Read Beyond the Storm: Quilts of Love Series for Free Online

Grandparents, I think. Last Christmas, Danny and I met his mom and dad and they’re really sweet. He’s got . . . uh . . . two brothers, both married with kids. We haven’t known him quite a year yet, but I think he’s become the younger brother that Danny always wanted but never had.”
    “Oh, that’s right, I forgot. Danny’s an only child, like me.” Abigail didn’t count the fact that she had an eighteen-year-old half-sister out there, somewhere. They didn’t run in the same circles.
    “Mm. And you know what’s weird about that? Both of Dan’s parents were only children. And now, most likely,” she patted her belly, “this guy will be an only child. I’m pretty sure that’s why Danny married me. I come from a big family.”
    “That and the fact that you’re a babe,” Abigail teased. It was true. Jen was a tall, willowy beauty. At over forty, she was still turning heads. “You’re the youngest, right?”
    “Of eight. Danny was Brett’s—my older brother’s—best friend when we were kids.” Jen’s gaze followed Abigail’s hands as she set up a veritable chemistry lab.
    “I think that’s what Danny has always wanted more than anything else, beside his relationship with Jesus and with me. Family. A family of his own.”
    Abigail nodded. Danny was renowned for his two passions. Jesus and Jen. He carried his bright red Bible everywhere and knew it frontward and back. And he could tell you the coolest stories and trivia. If he’d been so inclined, Danny was probably the only guy she knew that could carry a Bible into a bar for a meeting of the atheist society and have everyone fascinated and clamoring for more by the end of the evening. Abigail didn’t attend church as often as she should, but when Danny subbed for the regular pastor, she never missed.
    “Looks like it won’t be long before he gets that family, huh?” Abigail said, referring to Jen’s advanced pregnancy as she worked.
    “Doctor says I’m due in a little over two weeks, but it could be any time.”
    “You guys must be excited.”
    “Over the moon. You don’t wait so long for something like this without getting a little stupid. You should see the baby’s room, and I’m still not done. In fact, I’m going to go visit your aunt about making a quilt for the crib. I ordered a Noah’s Ark pattern that will take me the rest of my life to make.” She was beaming with excitement over a
quilt
—just like Selma would do. Abigail didn’t get it.
    Anyone who knew the Strohackers very well knew that they’d been trying to conceive for at least sixteen of their twenty-year marriage. They’d spent a fortune on fertility and
in vitro
treatments, which had all failed. And then, when they’d given up all hope and Jen was in perimenopause—surprise! That “stomach virus” was going to be a boy. “My sister, Sarah, is an ultrasound tech. She’s working me in after hours tonight for a private ultrasound at her clinic across from the Southshire hospital. Dan can’t wait to get a look at his son.”
    “That is so sweet.” Abigail smiled as she began to section out Jen’s hair and twist it up into clips. “He’s gonna be a great dad, huh?”
    Jen patted her belly. “He already is.”
     

     
    “Hey, beautiful, where are you?”
    Kaylee sighed and smiled. Just the sound of Chaz’s voice in her phone could turn her knees into jelly. “Hey, sweetie. I’m just popping home for a minute to change some sheets before I head in to work. This afternoon, I’m going to go pick up Mama and Aunt Lydia at the airport. I can’t believe how much there is to do before the wedding.” Kaylee moved a stack of brand new, monogrammed towels off the couch and to the overflowing coffee table so that she could sit down. The dining and living rooms of her apartment were literally stuffed with wedding gifts.
    “And it’s only seven days away. Seven more days until heaven.” There was a teasing note in his voice that left Kaylee giggling.