Home.
Cat Zelinsky hated coming home.
It wasn’t the town. She loved Maple Springs, Michigan. It wasn’t her family either; they were great. It was the memories her hometown held. Bad memories of a child who had drowned while in her care when she was a teen. The images haunted her still, maybe now more than ever.
Northern Michigan was one of the most beautiful places even if it held reminders of the ugliest time in her life. It was also a great place to raise a child. She’d never expected to return home with a baby of her own in tow. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she smiled at her nine-week-old daughter bundled in her car seat. “Almost there, Opal.”
Midway through her maternity leave, Cat had given notice as a photojournalist for a travel magazine. She’d explored fascinating places all over the world in order to write enticing articles that encouraged the next vacation or bucket-list destination. Not anymore. Those endless, exciting travel days were over.
It had been a long road trip from New York. Cat used to drive it in a day, but with a two-month-old, she’d stopped overnight in Ohio and several times in between to feed or change or simply walk with Opal when she fussed.
“Thanksgiving is pretty special at the Zelinsky house. You’ll see.” Cat snickered when she realized how much she talked to her baby. She’d started the habit when she found out she was pregnant. After years of counseling, it amazed her how therapeutic simply sharing her thoughts with an infant could be.
Rounding Maple Bay, Cat caught the gorgeous November view that pierced her heart with the warm sense of coming home—followed by the icy reminder of why she’d stayed away except for short visits.
The trees and ground were bare. No snow had yet fallen even though it was plenty cold. The late-afternoon sun peeked out from gray clouds, casting a rosy glow over the landscape, making it look like a painting she might see in a museum. The play of sunlight was fleeting, and in minutes the starkly beautiful vision was gone.
So many things changed in mere moments. Far too many things. Regret didn’t help, and neither did self-loathing, but Cat steeped in both. If only she could do things over. If only...
God, help me face this.
Why should He? She didn’t deserve God’s help.
Cat might have been raised in a Christian home, but she’d been running from God for as long as she could remember. Once she’d realized she was pregnant, she’d asked for protection over her baby. Opal had been born a week late and healthy, but fear that God might still punish her for yet another sin remained a constant companion.
Entering town, Cat craned her neck to look through the naked trees lining Main Street. Her brother Matthew lived only a couple of blocks off Main with his wife, but Cat wasn’t sure exactly where. She spotted her oldest brother Zach’s blown-glass shop to the left and a couple of short blocks later, on the right, was the diner her brother Cam ran with his wife. Even Darren had recently married at the end of the summer, but Cat had been too close to her delivery date to attend. All four of her older brothers were now settled down in this resort town. While marriage certainly wasn’t in her own plans, Cat hoped she could settle down here too, and that meant finding a job.
By the time she pulled into her parents’ driveway, Opal had fallen asleep. Cat took a deep breath before getting out of the car. The last time she’d been home was for Memorial Day weekend. It was then that her family found out about her pregnancy. It had been a strained visit, filled with things she’d regretted. Things said.
Her sister Monica ran down the stone walkway, followed by their mom. Their father brought up the rear at a much more sedate pace, his brow furrowed.
Reluctantly, Cat got out. She fought the urge to jump back in the car and drive away, but there was no place to go. She’d really let her father down this time. Swallowing against the queasiness that stole away everything she’d practiced saying on the way here, Cat took a step forward.
“Wow, look at you! You’re a mom.” Monica sounded amazed.
“Yeah, look at me.” Cat had her doubts about that too. Could she even be a good mom?
She’d never wanted kids because she knew the risks. Cat had not only experienced loss, she’d caused it. Losing a child of her own would be unbearable. Avoiding motherhood altogether seemed safer, and yet she’d let this happen. She had one of her own. All the responsibility, all the danger...and all the humiliation of knowing she’d disappointed her family with her choices. It didn’t matter that she was a grown woman of thirty-one—coming home as an unwed mother stung hard.
Monica peeked into the back seat. “Oh, she’s beautiful!”
She faced her father. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Catherine.” He opened his arms.
“I’m so sorry.” She walked into them, needing her father’s embrace like never before.
She