Read Online Small-Town Brides by Janet Tronstad - Free Book Online

her?” Mandy stared at Clay like he’d admitted to kicking puppies. “I thought you were kidding earlier.”
    â€œOf course, he’s charging me,” Rene snapped. “I already said this was a business deal.”
    â€œYes, but I thought—” Mandy stopped right there.
    Rene decided the young woman had realized she should stop while she was ahead, and then Rene heard the gasp that followed.
    She looked over Mandy’s head and caught Clay’s eye.
    â€œI’m going as fast as I can,” he assured her quickly before turning back to the road. “We can’t be more than five minutes away.”
    Clay had his hat pulled low over his face and he was leaning forward like he could urge his truck through the snow faster. The headlights cut through the night and showed the tracks they had made on the way here.
    â€œWhen we get there, pull right up to the church door,” Rene said to him. “They’ll still be there praying, and we can find out where to take her.”
    Rene wondered where pregnant women went in Dry Creek. She didn’t know if they had a doctor around. Her aunt might know something about childbirth, but Rene had never asked her. It wasn’t the sort of thing that came up in their phone conversations.
    Everyone was quiet until they saw the first house that marked the entrance into Dry Creek.
    â€œWe’re here.” Rene felt a relief she hadn’t since the first time they pulled into the town. Now, a dozen or so houses looked like lots of civilization. It was certainly better than being stuck out in the middle of nowhere with a pregnant woman and a man who sounded as bewildered about the whole process of giving birth as she was.
    â€œThere are still lights in the church,” Clay added, his voice sounding as relieved as her own.
    The church door opened almost as soon as they pulled the truck to a stop next to the front steps. Rene walked behind Clay as he and her uncle helped Mandy into the church. The temperature was still cold outside, but the wind had died down some so the snow wasn’t blowing around. Aunt Glory stood at the open door, the light behind her streaming out into the darkness.
    Rene closed the door behind them. Mandy’s face was pinched from the strain of walking, even with the two men helping her. Rene unwound the scarf around Mandy’s head.
    â€œIs there someplace she can lie down?” Clay asked. He was still holding Mandy up on one side.
    It didn’t take them more than a couple of minutes to get Mandy stretched out on the sofa in the pastor’s study with her shoes on the floor and a cup of warm cocoa on a stand next to her.
    Clay could feel the young woman’s eyes on him as she lay on the sofa.
    â€œI haven’t forgotten,” he said quietly as he stood up from where he’d knelt to take her shoes off. “I’m going to get some dry gloves and some rope. Then I’ll go back.”
    â€œWe’ll want a thermos of coffee this time,” Rene said as she headed to the door. “Or maybe tea. I’ll fix something up.”
    Clay followed her out of the room. They were in the back hallway of the church and the light was dim.
    â€œNo,” Clay said as he reached out to touch Rene on the shoulder. “I’ve got this one.”
    She turned around to face him. “We’ve already been through that. You can’t go alone. It’s not safe.”
    She was one stubborn woman, but Clay decided now was not the time to point that out to her. “I’ve got it covered.”
    The minister walked out of the door behind them and then closed it. “Conrad Nelson is coming over. He should be here any minute. You need someone who knows the area.”
    â€œIf he can pinpoint the houses, that would help,” Clay admitted. He had wondered if there was a way to get a more complete map. Davy wouldn’t have had a chance to walk far, but he obviously