Chapters (62)
- Cover
- Half Title Page
- Books by Katie Powner
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
They reached the end of the drive and turned around.
Bea stuck her hands in her pockets. “Did you ever want more kids, Grandma?”
Grandma didn’t slow down or look at Bea. “You have no idea what a handful your father was as a child, dear. He was all I could manage.”
Bea didn’t know how hard to push, but a sense of urgency compelled her to ask another question. “Didn’t he wish for a sibling?”
A cloud passed over Grandma’s face. “We wish for a lot of things in life, Beatrice. But wishing doesn’t change what we have. It only makes what we do have harder to love.”
Bea’s throat constricted as she realized her hands were touching her stomach. She’d spent a lot of time the past few weeks wishing for a different life. What if all those wishes for what could’ve been were keeping her from loving what was? What if Grandma and her firstborn son were better off not wondering what might’ve been?
As they neared the house, gravel crunched behind them. Bea spun around. From the driver’s seat of her Ford Explorer, Amber waved and brought the vehicle to a stop.
“Be right back, Grandma.” Bea jogged over to the window as Amber rolled it down. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Amber’s smile was tentative. “Thanks for letting me come over. I’m sorry I acted like such a jerk the other night.”
“I’ve been worried about you.”
Amber nodded. “I think you were right about Axel. I told him he can’t just be around for the fun times. He needs to prove he can be around for the hard times, too.”
“What did he say?”
“Not much. He took off again.”
Bea’s shoulders drooped. “I’m so sorry.”
Amber opened the door and climbed out. “I was tired of doing this parenting thing on my own. I wanted to believe . . .”
“I wanted that for you, too. I really did. I just—”
“I know. I wish you’d been wrong.” Amber lifted one shoulder and gave a small smile. “You’re lucky, you know.”
Bea thought about Jeremy. He wasn’t perfect. They were still learning what it meant to be married, and now they had to figure out what it meant to be parents on top of that. But she loved Jeremy. More than she’d ever thought possible. And as scary as it was to think of becoming a parent, at least she didn’t have to face it alone.
“I know.”
Amber opened the back passenger door to unhook Hunter from his car seat.
“Who’s that?” Grandma called.
Bea turned and smiled. “I have a surprise for you.”
FORTY
