A Gift to Last by Debbie Macomber Read Free Book Online

made a fresh pot of coffee and offered it to anyone who wanted a cup, free of charge.
    Len had declined. Stressed as he was, the last thing he needed was caffeine. Plenty of others took advantage of Kemper’s generosity, though. They were a motley group, Len noted. The widow, dressed in her gray wool coat with her knitting and her sad but friendly smile. The divorced mother and her little girl. The grumpy sales rep. The young couple with the baby, the hippie and his wife, the elderly black couple plus an assortment of others.
    Kemper walked by with the coffeepot on a tray. “You sure I can’t interest you in a cup, young man?”
    “I’m sure.”
    “I found a deck of cards. How about that?”
    Len nodded eagerly. “That’d be great.” Cards would be a welcome way to pass the time. He sometimes played solitaire and enjoyed two or three different versions of the game. At the mention of cards, the sales rep, who sat close by, looked up from his laptop. Maybe Len could talk two or three of the others into a game of pinochle or poker.
    “You play pinochle?” he asked Matt.
    “And canasta, hearts, bridge—whatever you want.”
    “I wouldn’t mind playing,” Nick volunteered.
    “Come to think of it, I’ve got an old card table in the back room,” Kemper said when he returned with the cards. “And a couple of chairs, too, if you need ’em. I should have thought of this earlier. You folks must be bored out of your minds.”
    A fourth man joined them, and with a little rearranging they soon had the table set up. That was followed by the sound of cards being shuffled and the occasional scrape of a chair as they settled down to a friendly game of pinochle.
     
    Kelly Berry’s arms ached from holding the baby. The carrier seat was still on the train, but she hadn’t asked Nick to bring it in. He’d already gone outside once and seemed reluctant to venture into the storm again. Besides, he was busy playing cards.
    Kelly wondered, not for the first time, if they’d ever adjust to parenthood. The whole experience was so…different from what she’d expected. Desperately longing for a child of their own, they’d dreamed and hungered to the point that Kelly felt their marriage would be incomplete without a family. Now, after three months with a fussy, colicky infant, she was ready to admit her spirits were the lowest they’d been in years.
    She’d always believed a baby would bring her and Nick closer together. The baby would be a living symbol of their love and commitment to each other, the culmination of their marriage. Instead, Brittany seemed to have driven a wedge between them. Not long ago their world had revolved entirely around each other; these days, it revolved around Brittany. Caring for the baby demanded all their energy, all their time.
    Her arms tightened around her daughter, and a surge of love filled her heart. She and Nick felt overwhelmed because this was so new, Kelly told herself. In a few months everything would be easier—for both of them. While confident of Nick’s love, Kelly knew he found it difficult to deal with the changes that had come into their marriage since the adoption.
    “Would you like me to hold the baby for a while?” The older woman sat down next to her. “I’m Cathy Norris. You must be exhausted.”
    “Kelly Berry.” She hesitated. “You wouldn’t mind?”
    “Not at all,” Cathy said, taking the sleeping infant from her arms. She gazed down at Brittany and smiled. “She’s certainly beautiful, and her little red outfit is delightful.”
    “Thank you,” Kelly said, truly grateful. She’d enjoyed dressing Brittany for the holiday season. She could’ve spent a fortune if Nick had let her, but her ever-practical husband had been the voice of reason. Not that he wasn’t guilty of spoiling their daughter.
    “She certainly resembles your husband.”
    Kelly glowed with happiness. “I think so, too.”
    With an ease that Kelly envied, Cathy Norris held Brittany