Yuletide Baby. Deb Kastner

myriad of emotions pressed upon him and he struggled to work them out, to untie the knots in his chest. There had to be a reason the baby was here. God didn’t make mistakes, and though it seemed incomprehensible to Shawn, it was abundantly clear to him that he was meant to find this child.

      But why?

      Threading his fingers through his hair, he murmured a frantic prayer for guidance under his breath. What would the Lord have him do?

      Jo Spencer. Owner of Cup O’ Jo Café and second mother to half the town, she had a word of advice to give for any situation under the sun. She’d been a good listening ear and friendly adviser to him in the past.

      It was a decision, at least, and a good one, at that. He sighed in relief.

      Jo would know what to do in his hour of need. She was the resident expert on everything—and everyone. Shawn was reluctant to wake her at this time of night, but he knew she would want to be part of this. At the very least, she’d help him think through his options, and she’d definitely know who else to call in as reinforcements. She quite literally knew everyone in town. She might even have an idea who the mother was. If there were any women outside the church’s parish who might be pregnant and close to delivery, Jo would know about them.

      Shawn’s heart ached for the woman who was desperate enough to leave her infant at a church on Christmas Eve. She must be feeling such a deep sense of anguish. No doubt her circumstances, whatever they were, had been dire.

      He shifted and wrinkled his nose as an odd, pungent odor assaulted him.

      “Yes, little person,” he said, addressing the baby. “We need to call in the cavalry.”

      Along with everything else, Jo Spencer would know how to change a diaper.

      He curled the infant into one arm and fished for his cell phone in the pocket of his black slacks. Fortunately, Jo was an active member of the faith community, and her number was on speed dial.

      After several rings, a gravelly, sleep-muted male voice answered.

      “This’d better be good.” Jo’s husband, Frank, was gruff on the best of occasions, and Shawn highly doubted that being dragged from a dead sleep even remotely qualified for that category.

      “So sorry to wake you, Frank, but I’ve got a bit of an emergency here. This is Pastor Shawn, by the way.”

      “Yeah, I figured. When Jo’s new-fangled cell phone rang, your picture came up on the screen.”

      One corner of Shawn’s mouth rose. He heard a crackle and a thump on the other end of the line.

      “Emergency, you said?” Jo didn’t even sound sleepy, though he knew he’d wakened her from the same state that had Frank so grumpy. “What can I do for you, Pastor?”

      Shawn released the breath he’d been holding, relief rippling through his muscles as he continued to jiggle his arm to keep the gurgling infant happy.

      “I have a baby,” he blurted.

      “Oh. I...” It was unusual for Jo to stammer. He’d clearly caught her off guard, and no wonder. “Are congratulations in order?”

      “What?” Of all the things he expected Jo to say, that wasn’t it. “No. I mean— It’s not my baby.”

      Jo let out a big guffaw. Shawn wondered how anyone could sound so gleeful in the middle of the night.

      “Well, young man, you’ll pardon me for sayin’ I’m relieved to hear it. Not that you wouldn’t make a wonderful father, mind.”

      “Thank you for that,” he responded, chuckling under his breath. “But I do have a problem. That baby I mentioned—I have it right here. At the church. I think someone abandoned it.” He hated calling the baby an it, but he thought calling Jo was more expedient than taking the time to check to see if it was a boy or a girl.

      “Oh, my stars,” Jo exclaimed. “An abandoned baby? Well, why didn’t you say so to begin with?”

      Shawn grimaced and the baby startled, wagging his or her little arms in the air and breaking into a weak wail.

      “I hear the dear little sweetheart. Is it a boy or a girl?”

      Shawn shifted the wiggling bundle to his shoulder and bounced softly on his toes. “I don’t know. I haven’t checked yet. I called you first.”

      “And that was exactly the right thing for you to do, my dear. I’ll be over faster than you can say Jack Washington. We’ll figure it out together, you and I. I do believe I’ll also get on the horn with Heather Lewis and see if she can come out and help us.”

      “Heather Lewis?”

      “She’s a local foster parent. I imagine she’ll be able to give us some perspective on the situation.”

      With an inaudible sigh, Shawn crooked the phone against his shoulder so he could pat the infant on the back. Jo had no idea how very much he needed to hear that help was on its way. What he knew about babies was quite literally limited to the christenings he performed. He didn’t have any children of his own, nor did he have nieces or nephews. He’d never actually had to care for a baby before, especially not in the plethora of ways he imagined this little one would need.

      Apprehension shot through him like a bolt of electricity, crackling and exploding along every one of his nerve endings. He wasn’t qualified to be in charge of a child. He hadn’t even been successful watching an older kid, much less a newborn. He closed his eyes and saw his younger brother David’s face, red and sweating, his palms pressed against the glass of the car door and his mouth open in a silent scream.

      No. Not now.

      Pain stabbed through his gut, and he opened his eyes wide, gasping for air.

       Please, Lord, let Jo come quickly.

      “I can’t tell you what this means to me. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.” And then some.

      “No need to thank me, son. That’s what I’m here for—helpin’ people as the Lord sees fit to use me.” He knew she told the truth. It didn’t matter that it was the middle of the night or Christmas Eve. Jo was happy to be everyone’s go-to woman.

      “Hey, Jo?” he asked when the infant’s face once again scrunched, turning from peach to red to an alarming shade of purple.

      “Yes, dear?”

      “You think you could possibly rustle up a clean diaper while you’re at it?”

      Jo chuckled. “Don’t worry, dear. I’ll bring supplies. We’re going to manage just fine. Mark my words—everything is going to work out. For all of us.”

      What Shawn wouldn’t give to have Jo’s faith right now. He wasn’t quite so certain about how things were going to work out, particularly for this precious child. All he knew for sure was that this long night was about to get longer.

      * * *

      Persistent pounding drew Heather Lewis from sleep so deep that she thought she was dreaming the noise—or that perhaps the pounding was just the headache that had set in earlier. She groaned and rolled over, covering her head with her feather pillow. With all the excitement of Christmas Eve, she hadn’t managed to get her little brood to bed until late. Exhaustion weighed down every bone and muscle in her body.

      Though muted by her pillow, the hammering continued. Rap, rap, rap. Pause. Rap, rap, rap.

      Suddenly she sat bolt upright, adrenaline pumping through her veins and bringing her to instant alertness as she thrashed around, trying to release her legs from the blanket she was caught up in.

      She wasn’t dreaming about those sharp knocks. They were real. Her mind shrieked in terror.

       Run. Hide.

      She clutched