Daniel had been out chopping wood for so long that his fingers were starting to go numb. But he didn't mind it too much. That was something he learned from Pa. He would always say, "Complaining isn't gonna change anything. You're gonna have to work if you wanna see a difference." Daniel had been dealing with the cold for his entire life and there was nothing he could do that would change it. He would just have to make it through the winter. So he just kept chopping wood. An idea had been forming in his head for a while now. Ever since he learned that Milly was having a baby. It would take a lot of work, but he was more than willing to put in the effort.

"Hey Dan," Ephraim said as he walked over to his brother. "What are you doing?"

"Chopping wood," Dan said as he swung his axe at the log.

"You've been chopping wood for the entire day. We've got plenty for the fire," Ephraim said.

"It's not for the fire."

"Well what's if for, then?" Ephraim asked.

"I wanna make a crib for the baby," Dan said. "We haven't used that old one since Gideon was a baby and it's probably rotting as we speak."

"Do you need any help?"

"If you don't mind," Dan said. He knew how busy everyone was right now. Especially when the weather was this bad. The last thing Dan wanted to do was cause more problems by asking for help. But he wanted to do something nice for Milly. He thought that maybe this could be a way for him to apologize for what he and his brothers did. And that baby should have a nice, new crib. Not something that's been wasting away in the attic for years.

"I don't mind at all," Ephraim said. "I think it's a great idea."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It'll take less time if there's two of us. I'm too busy right now but I can help you tomorrow. We could make some toys for the baby, too. I bet those old ones are also falling apart."

"I didn't even think about the toys. That's a real good idea."

"I got to get back to my chores but I'll go tell everyone the plan," Ephraim said as he headed back towards the barn. "Maybe they'll have some ideas of what we could make."

So Daniel went back to chopping wood. It was boring and tedious but if he could just finish a few more logs, then he should have enough for a crib and for some toys. It was nearly nighttime when he was finally finished and he was getting ready to go back to the barn when he saw Martha walking towards him. Dan became a little concerned. The last time he saw her she poured cold water on his head. He had spent the rest of the day shivering until Milly had given him some extra clothes. So he was slightly shocked when she placed a cup of coffee into his freezing hands.

"You looked cold," she said quickly.

"I…thank you," Dan replied. He wasn't really sure what else to say. He took a long sip and sighed as the warmth spread through him. "It's delicious." He saw Martha give him a quick smile.

"Well you should head back soon or you're gonna get sick," she said.

"I was just finishing up," Dan said. "It was nice to see you."

Martha looked at him like she was trying to figure out what to say to him. "You, too," she finally said before heading back to the house.

Daniel walked back to the barn with his coffee and thinking about what he could do to make things right with Martha. But his thoughts changed when he walked in the barn and heard his brothers chatting excitedly.

"Dan," Gideon said. "Ephraim told us your idea and we want to help you,"

"Yeah and we thought that we could surprise Milly when everything is done." Caleb said.

Dan couldn't help but smile. It had been a long time since he and his brothers had been excited about something. With Adam leaving and being forced to live in the barn, they were mainly just trying to make it through the winter. But now they were working towards something together. Dan knew that waiting for spring would be hard, but now he had something worth waiting for.