The Friends We Keep. Susan Mallery

Hayley,” Nicole murmured. “I worry about her.”

      “Me, too.” Gabby knew her friend desperately wanted to have a baby, but she’d been through so much.

      “Everybody has their own path.” Pam stretched her legs out in front of her.

      “You got that right. The baby thing is complicated.” Shannon hugged Lulu. “Maybe I should get a dog.”

      “You work too many hours,” Pam pointed out.

      Gabby watched Shannon and wondered if her sister-in-law ever felt regrets. Shannon had an amazing career. She was CFO for a successful software company. But she was forty-one and hadn’t married until the previous year. She and Adam, Gabby’s older brother, didn’t have any kids of their own. Adam had two from a previous marriage. He and Shannon had just finished up the paperwork and approval process to be foster parents. Talk about changing their lives. They were going to make a difference, but Gabby wasn’t sure that was enough for a woman who really wanted kids. While she envied her sister-in-law her career, she wouldn’t have given up the twins for anything. She’d always wanted both.

      But that decision left her wondering if having it all meant doing a lot of it badly.