gloriana breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, they had figured out something that worked.

“I wasn’t expecting to find you here,” Pastor Sedgwick said to Luke as he greeted him at the door with JT.

“Luke eats with us all the time. He helps with the baby too,” JT explained. “But he lives next door because he can’t stay here. That wouldn’t be . . . wouldn’t be . . .” He struggled for the right word and then blurted it out without warning. “Proper!”

“No, indeed,” Pastor Sedgwick replied. “How are you today, Mister Womack?”

“I’m okay. Gloriana’s feeding the baby, and then we’re gonna have supper. I’ll bet Gloriana would let you eat with us too.”

“I would imagine you’re right, but alas, I promised Mrs. Sedgwick that I’d be home for supper, and I don’t want to disappoint her.”

JT nodded. “Well, you can still sit down.”

Pastor Sedgwick laughed. “Thank you very much for the invitation. I shall do exactly that. Maybe you can tell me how you’re doing. Is there anything I can help you with?”

The curly-headed boy considered this a moment. “I don’t know. Glory just makes everything work out. I go to school and she does everything else. She’s really good at everything.”

“I agree, she is,” Luke said, enjoying JT’s ease as he spoke to another grown-up. The boy never seemed to be at a loss for words. Perhaps because he was the youngest, and there was never anyone for him to speak to but adults.

“Oh, I forgot. I’m supposed to get my boots cleaned before supper.” JT jumped up and went racing for the door. “Excuse me.”

Luke chuckled and motioned for the pastor to join him by the fireplace. “Come sit. I haven’t had a chance to talk to you much. I believe you know that your son is working for me.”

The pastor took a chair, and his expression seemed to sober. “Yes. Theodore told me.”