“Hello, Daddy,” she answered on what was probably the eighth or ninth ring, wishing that she’d left her phone turned off.

“Are you in Blossom?” he asked.

“Yes, sir.” She was glad that she didn’t have to talk to him face-to-face.

“That court decision isn’t right, and you know it. Mother should have left that property to me since I’m the oldest child. Matthew is too busy chasing women to ever settle down, and Rachel’s been dead since she was sixteen. I would have done something good and right with the place,” Isaac said.

“What makes you think the three of us can’t do something good with it, too, like maybe turn our lives around and get on the right track?” she asked.

“Flynn is just like his daddy. He’ll never settle down to anything. April has always been a problem child like her mother was, and if I thought for one minute that property would make you come back to the arms of this church, I’d be happy.” Isaac had taken on his big, booming preacher tone.

“You know the terms of the will, Daddy,” Nessa said. “We can’t ever sell this place. It says so in the will. Is Mama up and around this morning?” She tried to change the subject.

“She’s at the house, having the church ladies over for prayer group,” Isaac answered. “I’m at the church, practicing my sermon for tonight’s midweek service. You aren’t planning on staying in Blossom and living in that house, are you?”

Nessa shut her eyes and remembered the too many times that she had been made to sit in the front pew of the church and listen to her daddy practice his sermon. If she fell asleep, she’d had to go pray in her room.

“Well?” Isaac said in a stern voice.

“Right now I’m taking it one day at a time. And this day we’re going to start quilting as soon as we all have breakfast.” She avoided his question.

“That was the craziest notion my mother ever came up with,” Isaac growled. “I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was losing her mind when she made that will. Too bad the court didn’t agree with me. Making you quilt in order to get a hope chest is downright stupid. What on earth could be in that old piece of junk that would be important enough for any one of you three to follow her orders?”

“Maybe nothing.” Nessa clenched her free hand into a fist and gritted her teeth. “Or maybe she just wanted us to sit still and get to know each other as adults.”