of you to go through what I did. But it was nice to have you two and Benjamin spend all those hours with me every day I was stuck in bed. I’m very fortunate to have people who care so much about me.”
“We do care,” Lilly said. “Things wouldn’t be the same without you and Anna.”
Kitty felt her child kick and brought her attention back to her expanding belly. Soon, she would be holding her own child. It was turning out to be far more exciting than she’d imagined. She was going to be able to hold and sing to her child, and she’d get to watch her child grow up with Jackson and Anna. If she had fully grasped how joyful motherhood was, she might not have desired to remain a spinster while her friends had been looking to get married.
“It’ll be fun to see all our children grow up, won’t it?” Kitty asked her friends.
“It will,” Lilly replied. “I’m so happy you ended up getting married so we could do this together.”
“Yes, it is nice that we’ll be aunts to our children,” Emilia added. “I, for one, am looking forward to teaching the children how to ride a horse.”
“And I can teach them how to be fashionable when they’re older,” Lilly said.
Kitty wasn’t sure what contribution she could make. Then she thought of the many books Aaron had. “I can read them stories!”
“They’ll love that,” Emilia said. “Michael keeps saying that Teddy asks when you’ll be by to read another story to him. Gretchen and Hattie enjoy it, too. You have a gift for reading.”
Feeling better to know she had something she could contribute, Kitty grinned. “I love reading, especially since Aaron has so many interesting books to choose from. The hardest part is deciding which story to read next.”
“Well, you’ll have plenty of them to read since we spend so much time together,” Lilly replied.
The baby in her womb moved again, and Kitty could hardly contain her enthusiasm for the future ahead of her. She looked at the little girl in her arms in contentment. Anna’s eyes met her, and her smile widened.
“I’m going to be your favorite aunt,” Kitty told the baby in a low voice.
“What was that?” Lilly asked, narrowing her eyes at her.
Unaware Lilly had heard her, Kitty said, “I was telling her we’re going to be her favorite aunts.”
Lilly gave her a skeptical look, but Jackson called out to get her attention and held his arms out for her to pick him up.
Kitty turned her gaze back to Anna and gave her a wink.
“It’ll be our secret,” she whispered in the girl’s ear.
The girl made a cooing sound, which Kitty decided was the girl’s agreement that she would make Kitty her favorite aunt. Kitty quietly giggled then continued talking to her friends.
Epilogue
Five years later
Christmas Day
“Papa, are there really enchanted beans?” four-year-old Selena asked.
Aaron paused his reading of “The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean” so he could look over at his daughter who was sitting next to him. He smiled and tucked the warm blanket over her feet. Though they were sitting in front of the fire, he worried her toes might get cold if they weren’t wrapped up.
He put his arm back around her shoulders and said, “No, there aren’t enchanted beans in real life. This is just a story.” Noting the disappointed look on her face, he added, “That’s why reading is so much fun. You’re not bound by anything. You can escape the drab and ordinary world and embark on any adventure you want. You can live many adventures during your lifetime through books.”
“It would be fun to have an enchanted bean,” she said, her eyebrows furrowing in a way that reminded him so much of Kitty.
“It might be fun for a time, but remember, up that beanstalk is a giant. This is a tale of warning. Sometimes we don’t know what we’re getting ourselves into with something that’s unfamiliar. It’s best to proceed with caution. That’s the value of stories. They pass on something we can learn. In the future, when you see a large beanstalk, you won’t go up to find out where it goes.”
“But you said there are no enchanted beans.”
He paused as he thought over her comment. “Yes, you are right. They don’t exist. The lesson is still important, though. If you’re not sure about something, you should ask your mother or me if it’s safe.”
He turned his attention back to the book. “A