A Very Special Delivery

year to take their vows. Time to know one another better, months of counseling and spiritual growth, months to confirm what they already knew: God had blessed them each with exactly the right helpmate.
    He heard titters, saw the smiles of indulgent amusement, and followed the guests’ turned heads to see his baby girl, now over a year old, barreling toward him. Mouth wide open, her blue eyes danced with the thrill of spotting her daddy.
    Ethan grinned. Since she’d learned to walk, Laney had one gear and it was stuck on run. An awkward, fall-down-at-any-moment run.
    Dressed like an angel in some kind of white fluffy material Molly had chosen, she wore tiny gossamer wings and a head wreath of flowers and streaming purple ribbons.
    She arrived in front of him with her arms stretched upward. He swooped her into his arms, planted a kiss on her nose, and hoped she continued to behave. But whether she did or not made no difference, really. Molly had insisted Laney be part of the ceremony. After all, when he’d proposed he asked her to marry both of them. And so she would.
    His chest filled with happiness. Until Molly came along, other than raising his child, he’d had no plans, no dreams for his future. He’d been stuck in a rut
as surely as he’d been stuck in the ice on the night
they met.
    Now, they had plans and dreams together. They would build a house, a big one with plenty of rooms. Someday they’d have more kids.
    With his blessing, Molly and her sister had opened their dream craft store. And Molly had stolen his heart even more by insisting on caring for Laney while she worked. As a result, the bond was so strong between woman and child that he’d suffered a twinge of jealousy the first time Laney cried for Molly instead of him.
    And because of Molly’s encouragement, he would be a full-time pilot again come spring. Truly he was a blessed man.
    The music changed just then, and with a lurch, he recognized the chords announcing the bride’s entrance. She took his breath, did his Molly. Simple and elegant, she looked like a snow queen floating toward him.
    Laney strained toward the beautiful apparition, babbling wildly. Ethan considered doing the same.
    * * *
    Molly had watched as her daughter-to-be raced toward Ethan and leaped into his arms. Her own excitement level on overdrive, she wanted to follow suit.
    Instead, she took her time, gliding down the aisle, giving tiny waves and big smiles to all the friends and family gathered in the chapel. She stopped at the third pew to hug Aunt Patsy and at the second to kiss her mom.
    Chloe, her matron of honor, waited beside the pastor, playing one-handed patty-cake with Laney.
    So many things had changed for the better. Her faith was stronger. She had her family back. Fear no longer ruled her life.
    All because of Ethan.
    She glided into place and turned toward him, unable to keep her eyes off the man who would finally become her husband today. Movie-star handsome in his rented tux, he winked at her, his smile wide and white and jubilant as he handed Laney into Chloe’s waiting arms.
    The soloist began to sing, “Make My Heart Your Home,” their promise to each other.
    Molly leaned her head toward Ethan and whispered, “We may spend our honeymoon iced in.”
    “Sounds good to me,” he murmured against her ear. “I know this perfect little farm outside of town. We could pop some popcorn. Play a little Scrabble. Snuggle in front of the fireplace.”
    Suppressing a giggle, she whispered back, “Sounds good to me, too.”
    And it did. It truly did. How fitting to return as husband and wife to the place where God had shaken their worlds and led them to each other. The place where both of them had begun to thaw.
    The music ended and Pastor Cliff began to speak. Molly heard nothing except the singing in her heart.
    Yes, the painful past seemed light years ago.
    Ethan turned in her direction and smiled.
    Lost in the blue eyes of her beloved, Molly placed her hand in his outstretched one and let the future begin.
    * * * * *

Books by Linda Goodnight
    Love Inspired
      In the Spirit of…Christmas
  A Very Special Delivery
* A Season for Grace
* A Touch of Grace
* The Heart of Grace
  Missionary Daddy
  A Time to Heal
  Home to Crossroads Ranch
  The Baby Bond
† Finding Her Way Home
† The Wedding Garden
  The Lawman’s Christmas Wish
† A Place to Belong
  The Nanny’s Homecoming
† The Christmas Child
† The Last Bridge Home
    *The