“Kind of makes you wonder why you didn’t start quilting when you were younger, doesn’t it?” Jackson asked, but went on before she could answer. “My dad and mom are both lawyers. My older brother and his wife are both lawyers in the Devereaux firm, and my older sister is a lawyer. Her husband is a surgeon. I make almost as much as they do with my woodworking projects. I sure wish I’d come to Blossom right out of high school and gone to work with Uncle D. J.”

“What did they think when you decided to build furniture?” Nessa asked as she sipped her coffee. She could already hear her father preaching at her, and without closing her eyes, she could see the aggravated expression on her mother’s face.

“Being a lawyer was what was expected of me, so that’s what I did. Dad says I was good at my job, but I wasn’t happy,” Jackson said. “So I took a two-week vacation and came to Blossom to think. They were fine with that since all my cases were settled and I had the time to take. But they weren’t happy when I told them I was staying here and not coming back.”

“I don’t imagine my folks are going to be happy if I tell them I’m resigning my teaching job, either.” Nessa’s voice sounded tense to her own ears.

“It’s been five years. I talk to them on Sunday mornings, and they’re still trying to convince me that I need to come back to the firm.” He chuckled. “Don’t expect your folks to support you in what they’ll think is a crazy decision. Your father is the preacher, right?”

“Yes.” Nessa nodded. “The apple of Nanny Lucy’s eye. He’s the only one that grew up to be what she wanted. We were all surprised when she didn’t leave her place to him.”

“From what little she said about her family, I think she was disappointed in all of her kids in some part,” Jackson said. “She didn’t go into detail, but she did say that she regretted the way she’d raised all of them.”

“It’s strange how I thought I knew her so well, and I didn’t really know her at all,” Nessa said.

“Does anyone ever really know another human being? I thought I knew Uncle D. J., but I find out new things about him every day—even since he passed away. Little things, like once I found an old newspaper tucked away in the patterns that had an article in it about him making a hope chest for the daughter of the Texas governor.” Jackson finished off his coffee. “Want a refill?”