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and after a few more strides, she reached her cousin and her friend. “A tie? Tatum, not a tie! You coulda won.” She reached Cole and patted him on the back. “Even if you didn’t fall, she coulda won, right?”
    Cole smiled at Tatum. “Maybe.”
    “But it doesn’t matter.” Tatum climbed back on her bike. “Let’s do more warm-up laps.”
    Maddie ran alongside Tatum and Cole, and the topic turned to their respective plans for summer vacation in a few months. When they reached Maddie’s bike, Cole and Tatum stopped, and then—without any further talk of racing—they continued on their way.
    “I think you’re right about Cole.” Kari began walking again. Inside the stroller, RJ was stirring.
    “That he’s actually making progress being nice to girls?”
    “No.” Kari laughed. “About the crush he has on Tatum.”
    Ashley rolled her eyes, and the conversation shifted. This time they didn’t talk about trials past or those that might still lie ahead. After all, in just a few weeks, she and Kari would know whether they were having boys or girls. Then they could begin planning their nurseries and getting ready for a couple of August birthdays.
    Whatever God had intended her to gain from the Scripture verse, she was sure it wasn’t some sort of ominous sign. Truth was truth, for the past and for every tomorrow. God Almighty would indeed make good out of everything for those who loved Him. Whether that meant a bike spill in the middle of a race around a high school track or figuring out how to let a child as precious as Cole take the next step toward growing up.
    One way or another, there would be trials.
    But for now, Ashley wouldn’t spend another minute thinking about that. Not when the spring stretching out before her and Kari was nothing but sunshine and smiles; not when her favorite time of year was right around the corner—another warm, endless summer.
    And with Dayne a part of their family and the babies on the way, Ashley had a feeling it would be the very best summer of all.

Jenny Flanigan set her stadium seat firmly on the third row of the bleachers behind home plate and focused her attention on the Reds, who were warming up in the field. Specifically she watched Ricky, the youngest of her six kids. He was playing shortstop today, and there was no question he had on his game face. Only a bit of his blond bangs fell onto his forehead from beneath his baseball cap.
    “Over here, Cole!” Ricky shouted at Ashley and Landon’s son. He bit his lip and held up his glove. Cole winged the ball at him, and Ricky grabbed it, pretending to tag out a runner before he fired it to the catcher.
    “Come on, Reds,” Ricky yelled to his teammates. “Let’s do this!”
    Jenny smiled. Sports would always be a part of their lives, the way they had been since she married Jim. She’d gone from sitting in the stands cheering for her NFL-playing husband to cheering for her kids, but it was a role she wouldn’t have traded. Already Ricky had swapped his T-ball uniform for coach pitch and his coach pitch gear for the official Little League uniform he wore now.
    Cole waved his arms, and Jenny turned. Ashley and Landon were making their way up the hill toward the ball diamond. Landon pushed a stroller, and Ashley wore a camera around her neck. She waved back.
    Cole was playing first base, so he and Ricky would work closely together today. It was the last Friday in March, and the sun beat down on the field, warming it up enough that the fans needed only light jackets. At least until the sun started to set.
    “How long’s the game?” Bailey, her oldest and only daughter, was sitting beside her, texting someone on her cell phone. She wore a thin sweater and sunglasses, her long, light brown hair pulled back in a ponytail.
    “Hour and a half, maybe two.” Jenny smiled. “You brought a jacket, right?”
    “I did.” She pointed to her backpack a row beneath her. “Is Dad coming?”
    “After weight lifting.” In