A Baby for the Minister by Laurel Blount

Author:Laurel Blount
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-06-05T18:59:32+00:00

Chapter Nine

The following Sunday morning, Natalie sat in the front pew of Pine Valley Community Church, trying not to fidget. She wished Jacob hadn’t insisted that she sit all the way up here. All through the service, she could feel the eyes of his curious congregation boring into the back of her head.

But when she’d protested his choice of seating, he’d dug in his heels, joking that he was putting her up front so she couldn’t slip out of the service to check on Ethan.

Proving what she already knew. Jacob Stone was one smart man. If she’d been sitting in the back pew, she’d have sneaked out before the offertory. This first hour away from her baby seemed endless.

It wasn’t that Jacob wasn’t a good preacher. He was. His Mother’s Day topic was “Following Blind,” and it was about the necessity to follow God as unquestioningly as a mother expected her child to follow her. He was really making her think about how fully she was trusting God in her current situation. She’d even found herself using the pencil in the little holder in front of her to make some notes on the back of the bulletin.

His delivery was every bit as good as his subject. Jacob had a casual, friendly style, giving the impression that he was talking personally to each listener.

At least that was the way Natalie had felt. Of course, maybe that was because he seemed to glance in her direction a lot. He’d even grinned down at her once during a hymn when he’d caught her sneaking a peek at her watch. In that second, he’d transformed back from Pastor Stone into Jacob, the guy who’d insisted on rolling up his shirtsleeves to change Ethan’s diaper just before the service.

Maybe it was the confusing intimacy she shared with this man, or maybe it was just her wacky postpartum hormones, but her emotions were sure all over the place today.

She’d been really nervous when they’d pulled up in front of this little church today. But so far, things had gone all right. The people she’d spoken to had seemed a little surprised when Jacob introduced her, but they’d shaken her hand warmly and made her feel welcome.

She’d have felt a little less conspicuous in a different seat, but still, it was a nice change to worship with other people, instead of watching a service on television. When she caught herself checking the back of the bulletin to see what the sermon was going to be about next Sunday, she had to laugh a little.

She hadn’t even left yet, and she was already looking forward to coming back.

The minute Jacob had given the benediction, he bounded down the carpeted steps. “Congratulations! You made it through the whole hour.”

“I did.” She couldn’t help but smile back at him. “And it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. You’re a wonderful speaker, Jacob—you really are.”

“Thanks.” He winked. “As much as I’d love to hog all the credit for that, the truth is, I’ve got some pretty good material to work with.

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