She seemed to want to say something, so he leaned in closer.
“Th-thank you, Jacob,” she panted, her pain-glazed brown eyes looking up into his. “F-for staying.”
His throat closed, and he blinked furiously. “You’re very welcome. I’ll be just outside. Okay? Right outside that door, if you need me.”
She was already in the grip of another contraction, and he wasn’t sure if she heard him or not. Two more nurses and a white-coated doctor brushed past him into the room as he stepped out, and he heard the excited chatter behind him go up a few decibels before the door glided closed.
After all those hours of waiting, things were finally starting to happen. And here he was, stuck on the wrong side of this stupid door. He fought an urge to kick it.
But he’d already kicked enough doors for one night, and anyway, he was exactly where he belonged. He wasn’t Natalie’s husband. This deeply intimate experience wasn’t his to share. He had no right to feel disappointed that he didn’t get to participate in the miraculous joy of the baby’s actual birth.
Just down the hall was a waiting room crowded with expectant grandparents and excited relatives. He could walk down there and find himself a seat. Check his cell phone for messages. Reconnect with his own life and responsibilities.
He could do that. But he didn’t.
Instead, he stayed right where he was, leaning against the beige wall, trying to pray, and straining his ears to hear what was going on in the room behind him. He was still standing there, nearly an hour later, when he heard the baby’s first shaky wail.
Then for the second time in twenty-four hours, he found himself silently praying the same words over and over.
Thank You, Lord. Thank You, thank You, thank You.
* * *
A rhythmic creaking noise woke her. Natalie opened her eyes, and creamy yellow walls with decals of flowers and butterflies swam into focus.
That’s right. She was in the hospital maternity ward, and her son, Ethan, was here, almost three weeks ahead of schedule.
She turned her head toward the clear bassinet the nurses had brought in last night. It was empty, but she didn’t have to look far to find her baby.
Jacob Stone was in the rocking chair in front of the big window, holding Ethan swaddled in a pale blue blanket. It made a sweet picture, the broad-shouldered man cradling the sleeping baby gently in his arms. Natalie’s heart overflowed with a confusing mix of gratitude and pain.
The scene in front of her was beautiful—and sad.
If things were as they ought to be, her husband would be sitting there. He’d be the man with tired lines around the corners of his eyes, hair tousled. He’d be the one worn-out from breathing with her through contractions all last night, but still up and rocking their son with the rapt attention of a brand-new daddy.
As much as she wanted to believe that would have happened if Adam had gone through with their wedding, the idea was hard to square with the guy she knew.
A memory flitted through her mind. Once, at the beginning of their relationship, Adam had driven her to the emergency room because she’d become dehydrated from battling a stomach virus. A few minutes after they’d arrived, he’d left her in the waiting room in search of a vending machine. He’d told her he was going to buy himself a pack of crackers and a Coke. He’d be back in five minutes.
He’d vanished for an hour and a half.
When he’d reappeared, he’d had a great story to tell about a Jamaican radiologist he’d met in the elevator. The two men had ended up talking about mountain climbing over coffee and pie in the basement cafeteria.
That was Adam.
Last night, as her contractions had come closer and harder, Jacob had asked the nurse for a washcloth, which he’d dampened and dabbed lightly against her sweaty forehead. He’d patiently kept his position at her side for hour after hour, never complaining, never looking for an excuse to leave the room. At one point, when Jacob was spooning more ice chips into her dry mouth, she’d actually found herself feeling thankful, not only that Jacob had insisted on staying with her, but that he was the one beside her instead of Adam. And later, when the new night nurse had assumed Jacob was her husband, Natalie had found herself wishing it was true.
But just like those gourmet groceries at Bailey’s, wishes like those were out of her price range. No point making herself even sadder by pining for the impossible.
Now that the baby was here, Adam would be coming back. They’d be getting married, and starting their new life together. She needed to focus on that.
“You’re awake.” Jacob’s voice startled her out of her thoughts. “How are you feeling?”
She forced a smile. “Better than I would have thought, actually.” She levered herself up on her elbows and winced.
“Whoa, there. Stay still. I’ll put Ethan down and show you how that bed works.”
She watched as he placed the sleeping newborn into the bassinet, tucking the tail of the soft blanket around him. The baby’s eyelids fluttered briefly, and he worked his rosebud of a mouth for a second. Then the tiny lips sagged apart, and he was deeply asleep again.
Natalie felt a rush of love. Her son was absolutely perfect.
“See?” Jacob was fiddling with her bed rail. “If you press that button right there, you can raise up the back and get yourself comfortable.” She followed his instructions, and the bed whirred into gear. The noise sounded loud in the quiet room, and she threw an alarmed look in the baby’s direction. Jacob laughed.
“Don’t worry. He’s zonked. Our Ethan’s a great little sleeper.”
Our Ethan. A fresh wave of confused longings rose up in her, feelings she had no idea what to do with. She’d be so glad when her hormones settled down and she was able to think straight again.
“You’ve been sleeping pretty well yourself.” Jacob smiled at her. “I’m glad. You earned it. You were really brave.”
“Not me.” Natalie shook her head. “I was scared to death.”
“Of course you were. But you hung in there like a champ, anyway. Nope,” he said as Natalie started to speak. “No arguing. I was there. I saw it. Give yourself some credit, Natalie. You were amazing.”
The unexpected praise made tears well up in her eyes. Before she could think of a good reply, somebody rapped briskly on the hospital door.
A nurse in teddy bear scrubs came in, wheeling a stand hung with various bits of medical equipment. “I’m Stacy, and I’m here to check your vitals, Miss Davis. And Miss Patty’s bringing up a special delivery for you.”
“I think I’ve already had one of those,” Natalie said, smiling at the baby snuggled in his little plastic bubble.
The young dark-haired nurse laughed. “This one’s not half so sweet, but it’s a good bit less trouble to get.” She’d crossed back to hold the door open.
Natalie’s eyes widened. The entire upper half of the doorway was filled with flowers: pink roses, white carnations and sprays of baby’s breath, accented with glossy green ferns. Their sweet scent wafted over her as the huge bouquet wobbled forward into the room, propelled by a pair of plump legs in white support hose.
An elderly hospital volunteer poked her head around the bobbing blooms. “Where do you want me to put these, dearie?”
“I...uh...” Natalie stuttered. She wasn’t sure. She’d never gotten flowers before.
Ever.
“I’ll take them, Miss Patty.” Jacob relieved the older woman of her burden and settled the arrangement on the wide windowsill.
“Thanks.” The volunteer sighed and brushed a few stray petals off the front of her pink smock. “That’s the heaviest bouquet I’ve ever toted, and thanks to this here card I know just who to blame. I do believe you’re trying to kill me, Pastor Stone.”
“I’m not trying to kill you, Miss Patty. I’m trying to reform you. And if a little hard labor won’
t do that, what will? But just so we stay on speaking terms, I’ll help you make the rest of your deliveries this morning. I probably need to give Stacy some elbow room in here, anyway. If—” Jacob paused, looking over at Natalie with one eyebrow raised “—that’s all right with you?”
Natalie had to answer with a nod. She wasn’t sure she could speak. Her heart had jumped up and lodged itself somewhere in her throat.
Jacob had sent her flowers.
“I’ll be back in about half an hour,” Jacob promised her as he held the door open for the pink lady. “I’ve got my cell phone if you need anything.” He winked as he followed the older woman out into the corridor, still teasing. “The florist told me there’d be balloons with those, Miss Patty. Are you stealing balloons again? Because we talked about that.”
Natalie didn’t hear the volunteer’s reply, but whatever it was, it must have been funny because Jacob’s laugh echoed down the hall.
Even Stacy was chuckling as she fastened the blood pressure cuff around Natalie’s upper arm. “That man is something else.”
“He is,” Natalie agreed. “He’s certainly been very kind to me, even though I’ve put him to an awful lot of trouble.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that, if I were you. Jacob’s used to it.” The nurse frowned as she tapped in some numbers on the little tablet she carried. “He’s always doing something for somebody, that one. Of course, that’s kind of his job, isn’t it? Being he’s a minister, I mean.”
Natalie’s heart dropped slowly from her throat down into the pit of her stomach. That’s right. He was.
She’d almost forgotten.
“Not that he’s pushy about it, mind you.” The nurse rounded the bed, leaned over the bassinet and began to unwrap Ethan’s swaddling. “Some of the preachers that come here are, but never Jacob. He just sees what folks need done and does it. It seems to work. I’ve lost count of the patients who’ve ended up attending his church. Nurses, too.” She finished checking Ethan over and began deftly rewrapping the squirming baby. “Of course, it doesn’t hurt any that he’s so easy on the eyes, does it? I’d go over there myself if I wasn’t so happy in my own church. Do you attend Pine Valley Community, Miss Davis?”
“No.” Natalie’s answer sounded so flat that the nurse glanced up from her tablet, her eyebrows lifted curiously.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to assume anything. You aren’t a Christian?”
“Yes, I’m a believer, I’m just...not much of a church person, I guess.”
“Is that so?” The nurse tilted her head and flashed a little smile. “Well, you never know. A minister like Jacob Stone might just change your mind about that.”
Chapter Six
Two days later, Jacob was standing in front of the parenting books in Pine Valley’s only bookstore, his cell phone pressed to his ear. He was doing his best to keep his voice down. He didn’t like having a personal conversation in a public place like Pages, but as usual, Digby Markham hadn’t given him much choice.
“You’re supposed to request permission from the board before you make purchases, Jacob. But in this case, even if you had, there’s no way we’d reimburse you for those groceries.”
“I’m not asking you to.” Jacob pulled another book out of the new baby section and glanced at its cover. He added it to the growing stack by his feet.
“You sent in the bill for reimbursement.”
“I already told you—that was a mistake.” Arlene had swiped the receipt off his desk in one of her cleaning frenzies and added it to the expense folder that she submitted monthly to the church board for repayment. Digby had promptly hit the roof, and Jacob had been stuck on the phone listening to a lecture on the proper stewardship of church finances for the last ten minutes.
It was getting old, and it didn’t appear to be winding down.
“And I’ve already told you, the church’s benevolence fund is strictly for members of our own congregation. My understanding is you were buying those groceries for that pregnant woman who got dumped at her wedding. Thankfully, she isn’t associated with our church in any way.”
Jacob froze, his index finger on the spine of a book entitled Mothering Made Easy. “Thankfully?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Being a good steward of God’s money means using it wisely, not piling it up and sitting on it. Especially when we see our neighbors in need.” He knew he was wasting his breath, but he couldn’t help it. Digby was pushing all his buttons today.
“As a banker, I think I know a little more about managing money than you do.” Digby snorted. “You can waste your own money however you like, but I can’t allow your irresponsible spending to deplete the church’s funds, especially not right now.”
Because of that fellowship hall you want to build. Jacob struggled to rein in his temper. To be fair, Digby had at least one valid point buried in there. Jacob did tend to open his wallet without considering the consequences and the skimpy balances in his personal checking and savings accounts bore testimony to that fact.
“I have no doubt you know more about money management than I do, Digby, and I do appreciate your willingness to serve on the church board. Since I don’t want repayment for the groceries, there’s nothing else for us to discuss.”
“There is, as it happens, just one more thing I wanted to mention to you.” Something about Digby’s smug tone made Jacob pause.
This couldn’t be good.
“What’s that?”
“I just got off the phone with our youngest board member, Darren Ellerbee. He called the bank about getting some financing for the new home he and his wife would like to buy. One thing led to another, and we had a nice long chat. I’m happy to report that he’s decided to vote yes on the new fellowship hall.” That made seven votes out of twelve. Jacob’s heart sank. “So it appears the fellowship hall will be going forward, Stone. This building project is now the church’s primary focus, at least for the foreseeable future. And from this moment on, it should be yours, as well.”
Jacob closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the sharp edge of the wooden bookcase.
He knew it would do no good, but he had to try one last time. “There’s a lot more to a church than the building it meets in, Digby. Or there should be. I can’t just set aside all our ongoing ministries so I can spend hours sitting at a conference table looking at blueprints and carpet swatches.”
“You can, and you will. Tying up your loose ends shouldn’t take more than a few days. After that, the board will expect to have your undivided attention. Prepare your sermons and visit our congregation’s shut-ins and all that, certainly. In moderation. But otherwise, you are to make this building project your top priority until it is completed.”
“But that could take a year.”
“Oh, it’ll take far longer than that. We’re not talking about slapping together some kind of low-budget building. We want to build the sort of fellowship hall that will draw more of the right sort of people into our church.” Digby chuckled grimly. “I promise you, once we get this facility up and running, Good Shepherd won’t know what hit them. They haven’t updated that annex of theirs in decades.”
Jacob sighed. Yep. Definitely time to recycle that Same Team sermon. “Isn’t a building like that a little out of our price range, though?”
“Not if we’re smart it won’t be. That’s why there are to be absolutely no more unauthorized expenditures of any kind during this time. We need to be funneling money into our accounts, not siphoning it out. In fact, I’ll need to start setting up fund-raising meetings right away.”
More meetings. Jacob managed not to groan out loud, but it was a near thing.
It didn’t matter. Digby continued as if he’d read Jacob’s mind. “And you will attend every single one of them, Pastor Stone. Also, you’ll be required to take the lead in our fund-raisi
ng efforts. After all the unnecessary delay and argument about this matter, the congregation needs to see that you are fully on board with this endeavor.”
“But I’m not on board, Digby. Fully or otherwise.”
“Then I suggest you get on board. Immediately.”
“Or what?” Jacob asked the question quietly, but a lot hung in the balance of Digby’s answer.
There was a heavy tick of silence before the church board chairman spoke again. “Or we’ll find a minister who will. Good day, Pastor Stone.”
Jacob disconnected the call and fought the urge to hurl his phone at the wall.
So that was that. Digby couldn’t have made it any plainer.
Either he fell meekly in line about the fellowship hall project, or he was out of a job. The worst thing was, he had nobody to blame for this situation but himself. The banker had been only asked to serve on the church board after Jacob’s impulsive enthusiasm for helping people had outrun the church’s resources one time too many.
Some things never changed. He mentally tallied up the cost of the books he’d chosen for Natalie, blanched and regretfully put all but one back on the shelf. His checking account was running on fumes right now, and he’d have to watch it if he was going to make ends meet until payday.
He carried the book he’d chosen to the checkout counter and braced himself for yet another uncomfortable conversation. Anna Delaney wasn’t much for gossip, but still. There was no way an unmarried minister was buying a parenting book in Pine Valley without offering some kind of explanation.
To his surprise, Anna only nodded. “Good choice. This is the most popular one with the new moms right now. She’ll love it.” She caught his eye and smiled. “Don’t look so surprised. The woman’s fiancé climbed out a window on her wedding day, and the town’s bachelor minister ended up being her labor coach. Even I hear about things like that.”
Jacob’s heart sank. People were already gossiping, which meant he’d have Arlene on his case pretty soon. She was as protective of the church’s reputation as Digby was of its bank account.
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