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wild about Roxy. She was sexy, funny, beauti- ful, talented. Maybe he loved her. But married to her? No, he didn’t want to marry her.
    As it turned out, Roxy wasn’t pregnant, but the week that fol- lowed her frantic phone call was the worst of Wyatt’s life.
    What would’ve happened if she’ d been pregnant?
    He stood and stepped to the window, looking down at the midday traffic passing along Idaho Street.
    Would they have married or would they have made another, less palatable choice? If they’d married and had a baby, Wyatt would be the father of an eleven-year-old today. But would he still be a lawyer? Would he have made it through college? Would he be a Christian? Would their marriage have lasted?
    Questions without answers.
    Did Elena know about her sister’s near miss? If so, she hadn’t told him. They talked about many things, but they avoided the topic of his relationship with Roxy. Of course, the memories were always there, in the back of his mind, and he knew Elena remem- bered too.
    Whether he wanted her to or not.

    E LENA
    December 1981

    Elena stopped in the living room doorway and stared at her mom, seated in the rocking chair. The hour was late and the house silent.
    Flickering light from the fire made her mom’s curly auburn hair glow like red-hot embers. Elena always wished she had hair like that, but hers was brown, straight, and ordinary. Her little sister was the one who took after their mom. Everybody said so.
    Her mom flipped a page of the book she read as it rested on the large swell of her stomach. Then she glanced toward the Christmas tree. That’s when she saw her eldest daughter.
    “Elena? What are you doing up?”
    “I couldn’t sleep.” She padded across the room on bare feet. “Full day, huh? Christmas gifts in the morning, birthday party
    in the afternoon.”
    Elena sat on the floor and placed her head on her mom’s lap, staring toward the icicle-covered pine tree in the corner of the room.
    Her mom rocked the chair forward, then stroked Elena’s hair with the palm of her hand. “Ten years old. I can’t believe it. It seems like yesterday I sat in this same rocking chair, waiting for you to be born. And now here you are, ten years old already. That’s almost a young lady.”
    Elena felt something bump the back of her head and straight- ened. “Was that the baby?”
    “Uh-huh.” She took one of Elena’s hands and placed it on her abdomen. “Wait a minute.”
    Elena felt it again. “Wow. He’s strong.”
    “Like you and Roxy when you were babies.” Her mom smiled. “But what makes you so sure it’s a boy? You could get another sister.”
    “I’ve got a sister. Why have another Roxy?” She wrinkled her nose. “I want a little brother.”
    Her mom chuckled. “Brothers can be pests, you know. Although I’m pretty fond of mine. Your uncles always made me laugh, even when I wanted to knock their blocks off. But you’re lucky.” She brushed stray strands of hair back from Elena’s forehead. “There can be such a special bond between sisters. You can be best friends and do all the girl things together. Something I couldn’t do with my brothers. You’ll know what I mean when you get older.”
    “Hey there.” Her dad stepped into the living room. “I thought you’d gone to bed, pumpkin.”
    “She couldn’t sleep,” her mom answered for her.
    Her dad crossed the room and sat in a nearby chair, then reached out and took hold of her mom’s hand. There was some- thing about the way they looked at each other that made Elena feel happy on the inside. Several of her friends had moms and dads who fought all the time and didn’t live together anymore. But Elena knew that wouldn’t ever happen to her family. She liked knowing it. It was comforting, like when her cat curled up beside her in bed and started to purr.
    Her mom looked at her again. “Come on. We’d better get you to bed.” She waited until Elena stood, then rose from the rocker, rolling upward,