A Very Special Delivery

whispered. “Very much.”
    “Ah, Molly. You make me so happy.” He kissed her again and, for a moment, her worries melted away in the warmth of his embrace.
    “Remember the scripture Pastor Cliff read tonight?” he asked, eyes shining in the darkness.
    Of course she remembered. She’d felt as though Cliff had picked that verse especially for her. “There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…Old things are passed away and all things are new.”
    Happiness bloomed inside Molly. Ethan was right. She couldn’t go back, but she could move forward. She’d taken the first step by renewing her church friendships, and, as a result some of her pain and guilt had disappeared. Best of all, she hadn’t had a panic attack in months, a sign that they were gone for good.
    Overjoyed and filled with love for this man who’d given her hope, she threw herself into his arms. When he laughed with joy, she laughed with him.
    Maybe, just maybe, they could make this work.

Chapter Twelve
    R ain threatened all night before the Easter sunrise service. About an hour before dawn, to the relief of several hundred people, the clouds cleared.
    As they had each year for longer than anyone could remember, every church in town had come together in a cooperative effort to present the pageant. Ethan and all the other actors and musicians had practiced for weeks. The play, which had begun last night with the story of the crucifixion, would conclude this morning with the resurrection. Cars, people, lawn chairs and blankets speckled the darkened hillside outside Winding Stair where the dramatic retelling would occur.
    Since the basketball game and Ethan’s beautiful declaration of love, they had attended two church services together. Today was the third. Returning to her family’s church was the scariest, most wonderful thing she’d done in ages, but if she and Ethan were to have any hope of a future together, getting her spiritual life on track had to come first.
    When she had fretted about her sister’s possible reaction to her return, Ethan, bless him, had talked to James on the telephone. Chloe had been told and the choice to attend church or not would be hers.
    Sadly, her sister had chosen to stay away. The idea hurt, as Chloe’s rejection always did, but Molly stiffened her resolve and attended anyway. She loved her sister and would try until her dying day to reconcile, but she refused to be a party to Chloe’s bitterness any longer.
    Molly scanned this morning’s crowd for a glimpse of her sister or mother and came up empty. The gathering was large enough to hide in, though, so perhaps Chloe had ventured out. Molly hoped so. The beauty of a sunrise service was good for the soul.
    “Your baby is darling,” a woman murmured as Molly opened her lawn chair and settled into it with Laney on her lap.
    “She’s not my—” She started to explain and then changed her mind. Why bother? Laney belonged to her heart and that was what counted. “Thank you,” she said instead.
    Aunt Patsy, who had ridden to the service with Molly and Ethan, set her lawn chair on the opposite side. Holding on to the plastic arms for support, she eased down. Molly knew her great-aunt’s knees bothered her something fierce, but she would never complain.
    She leaned toward Molly and whispered, “Laney looks precious in that outfit you bought.”
    Molly had spent hours on the Internet searching for the perfect Easter dress for Ethan’s baby. She’d finally found the pink-and-white confection complete with lacy bonnet, white tights and patent-leather shoes. The price had been shocking, but Ethan’s reaction had been worth the cost and effort. He’d thanked her with so many kisses, she’d blushed.
    A disembodied voice, sounding much like Pastor Cliff’s, opened the service, and a holy hush settled over the crowd. In the gray dawn, Molly watched with rapt attention as a hill outside of Winding Stair, Oklahoma, was transformed into ancient Jerusalem. Against the lighted backdrop of three wooden crosses and a cave-like tomb, ministers gave readings, and a chorus of voices swelled in song.
    At exactly the right moment, when the mother of Jesus approached the tomb weeping, sunlight broke over the horizon in beams so radiant that some folks later said that God Himself smiled on the day. The stone rolled away from the tomb and the choir began to sing “He Is Risen” with such power and passion that goose bumps prickled Molly’s