Forbidden Falls (Virgin River #9)(48)

“It wouldn’t hurt to show her a lot of appreciation for even considering taking in an old girlfriend’s child.”

“Sure. Of course. And, Mel? This is awkward, but there being no drugstore in Virgin River…Would you happen to have condoms on hand?”

She frowned and tilted her head. “Condoms?”

His face took on a red stain. “You pulled Vanni’s IUD, right? She told me if I get her pregnant on top of all this, she can’t be responsible for her actions.”

“Oh!” Mel laughed. “Sure, I’ll fix you up. But for future reference, Connie keeps some under the counter at the Corner Store.” Mel went to the cabinet where she kept supplies like prenatal vitamins and brought out a box of a dozen. She handed them to Paul. “May the force be with you.”

“The odds are pretty good, I’m not going to be invited to use these for a while.”

Eight

Paul delivered his bids and Noah was impressed with the detail. Noah thought about it for a while and then conceded that Paul was right about having his crews do the bulk of the heavy work in the church. Noah’s job was to pick out the flooring and type of ceiling he wanted for the basement, plus paint for all the remaining walls. There was still plenty that needed his hand—painting the two offices, buying appliances for the church kitchen, arranging for the delivery and installation of pews, not to mention receiving and moving in his personal shipment, which included books and an old piano.

Before Paul left the bids with him, he said, “Noah, you’re actually a counselor, aren’t you? Like a real one?”

“A real one?” Noah asked.

“I mean, you’re not just a minister, but a—Ah, hell, what I mean is, we’re not religious people. You know? I pray all the time, but I’m looking for something practical. Like marriage counseling. You know what I mean?”

Noah smiled. “I can manage that, Paul. Need a little help?”

“I do,” he said, and then he explained, from the beginning, the situation with himself, Terri Bradford, his wife—and the will.

“Whoa,” Noah said. “Things a little upside down at your house?” he asked.

Paul shook his head dismally. “We should have some help. There’s some Ph.D. over in Grace Valley who does counseling, there’s always Mel, who isn’t a real counselor but she sure is smart and helpful. And maybe there’s you. But, Noah, meaning no disrespect—I don’t want to pray my way through this. I want to get Vanni and me what we need.”

“No offense taken,” Noah said. “I’m all-purpose. Let’s set up a time.”

In order to be prepared for when Paul had his work done, Noah had to go about the business of choosing additional items for the church. He admitted his obvious limitations and asked Ellie to help him with the selections. They spent days driving from Fortuna to Eureka and even to Redding, shopping and buying.

There was a lot of time for talk while driving and over lunch. He was relieved to learn that Arnie hadn’t given her any more trouble over the Saturday visits, but was disappointed that she had so little concrete information about Arnie. “He said he grew up in Southern California, went to high school and college there, that his parents are dead and that he came here from a big private school in Arizona. I saw his framed diplomas, but I can’t remember the names of the schools.”

“I’m suspicious of him, Ellie. Of his past. I looked him up on the computer, but I can’t find anything on him. I’ll have to think about where to look next.”

Ellie did have news that brought him great peace of mind. She had called Brie Valenzuela. “She’s going to look into this custody thing and see if anything can be done. I love that woman! When I told her what had happened, she was really pissed off! I told her I’d pay her somehow, but she said I could take my good old time about it—she believed I was good for it. And she promised to discount her time for me because I’m struggling right now. She said going against judges’ decisions is dicey. I guess it makes them pissy.”

Noah laughed. “Does it now?”

“She’s going to call Child Welfare Services and have them visit Arnie. She knows a couple of people there she’s worked with before. They’ll take a closer look at the way Arnie’s taking care of the kids. But on paper it might not look like he’s a bad parent. You know—taking away privileges when they misbehave, giving them chores, that kind of thing. The thing they won’t understand is that the kids don’t really misbehave. I know I sound real biased, but they’re awful good kids.”

Noah knew all about this sort of thing. His father looked good on paper. How can a report show the contempt in a parent’s features? The narrowness of the eyes when he calls you stupid? The sheer glee on his face when he can cancel something like summer camp because you didn’t curl the garden hose up right? And his father was one of the greatest men of God known in the Midwest. Kindness, humility and devotion should have been starched into his bones, but he was arrogant and cruel. How does that happen?

And how did he know Ellie was such a great mother? He didn’t know how he knew, but he was sure. It was something about the way she touched the children and talked to them. They craved safety and comfort in her arms and she enfolded them so bravely, so selflessly. Their need for her, their love, it was unmistakable in their voices, on their faces. Anyone who stayed awake all night to watch them sleep, to hold them because it would be so long before she could do so again…Oh, God help him, he didn’t care if she did lap dances to keep them as well as she could. At least it mattered to her that they be safe and well fed.