Two Weeks (The Baxter Family #5)(83)

What sort of life would that be? How would it honor everything Vienna stood for?

So three days after they brought Gracie Anne home, Theo had made a call. He’d heard about a Christian children’s ministry a few miles away, not far from Clear Creek High. The campus was made up of fifty acres and six houses. Each house needed parents willing to make a full-time job out of caring for teenage foster kids. The ministry was in dire need, actually.

Theo grinned at the memory. He took Alma’s hand and looked at her. “First of September.”

“Yes.” Alma’s smile started in her eyes and filled her face. “I can’t wait.”

The house they would run had an office so Theo could carry on his job, doing sales from home. And Alma would work full-time with the teens. The ones who didn’t have parents.

All because of Gracie Anne and these last two weeks.

“God is good, Alma.” The Spirit of the Lord was all around them. Theo could feel Him. “Vienna would be so happy.”

“She is so happy.” Alma looked back at the baby in the mirror on her visor. Then she turned to Theo again. “He knew exactly what we needed.”

“A little baby girl who helped us remember how to love again.” Theo blinked back happy tears. “Even if only for two weeks.”

? ? ?

ON THE WAY into the social services office, Lucy stopped and stared at the door. Just stared at it. “I . . . I can’t believe it.”

Aaron stood beside her. He glanced at the knob and then at her, clearly anxious. Their baby girl was waiting on the other side. “Honey . . . can we, you know, talk about this later?”

Lucy uttered the softest laugh. “I mean, I can’t believe it.” She looked into his eyes. In all their marriage she’d never felt more in love with him. “Thank you, Aaron. For trusting God. For never giving up.”

“You’re welcome.” He gave her a quick kiss and put his arm around her. “We don’t want to be late, Lucy. Come on.”

She laughed again. “You do realize our entire life is going to change when we walk into that room, right?”

“Yes.” He looked ready to explode with happiness. “Please. This isn’t the time.”

He was right. Lucy followed behind as they approached the door and stepped into the office.

A kind-looking couple in maybe their late forties sat in a pair of chairs. The man was holding Gracie Anne.

Lucy wondered if she might collapse here on the floor. Her heart would stop and she’d never get the chance to hold her daughter. God, please, give me the strength. Ten years had led to this moment.

But there was no script on how it would play out.

The man stood and shifted the baby to one arm. Then with his free hand, he shook Aaron’s. “Theo Brown.”

“Aaron Williams.”

Lucy introduced herself to the man’s wife and as they finished their hellos, Theo looked into Gracie Anne’s eyes. “God used this little girl to save us. In more ways than anyone will ever know.” He smiled at Aaron and then Lucy. “She’s a miracle baby, for sure.”

You have no idea, Lucy wanted to tell him. And for a moment she thought about the way this couple must feel. It wasn’t only Elise who had to give up her beautiful baby girl. But this couple, too. She looked from the man to his wife. “Thank you. For stepping in. For helping us this way.”

“The pleasure was ours.” Alma put her arm around her husband. “Honey.” She smiled. “I think they’d like their daughter now.”

Mr. Green stepped into the office. “You’re here!” He grinned at Aaron and then Lucy. “I have to tell you, I really wasn’t sure about this one.”

“I was.” Aaron looked at their daughter and then at the attorney. “God told me we were going to have a baby. He just waited till now so we’d have the right one.” Aaron turned to little Gracie Anne again. She was still in Theo Brown’s arms. Aaron touched her cheek then turned to Lucy. “You take her first, honey.”

Lucy stepped up and held out her arms. She wasn’t shaking or trembling. She didn’t feel cold or sick to her stomach. She felt perfect. Whole and content and like she was standing smack in the middle of the happiest moment in all her life.

“Bye, little one.” Theo handed her to Lucy and eased back. “Someday, my wife and I would love to get dinner with you. So we can tell you our story.”

The feel of their daughter in her arms was like nothing Lucy had ever known. Like she’d been given permission to breathe fully for the first time. Lucy couldn’t take her eyes off the infant. She’s Yours, God. And You gave her to us. How can I ever thank You?

Aaron was talking to Theo, telling him that yes, of course, they’d love to get together, love to hear the couple’s story, and he was saying how their Gracie Anne could never have enough aunts and uncles. But all Lucy could think about was the infant in her arms. And that no one could ever take her away from them.

She was still consumed by that single thought when Aaron came alongside her, one arm around her shoulders, the other under Gracie Anne. Their baby. Their daughter.

The Browns said goodbye, and Mr. Green had final papers for them to sign. But the moment didn’t last long, and in a rush of joy and gratitude and disbelief, they were snapping Gracie Anne’s car seat into their SUV and heading home.