Her Texas Rebel

Sabrina smiled. “No. I’m not a robber. I’m a medical assistant. Is there an adult around here?”

“Ms. Paula!” the little girl yelled, and ran down the hall.

The hallway ended in a large playroom. Several children, boys and girls who all looked to be under the age of ten, were sprawled across the floor, engaged in different activities. A woman with short, spiky hair sat cross-legged, reading a story to a small group.

She jumped to her feet when she noticed Sabrina. “Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Karen?”

“Down the hall and to the right.”

Sabrina followed her direction and almost ran into a robust woman in a hot pink dress decorated with ducks. “I’m looking for Karen.”

“You found her.” The woman smiled and reached out to shake hands with her. “From the scrubs you’re wearing, you must be our new medical assistant.”

“Yes. I’m Sab—”

The back door burst open and a young man in his early twenties shouted, “Miss Karen! Help!”

Karen rushed to him, with Sabrina right behind her. The man carried a boy down the hall. Blood dripped from under the hand he had pressed to the child’s scrawny arm.

“Bring him in here.” Karen held a door open.

Sabrina followed closely, recognizing the room as the medical office. She snatched some alcohol wipes and gloves off the shelf next to the exam table. Karen stepped back to let Sabrina examine the wound.

“What happened?” Sabrina removed the man’s hand from the cut.

“We were on a nature walk when Jake decided to run again. He tried to climb the fence and cut his arm.”

Jake, the boy in question, winced as Sabrina dabbed an alcohol wipe over the cut. When she asked him questions, he turned his head, refusing to talk. A current of anger ran through the boy. He was about the same age as Levi. What could cause so much rage in such a young kid?

“What a day for you to show up.” Karen handed Sabrina a box filled with different sized bandages. “It’s usually not this exciting.”

The ringing of the doorbell was followed by a man calling out, “Hello? Anyone here?”

Sabrina didn’t need to look up from the butterfly bandages she was applying to Jake’s arm to know who was in the hallway.

“That must be the new volunteer,” Karen said. “Travis Anderson, our campus director, is out of town for a few days, so I’m holding down the fort. Be right back.”

A few minutes later, Jake was bandaged up and sound asleep on the cot in the corner of the room. Sabrina held her breath. Was Tony gone? Was it safe to come out?

The half-open door swung open all the way and Tony leaned against the frame. “I thought that looked like you in here. Everything okay?” The dimple on one cheek deepened.

“Fine. Thanks.” She kept her voice calm.

“I didn’t know you worked here.” He ran a hand through his dark hair, pushing the curls out of his face. He nodded toward the sleeping figure. “The kid going to be okay?”

“He’ll be fine. And today is my first day. What are you doing here?” She pretended to organize items inside the desk.

“I work with an outreach program to try to keep kids out of gangs back in San Antonio, so I stopped by to see if I could hang out with the kids here.”

She looked up at him. “I thought you were a police officer.”

He cocked his head to the side. “I am. I volunteer at St. Paul’s.”

“Does it work?”

“What?”

She sighed. “The outreach program. Does it keep kids out of gangs?”

“Sometimes.” He looked squarely at her. “We do what we can, but not every kid wants to be saved.”

She chuckled. “Seems like someone told me the same thing about animals once.”

He reached over and took her hand. His fingers traced the deep scar running across her palm. “I was right, but you had to learn the hard way.”

His featherlight touch sent chills up her arm. She snatched her hand away from him. “It may take me a while, but once I learn something, I never forget.”

The last thing she wanted was to be reminded of his gentle side.

“I have scars from that night, too.” He held up his own hand to reveal a matching mark.

Sabrina looked down at the sleeping child on the cot. “Funny thing about scars. The worst ones are the ones people can’t see.”

* * *

A SHARP PAIN twisted Tony’s gut. Sabrina was looking at the little boy curled up on the cot, but he had the feeling she was talking about herself. The last ten years hadn’t been easy for her. He could tell without asking. She was still beautiful, despite being much thinner than she’d been in high school. Her long blond hair was wrapped in a tight bun, making her high cheekbones stand out.

He’d thought he made the right choice so long ago. Or, rather, that he’d forced her to make the right choice. But looking at her now, it was easy to see that she carried a heavy burden.

“Bree.” He swallowed. Where to begin? “I heard about your fiancé. I’m sorry.”

She crossed her arms. “Thank you.”

“It must be hard being a single mom. I’m sure his family helps you a lot.”

Sabrina found a supply chart inside the desk and pulled it out. “No. They aren’t involved.”

“Why?”

“Levi’s father didn’t know I was pregnant when he left.” She placed the clipboard on the desk. “I’m really not comfortable talking about this. Especially here. Do you want something?”

Something was wrong. Her voice was missing the bitterness and pain he would’ve expected from a woman in her situation. She couldn’t even look at him.

First she’d been abandoned by him. Then she’d lost her son’s father.

The boy on the cot stirred and he knew the conversation he wanted to have with her would have to wait.