against him. Before, she’d been able to put him out of her mind. Afterward, he had haunted her thoughts. When he called a week after Lori and Chase’s visit, she’d taken his call.
He’d asked about her health and that of the babies. Then he’d told her about attending the childbirth class in Gunnison. He’d actually done it. She couldn’t believe it. A little flicker of warmth sparked to life in her heart and remained burning long after the phone call ended.
Nic was watching a video when her doorbell rang during the last week of August. She hauled herself to her feet and waddled to the door. She peered into the peephole and saw Ali Timberlake standing on her front step. She swung open the door. “What a wonderful surprise.”
Ali smiled sheepishly. “Sorry to show up unannounced like this, but I’m in a bind and I’m hoping you can help me.”
“I’ll help you any way I can, though I am a bit limited.” She smiled ruefully and gestured to the huge expanse that was her belly.
“What I need is company. Caitlin is away at summer camp and Mac is working ridiculous hours with his new job. I need a distraction. Will you please come give me your opinion of the new paint color I’m considering for the family room?”
“Sure,” Nic replied, glad to be able to return the favor of friendship. Ali had been a lifesaver to her this summer. “Come on in while I see if I can find some shoes I can still fit my fat feet into.”
“You look gorgeous.”
Nic laughed. “You’re a good friend. A liar, but a good friend.”
Ali lived in a lovely two-story house in an established, old-money neighborhood. Nic didn’t mind tagging along on this trip, although she couldn’t see herself being of any real help to Ali when it came to decorating. The woman was the epitome of style, class, and good taste.
Ali parked her car in the garage and said, “We’ll go around to the backyard and enter through the back door. Follow me.”
She led Nic through a whimsical black iron gate and around to the backyard. The first thing she noticed was the pool. The second was the people, and finally she saw the presents just as the crowd of friendly faces shouted, “Surprise!”
A baby shower. Her dear, wonderful friends were throwing her a baby shower. She glanced around the circle. Sage, Sarah, and Celeste, of course. Lori, LaNelle, Wendy Davis, Lisa Myers, all the members of the Patchwork Angels Quilting Bee. Choked up, all she could manage was, “Oh, you guys.”
“You didn’t think we’d skip giving you a shower just because we had to drive a little, did you?” Sarah asked, grabbing Nic’s hand in hers and tugging her toward the chair sitting beneath the shade of a pool umbrella.
“Honestly, I never thought about it.” She’d been too busy worrying about preventing labor to think about normal stuff.
For the next hour, Nic opened gifts and oohed and aahed over infant gowns, receiving blankets, booties, and bibs—two of everything, of course. Since she had chosen not to learn her babies’ genders ahead of time, the gifts were mostly in either/or shades of yellow and green. Sarah gave her the coolest twin stroller ever made, and Sage presented her with car seats. Celeste gave her two gorgeous christening gowns in addition to layettes made of fabric in a pattern of gold angel wings. Nic was excited and thrilled and overwhelmed with the outpouring of affection from her friends. When she’d opened everything but the last two large, identical boxes, she saw Sage and Sarah share a look before they scooted them over to her. “What is it?” she asked.
“They weren’t sure if they should bring these,” Celeste said. “I told them they were exactly what you needed to see.”
Nic unwrapped two hand-carved rocker cradles that were so beautiful they brought tears to her eyes. This was Colt Rafferty’s work. “I thought you told me Colt didn’t make it to Eternity again this summer after all.”
“He didn’t.” Sage lifted her chin in disdain. “That’s four summers in a row and he still has the audacity to enter the art contest as a local.”
“Let it go, Sage,” Sarah said. Turning to Nic, she explained, “Someone tracked Colt down and got him to make these special.”
“Someone?” Nic asked.
Sarah’s teeth tugged at her lower lip. “Read the card.”
Nic opened the white envelope that was tied to the end of one cradle and slipped out a folded note