Aquilla’s pulse was pounding in her head. Yet she knew what she must do. Getting up from her chair, she made her way over to the rocker, pulled it close to where the woman sat with her little one, and sat down. Softly, she said, “Our heavenly Father has already forgiven you . . . so I must do the same.”

Tears began to course down the woman’s face again. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Sounds like I’ll be going away to prison for quite a while.”

Aquilla replied, “Yet God will be with ya, even there.”

“I’ve heard of Bible studies for inmates,” the woman said.

A momentary lull filled the room, and Aquilla looked down at the tiny pink face, still sound asleep. “Who will care for your little one while you serve your time?” she asked.

The woman shook her head, and then her shoulders shook. “No one in my family knows about my baby girl.” She tucked the blanket gently around her sleeping child. “I guess Lancaster Social Services will give her a temporary home.”

Aquilla struggled to keep her tears in check. “Would ya trust me to care for her instead?”

“Oh, Mrs. Mast, I couldn’t—”

“Ach, call me Aquilla.” She touched the young mother’s arm, mentioning that she had done foster care and worked closely with social services in the past. “Your baby will receive all the love I have to give until you return. You have my word on that.”

“I . . . I don’t know what to say. This is the last thing I expected.” The young woman traced her little one’s cheek, then caressed the downy curls on her head. “She’s all I have left in the world.”

“Aw, but you have our dear Lord Jesus . . . and He’s walkin’ with ya, leading you with tender mercy and love.” Aquilla paused for a moment. “In fact, I believe He’s led you here to me this very day.”

With a kiss on the baby’s forehead and some words murmured softly in her ear, she lifted her child into Aquilla’s arms. “How can I ever repay you for this kindness? It might be two years or more before I’m a free woman.”

“Well then, I’ll give your little girl a loving home till ya return for her. I promise to treat her like my very own.”

“I believe it.” The woman’s face broke into a sweet smile, the first since she’d arrived. “I’m sorry, I never even told you my full name. I’m Kathleen Stratton, and my baby’s name is Britta, same as my middle name.”

Aquilla wondered about the woman’s relatives and the young man who’d fathered little Britta, but the precious bundle in her arms moved ever so gently, and the thought of anyone’s plan to search for this child quickly flitted out of her mind.