“Remember, I want both of you to do some soul-searching this week. See if there are some other solutions that might make sense. If marriage is what you both want, then think about the best way to make sure you have plenty of support,” Caleb suggested. “And I’ll be in touch with you, Mary Louise, probably tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she said, and followed Danny from the room.
Just outside the door, Caleb saw Danny reach for her hand and whisper something in her ear that put a smile back on her face. Caleb sighed and reached for his phone to follow up on his brainstorm.
Okay, he’d been looking for an excuse to call Amanda all day. Ever since he and the other church volunteers had finished building her house two weeks ago and had held a housewarming party just yesterday, he’d been suffering some weird withdrawal symptoms.
He’d fought his feelings for Amanda O’Leary, struggled to pretend that she was just another member of his congregation in need of help, but the time he’d spent with her and her kids had fulfilled him in unexpected ways. He’d come to admire her strength, to enjoy her sense of humor.
Before he actually dialed her number, he gave himself a stern lecture on remembering that he was her pastor, not a would-be lover, much as he might wish otherwise. It wasn’t the first time he’d struggled to place duty above his needs as a man, but it was the first time he was right on the edge of losing the battle.
But the lecture didn’t seem to stop the jolt to his heart when she answered the phone, her voice soft and a little breathless.
“Amanda, you weren’t taking a nap, were you?”
“In the middle of the afternoon with three kids loose in the house?” she replied, laughter threading through her voice. “You must be kidding. No, if I sound out of breath, it’s because Susie, Larry and Jimmy insisted I play tag with them in the backyard. They can’t get over having so much room to run around in. I can’t get over it myself. Thank you again, Caleb.”
“Would you stop thanking me?” he pleaded. “Getting that house built for you was something the whole congregation wanted to do.” Well, except for a couple of obstinate holdouts, and eventually even they had come around.
“I just want you to know how much I appreciate it,” she said. “If there’s ever anything I can do to pay you back, let me know.”
It was exactly the opening Caleb needed. “Actually, there is something you could do.” He explained about Mary Louise and Danny. “I think Mary Louise needs to understand the realities of trying to work two jobs and care for a baby. Would you consider talking to her?”
“Of course I will,” Amanda said at once. “But maybe I should clarify something. Are you asking me to help you talk her out of getting married?”
He considered the question, then answered honestly. “I just want her to know what’s ahead. Right now she’s all caught up in this romantic notion of living with Danny and having his baby and being happy forever. She needs to know how exhausting it can be and what a toll it might take on their marriage. These two kids have been in love practically as long as I’ve known them. I don’t want them to lose that because this pregnancy has backed them into a corner.”
“Will their parents help them?” she asked, an unmistakably wistful note in her voice.
Caleb knew what it would have meant to Amanda if her father, Big Max, had stepped up when her life fell apart, but the divide between them had been too great. Amanda had made a tentative overture, but as usual Big Max had blown the opportunity. Sometimes Caleb wanted to shake the stubborn old man, but instead, he’d settled for trying to gently nudge them back together. So far, he’d made precious little progress. And if Amanda ever found out what he’d been up to, she might very well hate him for his interference.
“Actually, even though I haven’t spoken to them yet,” he said, “I think their parents would help as much as they can. They’re all good, decent people who want what’s best for their kids. Even so, it’s still going to be tough. Danny would probably have to give up his scholarship, quit college and come home.”
“He could go to college here,” Amanda reminded him. “It might take him longer, but he could do it.”
“I suppose,” he conceded, though he knew how much going to Clemson had meant to Danny. Caleb had made quite a few calls himself to assure Danny’s acceptance there. He’d even spoken to the scholarship committee on Danny’s behalf.
“And both sets of grandparents could help out with babysitting if they’re here,” Amanda continued. “Maybe Mary Louise and Danny could even live with his folks or hers for a while. It wouldn’t be ideal, but it might work. Have any of you considered that?”
“What are you saying?” Caleb asked, startled by the turn the conversation had taken. “Do you think I’m wrong for urging caution?”
“No, I think you’re being a responsible, compassionate minister who’s trying to make sure two kids get off to a good start, but sometimes things happen even when the timing sucks. Not every marriage is ideal at the beginning, but if the love is strong, a couple can weather almost anything.”
“The way you and Bobby did,” Caleb concluded.
“The way I thought we had,” Amanda corrected. “I lived the illusion right up until the day he died. Then reality set in.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Hey, I’ll make you a deal,” she said, a teasing note in her voice. “I’ll stop saying thank you if you’ll stop saying you’re sorry.”
Caleb chuckled. “I can do that.”
“So, knowing where I’m coming from, do you still want me to speak to Mary Louise?”
“Absolutely,” he said at once. “I think you’d be an incredible role model for any young woman. Will tomorrow afternoon work for you?”
“I’ll need to come straight home from work because of the kids,” she said. “Can you bring her by here, say, around six?”
“Will do,” he said at once, trying to keep the pathetically eager note out of his voice. “Goodbye, Amanda.”
“’Bye, Caleb. See you tomorrow.”
He hung up, a smile on his lips, then realized he was running very late for his standing Sunday get-together with Amanda’s father. Big Max hated to be kept waiting. On the rare occasions it happened, he blustered and carried on about Caleb’s impertinence and lack of respect.
Caleb had come to realize, though, that Big Max’s temper didn’t have anything at all to do with feeling disrespected. Big Max was simply impatient for every little tidbit of information he could get about the daughter he’d cut out of his life and was too proud to let back in. Caleb was simply the chosen messenger.
Still troubled by her conversation with Caleb and imagining the difficulties faced by the young couple, Amanda settled at her kitchen table with a cup of tea. It was the first time all day she’d been able to stop touching things—the shiny new appliances in the kitchen, the glowing oak cabinets, the sheer curtains that billowed at the windows, letting in the pleasant early November breeze and filtering the pale, shimmering late-fall sunlight.
Now she reached yet again for the cool metal key that proved this brand-new house was all hers. The overwhelming feelings that swept through her temporarily pushed aside her concern for the young woman Caleb was bringing by tomorrow afternoon.
She and the kids had moved in barely twenty-four hours ago and it still felt like a dream. The boys had spent the day going from room to room, touching things as she had done, rearranging the toys and furniture that had been given as housewarming