Genesis House Inspirational Romance and Family Drama Boxed Set: 3-in-1

by Angela Benson

  "I feel blessed," he said, and he felt her relax against him. Those were the words she needed to hear, he knew, and they were the truth. They just weren't all of the truth. He felt blessed, but he also felt afraid. They had so much already. He didn't see how they could get more without having to give up something. Life had taught him not to get too comfortable or too satisfied. He squeezed Shay closer, praying he was wrong. He'd do everything in his power to make sure he was.

  From all the research he and Shay had done when they were trying to have a second baby years ago, he knew the first trimester was the most important time for the developing baby—and the time during which the mother was most susceptible to miscarriage. If Dr. Holmes was right and no damage was done to Shay with Marvin Jr.'s birth, then all they had to do was make it through the first trimester. Once they made it through that period, he could relax and enjoy the baby right along with Shay.

  He prayed he and Shay would get in to see the obstetrician that week. He was anxious for her to confirm Dr. Holmes's diagnosis. That would be one less thing for them—him—to worry about.

  Chapter 9

  Shay awakened long before the time the alarm would sound. She was happy this morning, very happy. She looked over at her sleeping husband and smiled. She'd known he would come around. Forgive me, Lord, she prayed silently, for not being more patient and for not trusting you all along to work out the rough spots.

  She pressed her hand against her husband's jaw, feeling the early morning whiskers he'd no doubt shave away. Then she leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips. She felt his smile against her lips and she pulled away. "Morning, husband."

  He leaned up and kissed her again. "Morning, wife. Sleep well?"

  She took his hand and pressed it across her abdomen. "A calm stomach so far, if that's what you mean."

  She felt his hand tense in hers, and she looked into his eyes to see what he was feeling. "Good," he said, easing his hand back. "I hope Dr. Holmes can get us in to see the obstetrician this week."

  Concern momentarily clouded the happiness Shay felt. "How do you know about the obstetrician?"

  He pressed her fingers to his lips. "Expectant fathers have a sort of sixth sense about these things."

  She pulled his hand toward her own lips and kissed his fingers. "They do, huh?" she said, some of her concern abating. If Marvin referred to himself as an expectant father, then he really was okay with the pregnancy. She had to stop second-guessing him.

  Marvin folded his free hand behind his head. "Actually, I went by Dr. Holmes's office after I left the church yesterday. He said he'd make a call to the obstetrician he told you about and see if she can get us in this week."

  Shay sat back on her thighs. "That was nice of Dr. Holmes."

  "Yeah," Marvin agreed, moving his other hand behind his head. "He's a good guy."

  Shay fought against the apprehension that slithered up her spine. "That reminds me, Vickie wants us to celebrate our pregnancy with her and Daniel. What if we do it on Friday? And we have to call my parents and our friends in Atlanta. I can't wait to give them the news. They'll be so happy for us."

  Marvin glanced at the clock, but Shay sensed he wasn't seeing the time. He yawned, slipped off the covers, and got out of bed. "How did Vickie find out?"

  "Find out?" Shay repeated, his turn of phrase raising her level of concern. "She didn't find out. I told her. She's my friend and I wanted to share our good news with her." She paused for his response, and when none was forthcoming, she asked again, "So what do you think about Friday?"

  "What if we hold off awhile, Shay?" he said, glancing at her and then back at the clock. "We haven't even seen the obstetrician yet."

  Shay told herself not to overreact. Keep calm. "Well, if Dr. Holmes gets us in with the obstetrician this week, we can celebrate with Daniel and Vickie on Friday or Saturday. Do you want to say Saturday instead?"

  Marvin finally looked directly at her. "I think we should wait until after the first trimester before we start celebrating, Shay. We should even wait before we start telling people."

  Sucker punched. I've been sucker punched. "We're not telling the world, Marvin. We're talking my parents, our friends in Atlanta, Daniel, and Vickie. They're our family and closest friends and they want to share our happiness."

  "I think we should wait awhile before we start telling people," Marvin said again. "I wished you'd held off on telling Vickie." The alarm clock sounded, and Shay didn't miss the relief that crossed her husband's face as he shut it off. "Let's not make a big deal out of this, Shay. We can make the announcement and start celebrating after the first trimester."

  "We didn't wait that long when I was pregnant with Marvin Jr."

  Shay watched as all the blood drained from her husband's face. "That's beside the point," he said. "There could be complications with this baby, Shay, and I think we should wait. We don't want to tempt fate."

  Shay shook her head, needing to clear her thoughts. Had she heard him correctly? "Tempt fate? What are you talking about, Marvin? Fate has nothing to do with this. We've been blessed with a pregnancy. This isn't about a test of fate. It's a blessing from God." She threw up her hands, exasperated with what she considered to be a ridiculous conversation. "What do you intend to do for the next eight weeks while you're waiting for the first-trimester green light from the doctor? Pretend I'm not pregnant?"

  "Don't turn this around on me, Shay. You know what I'm trying to say. We should wait and not overplay our hand. That's all I'm saying." Marvin looked at the clock again. "You think about it today, and you'll see I'm right in this. I'm not saying we shouldn't celebrate, or that we shouldn't tell people. I'm only saying we should wait. Okay?"

  Shay didn't have the words to respond, but apparently Marvin didn't need a response. She watched her husband go for cover in the bathroom.

  He didn't want to make a general announcement about their pregnancy. The thought rattled around in her brain. Okay, maybe she could understand it, but not wanting to celebrate with Vickie and Daniel, not wanting to tell her parents or their friends in Atlanta, she couldn't quite understand. Marvin's reluctance could only mean one thing—

  Hold on a minute, Shay, she said to herself. Don't even go there.

  She closed her eyes and bowed her head. "Lord," she prayed. "Please help me to understand what's going on with Marvin. Don't let me jump to conclusions and don't let me live in the past. Thank you for giving us this wonderful, growing life. Amen."

  * * *

  Later that morning, Shay dressed and went down to the church office to go over the list of business and community leaders they wanted to personally introduce to the Genesis House concept. Though they didn't solicit donations from businesses, a part of their outreach ministry included presenting the concept—and the gospel—to the leaders in the community.

  When she walked in, Daniel and Marvin stood talking near Evelyn's desk.

  "Hi, stranger," Daniel said when he saw her. He pulled her into an embrace. "Long time, no see."

  She stepped back and smiled at him, waiting for him to make some comment about her pregnancy. A sharp pain pierced her heart when she realized he wasn't going to comment because Marvin hadn't told him she was pregnant. She maintained her smile and forced levity she didn't feel into her voice. "It hasn't been that long. Besides, you know where we live and you have an open invitation. Why don't you join us for dinner one night?"

  Daniel looked over at Marvin, but Shay didn't allow her gaze to stray to her husband's face. She wasn't sure she could keep the contempt she felt for him from showing in her expression. Though it had hurt when Marvin had said he wanted to keep the pregnancy news between the two of them, living with the secret hurt much worse.

  "I never trust an open invitation," Daniel said. "Especially when the man of the house never mentions it."

  "Look, I don't control the house," Marvin said, spreading his arms in an innocent gesture that Shay thought not befitting the guilty person that he was—guilty of no
t telling Daniel, his closest friend, about their baby. Guilty also of not wanting the world to know their wonderful news. How could he be so heartless? "I learned early on," Marvin was saying, "I don't invite anybody anywhere without the little woman's permission."

  "Yeah, yeah," Daniel said, grinning. "I can see you're scared of her."

  Shay rolled her eyes and looked over at a grinning Evelyn, Baby Ronald sleeping in the crib next to her desk. "Morning, Evelyn," she said, her practiced smile in place. "Please ignore these two. I, for one, haven't heard a word of their sexist conversation." She cast a derisive glance at her husband and Daniel before she walked over and greeted Evelyn with a hug. "I came here to work with adults, so I guess that means you and me."

  Evelyn laughed. "You're good, girl. I don't think I could have said all of that with a straight face."

  "Well," Shay told her, "a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do."

  "I'm going to have to try that killer look you gave them on Franklin the next time he gets out of line. I don't think Daniel and Marvin have gotten over it yet."

  Shay took a peek at Baby Ronald and then she turned and looked at the two men. Both wore smirks. "Well, what's wrong with you two?"

  Daniel opened his mouth to respond, but Marvin stopped him. "We'd better leave this one alone. Believe me, we won't win."

  Shay smiled briefly at her husband—a major chore—then she turned and winked at Evelyn. All four adults laughed. Shay thought to herself that it was almost a normal day. Almost as if Marvin and she hadn't argued this morning. Almost as if she didn't know that her husband hadn't told his closest friend about their baby. Almost as if she didn't know her husband didn't love their unborn child. Almost.

  "Look," Daniel said to the three of them, "give me about fifteen minutes and we can start the meeting." He glanced over at Evelyn. "You have the list, right?"

  Evelyn waved a sheaf of papers in the air. "Right here waiting for you. Since Vickie's job with Extension Services puts her in contact with many of the people on the list, I faxed her a copy, and she said she'd try to get away from work for the morning and join you."

  "Smart idea, Evelyn," Daniel said. "I wish I had thought of it." He turned to Shay and Marvin. "Since my office is bigger, why don't we meet there? Fifteen minutes, okay?"

  After Daniel left, Shay followed Marvin into his office. He went to the desk, and she placed her files on the table in the corner of the room. She'd given up dibs on the desk since she worked from home most of the time these days, which had turned out to be a smart idea now with the baby coming.

  "Morning, everybody." Shay looked up at the sound from the outer office. She recognized the voice and words as belonging to Vickie. She turned to see Marvin's reaction to her friend's arrival. His lips were tight, his face tense, and his cheeks were puffed out as if he was holding his breath. Probably afraid of what Vickie is going to say. Good for him.

  "Thanks so much for calling me, Evelyn," Vickie said. "Shay and Marvin in?"

  "Yes," Evelyn told her. "The meeting starts in about fifteen minutes."

  "Morning, Mama Shay and Papa Marvin," Vickie said as she walked into the office.

  Shay cut a quick glance at her husband, watching for his reaction to the greeting. He kept and maintained a straight face even as Vickie marched over to him and planted a solid kiss on his cheek. "I'm so happy for you both," she said, pulling back from him. "I want to plan a small celebration for you two before everybody finds out and wants to celebrate the happy news with you. Did Shay tell you?"

  Marvin's eyes darted quickly to Shay before settling back on Vickie. "She mentioned it," he said, "but we haven't come up with a date yet. We're thinking we want to wait to celebrate."

  "Wait for what?" Vickie asked, her brow crinkled. She looked askance at Shay.

  Shay glanced at her husband and, though she took a small bit of pleasure in seeing him squirm, she decided to take pity on him. "Let's talk about this later," she said to Vickie. "It's time for us to head to Daniel's office."

  Marvin quickly gathered his files and left the office. The great escape.

  Vickie stared after him. "What was that all about?"

  Shay rubbed her hand along her neck, working out the tension that was steadily building. "It's a long story. I'll explain it to you later. Now let's get to the meeting."

  * * *

  Marvin watched his wife all during the meeting, feeling Vickie's questioning eyes on him the entire time. He knew his reluctance to celebrate left her wondering why. He hoped Evelyn hadn't heard Vickie's "Mama and Papa" greeting. If she had, there would be no way for him and Shay to keep their pregnancy quiet for the first trimester. Not that Evelyn was a gossip—quite the contrary—but women did have a tendency to spread pregnancy news like wildfire. Marvin didn't want to have to explain why he wanted the news kept secret.

  "How many lists do we have now?" Daniel asked, capturing Marvin's attention.

  "Let's see." Vickie shuffled the papers on the table in front of her. "There's the list of people for you and Marvin to contact, a second list of those for Shay and Marvin to contact, a third list for me and Shay, and then there's the list of people we're going to invite to the get-together at Shay and Marvin's."

  "Then I guess we're all set," Daniel said. He turned to Marvin. "You've been pretty quiet. No comments, complaints, better ideas?"

  Marvin shook his head. "I'm out of my league," he said. "I could have stayed in my office, for all the help I've been. I'm in perfect agreement with everything." He winked at Vickie. "All I have to do is put myself—and my wife, of course—in Vickie's capable hands."

  Daniel laughed. "That's about how it all shook out. If there's nothing else, we're done. How about some lunch?"

  "Why don't you boys go on?" Vickie waved her hand in dismissal. "I think we need a ladies' lunch today."

  Marvin shot his wife a knowing glance. He didn't have to guess what she and Vickie would discuss over lunch.

  "Don't mind your husband," Vickie said, oblivious to the undercurrents between him and Shay. "He can do without you for one little meal." Vickie turned to Marvin. "Isn't that right?"

  "I don't know if I should trust you two at lunch together," Marvin said. Though his tone was light and teasing, his comments reflected his true feelings. "No telling what you could get into."

  "You're going to wish you hadn't said that, Marvin," Shay said, apparently understanding his meaning. "Just you wait and see."

  Marvin leaned over to kiss his wife good-bye, but she turned her head slightly away from him, and the kiss, intended for her lips, landed lightly on her cheek. "I'm teasing you, babe," he said with a tight, false grin. "Come on, Daniel, let's get some grub before I get in more trouble."

  * * *

  Shay tapped her pen on the table and watched the two men leave the room. When the door closed behind them, she threw her pen across the table. "Men!"

  "I'm with you, girl," Vickie said with a false shiver. "All those male hormones cloud the brain functions. Now where should we go for lunch? I want to get the lowdown on why Marvin wants to wait to celebrate your pregnancy."

  Shay picked up her pencil and pad. "If that's what you want to talk about, why don't we pick up a couple of sandwiches and bring them back here? It's such a nice day. We can eat outside."

  "Works for me," Vickie said. "Let's see if Evelyn wants to go, or if she wants us to bring her something back."

  Shay didn't know how she could talk about the pregnancy with Evelyn present, but she couldn't easily tell Vickie not to invite her, either. So she was relieved when Evelyn turned them down on both counts. "If you two are going to be here this afternoon, I'd rather leave early so I can make a quick trip to the mall before I pick up the kids."

  "I'll be here, "Shay told her.

  "Me, too," Vickie tossed in. "After the long hours I put in during my office's last audit, which we wrapped up two days ago, thank you very much, my boss told me I could take the whole day off, not just the morning. So if you have
anything you want me to do, let me know."

  Evelyn took a few minutes and explained to Vickie what needed to be done. The afternoon's work all set, Vickie drove Shay and herself to a downtown sandwich shop. While Vickie stood in line for two sandwiches and a couple of salads, Shay made a quick trip to the library a few blocks over to pick up the study books for Bo. When they arrived back at the church, they relieved Evelyn, took the cordless phone, and seated themselves at one of the ten or so picnic tables behind the church.

  "This is nice," Vickie said, popping the tab on her Diet Coke. "I'm glad you suggested it."

  Shay took a bite of her catfish sandwich. "This is delicious. You should have gotten one."

  Vickie turned up her nose. "All that grease is going to kill you. And you're a mother-to-be. Tsk, tsk. We're going to have to watch your diet."

  Shay looked up from her next bite. "We?"

  "Of course, we. Me. And Marvin." Shay knew the Marvin part was an afterthought.

  "I'm sure he'll be glad you included him. Now if you'd include me, you might have a workable idea."

  Vickie cut her a dark glance. "If you're going to be eating like that, you're going to be the problem. No, I think Marvin and I will have to take care of this, and leave you out of it. Remind me to bring your lunch next time. No more going out for you." Vickie sipped her soda. "Do you exercise?" she asked.

  Shay shook her head, her mouth too full for her to speak.

  "We'll start easy, a brisk walk in the early evenings."

  "You're getting a bit carried away, aren't you?" Shay said, taking another bite of the sandwich. She closed her eyes and licked her lips to savor the taste and to irritate Vickie. "You really should try this." Fried catfish sandwiches weren't Shay's normal fare, but she'd had a taste for one today, and given the unpredictability of her stomach, she tried to accommodate her cravings, within reason, when she could.

  Vickie threw a napkin at her, and Shay opened her eyes when she felt it against her face. "Hey, what's going on?"

  "That's for being a smart-mouth. Now tell me why Marvin wants to wait to celebrate."