Loving Tenderness (18 page)

As she touched the door handle, another pain rolled through her belly and down her legs. She leaned against the car, her legs wobbling with the baby’s weight and pressure aching in her belly.

When the pain faded, she grasped the door handle, but before she pulled it open, a horrifying awareness shot through her. This was the end of October. The baby was due December tenth. She placed her hand beneath the heavy burden. It couldn’t be. Yet reality surged through her, sharpening her senses.

She was in labor.

A
ndrew gripped the steering wheel and punched in the police’s phone number. “Hannah’s in Jugville just outside White Cloud. She said there’s no traffic light at the turnoff.”

“We already have the state police alerted,” the detective said. “Keep us posted.”

Andrew agreed and disconnected. He glanced at the cell phone, longing to call Hannah, but afraid of what he’d learn. Andrew had begged her to stay put, not to take chances, but Hannah didn’t listen when her determination took over.

Her image filled his head—Hannah in the woods, stumbling through the darkness. He feared for her and the baby. He feared that she might actually have found Jack and that he would do something rash.

Andrew slammed his fist against the steering wheel. Why hadn’t she waited for him? The question rang in his mind. He knew the answer.

He could still hear her voice speaking over the static-
filled cell phone. “I love you,” she’d said. She loved him. She’d admitted it.

Dear Lord, please let them find her and JJ safe. I know I deserve nothing, but You’ve promised to hear our prayers. Lord, I love Hannah and JJ. I will love the new baby as if it was my own. Father, please keep them safe. Please.

Tears blurred his vision. Tears. He hadn’t cried for years until he’d learned what loving meant. He’d hardened his heart against emotion and hurt. But no longer. When he’d learned Hannah was pregnant, he’d asked himself questions. Could he love the child? Could he love a child conceived in violence?

Then he ignored his logic and searched his heart. When he’d felt the child move against his palm and imagined the tiny being growing in Hannah’s belly, his attitude had changed. The blessing had become real, and God had given him a chance to share in the joy.

Today Andrew could no longer hide the true love he had for Hannah and her family. She’d brought him out of his lonesome world and made him feel whole and purposeful. Now she’d offered him another gift—love.

As he neared White Cloud, he searched for signs of the police or Hannah’s car. A gas station came into view, and he decided it must be the one Hannah had mentioned. Keeping his focus on the left, he recognized the road she’d described, unmarked by a traffic signal. He slowed and turned.

The cell phone remained in his hand, and he itched to call her. He tried to slip it back into his pocket, but couldn’t.

His senses bristled. What if she’d done the unthinkable? What if she’d gone to the cabin? The possibility wasn’t beyond reason when it came to Hannah.

He eyed the phone again, then slowed along the
winding road to punch in her cell number. He prayed she had followed his plea for once and had stayed in her car until help arrived.

Hannah eased herself onto the car seat and dropped her head against the headrest. Her hands trembled with pain and apprehension. How could she sit there and wait?

She lifted her head and peered down the road. The dusky sky made everything look gray and blurred. Her heart jumped. Had she seen movement? A rise of dust in the distance? Imagination.

Her head dropped back as a contraction surged through her. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on breathing. She counted slowly, unwilling to give way to the pain, unwilling to cry out.

When the pain subsided, anger fired in her. She had to protect JJ and her unborn child. She raised her head, wondering what to do. Go or stay?

She sent a prayer to heaven and clung to the steering wheel to keep herself from leaving the car. She needed to use good sense, but with her son in jeopardy, good sense meant nothing. She peered again into the gloom. Her pulse escalated as a black car neared her, its headlights off and the bubble light on top silent.

She pulled herself together and slid from the seat as the squad car halted and an officer hurried from the car to meet her. “Are you okay?”

“I waited for you,” she said. “This might not be the place, but I didn’t want to take a chance.”

“Smart lady.” He looked over his shoulder as another squad car pulled to the side of the road. “Stay here,” he said, turning away and heading back to the other officers.

She watched as they pulled rifles from the car and
slipped on what she assumed were bullet-proof vests. From what she could see, they planned to go into the woods on foot. She eyed her watch, wondering where Andrew was and trying to calculate the time since she’d had the last contraction.

Officers moved forward, heading along the fringe of the woods, and her heart thundered, fearing JJ could be harmed in the altercation. She stumbled through the tangled weeds toward one of the officers. “If Jack’s there, he has my son. He’s only five.”

“We’ll be on guard. Don’t worry.” He patted her arm and turned, but a sound slid from her throat as she felt another contraction take hold. Her knees weakened, and she grasped the officer’s arm for support.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He eyed her, his focus lowering to her large belly.

“I’m in labor,” she said, wanting to stop herself but unable to with the pressure that swept over her.

“Now that’s just wonderful,” he said, shaking his head.

“I’m sorry,” she groaned. “I didn’t time it this way.”

His look grew tender. “I apologize. It’s just that you’re right—this isn’t good timing. I’ll call for an ambulance.”

Nothing seemed to be good timing, she thought, remembering how she’d pushed Andrew away when he’d proposed. She realized now how much she’d hurt him with her rejection. “Thank you,” she said, praying the ambulance would arrive soon.

The officer hurried to the squad car, apparently to call EMS, then headed down the path following the other officers.

When he’d vanished, she settled into her car, her prayers rising to heaven. She leaned back, allowing her petitions to calm her, but when her cell phone jangled,
she jumped, her nerves raw. She dug the phone from her pocket and answered.

“Hannah.” Andrew’s voice flooded over her.

“The police are here, Andrew.”

“Thank God,” he said. “Are you all right?”

She took a deep breath. “I’ve gone into labor.”

Panic rose in his voice. “Dearest Lord, no. Hang on, Hannah. I’m close. I’ve just turned onto Jugville Road.”

A noise sounded, and Hannah flinched. “Something’s happening, Andrew. I have to go.” She pushed the end-call button and slipped the cell back into her jacket pocket.

As she pushed open the car door, a contraction rushed through her, and she let out a groan, trying to conquer the fear and weakness that wracked her. She glanced at her watch. About ten minutes apart.

She couldn’t bear the wait. Hannah slid from the driver’s seat and stood a moment to get her balance. She gathered her courage and moved forward. With each step her fear grew. She peered into the trees and faltered. Had a light flickered through the branches, or had it been her imagination?

She forced herself to go on. Leaves crackled, twigs snapped, but she pushed aside her panic. If JJ was in a cabin behind those trees, she wanted to know.

She kept her body protected by the thick underbrush, and as she moved forward, the light she’d questioned earlier became real. She stood behind a tree trunk and looked into the clearing. Officers crouched outside the house, and from inside the hum of country music drifted toward her, covering the outdoor sounds she hoped.

The dusk had deepened, and the shadows stretched along the ground. Someone was inside, and she longed
to cry out, to call JJ’s name, but she clamped her teeth together to keep her silence.

Her focus turned to the police. What would they do? Anything they might try could put JJ in danger. She couldn’t bear it.

A flash of light jerked her attention toward the cabin. A lamp had been turned on in a room close to her. The shade was up, and she peered at the window, squinting to see inside. JJ. Her heart leaped. Could she get his attention? Could she signal him to come outside?

Let us do our job.
She recalled the officer’s comment, a comment she questioned, but they were here, and JJ was inside. A lump formed in her throat, and she glanced at her watch, too dark to see in the woods. She leaned her arm to catch the last of the dusky light. She had three minutes or less before another contraction. She sank to the ground, praying she could control her pain. She had to be there for JJ when he needed her.

Andrew spotted the police cars in his headlights and pulled off the road. Two cars had parked on the grassy shoulder, and he pulled in behind them. Farther up the road, he spotted Hannah’s car. He jumped from the sedan and darted toward her, then faltered. She wasn’t inside, or was she?

Fear gripped him as he dashed to the driver’s window to look. The front and back seats were empty. His pulse pounded in his temple. She wouldn’t— Yes, she would, despite his pleading.

Frustration tore through him, mingled with panic. He turned and headed up the path, keeping his body hidden by the trees. The ruts and broken limbs tangled in his feet, and he tripped, catching himself with a tree
branch. The rustle of dried leaves sent fear soaring over him. He prayed the police wouldn’t think he was Jack.

He strained his eyes into the darkness and finally spotted a light ahead. Shifting farther from the path, Andrew took cover behind a broad tree trunk. Leaning forward, he spotted shadowy silhouettes crouched in the opening in front of the cabin. A rifle glinted in the cabin light.

Why were they waiting? JJ could be dead or injured inside. His heart thudded against his chest, and his stomach knotted with desperation.

Hannah clutched the damp earth, waiting for the pain to pass. She clamped her jaws together, breathing, counting, praying. The contractions were getting closer. Somewhere on the highway an ambulance was on its way, and she’d be safe. But what about her son? What about JJ?

Fear prodded her. She raised herself and peered around the tree to the lighted window. JJ was inside. She crept forward on her knees to the edge of the woods and grasped a piece of broken branch, then waited for the opportune moment. JJ neared the window and she tossed it.

She missed. Hannah’s hope sank. She had to lure her son outside. She felt a stone beneath her hand and sent up a prayer. Her courage rising, she lifted it and tossed it toward her son. It met its mark. She heard the tink against the glass, but did Jack hear it too?

JJ turned and moved closer to the window and peered outside. He pressed his nose against the window, but she’d made a mistake. In her excitement, she hadn’t thought about the officers. In a heartbeat, he’d vanished from the window. Had JJ seen them? Would he tell Jack?

Andrew heard a noise. Something had struck the cabin window, and he’d seen JJ looking into the night. Hannah? Had she been that foolish? The answer came without reservation. Yes.

He crouched behind a tree and peered into the darkness. Hannah was there somewhere. He wanted to call to her, but he pressed his lips together, controlling the driving urge.

Instead, he took a step closer to where he suspected she was hidden. A twig snapped beneath his feet, and an officer swung toward him, his rifle aimed at his chest.

Andrew raised his hands above his head. “Don’t shoot,” he whispered. As an officer bounded toward him, he heard Hannah gasp.

He wanted to run to her, but he stood still trying to explain who he was while his hands fumbled into his pocket for his wallet. The officer studied his ID, then ordered him to get back.

As he retreated into the woods, he spotted Hannah in the throes of a contraction. He hurried to her and grasped her hand, but before he could speak, the cabin door jerked open and a figure leaped from the house. Andrew grasped Hannah’s hand. “I’m here, Hannah,” he said, but his heart had stopped when she saw Jack held JJ in his arms.

The child sobbed, and Hannah’s eyes widened.

“Jack won’t hurt him,” he promised Hannah, praying the man had an ounce of fatherly love in his heart.

Jack darted toward Andrew’s hideout with JJ kicking and wiggling in his arms. The officer yelled, and when he didn’t stop, a warning shot rang out. With his heart in his throat, Andrew blocked the view from Hannah.

Jack’s footsteps thudded past as Hannah’s body relaxed, and her grip lessened.

“I waited like I promised, but I’m afraid for the baby,” she whispered.

“Don’t be afraid. I love you, Hannah.”

The police hesitated, and Andrew knew they feared for JJ’s safety. Another shot pinged against the dirt, and Hannah jerked upward. “JJ,” she cried.

“He’ll be fine, Hannah. Just keep praying.”

Andrew heard a motor race and turned to see a car shoot out of the woods heading toward the officers. But in the flash of the headlights, Andrew caught sight of JJ running from the woods where Jack had hidden the car.

“He’s safe, Hannah. Jack let him go.”

Hannah clung to him, praising God, and Andrew bent to kiss her hair before he rose and ran toward JJ.

One officer headed for the boy while another’s footsteps sounded in the gravel, racing down the lane toward the highway. Tires squealed from the road.

JJ dashed into Andrew’s arms, tears rolling down his cheeks.

“You’re okay, pal,” Andrew said, barely able to say the words without releasing a sob.

Fearful, Andrew shifted his gaze toward Hannah. “We need an ambulance for the boy’s mother,” he said to the officer. “She’s in labor.”

The man nodded as if he knew.

Andrew lifted JJ in his arms, and, as he turned, the ambulance pulled into the clearing. Seeing JJ’s fearful look, Andrew hugged him tighter. “Your mom’s fine, pal. The baby’s coming.”

“It is?” JJ said, watching the emergency technicians lift her onto a stretcher.

“They’ll take your mom to the hospital.”

“Can we go, too?”

“We sure can.” He hugged the boy to his chest, so aching with love that he could hardly bear it.