Chapter 8
Micah tried to remain calm, to not overreact.
But there was nothing about this situation that he liked.
Langston finished explaining the paperwork, the timeline, and the conditions. Emergency placement. Temporary custody. Court oversight within days. Nothing permanent. Nothing simple.
Then Langston looked at Naomi. “I’ll give you time to make your decision. But I need to know tonight. The social worker is on her way here now.”
When he stepped away, the hallway fell quiet again.
Micah watched Naomi’s jaw tighten. Watched her inhale, slow and deliberate, as if bracing herself against a current she’d already decided not to fight.
Then she nodded.
Just once.
“I’ll do it.” Her voice was steady, even if everything else about her looked taut. “I’ll take her. At least for now.”
“That’s . . . not easy,” he finally said.
Naomi’s mouth twitched, almost a smile, almost not. “Nothing about this is. But the Bible commands us to take care of the fatherless and the widows. That’s what I need to do. I’ve been brought to this place at this time for a reason.”
“I admire your faith.” Micah meant the words.
Not everyone would act in obedience like this.
“Where God guides, He provides.” She let out an airy laugh. “That sounds so cliché. But it’s true. I believe that.”
“As you should.” He paused. “There’s one more thing.”
“What’s that?”
He hesitated before saying, “We need to consider this could be a trap.”
She squinted. “A trap? What do you mean?”
“What if Richard is setting you up?”
“Sissy said Richard didn’t know . . .” The words died on her lips as she frowned. “But she could be lying. She’s lied before.”
“Think about it—he lets you bond with his baby, then he files for custody somehow. Suddenly you’re fighting him in court and spending money on lawyers. You’re distracted from everything else. Or worse, he waits until you love her like your own, then he tears her away. Maximum damage.”
Naomi was silent before nodding. “You’re right. That is something I need to consider. He did plant Sissy at the house, after all. There’s really no length he wouldn’t go to in order to get revenge on us.”
His gaze locked with hers. “You just need to keep your eyes wide open.”
“I will.” Naomi glanced back toward Sissy’s room, then down at her hands. “I don’t have anything ready. Supplies. Formula. A place for her to sleep.”
Before Micah could respond, a familiar woman headed down the hall toward them. Karen Watson.
The best social worker they could ask for in this situation.
Yes, where God guided He did provide.
“Karen,” Naomi murmured, relief in her voice. “I’m so glad it’s you.”
The two women hugged.
“Me too.” Karen pulled back and looked at Naomi. “What did you decide? Do you have questions?”
They chatted for a few minutes.
Then Naomi told Karen her decision.
Karen tilted her head and squeezed her arm, not appearing surprised. “God bless you. This baby needs to be somewhere stable. I know you can give her that.”
“I don’t really know what I’m doing,” Naomi admitted. “But I’ll do my best.”
“And she’ll have a lot of help,” Micah added.
“Yes, I know she will.” Karen cast a soft, reassuring smile. “We keep emergency kits for situations like this. I can bring some supplies by.”
Micah watched Naomi’s shoulders lower a fraction, the smallest release of tension.
“Thank you,” Naomi choked out. “Really.”
Micah stepped back as arrangements were made, calls placed, and signatures finalized. He kept one eye on the hallway and the other on Naomi, aware of how quickly things were shifting.
Though he admired her choice, his apprehension remained.
Richard Harding’s name carried weight even behind bars. He knew the man was patient, vindictive, and deeply controlling. Naomi taking in his child would feel like an affront.
When Richard found out, he wouldn’t make this easy.
But Micah was determined to be close when that happened.
One woman and child had already died on his watch.
He determined to never let that happen again.
Naomi stepped back into Sissy’s hospital room and closed the door softly behind her.
Sissy looked up at once, her eyes red and swollen and her arms wrapped tight around the baby as if someone might try to take her that very second.
Hope flickered across her face, fragile and desperate, as she turned to Naomi. “Well? What did you decide?”
Naomi stopped beside the bed. For a moment, the weight of everything—Richard, Sarah, the past—pressed on her chest.
Then she looked at the baby again. At the tiny rise and fall of her breathing.
“I’m going to take her,” Naomi said. “At least for now.”
Sissy’s breath hitched. Then she broke.
She sobbed, relief pouring out of her in shaky gasps as she bowed her head over the baby. “Thank you. Thank you. I knew you wouldn’t let them take her. I knew it.”
Naomi reached out without thinking, resting a hand lightly on Sissy’s arm. For a moment, the anger she’d carried—the memories of what Sissy had done, of who she’d aligned herself with—faded beneath the raw fear of a new mother facing separation.
Naomi had made the right choice. She knew that.
Even if it terrified her.
A knock sounded at the door.
Agent Langston stepped inside, his expression professional but not unkind. “Ms. Sutton, I want to make sure you understand exactly what’s happening.”
Sissy stiffened. “Are you taking me away now?”
“As soon as the doctor clears you for discharge, we’ll transport you. Most likely, tomorrow morning.”
Fresh tears spilled down Sissy’s cheeks. She bent over the baby again, kissing her tiny head and whispering words Naomi couldn’t hear.
Naomi swallowed past the ache in her throat and turned to the agent. “When do I . . . take her?”
“In the morning,” Langston said. “The baby can stay at the hospital overnight. That gives you time to get things arranged.”
Naomi nodded, though the words sent a fresh wave of unease through her.
The reality of what she’d agreed to pressed down on her all at once. A newborn. Paperwork. Bottles. Diapers. A life suddenly dependent on her choices.
She had no idea what she was getting herself into—and no illusion that this would be simple.
Her chest tightened.
A hand brushed her elbow.
Naomi startled, then realized it was Micah. She hadn’t even heard him come into the room.
The contact was brief, barely there, but it grounded her all the same. Everything about the man was solid, steady, and reassuring in a way she hadn’t expected.
“You don’t have to figure it all out tonight,” he reminded her.
She nodded, unable to trust her voice.
As the agent stepped back toward the door and Sissy continued murmuring to the baby, Naomi closed her eyes for a heartbeat.
Lord, I can’t do this on my own. If this is where You’ve led me, give me the strength to see it through. One step at a time.
When she opened her eyes again, the fear was still there.
But so was a quiet resolve.
For now, that would have to be enough.