Page 89 of Terms and Traditions

Nana folded her hands, eyes going soft with remembrance. “That’s also true. She was a lovely woman. Very kind. My cousin was the one with a Japanese pen pal.”

Because of course she was.

By nine o’clock, the littles were camped out asleep in their sleeping bags in the basement. Except for Sadie, the Mitchells’ oldest.

“Mom, can I please go read now?” Sadie begged as we hung out in the living room.

Danielle shifted baby Sebastian on her shoulder and smiled. “Sure, sweetie. Are you sure you want to stay up?”

Sadie’s blonde head bobbed as she leaned on the arm of the couch. “But I want to read my new books. And Neverland is perfect. Daddy set up the fairy lights.”

“Of course he did.” Danielle chuckled. “Off with you then.”

“Thanks!” Sadie bounded across the room and, after loading up a plate of snacks, hurried down the hall.

“Neverland?” Paisley asked curiously from beside me on the couch.

“Yeah. This house has… quirks. There’s a weird little hidey-hole in her room that Emmett turned into a reading nook for her, and she’s obsessed with all things Peter Pan.”

“Aw, how sweet. And now I’m a little jealous.”

“Need me to take him, Dani?” Kelsi asked from where she was curled up on the brown leather recliner. Her ginger hair was knotted into a messy bun, and she cradled her cup of hot chocolate like a lifeline.

“Only if you want to, otherwise I’m good.”

“No complaints from me. We’ve got time before he needs another feeding.” Kelsi stifled a yawn, then grinned wickedly. So typically Kelsi. “You got baby fever?”

Instead of laughing at the teasing, delicate pink flushed Danielle’s cheeks, and she shot a glance in Emmett’s direction, biting her lip. He and the guys were clustered around the dining room table with a card game, which from the groans and cheers, someone was losing badly.

“Oh my gosh, are you pregnant?” Liz hissed around a mouthful of carrot sticks and dip.

Danielle tucked her chin against the baby’s downy head, smiling. “We weren’t going to announce it yet, but yeah. Due in June.”

I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep in a squeal as I bolted upright. Liz was under no such compulsion and whooped as she and Kelsi jumped to their feet. If Dani wanted to play it cool, she’d picked the wrong group of friends. Because we were the furthest thing from chill about this.

Liz plopped down next to Danielle, squeezing her into a hug, while Kelsi perched on the couch arm, hand on Danielle’s shoulder. Even crusty Juliet smiled, eyes shining. Babies were to be celebrated, and our friend group did that well.

Amid the well-wishes, dozens of questions, and hushed screaming—baby Sebastian was sleeping after all—I glanced at Paisley next to me. “Pais, you okay?”

It’d only been just over a week ago she’d talked about not being pregnant herself.

“Hmm?” She shook her head, dazed, as if returning from a different world.

“Where’d you go?” From the first moment I’d met Paisley, I’d become acquainted with the top of her head because her nose was always in a book. She lived and breathed literature—no doubt why she’d become a librarian. And part of that was the occasional wistful look that snatched her from the reality of us into some far-off land. Was that where she was now—trekking the depths of Middle Earth or some other such place? Or was she hiding some deeper hurt?

Paisley smiled softly, and I didn’t detect pain in the gesture. But a longing lingered in her emerald eyes behind those too-large frames. “I’m still here. Just… basking in the wonder of reality. Soaking in the moments, you know? Sometimes it feels too good to be true…” She swallowed hard.

I clasped her hand. “I know a little about the ache when it comes to watching others get what you’re wishing for.”

Sympathy touched her smile. “You waited a long time for him”—she tilted her head in Nash’s direction—“all the while celebrating with us.”

“Yeah.” I shifted so our heads leaned together. “Doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard. And it’s okay to be honest about that.”

“It’s trusting God’s timing, right?” she said softly. “His ways and plans are better than our wildest dreams. Even if the moments feel bleak.”

“Always.”

We stayed that way for a moment. Until she added, “We met your brother and his family. Mama D had them over for dinner the day after the game. The showdown between Cal and Myles getting Jackson’s attention was epic.”