Unplanned (A Kennedy Stern Christian Suspense Novel Book 1)
Page 18
Kennedy thought about all the schoolwork she had to catch up on. She thought about Reuben, who was probably expecting her to call him right back. Was she ready to return to St. Margaret’s? To the pregnancy center? She thought about her former resolve to distance herself from the pro-life movement, thought about the time she spent with Jodie in the hospital, the tears they shed over baby Wayne, the verses she had read a few minutes earlier. Did she know how she felt about abortion now? It was still wrong, but when she tried to articulate why, all she could picture was baby Wayne as he must have looked in Jodie’s arms. Was that enough? It would have to be, at least for now.
She offered Nick an uncertain smile. “Let’s go.”
She reached to grab her coat off its hanger, but Nick stopped her. “Let me help you with that.” She was glad to not have to twist herself into it.
The phone rang. “Can I meet you at the car?” she asked Nick. “This will only take me a minute or two.”
“Sure thing. I’ll take your bag and meet you there.”
Kennedy didn’t even look at the caller ID before she answered. “Hey, Reuben.”
“That was some crazy story.”
Would she ever be able to look back over the past few days without shaking? “Yeah, sure was.”
“You ok?” His words were laden with concern.
“I’m really tired. My stitches are itching, too.”
“Ouch. When are you coming back to campus?”
“This weekend sometime. I should be moving around a lot easier by then.”
“Can I get you something? Heating pads? Pain meds?”
Kennedy let out her breath. It was good to hear his voice. “How about the notes from today’s chemistry lecture?”
“Consider it done.”
They talked for another minute about nothing important and made plans for Reuben to stop by the Lindgrens’ tomorrow evening with his lecture notes. Kennedy warned him to come with his appetite since Sandy would almost certainly force him to stay for dinner.
They hung up, and Kennedy zipped up her coat. As she locked up Carl and Sandy’s house behind her, she thought about tomorrow, and peace wrapped itself around her like a warm blanket. She was glad Reuben hadn’t asked for any more details about the kidnapping. It was therapeutic somehow to talk about something as mundane as school.
Kennedy limped down the driveway and balked when she saw Nick standing in front of a VW bus that looked about as old as her dad. “You actually drive this?”
He grinned and held the passenger door open. “It’s the youth group van, actually. I prefer my bike, but I didn’t think you’d be up for a ten-mile ride.”
She chuckled, even though the movement shot pain through her back muscles and made her cringe. “Yeah, maybe not.”
He tapped the hood, which had a painted picture of a tie-dye Jesus fish about to swallow up a cartoon-style shark. “What do you think?”
Kennedy was too overwhelmed by so many colors to form a personal opinion. “Is that Michelangelo?” She pointed to a picture of a Ninja Turtle surfing with a Bible in one hand.
“Nah. Donatello. I was going to make it Jesus, but Carl pulled the senior pastor card on me and said it would be irreverent.” He tapped the windshield. “I did get the Peter, James, and John bobble-head set, though. You can see it better once we’re inside.”
“So you did all this yourself?” Kennedy eyed the sunset scene painted on the passenger side. Looking closer, she saw the individual Bible verses stenciled in to form the branches of a palm tree.
“Like it?” he beamed.
“It suits you well,” was all she could manage.
Once she was inside the bus, Nick handed her the seatbelt and shut her in. She thought about Reuben, about her calculus test, about the mounds of homework she would tackle starting tomorrow. After everything she had already been through, would she ever get stressed out over a test again?
Yes, she probably would. Life would turn back to normal, she’d get caught up in her studies, and in a month, a semester, maybe a year, she’d wonder if anything could be more nerve-racking than having two tests, a paper, and a lab all due in the same week. She would never forget Jodie or the time they spent together in that basement, but she didn’t have to relive that moment every day of her life. As Nick drove to St. Margaret’s, the future opened out before her like a brand-new novel with limitless possibilities for adventure, blessings, and growth between its covers.
She couldn’t wait to see what the next chapter would contain.
Want a copy of the next Kennedy Stern book? Get Paralyzed free when you join the Alana Terry Readers’ Club.
ALSO FROM ALANA TERRY
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Slave Again: She traded in her prison uniform for shackles of a different kind.
Torn Asunder: Hannah’s secret mission could rip them apart and cost them both their lives.
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Kennedy Stern Christian Suspense Novels
Paralyzed: It’s hard to heal from the past when the past wants you dead. GET IT FREE when you join the Alana Terry Readers’ Club.
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Join the Alana Terry Readers’ Group for more free books!
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Prayer Devotionals from Alana
Thirty Days of Prayer to End Abortion
Thirty Days of Prayer to End Sex Slavery
Thirty Days of Prayer for the Persecuted Church
Thirty Days of Prayer for World Missions
30 Days of Prayer for Restricted Nations
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Want to go behind the scenes?
Get the Unplanned Bonus Materials ebook for deleted scenes, a glimpse into my life as a writer, character studies from Unplanned, bloopers, and an exclusive twenty-minute video where I answer some of my most frequently asked questions. Get it free when you join the Alana Terry Readers’ Group.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
With every book I write, I become even more convinced that I couldn't pen a single sentence if the Lord wasn't the one sustaining me. I am so thankful to him for fulfilling my lifelong dream to be an author. While I am writing, my body, mind, and spirit constantly remind me how weak I am. While I worked on Unplanned, it was the Lord who soothed my eyestrain and alleviated the symptoms of carpal tunnel so I could complete this story, and I am so thankful.
My husband sacrifices countless hours giving advice and letting me bounce ideas off him. I thank God for his support, and for the fact that he doesn’t complain when my compulsive pacing makes him dizzy.
I have been so blessed to work with Sheila Hollinghead on several of my novels now, and she deserves a huge shout-out, not just for her thorough edits, but for her willingness to work at lightning speed this round. Thank you, Sheila, as well as Annie Lima Douglass for her proofs.
I'd also like to say a big thank you to the bloggers, reviewers, readers, and friends who gave me feedback on the early drafts of Unplanned, and a special thank you goes out to the members of my prayer team, who really did pray this book into existence.
There were some questions I ran into while writing Unplanned that Google just couldn't help me with. I'm thankful for Liz Worman, an OB nurse and friend who answered some of my pregnancy-related medical questions; Bob Baldwin, a fellow Christian author and EMT who gave feedback about Kennedy's knife wound; Bill Donovan, a Christian suspense writer who also leads a pregnancy care center; and Zack Kullis, who works for the FBI and has experience in hostage rescue. I am thankful to each of you for taking the time to answer the many strange and random questions I threw out at you.
When I was a brand-new volunteer at our local pregnancy center, I received a call much like the one Kennedy receives from Rose. I never did find out who the girl was or find a way to help her, but this book is dedicated to her. I hope God has blessed you with a beautiful, peaceful, glorious life knowing and loving just how much He
loves you.
If you are a young reader and happen to find yourself in a situation even remotely similar to Jodie's, please know that you are not alone. Find someone you can talk to, like your parents, another family member, a teacher, school counselor, pastor, etc. If at any age you need help making decisions about an unplanned pregnancy, see if your community has a pregnancy center or visit www.lifecall.org to email, text, or call someone willing to listen to your story.
Last of all, if you have had an abortion and want to learn more about post-abortion syndrome, you can read testimonies of those who have found healing and wholeness after abortions at ramahinternational.org. Many local pregnancy centers also offer free, non-judgmental post-abortion counseling.
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
The following questions can be for personal reflection or for use with a book club. Please note: If you are facilitating a discussion about Unplanned, please remember that many Christian women have had abortions, and just because somebody is a Christian doesn’t guarantee they are pro-life. In case you don’t know if your group is ready to handle such heavy topics, I have placed all of the abortion-related questions in their own separate subheading. Feel free to skip these (or any other questions you find here) at your discretion.
General Questions
1. When was the first time you called 911 or your country’s equivalent emergency response number?
2. Have you spent much time in a foreign country? How did that experience shape you?
3. Have you ever experienced culture shock?
4. What were you like at the age of eighteen? Were you an overachiever like Kennedy, a free spirit like Willow, calm and collected like Reuben, or something else?
5. How many times did you move houses before you graduated high school?
6. When you were a teen, did you think your parents were overprotective like Kennedy does? If you are a parent, how protective would you say you are?
7. If you were to go back to school today, what would you want to study?
8. What was the hardest adjustment you had to make when you first started living on your own?
9. If you had four spare hours a week where you could volunteer anywhere, what would you do?
10. Have you ever been in Kennedy’s situation when you really wanted to help somebody but were powerless to do so?
11. Could you relate to Kennedy when she went to St. Margaret’s for the first time? Do you ever feel disconnected at your church? How does your church do at welcoming newcomers?
12. Describe a time when you felt God’s comfort and peace like Kennedy eventually does after she’s captured.
13. Have you ever had an experience like Kennedy’s when it felt like God wasn’t answering any of your prayers at all?
14. Who is a politician or other public figure that you respect and admire?
Abortion-Specific Questions
Please note, some of these questions are written with the assumption that most people who read Unplanned are at least sympathetic to the pro-life movement. If you are leading a discussion with a group of readers from different political backgrounds, you might want to focus just on questions 1 - 4 or skip this section altogether. The purpose of Unplanned is to foster healthy discussion, not to cause political rifts.
1. What are the primary reasons pro-lifers give for being pro-life?
2. What are the primary reasons pro-abortionists give for being pro-abortion?
3. Wayne Abernathy says he doesn’t have a right to be involved in pro-life ministry if he isn’t willing to help single moms. Do you agree or disagree?
4. What kind of practical support do pregnant teens or single moms need? Who is a person, church, or organization you know of that is doing this well?
5. Fill in the blank. “The best way to end abortion is _________________.”
6. “If we want abortions to stop, we must stop judging women who get pregnant out of wedlock.” Do you agree with this statement?
7. How would you counsel someone considering abortion if she is very young like Jodie?
8. How would you counsel someone considering abortion if she is in danger of dying herself if she carries the baby to term like Jodie’s aunt?
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS