Laurel Blount - A Baby For The Minister

Natalie didn’t answer. She was standing with her eyes closed, her whole body tensed. One hand was clutching the door frame, clenching down so hard that her knuckles were white.

“Natalie?” He wasn’t sure what was happening, but from the look on her face, it couldn’t be good.

“Contraction,” she whispered.

Chapter Three

Finally the cramp ebbed away. Natalie relaxed and opened her eyes. Jacob was watching her, his face tight with concern.

“I’m okay,” she said quickly. “That was just a Braxton Hicks. I’ve been having them for a while now. The doctor says they’re perfectly normal.” She managed a shaky smile. Normal, yes. Fun, not so much.

“Whew.” Relief washed over his face. “I thought it was the real thing there for a minute.”

“Not time for that yet.” She spoke lightly, but she remembered another thing the obstetrician had said on her last visit to the clinic. First babies don’t pay much attention to their due dates.

She sure hoped her baby would be the exception because she wasn’t even close to being ready. All her plans were falling apart. She had no husband, no money. She didn’t even have a crib, and all the secondhand baby clothes she’d bought had driven away with Adam in the back of his Jeep.

Natalie straightened her shoulders. There was no point wasting time feeling sorry for herself. She had more important things to do right now. She needed to sit down and start figuring out how she could manage on her own until Adam showed back up.

If he showed up.

“Thanks for driving me out here, Jacob. I don’t want to take up any more of your time, so I’ll let you get on back to town.” She tilted up her chin and tried a smile. “And anyway, it looks like I have a little cleaning to do.”

“No.” Jacob was shaking his head before she’d even finished speaking. “I’m not leaving you out here alone. Not in your condition.” He scanned the messy room, his face tight with disgust. “And you definitely shouldn’t be cleaning up a disaster like this.”

In spite of the day she’d had, Natalie nearly laughed out loud. There was nothing wrong here that some soapy water and a few big trash bags couldn’t fix. Jacob might have had a lot more schooling than she’d had, but right now he didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.

She’d cleaned up messes way worse than this. “I’m not afraid of a little dirt.”

“This is more than a little dirt. Look, let me give you a ride back to town. We’ll find you another place to stay. If money’s an issue, I can give my church a call—”

Cora’s warning replayed itself in Natalie’s memory, and she cut him off firmly. “I appreciate that, but I’m staying here. Adam’s grandma is sure he’ll be back by tomorrow or the next day.”

Jacob looked around the room again and started rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt. “Then I’ll help you clean this up.”

Natalie felt a stir of panic. “No need for that. I’ve worked as a waitress ever since I...got out of school. Believe me, I can clean up a kitchen without any help.” She’d almost said dropped out , but she’d caught herself just in time. She didn’t want to admit to this man that she’d quit school when she was sixteen. It was a choice she’d always regretted, but at the time it had seemed like the only way to get out of her mother’s apartment—and away from her mom’s endless parade of hard-partying boyfriends.

A little over a year ago, she’d gathered up her courage and enrolled in free GED classes at a nearby community center. To her relief, she’d managed the classwork pretty well, and she’d passed the test with flying colors. She’d daydreamed about taking some college night courses, maybe even becoming a teacher one day. She loved the idea of teaching children.

Of course, when two blue lines had shown up on her pregnancy test, all those plans had come to a screeching halt. Dreams like that were for women who didn’t have babies to take care of.

Jacob was looking at her with a concerned crease between his eyebrows. “I can’t leave you here to deal with this all by yourself.”

“That’s sweet, but I’d really rather you did. I want to be alone for a while. I have a lot to think about, and cleaning is like therapy for me.” Maybe that was stretching the truth a little, but she was starting to feel desperate.

Pastor Jacob Stone was a very hard man to shoo away.

Jacob was silent for a moment, studying her. She kept her eyes on his and waited him out.

It worked. Although he clearly wasn’t happy, after a minute he blew out a slow breath and shrugged. “Well. If you’re sure that’s what you really want...”

“It is.”

To her horror, he pulled out a worn leather wallet. “Here. At least let me—” he started.

“I don’t need your money.” She flushed at the startled expression on his face. Maybe she had been a little too forceful, but she didn’t want this minister’s charity. She’d already been humiliated enough for one day. “Thank you, though,” she added belatedly. He’d gone out of his way to be kind. She could at least be polite.

“I was going to give you a card with my cell number on it.” He pulled one out and held it in her direction. Pine Valley Community Church was written in blocky blue letters across the top of it. “I want you to promise to call me if you need anything. Okay? Anything at all.”

“Thank you.” She wouldn’t call, of course. She didn’t need this man or his church involved in her problems. She’d find a way to deal with them herself, like she always had.

Granted, she’d never had problems quite this big before. But she’d manage.

Somehow.

“I’ll bring in your overnight bag before I leave. And I’ll be back to check on you tomorrow after services.”

Natalie shook her head. She was having enough trouble getting him to leave this time. She didn’t need to go through all this again tomorrow. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll be fine.”

His mouth hardened into a stubborn line. “You’re stranded out here without a car. I don’t even like leaving you overnight. Are you sure I can’t talk you into going back to town?”

“Yes.” She spoke firmly, but softened her refusal with a smile. “Completely sure.”

“Then I’ll see you around lunchtime. No,” he interjected as she opened her mouth to argue again. “It’s not up for debate. I’m coming back. I’m a minister, remember, and helping people through difficult situations is what I do. I’m here for the duration, Natalie. Until we get your situation more...stable, you can consider me your right-hand guy. Okay?”

It wasn’t the least bit okay, but how could she explain that? He was smiling at her, a friendly smile that came complete with a set of boyish dimples. But underneath all that charm, she saw a firmness that made her heart sink right down to the toes she hadn’t seen for the last month and a half.

Natalie had dealt with enough bullheaded people in her life to recognize stubbornness when she saw it. Jacob Stone wasn’t going to budge, so she might as well give in now as later.

“Suit yourself. But it really isn’t necessary.”

She didn’t sound particularly gracious, but he didn’t seem to mind. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” Casting one last uneasy look around the cluttered room, he headed for the door.

When the rumbles of his truck finally faded into the distance, Natalie sank onto a sticky chair and rubbed her chilled arms.

Alone for the first time since she’d heard the news about Adam, she realized how comforting Jacob’s company had been. Even if he was a minister, he was also a friendly, concerned human being. Without him, the house felt colder and dirtier, and the reality of how alone she truly was began to seep in.