April stopped straightening the sheets on her bed and yawned again. “Awww, come on now. If you quilt all day while we’re at work, I bet you can get more done than you think.”

“You’re right. I should treat this like you treat your jobs,” Nessa said. “Thanks for the encouragement.”

“You are so welcome, but I’m not just whistling Dixie. I believe what I said. You are good at what you do, girl. I’m going to bed. Y’all can stay up and talk all night if you want to, but I’m tired and sleepy.”

“Just one thing before we all turn in,” Flynn said. “I’m glad that we did this quilt project together. This has been an emotional night to end a lot of days of work that has brought us all together. I’m going to bed before I get all weepy again. Jackson has agreed to let me work full-time, so I’ll be getting up and around earlier than usual.”

“Good night,” April and Nessa chorused.

“Night to you both,” Flynn said with a wave as he walked away.

“Are you going to be all right going over to Jackson’s tomorrow when we open the hope chest?” April whispered.

“I’m a grown woman. I’ve made man mistakes before. This isn’t the first and it won’t be the last. I’m sure it will be awkward, but I’ll live through it. Besides, tomorrow evening we’ll find out what’s in that hope chest. I won’t let Jackson take the fun out of that.” Nessa folded the finished quilt neatly and carried it to her room.

The truth of the matter was that she absolutely dreaded going over to Jackson’s place. She shoved the quilt onto the trundle part of the bed and stripped out of her pajama pants and oversize T-shirt. She opened the bottom dresser drawer, took out Jackson’s button-down shirt, and put it on. Tomorrow she would wash the garment and take it back to him, but tonight she wanted to feel his arms around her again—even if it was just a shirt.

The next morning Nessa had taken a pan of chocolate chip cookies from the oven when someone knocked on the door. Expecting it to be Stella and Vivien, she raced across the room and opened the door to find Jackson barely two feet from her. She forgot to breathe, and her chest tightened. Her pulse raced, and her hands got all sweaty. Then she remembered that she was still wearing his shirt. She really had intended to put it in the wash that morning. A blush rushed from her neck to her cheeks, coming close to setting them on fire.

“May I come in?” Jackson asked.

She stepped to the side and motioned him inside. “Of course. Is Flynn all right? What are you doing here in the middle of the morning?”