Giving Thanks for Baby. Terri Reed

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      “I certainly will.” She set her cup down and leaned forward. “How’s your family?”

      “Good. I talked to Mom yesterday. She made a point of telling me she expected me at the dinner table on Thanksgiving.”

      Scott would rather spend the majority of Thanksgiving Day helping feed those less fortunate than himself. At least that was the best explanation he could give his family. But the main reason he had declined to spend dawn till dusk at his parents’ house was the constant teasing he took from his siblings.

      Sometimes he could escape to the game room in the basement with all of his nieces and nephews, but even there he wasn’t safe. His sibs would hunt him down.

      Growing up the youngest of four, he’d always borne the brunt of the jokes and pranks. He didn’t understand or appreciate the rough ribbing. He sometimes wondered if the taunting hid the fact that his brothers and sister hadn’t wanted another sibling. He’d been a surprise for his parents, a fact his siblings loved to remind him.

      It didn’t help the family dynamics any that Scott wasn’t cut from the same cloth as the rest of the high-achieving Crosbys. His father had been disappointed that Scott hadn’t followed his siblings into a professional career. His mother clucked over him as if he was still in kindergarten.

      All in all, spending time with his family was stressful for him.

      Naomi’s gaze turned speculative. “Scott, when are you going to find a nice girl and settle down?”

      Scott coughed at the unexpected question. “I beg your pardon?”

      “I worry that you work too hard. A young man should have some fun in his life. And you won’t be young forever.”

      He didn’t need the reminder, but hearing it stated out loud accentuated the mortality of life. His parents would be celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary soon. A rarity in this day and age. A feat Scott could only hope to replicate one day.

      “Time flies, and if you aren’t careful, you’ll be wishing you’d spent a bit more time on yourself than on others,” Naomi added.

      Scott bristled. “I don’t think serving the Lord is a waste of my time.”

      She gave him an indulgent look. “Don’t put words in my mouth. Serving the Lord is wonderful, but a man of God like you needs a helpmate in life. God doesn’t want all of us to be alone.”

      Uh-oh. Scott blinked. He knew the youth of the church had played matchmaker with the Youth Minister, Caleb, and Anne, the former church secretary, now Caleb’s wife. It sounded as if Naomi wanted to pick up where they’d left off. Better put a stop to this pronto. He held up a hand. “I’m content with my life. Besides, I have so much on my plate with Caleb on vacation I think I should wait until the time is right.”

      “That excuse will only last so long you know,” she commented with a gleam in her eyes.

      Scott stood and backed away as if putting space between them might stop Naomi from whatever was going on in that head of hers. “I better get back to the kids.”

      He didn’t want to give Naomi any chance to try to fix him up with someone in the congregation. That could jeopardize the acceptance he enjoyed in Chestnut Grove. Besides, he hadn’t lied when he’d said he had too much on his plate right now. But he also hadn’t wanted to admit he didn’t know if the time to find a wife would ever be right. He would hate to disappoint another person that he loved.

      Naomi watched Scott shoot out of the cafeteria as though the Hound of the Baskervilles was on his heels. The man certainly was gun-shy of relationships.

      As far as she’d seen, Scott kept everyone at an emotional arm’s length, even while he’d bend over backward to be of help. She understood how hard his decision to follow God’s call into ministry was on his relationship with his family and knew there was a rift or something that needed healing. But she sensed loneliness and a deep hurt in Scott, as well.

      “Lord, how would You have me help this young man?”

      Naomi waited a beat. An idea formed in her mind. “Ah, yes. Thank You, Lord.”

      She knew what to do.

      After washing her cup out and putting it on the drain pad, she went to her office where she fired up her computer. With a few clicks and some creative thinking, she added Scott anonymously to the growing number of members in The Kingdom Room.

      “Sometimes people need a little help recognizing that the right time is right now,” she stated aloud and sat back. Now all she had to do was wait and watch the fun happen.

      “Go to sleep and good night, my sweet prince,” Trista cooed softly to Aidan as she gently laid him in his crib. The teddy bear motif on the bumpers and mobile included little cubs frolicking in the grass and always made her smile. She’d found the crib and bedding at a secondhand store in Richmond. They were perfect for her little boy.

      She tucked the blanket more securely around Aidan. Heartbreaking joy squeezed her chest, bringing tears to her eyes. She touched the downy softness of his dark hair. If anything were ever to happen to him, she didn’t think she could take it.

      “Oh, God, if You’re real, please watch over this little life,” she whispered with a small hiccuping sob.

      Aidan stirred. She quickly backed away to keep from disturbing him further. He needed his sleep. She did, too, but sleep had become hard to find ever since Aidan’s birth. She was terrified he’d need her in the middle of the night. She’d read all the baby books she could find and still feared that something bad would happen.

      Being a parent was the most nerve-racking thing she’d ever experienced and she could only imagine that her anxiety would grow along with Aidan.

      The sound of the phone ringing in the living room made her wince. Quickly, she left Aidan’s room, keeping the door cracked open, and rushed to answer the phone.

      “Hello?”

      Silence greeted her.

      Trista frowned. “Hello? Is someone there?”

      Straining to listen, she swore she heard the sound of muffled sobs as if the person on the other end of the line were trying to keep their tears quiet. Then the line went dead.

      An eerie chill crept up Trista’s spine as she replaced the receiver. She didn’t know who had her number other than Kelly, Ross and her office. Fearing something had happened to her brother or his wife, she quickly snatched up the receiver and dialed their home number.

      “Hi,” her brother’s booming voice intoned.

      “Is everything okay?” Trista asked, skipping the pleasantries of greeting. She noted the blinking light of the answering machine. She’d forgotten to check it again when she’d come home from work.

      “Yes. Why?”

      She could hear the wariness in his voice. She couldn’t blame him with all the problems that had plagued the adoption agency of late. First the discovery of so many adoption records having been falsified over the years. Then Kelly received that threatening note at the СКАЧАТЬ