Everyday Blessings by Jillian Hart

over in his heart and in his head. He had to let this go. He headed for the built-in desk in the corner of the huge kitchen. The best course was not to think of it again—or the lovely Aubrey. Then the weight sitting in the chambers of his heart would fade.
    It was dark, so he flashed on the lamp on his desk in the corner. The fall of light illuminated a stack of unopened mail, bank statements, fat envelopes from his investment firm, colorful postcards and envelopes signifying junk mail, and his answering machine. There was no blinking light. Pretty typical. He didn’t get a lot of calls these days.
    Still, he’d hoped for good news from Aubrey.
    Aubrey. Just thinking of her made him remember standing in the hospital’s chapel and feelingshadows of the past that could not let him go—or that he could not let go of. He didn’t know which.
    He only wished things could go back to the way they were, where he was numb inside and content enough to be that way.
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    In the quiet of Danielle’s house, with both kids finally asleep, Aubrey found herself on her hands and knees scrubbing the soap ring off the side of the kids’ bathtub. Did she know how to spend a Friday night or what? For an exciting follow-up, she planned on scrubbing the toothpaste gunk off the sink.
    She heard the click of the front-door key in the lock and the whisper of the door opening.
    Her twin, she guessed as she squirted more soap-grime-killer stuff onto the fiberglass. Whatever Madison’s bubble bath was made of, it left a stubborn rainbow-colored coating at the water line.
    Lucky me, she thought and kept scrubbing. At least she was able to concentrate on the soap ring and not William Corey. At least, that’s what she was struggling to do when she heard quiet, slow-moving footsteps padding down the hall—definitely not her twin after all. Then who?
    She pulled herself off the side of the tub and grimaced. Her muscles were all kinked up from the complicated twisting positions she’d been inso she wasn’t exactly moving fast by the time she poked her head out the door.
    Danielle’s bedroom door was open, light spilling into the hallway.
    It was probably Dorrie, come to get a fresh change of clothes for Danielle. She wasn’t supposed to be staying over in the room with Jonas, but Dani had vowed a class-five hurricane wasn’t going to move her from her husband’s side and the nurses didn’t have the heart to try.
    Aubrey peeled off the rubber gloves only to find her fingertips were all wrinkly. She hesitated outside the door. “I have clothes in the dryer— Oh, you’re not Dorrie.”
    â€œNo.” Danielle stood in the middle of her room like a ghost, she was so weary. “Mom made me come home. She told me to get some sleep.”
    Okay, call her confused. Why had Danielle left her husband’s side? “Dorrie’s staying with Jonas?”
    Dani nodded vaguely and pushed open her closet door. “I’m going to hop into the shower. H-how are the kids? I’ve b-been a terrible mother.” She pressed her hands to her face, on the verge of tears.
    The toll this was taking on Dani wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair. She laid her hand on Dani’s bony shoulder. She’d lost so much weight—too much. “Why don’t I run a bath for you? You can sit and relax? I’ll bring up some munchies andsome of that strawberry soda you love. I hid a can at the back of the refrigerator for an emergency like this one.”
    â€œYou should go home. I should be taking care of my own kids. I just—oh, I can’t do everything and I’m too exhausted to even try.”
    â€œThen how about this? Grab your robe, and I’ll start the bathwater. Deal?”
    â€œYou are a blessing to me, you know that?”
    â€œImpossible. You’re the blessing to me.” She headed toward the master bath. “Tell me you didn’t drive