Safe in Noah's Arms. Mary Sullivan

“I said I would, didn’t I?”

      “This is so kind of you.”

      Monica waved away that comment. “You need a little help. I can give it.” She stepped into the house while Kayla eyed her packages.

      “Can we go to your bedroom so you can try this stuff on?”

      “Yes! Follow me.”

      Once upstairs in Kayla’s very tidy bedroom, Monica took the clothes out of their plastic sleeve. Kayla gasped.

      “Oh, this is beautiful. It’s all so classy.” She touched the linen of one dress reverently. “Too classy for me. This will never work.”

      “Strip,” Monica ordered. “Let’s see how it looks on you before we decide whether it works.”

      The dress pulled a bit tightly at Kayla’s middle—she’d had three children, after all—but other than that, it fit.

      Noah was right. With the cancer, she’d lost the plumpness that had made her so pretty. But all was not lost. Monica knew her way around hair and makeup. She could bring out Kayla’s beauty.

      Monica slipped the simple gold chain over Kayla’s neck and then added the bangle to her wrist. “If you have a dressy little watch, wear it. Otherwise, if what you have looks too old, keep it in your purse. Personally, I don’t like watches, but we have to be on time for work, don’t we?”

      Shell-shocked, Kayla nodded.

      “Try on the shoes. I hope they fit.”

      Kayla slipped them on. They were slightly too long. Monica stuffed the toes with tissues. “This will have to do until you can afford to buy a pair.”

      Kayla stared at herself in the cheap full-length mirror on the back of the bedroom door.

      “Oh,” Kayla breathed. “I look so good. I’ll have to buy pantyhose.”

      “No,” Monica ordered after a horrified gasp. “Never, ever, wear pantyhose in the summertime.”

      “But my legs are so pale.”

      “That’s okay. Use baking soda to exfoliate then moisturize. Cheap skin cream will do for your legs. Just make sure they shine. Got it?”

      Kayla smiled. “Got it, boss.”

      A small grin tugged at Monica’s mouth. She liked Kayla’s pluckiness.

      “How long may I borrow all of this?” Kayla smoothed the dress over her hips. “It will take me a few weeks to be able to purchase an outfit. We have heavy debts.”

      “Oh, I’m not lending it to you. It’s yours to keep.” Monica picked up the bag of makeup she’d packed and stepped toward the hallway to find the washroom. When Kayla didn’t follow, she stopped.

      “You can’t,” Kayla said.

      “I can’t what?”

      “You can’t just give all of this to me. It’s too expensive.”

      Monica set down the stuff she’d been fiddling with. “Okay, listen, Kayla. Every day I’m aware of how fortunate I am. The worst thing that ever happened to me was Billy’s death.”

      She sat down on the bed, because she couldn’t talk about him without getting sad. Kayla sat beside her and tentatively put her arm around Monica’s shoulders. Monica leaned into her for a moment and then rallied. “But I have a roof over my head and enough food to eat. I have nice clothes because my dad used to spoil me. I don’t let him anymore. These days, I’m making my own way in the world.”

      She touched Kayla’s knee. “But you...you are dealing with hardships I hope I never have to face. You should be given a helping hand. What Noah is doing for you is wonderful, but it isn’t enough. You need big changes to see you through to a better future and I’m trying to see that you get them.”

      Kayla’s eyes were glazed with unshed tears. Monica’s vision blurred. Too much emotion. She stood abruptly.

      “Do you wear makeup?”

      “Never.”

      “I thought so. I brought some. I’ll show you how to apply it so you don’t look overdone. Where’s your bathroom?” Kayla led her down the hallway, where she turned on the lights over the mirror despite sunlight pouring in through the sole window.

      “You have good skin,” Monica observed. “Let’s skip foundation. It can look awful if it isn’t applied properly.”

      She took a small jar of cream out of the bag. “Even though your skin is good, you need to moisturize like crazy. Use this every night before bed, got it?”

      Kayla smiled softly and held the jar with the reverence a cream that expensive deserved. “You are amazing.”

      Monica welled up. No one ever said nice things about her. Noah thought the worst of her, Gabe Jordan had chosen another woman over her, and most people thought she wasn’t really that smart, but Kayla was looking at her as though she hung the moon and the stars. This helping-people business was amazing.

      “Okay, on to the makeup,” she said briskly, blinking a lot because of moisture in her eyes messing with her eyesight. “Light and natural will suit you best.”

      Ten minutes later, she’d taught Kayla everything she needed to know about applying makeup for both interviews and at work.

      She studied Kayla’s hair, understanding there was no money for either a haircut or coloring.

      “Okay, this is what we’re going to do.” She pulled out her natural bristle brush and brushed Kayla’s short hair until it shone.

      “It grew in all right,” Kayla said. “After the cancer, I thought it would never come back, but it eventually did.”

      “It looks healthy. See how it shines?”

      Kayla’s sad smile was also proud. “When you don’t have money for junk food, when you have to prepare all of your food naturally, it’s good for your skin and hair, I guess. Maybe that’s the only good thing that’s come out of the past few years.”

      Kayla’s bittersweet smile hit Monica in the solar plexus. On impulse, she threw her arms around the woman. Monica might not be demonstrative, might not hand out hugs easily, but Kayla deserved one so much.

      “The really good thing that happened was that you stayed alive.” When Monica pulled back, they were both teary. “Don’t ruin your makeup. Suck in a big breath.”

      They both did and when they exhaled at the same time, they laughed. Monica had made a new friend. All she had done was put herself out a little and she’d won the lottery.

      Was this how Noah felt when he did things for people? Was the result always so rewarding? She should ask him.

      “Let’s finish your hair.” Monica filled her palm with hair putty and rubbed it between her hands before applying it to Kayla’s hair. She scrunched clumps of it between her fingers and arranged it artfully to frame the woman’s face.

      Kayla stared at herself in the mirror, wide-eyed and happy. “I look beautiful. I don’t look like myself at all.”

      “Nonsense,” Monica said. “The benefit of makeup when it’s applied well is that you look more like yourself.”

      She packed the makeup back into the bag. “Hide this somewhere so your children don’t get into it. Kids love makeup.”

      “Kids love everything they shouldn’t.” Something had clicked and come alive in Kayla. She positively glowed.

      “Let’s go,” Monica said. “Can you drive yourself into town behind me? I won’t have time to drive you home afterward.”

      “Of course.”

      They walked downstairs just as Robert entered