A Season of Angels Page 0,83

sections of department stores. Now she found herself drawn to them as if a magnet were luring her in their direction.

She was supposed to be Christmas shopping, instead she wandered about looking at beautifully crafted cribs, lovingly running her hand over the polished wood railings. The joy that blossomed in her heart was strong.

She was going to have a baby.

After all these years she was about to bear a child. Her waiting, her pain had come to pass.

Andrew's words of warning echoed harshly in the back of her mind. How she wished she could find some way to explain the deep certainty she experienced. She yearned to rub away his doubts and lend him the assurance she'd felt from that very first morning.

Soon she would be able to look him in the eye and tell him her body was nurturing his seed. For years she'd carried this dream with her, of watching her husband's expression when she told him he would soon be a father.

Nothing could have pleased her more than to purchase a complete layette right then and there, but she didn't want to risk another confrontation with Andrew. They had all the baby furniture they'd ever need in storage. Once Dr. Benoit had confirmed her pregnancy, there'd be plenty of time to set up a nursery.

Her appointment wasn't until the twenty-third, but she was fortunate to get one as quickly as that, so she wasn't complaining. Seeing the doctor that close to Christmas had its advantages. That way she wouldn't need to wait long to make the announcement to both sets of parents. If she saw Dr. Benoit any sooner, she'd never have been able to keep the happy news to herself.

Andrew's mother would be thrilled. Her own, too, of course, but her parents had plenty of grandchildren, while Shirley Lundberg impatiently waited for her first.

Leah had had names picked out for years. If they had a girl her name would be either Sarah, Hannah, or Elizabeth. A son would be named Isaac, Samuel, or John. Few understood the significance or what had prompted her decision.

The names were Biblical. Leah shared a good deal in common with the three women. Sarah, Hannah, and Elizabeth had been barren too, but God had heard their prayers and answered them with the birth of their firstborn child. As it happened, all three were boys, and those were the names she'd chosen for her own child, should she bear a son.

Deep in her heart, Leah felt this child was a miracle. He was a testament to faith. Over the years her hope had grown weak and faltered, but God had listened. He'd heard her cries. Even when it seemed all that was returned to her was the echo of her own sobs, God had been faithful.

Unable to leave the infant department without purchasing one small item, Leah opted for a beautiful sterling silver Christmas tree ornament for Andrew with Baby's First Christmas beautifully inscribed in the silver. Technically she was a year early, but she was eager for Andrew's reaction when he opened this gift. By then he'd know for certain she was pregnant.

As she suspected, her husband was waiting for her when she arrived home from her Christmas shopping spree. He trailed behind her from the garage all the way into the guest bedroom, where she stored the unwrapped gifts.

"How'd the shopping go?" he asked, following close on her heels.

Leah set her purchases on the bed and tossed him a saucy smile over her shoulder. "Very well, thank you."

"Did you buy me anything?" One thing she'd always loved about Andrew was his childlike attitude toward Christmas. He was like a little kid about presents. He played silly guessing games with her, checked out the packages under the tree as often as he dared, and shook his gifts until they were in danger of being broken.

"I might have found you something," she answered cryptically, "and then again I might not."

"But you did," he said, sounding confident. He leaned against the doorway and cupped his hands behind his head, as if he had it all figured out. His pose suggested that she needn't wrap the gifts since he knew everything she'd bought anyway.

"You were gone a long time," he commented.

"Hmmm," she said, bringing the Christmas wrap out from the closet.

"Where'd you go?"

"Andrew, honestly!"

"Did you know the golf store was having a sale?"

"That does it," Leah said, throwing her arms in the air. "Scoot. I'm going to wrap these and I can't do it