"Maybe something more sedate like a Buick ..."

He caught his fingers in her hair. "You think I'm bringing you home in a Buick?"

She laughed. "Maybe not."

Epilogue.

One more time, Jill. You can do it." Morgan's hand gripped hers with firm intensity. "Deep breaths, darling."

Easy for him to say. It wasn't his stomach becoming a vise and crushing the air out of him. Or his skin pearled with sweat, mottled and red. He looked devastatingly wonderful as always-the bum.

"Get ready, now. This is it." He brushed her cheek with a kiss that projected all his hope, his strength, and his love.

The contraction started and grew. She stared into his eyes and squeezed down on the pain with everything in her. Then the pressure released.

"Hold it. Wait," the nurse cautioned with a hand on her abdomen. She puffed frantically as people moved into position.

Morgan's hand pressed between her shoulder blades, solid and reassuring. His other palm stroking her head. "You're doing great." Waves of comfort.

"Push now, slowly," the doctor directed.

Jill did. The sensation so unforgettable. Soft cheers.

The doctor said, "Congratulations. You have a daughter."

Jill stared at Morgan's face as he watched them aspirate their daughter's tiny nostrils, and then he cut the cord himself, tears washing his eyes a deeper shade of blue. He turned to her, his throat working soundlessly, then bent and kissed her softly. "A little girl, Jill."

The Hispanic nurse bundled the baby and tucked her into Jill's arms, then turned to Morgan. "We have a saying: Anyone can make a son; it takes a lover to make a daughter."

Jill's heart swelled. And a loving God to restore hope and blessing. Jill stared into her baby's face, enthralled with every feature and the fine black hair like a thin lace cap. She ran a finger over the infant's cheek and closed her eyes. Are you watching, Kelsey? This is your sister. Her tears were bittersweet.

Morgan pressed his lips to her forehead, his thoughts obviously matching hers when he said, "She knows."

Jill looked into his face and nodded, then found the face of her baby, and joy exploded inside.

DIAMOND OF THE ROCKIES.

The Rose Legacy.

Sweet Boundless.

The Tender Vine.

Twilight

A Rush of Wings.

The Still of Night.

Halos.

Freefall.

The Edge of Recall.

Secrets.

Unforgotten.

Echoes.