First thing she did was get a newspaper and circle promising jobs in the classifieds. After a few phone calls, it didn't take her long to realize Christmas Eve wasn't the time to look for a job. Scared, bored, and half out of her mind with grief, she decided to leave the small room and take a drive. Anything to avoid thinking.
She ended up in the heart of town among last minute shoppers and Carolers. Hurrying past them, she found herself in front of a small church. Something drew her inside. Inside and up to the Nativity Scene. There she discovered an infant in a car seat. Before she had a chance to decide what to do, the back door slammed and someone walked down the aisle toward her. Could he help her win her child back?
What happened next changed Vanessa's life forever.
Elusive Mission is available from Amazon.
Excerpt:
Vanessa’s stomach tensed. She had to get out of here.
Needed some air, needed to escape. She got in her car and started driving, to
where was anyone’s guess.
The quaintness of Strongsville, Ohio, especially the
town square with the gazebo with all the Christmas decorations, brought fresh
tears to her eyes. Vanessa wiped them away and parked the car. Shoppers and
carolers filled the sidewalks. Ignoring them, Vanessa hurried past decorated
shops until she came to a small church. St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, the sign
out front said. Two huge wreaths hung on the heavy oak doors. The small white
building beckoned to her.
Vanessa opened the door, walked up the steps and stood
at the entrance. The quiet of the empty church filled her soul. It had been too
long since she had attended services. Charles wasn’t particularly religious,
but he had allowed her to have Alyssa baptized. She should have gone to church
more often by herself, but after spending Saturday evening at the club, it was
all too easy to sleep in on Sunday morning, and eventually it became a habit.
Light showed
through the stained glass windows, illuminating the red carpet-covered aisle
way. A nativity scene at the front captured her attention and drew her forward.
Memories from her childhood flashed through her mind.
Her father always helped set up the nativity at church
when she was a little girl, and they let her put Baby Jesus in the crèche. A
noise came from the side aisle, interrupting her thoughts. Vanessa stopped, saw
a flash of red, and the side door slammed. Funny, she hadn’t noticed anyone
else when she came in.
Oh, well, Vanessa shrugged and continued to the front
and knelt down. What in the world? Next to the nativity scene sat a car seat.
An infant, three, maybe four months old with blonde curly hair, opened almond-shaped,
dark eyes and reached its chubby arms out to her.
“What have we
here?” Vanessa unbuckled the seat belt. “Hello, precious.” She picked up the
baby, and a note fell on the diaper bag next to the car seat. Vanessa picked up
the paper and read the scribbled words.
Please take
care of my baby. Her name is Grace. Mary.
“Who could leave someone as precious as you?” Vanessa
looked around. No one lurked in the shadows. Who left the baby? How long had
she been here? God, what should she do? The baby cuddled against her, and
Vanessa inhaled the sweet smell of baby lotion. Tears filled her eyes. For a
minute, she was tempted to take the baby and leave, but she couldn’t do it.
Startled, when the door at the back of the church
slammed, Vanessa turned toward the sound. A shadow loomed at the entrance,
moving toward her. A tall figure walked down the aisle, checking the pews along
the way. Vanessa hugged the baby against her, held her breath, and let it out
when she saw who it was.
“Father, I’m glad you’re here. I came in here and
found this baby. I was just about to call the police.”
“I’m a minister, not a priest. Pastor Dan Jacobson,
Pastor Dan will do,” he said. “You found a baby?” A glint of gold glistened in
his copper brown eyes below raised eyebrows. “Who do you suppose it belongs
to?”
“Yes, I ... uh.” She could easily have pretended Grace
was hers. He wouldn’t have known. “When I came in someone ran out through that
side door. I came up here to see the nativity scene and….” Vanessa walked away
and sat in a pew, cradling the baby against her chest. What was the use, he
didn’t believe her. She didn’t need this. Not now. She had enough problems of
her own.
“I see, pretty little thing, boy or girl?”
Vanessa stood and took a step closer to him. “Girl.”
She stopped next to him. “You aren’t suggesting this child is mine, are you?”
Vanessa looked him straight in the eyes. How dare he? Minister or not, what
gave him the right? “Look, I came in here and found the baby. I told you
someone ran out that door.” Vanessa took a deep breath, let out an angry sigh.
“Here.” She pushed the note toward him. “This was lying on the diaper bag. I
didn’t touch anything else.”
Pastor Dan stared at her, studying her. Vanessa stared
back. Disbelief showed in his face. Like she’d try to pull off such a stunt?
Imagine her abandoning a baby like this. The memory of Alyssa, clinging to her
when Charles tore her away, flashed in her mind. Even now, Alyssa’s cries, when
Charles slammed the door, ripped her apart.
Pastor Dan’s voice brought her back to awareness. “I
see. Well, I guess we’ll have to call Social Services.” He read the note, then
picked up the diaper bag and looked through it.
Grace squirmed in Vanessa’s arms and began to cry.
“Probably hungry.” Vanessa rocked the baby.
Pastor Dan pulled a bottle of formula from the diaper
bag.
The warmth of the baby against her chest opened a hole
in Vanessa’s heart, making her miss Alyssa even more. Her insides trembled,
tears burned her eyes, threatened to fall.
“You have children?” Pastor Dan’s tone softened.
A tear escaped, fell on her cheek. She nodded, a lump
caught in her throat.
“How many?”
“One.” Vanessa choked out the word.
How old?”
“Two.” The tears burst forth as if a damn had been
unleashed. “I’m....” Vanessa couldn’t speak. She turned away, held back the
tears, and paced across the front to the nativity scene, leaving him standing
there.
