“God saved you then,” she murmured to the night sky, “and He’ll watch over you and your baby now too.”
Inhaling deeply of the scent of the desert at night, she started off. She climbed the sloping trail until she got to the spot where the spring lay caged in on one side by trees, the mountains poking out above. The mineral-rich water steamed as the air cooled around the oblong patch of milky water that hovered between ninety-five and one hundred and seven degrees, depending on the season. It was a perennial favorite of the guests. The springs were a jewel unique to the Hotsprings Hotel, a brilliant gem in a dull, sandy setting. A jet roared over, a common occurrence since the military used the valley for their flight exercises. Her good friend Willow, another of Beckett’s cousins, was currently dating a pilot training there.
She made her way along the gravel path to the arm of the gate, using her key to unfasten the padlock threaded through a metal loop. As she tugged on the arm to pull it across the access, something rustled in the shrubs.
A wild burro, probably. One of the many that frequented the area. Usually they were not a problem until visitors mistook them for the tamer variety and tried to get too close. The bossy, ornery critters were anything but docile.
Admiral cocked an ear. She paused. Had he heard something? Nerves tingled along her spine.
After a moment, he continued nosing around in hopes of finding small bits of dropped snacks.
Feeling foolish, she began to pull the gate closed. It fought her as it always did, the metal squealing in defiance.
Admiral barked at the sound, the hair standing up on his neck.
“It’s okay, sweetie. I’ll get some oil on it as soon as I can.”
There was nothing to alarm her until a stirring of air caused her to look up, just as a rock came hurtling toward her temple.
CHAPTER FOUR
A baby.
Beckett stood in the middle of the musty canvas tent. Though the surroundings were familiar, the wood frames housing two twin mattresses, a small set of drawers, the plain lamp and footlocker containing extra blankets and a Bible, he felt like he had landed on another planet.
Even locked up in jail like a rabid animal, he had not felt anywhere near this level of bewilderment.
Laney was pregnant…in spite of the doctor’s dire proclamation after her failed pregnancy when she was a teen. Something about her uterus. They’d intended someday to adopt, but never in their wildest dreams did they expect to have a biological child. He experienced alternating waves of elation and anguish.
A little life was silently growing inside Laney, cocooned and secret. He wanted to scoop his wife up and hold her, to somehow be close to the incredible phenomenon taking place.
His wife, their child… Reality rushed back in a wash of bitterness.
Why now, would God grant their deepest desire? When their marriage was over? Their future in tatters? He remembered the woman from town who’d seen him being led to the squad car after his arrest.
“You deserve to rot in jail,” she’d spit.
Did he deserve this too? To lose everything?
There is no condemnation for those who follow Jesus, Miss Kitty used to say when he’d begun to visit regularly as an excuse to see Laney outside their hotel duties. Miss Kitty had seen her own share of trouble, including abandonment by her abusive husband, but she clung to the Lord with the unflagging strength of a cactus holding tight to a desert cliff. Why couldn’t he do that? Perhaps because deep down he didn’t believe he was worthy of that kind of great love. No condemnation? That wasn’t the life he knew.
His mind returned to the baby. When would it be born? Would it be a son or daughter? The thoughts both tortured and tantalized him.
He was in such a fog he didn’t at first hear the high-pitched yip followed by a wheeze.
Admiral plowed into the tent. The dog’s tongue hung out in a fleshy pink ribbon and he was wheezing, eyes bulging more than usual. Beckett dropped to his knees. Admiral collapsed and let out a pitiful whine. He’d obviously been running, but Admiral was never out of Laney’s sight and she was nowhere to be seen.
A fist of fear punched Beckett in the gut.
He scooped up the exhausted dog and ran out of the tent. Lights burned in the main house. Herm would be in the kitchen cleaning up before heading to his own cramped room on the property. He would have heard Laney if she called for help, or found the agitated dog and come running.
He stumbled to a halt, his eyes drifting to the trail that stretched away toward the springs. He jerked a look at his watch, a gift from Laney on their wedding day. Seven forty. She would have gone to lock the gate to secure the hot spring. Holding Admiral like a football, he sprinted. His heart thundered in time to his panicked thoughts. He’d left her alone. Kenny had found her.
The gravel slipped under his steel-toed boots, but he held firmly to Admiral and did not slacken his pace. Panic like he had never known filled him to bursting.
“Laney,” he shouted when he was within a hundred yards. There was no answer. The gate was unlocked, the metal arm pulled only partially across the opening. “Laney,” he yelled again.
He shoved through the gate.
Lord, he prayed, please. His shipwrecked life was not redeemable and he did not ask the Lord for any favors, but Laney… Laney did not deserve an ounce more pain…and the baby… That innocent life should not pay for the mistakes of his or her father. The setting sun glinted off the water, setting the surface aglow. “Where are you?” he hollered again.
“Here.”
He thought at first he’d imagined it. Stopping quickly, he almost lost his balance. The
