Baby Makes a Match Page 19

  “Hilda’s ginger muffins!” Stephen exclaimed, reaching over to snatch one.

  Everyone began to help themselves. They all got comfortable, the aunties on the sofa, others leaning against the wall or sitting on the foot of the bed. Chandler sat down on the recliner next to the bed and wolfed down his own breakfast with his usual gusto, while Bethany worked on hers and listened to the chitchat. She recalled that Morgan and Bayard were the sons of Hub’s first wife, who had been deceased many years now, whereas Kaylie and Chandler were the children of Hub’s second wife, also deceased. That reminded Bethany that she’d seen Hub slip away.

  Leaning toward Chandler, she asked, “Where’s your father?”

  He looked around. “Don’t know.”

  Hypatia spoke up from the sofa. “I’m sure he’ll return shortly.”

  Perhaps another quarter hour passed before Hub did so. He was not alone. A strange doctor followed carrying Matthew.

  “Oh!” Bethany bolted straight up in the bed, holding out her arms. The doctor came over to place the baby in them.

  “That’s better,” Hub said complacently, as everyone else “oohed” and “aahed” over Matthew.

  Chandler shifted up to sit on the side of the bed next to Bethany, looking to the doctor. “I suppose you pulled rank on someone in order to manage this.”

  “Not at all. I just consulted with the neonatologist, at your father’s request, and we made a decision based on the conditions and needs of both baby and mother.”

  “Thank you,” Chandler said. He introduced the man to Bethany then, saying, “Honey, this is Brooks Leland, an old family friend.”

  “We spoke on the telephone,” Bethany said, nodding to the newcomer.

  Hub spoke up then. “All right, everyone, gather around. Gather around.” The family all came to encircle the bed. “We’re going to pray this new addition to our family home,” Hub explained.

  Holding her baby in her arms, Bethany looked around at them in amazement. These people weren’t even really kin to her child, and she could see that they knew it, but here they all were on a Friday morning to pray over him just as if he truly did belong to them. Suddenly she knew that Matthew was exactly where he belonged. No matter who Matthew’s biological father might be, His spiritual Father had brought them to his true father, to a true family. She would never question that again. Silently, she transferred Matthew into his father’s arms.

  Chandler jerked slightly in surprise, as he had not yet held his son. For a long moment, his gaze melded with hers. Then he tucked the tiny babe into the crook of one arm and looped his other about Bethany. Dressed in a tiny white gown, knit cap and blue blanket, Matthew stretched, mewled and turned his face into his father’s chest. Beaming, Chandler glanced around the room.

  Everyone shifted closer, laying hands on her or Chandler or little Matthew himself, and then they all bowed their heads as Hub began to pray aloud. He praised God for this new little family unit and thanked Him for the blessing of new beginnings. Finally, he beseeched God for Matthew’s health, asking that the child thrive and grow and always be surrounded by the love of family and Christ Jesus. A chorus of Amens followed. Then Chandler dropped a delicate kiss on Matthew’s cheek and smiled at Bethany.

  “Well, that just leaves one other matter to attend,” Hub announced, waving his Bible at Chandler and Bethany. “It’s high time to bless this union properly. The legalities are one thing, but spiritualities are another.” He lifted his sagging, cleft chin, adding, “And no child of mine is truly wed unless I officiate.”

  Bethany felt an instant of stomach-dropping panic, but Chandler’s arm tightened about her shoulders, prompting her to look at him. She was stunned by the openness in his eyes, by the softness of his expression.

  “I want this,” he said quietly. “It won’t be forever until he says the words. And that’s what I want with you, forever. I know I don’t have a lot to offer you right now, but I love you, Bethany, you and Matthew, and I believe with all my heart that the same God who brought you to me will provide all our needs.” He looked down at her with such tenderness, their child cradled against him, that she lifted a hand to stifle an exclamation.

  He was, essentially, asking her to marry him, to really marry him. For always. It was exactly what she wanted, but how could he possibly love her? Jay’s insidious voice whispered that no man would want her, but when Chandler looked at her with those warm brown eyes of his, she knew that Jay lied. Again. She didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry, so she did both.

  Wrapping her arms about Chandler’s neck, she twisted against him and whispered into his ear, “I love you so much. I love you so much!”

  He buried his face in the bend of her neck, and she felt him sigh, the air leaving him in a long exhalation of relief. Lifting his head, he pressed a fervent kiss to her lips.

  “It’s always the cart before the horse with this one!” Hub joked good-naturedly.

  Everyone laughed at that, including Bethany.

  “Well, get it done, then,” Chandler retorted smartly.

  “Right now?” Hub asked. “You don’t want to shave or at least comb your hair first?”

  “I don’t want to wait another minute,” Chandler said. He abruptly turned back to Bethany then. “Oh, but maybe you would prefer a ceremony with all the trimmings this time?”

  She looked down at herself. Here she sat in a hospital bed, her hair still damp from a cursory scrubbing, as exhausted as she’d ever been in her life. She must look a fright. Moreover, she’d been through two wedding ceremonies already, both elopements. With Jay Carter, the whole thing had been a farce. The second time had been legal, at least, but she had never dared to think that the marriage was true, never expected it to be more than a temporary favor done her by a good man who had rescued her out of nothing more than necessity and Christian sensibility. Now that darling man had declared his love and offered her a genuine marriage, a forever marriage, witnessed by those dearest to them. Trimmings were nothing compared to that.

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” she said, squeezing Chandler’s hand.

  He planted a kiss in the middle of her forehead. Then he dropped a frown on Matthew, one brow arching, and muttered, “Better make it quick. I think I have a diaper to change.”

  Everyone laughed at that. But no one laughed minutes later when Chandler and Bethany repeated their vows, there in the midst of their extended family, and received the blessing that joined their hearts forever as husband and wife.

  It had been a strange and unexpected journey from that little diner beside the road to home and family and the fulfillment of all her dreams, but looking back on it now, Bethany knew that God had directed her path from the very moment that she had placed herself in His hands. She wished she had been wise enough to understand what He was doing, but she found it difficult to have regrets now, sitting there in the bosom of her expanded family with her loving husband and beautiful son beside her. In fact, she would do it all again just to arrive here at this wonderful place. And she could hardly wait to see where God would take them next.

  Epilogue

  Chandler crept into the bedroom, his boots in his hand. Bethany had left the light on in the bathroom and the door slightly ajar. He set the boots at the foot of the bed that had belonged to his grandparents and smiled down on his sleeping wife before tiptoeing to the cradle. Even after a month, Bethany preferred to keep Matthew close. Chandler preferred that, too. It had become more and more difficult to leave them both behind when he traveled to rodeos.

  Drew felt the same way about Cindy, who was stuck at home awaiting the birth of their child, the slowpoke, as Chandler had taken to calling him, just to tease Drew, since Matt had made such an early entry. They were a pathetic pair, he and his partner, constantly thinking of those at home. Pathetic but successful, wildly so in the past few weeks, praise God!

  No longer an infant scarecrow, Matthew had filled out well in the past few weeks. As Chandler stood there and marveled,
Matt’s plump little face scrunched up. His fists rose to bat about his head in the instant before he let out a full-throated wail. Chandler snatched him up, cradling him against his shoulder.

  “Here, here,” he whispered. “It’s okay. Daddy’s home.”

  Matthew crammed his fist into his mouth and continued to insist that he be fed. Chandler couldn’t help chuckling. This was a boy in a hurry. Couldn’t wait to be born, couldn’t wait to get home from the hospital—a feat he’d managed only four days after Bethany—couldn’t wait to grow, couldn’t wait to eat, couldn’t wait for clean britches. Just a sprinkle in his diaper was enough to set him off. Neither of his parents minded in the least.

  Bethany groggily sat up and started to throw the covers off, but then she saw Chandler and smiled. “Welcome home.”

  He bounced the fussing baby against his shoulder. “Glad to be here.”

  She held out her arms. “Let me have him before he wakes the whole household.”

  Chandler carried the little howler to the bed and watched in amazement as Bethany quieted him by holding him to her breast. She looked up, love shining in her bright blue eyes, and Chandler bent to kiss her, long and sweetly.

  “I missed you, too,” she said when he finally lifted his head. “How did it go?”

  He fished a gold-plated buckle from his shirt pocket and tossed it on the bed, then pulled two more from his jeans and dropped those next to the first. Bethany gaped. “Three?”

  “Three events, three buckles,” he said, grinning. “They’ll fit better in a display case than three saddles.”

  She laughed and reached for his hand. “I’m so proud of you.”

  That meant more to him than anything else in the world. Chandler nudged her over with his hip and perched on the edge of the bed beside her.

  “If we keep this up, Drew and I could make the national finals in December,” he told her. “I might even qualify in steer wrestling. Tie-down’s out of reach, though.”

  “This year,” she said, and he smiled at her optimism. She glanced down at Matthew and commented, “We ought to be able to travel by December.”

  Chandler grinned. “Well, I’ll see what I can do, then.” They laughed together, then he sobered. “Speaking of December, I’d like us to be in our own place before the holidays.”

  She squeezed his hand. “Yes, I’d like that, too.” It had been suggested that Chandler and Bethany move into Hub’s house once he, Kaylie and Stephen moved out. “Your dad’s house will be empty as soon as Kaylie finds something for them to lease.” The house Kaylie was building with Stephen wouldn’t be finished for at least another six months.

  “I have another thought,” Chandler said carefully. “What would you think about moving to Stephenville?”

  Bethany lifted her eyebrows. “It would certainly make things a lot easier for you and Drew.”

  “We’d have more time to work, but more important I’d have more time to spend at home with you and Matthew,” Chandler pointed out.

  “A big plus.”

  He smiled, excitement welling up. “There’s something else.”

  “Oh?”

  “I had an offer on Ébano this weekend. Sixty-five thousand.” She gasped. “I countered at eighty-five,” he hurried on.

  “And?”

  “We split the difference at seventy-five thousand dollars.”

  “Chandler!”

  “And I’m to train two other horses for the same fellow. If that works out, we might go into a partnership on the other end of things, so to speak. Then I’d be working with the horses most of the time instead of always running up and down the road chasing buckles.”

  “No kidding! That’s wonderful! If…if that’s what you want.”

  “That’s exactly what I want,” he told her emphatically. “It’s the dream, sweetheart, the whole enchilada, everything I love, you, Matthew…” He stroked one hand over her cheek and the other across the baby’s head, hurrying on, “having our own place, doing what I’m made to do and earning a good income at it, living the life. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted.”

  “Oh, I’m so excited!” She bounced a little on the bed. Matthew grunted as if in agreement.

  Shifting closer, Chandler quickly said, “I’ve had my eye on this little ranch east of Stephenville for some time now, and I’ve made a couple of phone calls. It’s a pretty piece of land and in our price range. House isn’t all that, but—”

  She pressed a finger to his lips, stopping the flow of his words. “If that’s what God has in mind for us, I’m sure we can make it work. When can we go see it?”

  He kissed that finger. “Soon.”

  She smiled and stroked his cheek. “Garrett and the aunties will miss us.”

  Garrett had proven to be an especially attentive uncle, and the aunties… Odelia was like a girl with a favorite new toy and Hypatia didn’t even seem to mind the milk stains on her fine silks. Magnolia, however, was the big surprise. Her calmness and sturdy good sense had been a special blessing to these new parents.

  Chandler nodded, so full of love and happiness that he thought he might pop like a balloon. “I’ll miss them, too.”

  But this was best. No one could question that their family needed their own home or that God had made a way for them to have it.

  “We’ll visit often,” Bethany said.

  “Whenever we can,” Chandler agreed, leaning forward to press his lips to hers.

  He could barely believe how God had blessed him!

  Back in July his life had been coming apart at the seams. Desperate, he’d fallen to his knees. Then God had lifted him up and set him on the right path, showering him with blessings that he could only have imagined a few short months ago. He’d said as much to Kreger just this past weekend when their paths had briefly crossed. To Chandler’s surprise, his one-time partner had agreed to sit down and talk with Chandler and his father in the next couple of days.

  That was a conversation Chandler intended to bathe in prayer. He was still hurt by his old friend’s actions, but he was going to make one more effort to help Kreger get his life right through Christ Jesus. After all, if he didn’t try, who would? Besides, Hub would be with him. Together they would make an impassioned plea and leave the rest to God. With his own life bathed in blessings, Chandler figured it was the least he could do. And the very best.

  Matthew let out a contented sigh and blinked blearily at his father. As his eyes drifted closed, his sweet little mouth turned up at the corners.

  “Look at that!” Bethany whispered. “He’s smiling!”

  “I know just how he feels,” Chandler told her softly. And, oh, he did.

  Magnolia tiptoed away from the bedroom door, dabbing tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her bathrobe. She had awakened to the distant sound of the baby wailing. Whenever they heard him cry, all the sisters were eager to offer assistance, so much so that they’d agreed to take turns. Magnolia was a tad miffed to find that Chandler had arrived home and superseded her. She was even more disappointed to hear Chandler and Bethany speak of moving.

  None of the sisters had ever believed that Chandler and his little family would stay on at Chatam House permanently. They had to make their own home sooner or later, and God had obviously ordained the moment. She never ceased marveling at the way God worked.

  She supposed that she ought not to be so surprised that He had used a baby to bring Chandler and Bethany together. After all, He had used a babe to bring salvation to a lost world. Still, an infant matchmaker!

  Had Bethany not been pregnant and desperate, however, Chandler would never have been moved to marry her. Then he would not have found the one true love God had designed especially for him. It was only right that they follow the path God had laid out for their little family.

  But, Stephenville! Oh, how she would miss the little scrap and his parents!

  A sudden thought brought her to a halt at the door to the suite. So, Chandler and Bethany and little Matthew would be lea
ving them soon. That must mean that God was preparing Chatam House for someone new!

  Who, she wondered, would God send to them next?

  She moved quietly out onto the landing and patted the wall with an approving hand as she trundled by. Whomever God sent their way, Chatam House would be ready. Obviously, He had appointed this place not only as a haven for the lost and desperate, but as a garden where love could take root and grow. And love, Magnolia knew, was the sweetest, most beautiful blossom of all.

  They were making quite a bouquet for themselves, the Chatam sisters. Not bad for a trio of old spinsters.

  She smiled contentedly as she made her way back to her room, silently praising God in His infinite wisdom.

  Dear Reader,

  Have you ever feared that you were lost only to find yourself right where you needed to be? Life is like that sometimes. None of the landmarks feel familiar, and you can’t seem to recall exactly how you got where you are. Then everything begins to make sense and you suddenly realize that you’re right where you want to be.

  We may not always know where we are going in this life or why, but as Christians we can trust that God is well aware of the paths we trod and has specific destinations in mind for each of us. Moreover, wherever God takes us, that’s always the best place for us to be.

  May you enjoy the trip as much as the destination!

  God bless,

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  Bethany and Chandler both thought they had solid plans for their lives and were settled on a course. Everything seemed to be wrong; then, suddenly each of their worlds turned upside down. Does God really allow, or even cause, such things to happen?

  Why would God allow the goals and plans of individuals to be disrupted? What or who might this benefit?

  Ephesians 6:1-4 gives us the formula for healthy parent-child relationships. Yet, though Chandler’s father, Hubner, is pastor, a devout man of God, he and Chandler are continually at odds. How does this happen with Christian people?