“Poor little thing was half-starved when someone dropped it on the doorstep a couple of weeks ago.” Maudie joined them. “It’s a good thing that cats and dogs can forgive the ones that treat them shamefully. Would be good if we could be more like them.”

April took what she said to heart and thought about it as she drove home that evening. Forgiveness was tough, but she needed to be more like the kitten and just be happy with the good home she had. That took her thoughts to Callie and how much love she’d showered on the kitten. Someday April really did want a child of her own. Thinking of a little blonde-haired girl put a big smile on her face.

“What’s got you so happy?” Nessa asked as she motioned for April to take a seat at the table.

“I thought about kidnapping a little girl today and giving her all the kittens at the shelter,” April told her cousins as she took her place at the table.

Flynn choked on a laugh. “So you’re a kidnapper now? How many cats was that?” He scooped mashed potatoes onto his plate.

“Maybe twenty-five,” April said.

“You do realize that none of us sitting around this table have any good role models for parenting, don’t you?” Nessa asked her. “We barely know how to take care of Waylon. A little girl and twenty-five cats would be a stretch.”

“Yes,” April groaned. “But that didn’t keep me from wanting to kidnap her and give her all the kittens she wanted. She was so cute and so serious about picking out her cat. And guess what?” She didn’t give them time to guess. “Next week I go to work at eleven, and as soon as we finish the quilt, Maudie wants me to start full-time. I’ll be working from nine to five thirty, five days a week. Reckon we could do our quilting a little earlier than usual each day?”

“No problem for me. I’m an early riser anyway. Are we all going to continue to live here when and if you two firm up your jobs?” Nessa asked.

“Don’t see why not,” April answered. “It’s working out so far.”

“Congratulations on getting more hours,” Flynn said. “We’re a little more than halfway done with the quilt, so we’ll probably have it done in two weeks.”

“That’s what I figured.” April nodded. “And Stella came to help out today. She volunteers with the shelter an afternoon a week. Her sister, Vivien, usually joins her, but she was too worn out after their vacation to come today.”

“Who?” Flynn asked.