"Rusty!" Carter jumped out of the aid car as the dog raced across the neighbor's yard toward him. Getting down on one knee in the snow, Carter wrapped his arms around the dog's neck and hugged him. "You saved us. You saved us," he whispered again and again.

His father joined Carter and knelt down next to him and the dog.

"Well, boy," David said and his voice was shaking. "We still can't afford a dog, but you've earned your way into our home for the rest of your life."

"Do you mean it, Dad?"

"Every word."

"Rusty," Carter choked out. Rusty was his dog, just the way he'd always hoped, just the way he wanted. Tears fell from his eyes and Rusty repeatedly licked his face.

"All I can say," the man inside the aid car told them, "is that you're mighty lucky you had that dog."

"It wasn't luck," Carter insisted. "Rusty's the dog God sent me."

The medic nodded. "You've got all the proof you need of that."

CHAPTER Twenty-One

Lorraine and her husband, Kenny, had arrived early on Christmas Eve. Now it was two o'clock, and Rosalie was busy in the kitchen with her daughters, getting everything ready for dinner that evening. Richard and Ken sat with Harry in the family room, watching a football game on television. Two of the grandchildren would come later that afternoon.

This was all the Christmas Harry needed. With his children and two of his four grandchildren close, he was at peace.

Rising from his chair was difficult, and embarrassed by his need for it, Harry groped for the walker.

"You need any help with that, Dad?" Richard asked.

"No, I'm fine. A little slow, but fine." A bit wobbly on his feet, he glanced over at the two men who'd married his daughters. He loved them as much as he did Lorraine and Donna. They were the sons he'd never had. It was through their children that Harry and Rosalie would live on.

"Where are you going, Dad?" Lorraine asked, stepping out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. Harry didn't know what they were cooking in there, but it sure smelled good.

"I thought I'd rest for a while before dinner."

She put her arm around his waist and walked him down the hallway to the master bedroom.

Inside the room, Harry sat on the edge of his bed and Lorraine placed the walker where he could reach it once he awoke.

"I'm grateful to have this moment alone with you," he said to his oldest daughter.

"What is it, Dad?" She sat on the bed beside him.

"After I'm gone, I'll need you to look after your mother. You and Donna."

"You know we will." Tears filled her eyes.

Harry took her hand and squeezed it. "I don't want there to be tears when I pass, understand?"

"Oh, Dad, of course there'll be tears. You have no idea how much you're loved. You're the very heart of our family."

Harry sighed, knowing their sadness couldn't be avoided. Death for him, though, would be freeing. "Donna will be here to help your mother with the move."

"Kenny and I plan to come, as well."

"Thank you." Harry wasn't sure he'd still be around by then. But everything had been set in motion, and that brought him a sense of peace. "I think I'd better rest for a while."

"Good idea." When he lay down on the quilt, she kissed him on the cheek, then rearranged his pillows.

He'd just closed his eyes when Rosalie came into the room. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?" she asked.

"I'm tired, that's all."

She picked up the afghan at the foot of the bed and covered him gently. "Rest now, and I'll wake you in time for dinner."

Harry nodded, and then, as his wife of sixty-six years was about to leave the room, he reached for her hand.

Rosalie turned back expectantly.

"I've always loved you, my Rose."

She smiled softly. "I know, Harry. And you're the love of my life."

"This life and the next."

Rosalie bent down to kiss his cheek, and Harry closed his eyes.

"Harry," Mercy whispered.

Harry Alderwood's eyes flickered open and he stared at her in astonishment. "Am I dead? In Heaven?"

Mercy nodded. "Look," she said, with a gesture that swept from his head to his feet. "You're not old anymore. You're young again."

"Rosalie?"

"You'll see her soon," Mercy promised him. "And when she gets here, she'll be the young woman you met all those years ago."

"I saw you before," Harry said, pointing at Mercy. "That night I forgot my walker."

Mercy smiled. "That was me."

"You helped me, and I'm most appreciative."

Shirley, Goodness and Mercy surrounded Harry. "Come with us," Mercy said. "Your parents and your brother are waiting for you."