Ruth studied the calendar. Figuring they would return around October 20, she added about six weeks.

"How does November 30 sound? It's a Sat.u.r.day."

Rigg and Lorri studied the calendar with her. They smiled at each other before Lorri drew a heart in the square.

331.

33i Coleman, Minnesota "How are you doing?" Paul Stewart asked his daughter when they had a few moments alone. "How is life without Jo?"

"Most of the time I do well, but some days I can't take it in. She was gone for so many years that I can convince myself she's still in Australia."

"Max looks like her."

"Yes. Max is even prettier than Josie was, but the resemblance is certainly there."

"It's no surprise that your girls are beautiful," he told her, eyes full of love.

Ruth smiled at him. "I'm so sorry it took so long to get back here, Dad."

Paul dismissed her words with a shake of his head. "You're here now, and that's all that matters."

Ruth loved him for understanding, but her heart was also resolved. Her father was not getting any younger. Even if she had to come alone on the train, she would not wait this long between visits again.

Harmony Hills, California "How was your trip? When did you get back?" Johnny asked Max the next time he saw her at church. It had felt as though she'd been gone forever, but he didn't add that.

"We got back yesterday, and it was wonderful. The colors of the trees were amazing, and my Grandpa Stewart was so much fun. It was great to see him."

"And did you have to quit work, or did they give you the time off?"

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"They gave me the time. They were very fair about it."

Max remembered back to her decision to accompany her family to Minnesota. She knew they would probably never go as a family again, and she didn't want to miss it, even if it meant quitting her job. Brennan's had not forced her into that. The time off was not paid time, but she still had her job when she returned.

"So it's back to the old grindstone in the morning?"

"Yes. How are your cla.s.ses going?"

"Pretty well. It's still school, and you know that's not my favorite place."

"Yes, but when you're finished you'll be an engineer, doing what you love."

Johnny smiled at her enthusiasm but then remembered that she wasn't doing what she wanted to do.

"What about you? Any word from the hospitals?"

"I haven't checked back with anyone lately. I think I've given up."

"That's not like you"

"How do you know that?"

"You were in the top five of the cla.s.s, Max."

"Maybe I'm just naturally brilliant."

"Well, there's never been any doubt of that."

He'd done it again. Just when she least expected it, his tone had grown warm and serious, with no teasing light in his eyes. And the worst part was, she never knew how to respond, so once again Max looked at Johnny in helpless silence until he rescued her.

"I'm glad you're back," he said simply, his tone light again, his head tipped to one side in a way she found adorable.

"Thank you. It's nice to be back. Oh! I almost forgot," Max reached for her purse, dug around a bit, and handed him a postcard. It was all filled out but with no address.

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333.

1.

"Thank you," Johnny said sincerely, effectively masking the way this made him feel.

"I didn't have your address with me."

Johnny studied the red, orange, and yellow leaves in a copse of maple trees and knew she'd seen these. He thought about how much fun it would be to see them together. Johnny felt a yearning so strong inside of him he couldn't speak for a moment.

"Oh, there's the music. I'd better get to my seat," Max said.

"Okay," Johnny agreed, feeling rescued.

He went to sit with his family, smiling at his mother when she sent him a small wink. She knew his feelings for Max Archer. From that point he did his best to listen to the sermon and not think about the postcard he had tucked into the back of his Bible.

"Admiral," Pastor Higgins said, catching Dean before he could leave. "Have you got a few minutes?"

"Certainly."

The men moved off to a corner of the foyer, giving them enough s.p.a.ce to be private.

"I want to talk to you about John King," the pastor began. "It's probably no secret to you that he cares for Max."

"No, no secret there. He's been at the house enough for me to have figured that out."

"I a.s.sume if you had objections at this point, you would have said so by now."

"I do not object to his getting to know Max, but you almost make it sound like I've missed something."

"Not at all, but he wants you to know that he's not playing games. He just doesn't know how to tell you that."

334.

Dean nodded, trying to think this through. He and Ruth both liked Johnny and could see why Max did too.

"Does he still meet with you?"

"Every week, as do his folks and sister."

"All together or separately?"

"I see John on his own."

"How would you say the family is doing?"

"Very well. Working hard."

"And how would you say Johnny is doing?"

The pastor's mouth quirked. "If my own Charlotte were 18 instead of 13, I'd be steering her in John's direction."

Dean nodded, very pleased to hear this.

"Tell him to call me, or if he'd rather, he can write and tell me his thoughts."

"I'll do that. I think he'll be very encouraged that you're giving him a chance."

"I take it he hasn't had many of those."

"That family has had its share of problems, mostly brought on by themselves, but one of the things he talks about the most is that Max has always shown him respect. Even when she spent the whole school year turning down his advances, she did so with kindness. It was her witness before him that showed him he had to get back to the church family and find his place before G.o.d."

"Is it all right if I teU Max that?"

"I'm sure it is. John may have already done so."

The conversation over, Dean thanked Pastor Higgins and went to find his family, already planning to speak to Max as soon as they arrived home.

335.

335.

"He said that?" Ruth asked of Dean when Max seemed stunned into silence. "He said Max was an example to him?"

"That's right." Dean looked to his granddaughter, who had tears in her eyes. "What's wrong, Max?"

His tone-somewhere between compa.s.sion and commanding -was too much for her. Every thought and feeling she'd had for weeks seemed to burst out of her.

"I'm just so confused! I mean, I think I care for him, but you're just going to tell me I'm too young. I swore off boys and put him off all year, but now he comes each week to church and I see him with his family. He comes to see me at work, and he's so sweet. He looks at me in that special way."

Ruth and Dean watched as she dissolved into heart-wrenching cries, her head buried in her arms. Lorri heard her from the other room and came to the kitchen. She stood in silence, her heart tearing to see her sister in pain.

"It's all right, Max," Ruth comforted, having drawn close. "Don't cry anymore. It's all right. We're not going to dismiss your feelings because of your age."

She tried to stop crying, but it wasn't working. Dean still tried to speak to her.

"How long have you felt this way, honey? Is it something I said?"

"I guess so. I mean, we are young, and Johnny has never said that he loves me, but I do care for him, and I think that's where love starts."

Ruth stroked her hair and her arm, very shook by her daughter's response. Max was their little rock-the strong, resilient one. She always had the positive att.i.tude and seemed to bounce back 336.

faster than her sisters. Ruth had no idea she had struggled with any of these issues.

"First of all," Dean began, pa.s.sing his handkerchief to her, "I need to tell you that your mother is right. I don't think any less of your feelings because of your age."

Max's head had come up, but she was still moping.

"If you recall, I married your grandmother when she was 18, and I was two months past my nineteenth birthday."

"I'd forgotten about that."

Dean's mouth quirked. "I want to see you giving this time, but not because of your age. A marriage is first and foremost a fellowship between two faithful people. You and Johnny must prove you can be faithful to G.o.d, so you can have a fellowship that's pleasing to Him. Your age is not the issue, even though I reminded you that you're young. More time is the issue."

"He hasn't asked me to marry him, Grandpa," Max felt a need to remind him.

"No, but if you keep on as you have been, you know it will come."

Max had a whopper of a headache by then, and the conversation didn't last much longer, but her grandfather's words lingered in her mind: faithfulness, a fellowship, and an inevitable proposal from Johnny King.

Rigg could not stay away even though the hour was early. It felt like a year since he'd last seen Lorri, and much as he wanted to knock on the door, things looked quiet. For this reason he slipped in through the side gate and got comfortable in the yard, 337.

337.

enjoying it even when m.u.f.fin found his lap, an immediate rumble starting in the cat's chest.

Dean was the first to spot him. That man came to the yard, two mugs of coffee in hand.

"How was your trip?" Rigg asked of the retired admiral.

"Wonderful. We should have gone many years ago."

"How is Mr. Stewart?"

"Doing well. He and Ruth have always gotten on famously, and they entertained us with family stories for days. I had forgotten what a character he is. Max is just like him."