Finally, Ed Farrell stood. His tie was askew, and he looked uncertainly around the room before gathering up an easel and approaching the podi-um. He set an oversized posterboard town representation up on the easel, then stepped back for everyone to see, an uncomfortable grin on his face.

Ed cleared his throat and began to speak. "Ladies and gentleman, I offer you the great compromise. I suggest that we say no to the grand development scheme of Roust Development and instead let one of your own plan a new and more vibrant Walton. Sure, Walton was a great place for our great-grandparents. But that was back then-before computers and highways and supermarkets." He took a handkerchief out of his back pocket and wiped his brow. "Yes, we know everybody in town, we go to church with our neighbors, and we marry the girl whose pigtails we used to pull back in fourth grade." A small chuckle rumbled through the gathered people. "But that's not what is going to keep Walton from becoming an economic disaster in the new millennium. We need revitalization. We need it to keep our young people here as much as we need it to bring in new people who can inject capital into Walton's economy." He stepped aside so people could get a better view of the easel. "This is what I'm suggesting-a new and improved version of Walton."

Cassie sat up in her seat, mesmerized. The map on the easel shouted with color and beauty and perfection-the ideal Walton. Nice cars traveled the wide boulevards of the town as people pushing carriages and walking dogs strolled down the pristine sidewalks. There was even a group of children flying a kite in a field-a field that currently housed a block of businesses that included the Dixie Diner.

There was something so wrong about it-so unreal and incompre-hensible. The rendering wasn't her Walton. It was some dreamer's idea of the perfect town. Whatever it was, it wasn't the Walton where people knew each other from birth and neighbors helped each other and chipped in to bring food and care to an elderly woman. It wasn't the town where children swam in the old creek behind Senator Thompkins's house or had church picnics in the park where a new Piggly Wiggly was now drawn on the map. Whatever that town was on the map, it bore no relation to the wonderful place she'd grown up in. From the look on Sam's face, she could see that he was thinking the same thing as she.

Slowly, Sam stood. He had no easel or pointer, nor did he wear a suit. Instead, he sauntered to the podium, wearing his jeans and boots and waving to neighbors and friends. He leaned toward the microphone.

Very succinctly, he said, "Pardon my French, people, but this is all bullshit." A murmur passed over the crowd, and Miss Lena giggled. "Just because Ed here says he's one of us does not mean he's got the town's best interests at heart. Sure, this town could use revitalization in areas, but not mass destruction of old homes and business. We need to focus our efforts on preservation. Because that is the only way we can hold on to the integrity of this town."

He paused for a long moment, his eyes scanning the room and meeting the gazes of individuals sitting out in the audience. "And if you decide to vote against preservation, I don't think it's going to matter who does the construction in the town-Ed Farrell or Jim Roust. Either way, they will ruin Walton. They will ruin it just the same as if they burned it and then sowed the ground with salt. People will move out, and strangers will move in. We'll start keeping our doors locked and won't know our neighbors anymore. There won't be any more Dixie Diner or Bitsy's Beauty or Skirts 'n Such. Everybody will be going to the mall for those services, and the empty shops will be boarded up and abandoned."

Cassie sat up even straighter, feeling the passion of his words. Sam continued. "And I ask you all this. Where are Jim Roust and his people? Don't you think somebody who wants to change this town so much would be here tonight? At least to listen to what the town's citizens have to say about proposed changes? Don't you think he'd care?"

Cassie watched in surprise as Miss Lena stood, her gnarled hands gripping the chair in front of her. Her high voice rang out over the quiet crowd. "But he is here. He's standing right there in front by that easel."

Ed's face seemed to drain of all its color as he gazed up at his mother. He took a step forward, forcing a smile. "Now, Miss Lena, I think you're getting confused. Why don't you have Cassie take you outside for some fresh air." A tick began in his jaw, belying his otherwise calm expression.

Miss Lena did indeed look confused as she tilted her head and stared down at the men near the podium. "But Ed, you told me yourself that you'd bought the Roust company and that you're the big boss now. Right, Ed?"

Ed sent an apologetic shrug to the audience. "I'm sorry for the outburst, ladies and gentlemen. Perhaps Miss Lena just isn't used to being out so late."

The old woman began to shake, her expression wiped clean of any confusion. Her voice, though trembling, came out clear and compelling. "No, Ed. I'm not used to being lied to, especially by my own son." She ignored the gasps and whispers coming from the audience around her and continued to stare straight ahead at Ed. "I'm sorry if your childhood was not what it should have been. I only did what I thought was best at the time. Punish me then, Ed, instead of these people-the same people who take care of me now and made sure you had clothes on your back and food on your plate when you were a child. Look at yourself! It doesn't look like your upbringing or this town held you back from becoming a big shot." She paused for a moment, taking a deep, calming breath. "I just wish that you were a little younger and I was a little stronger, because you deserve to have a switch taken to your backside."

Her voice seemed to falter for a moment as she glanced around at her rapt audience before turning back to Ed. "Since I was never able to give you motherly advice, perhaps you'd indulge me just this once." She wagged a gnarled finger at him. "Be nice to people, because all mean acts always come back later to bite you in the butt."

Miss Lena sat down with a thud as a stunned silence permeated the room. Her eyes seemed to cloud over as she regarded the people nearest her, as if trying to figure out where she was and why she was speaking. Cassie put her arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

Ed stuck out his arms, his hands turned palms up in supplication. "Come on, y'all. She's obviously confused." He stopped for a moment as a steady murmur began in the room, accompanied by accusatory glances. Ed's expression became belligerent. "Hey, even if I did own Roust, so what? I'm still the guy with all the great ideas for this town.

I mean, look at the Dixie Diner." He pulled out a large glossy picture from a portfolio by his feet and propped it on the easel. "It's ugly as sin. Yeah, they've got colorful awnings and window boxes, but it's still just an ugly, old building. That whole block is. There are some major national retailers who are just chomping at the bit to get ahold of that real estate. Imagine the business that it will bring in to Walton- and the jobs."

Sam narrowed his eyes at Ed. "Sure-low-paying, minimum-wage jobs. All the higher-level jobs will be filled by the companies on a corporate level. The people now owning and working for those businesses on the block will be unemployed." Sam took a deep breath in an obvious attempt to control a rising temper. "What it comes down to, Ed, is that you want to destroy this town little by little so we don't notice it right off. You're trying to cut us down to our knees because of something that happened more than thirty years ago. I'm sorry, Ed, but I just can't seem to be able to let you destroy Walton without a fight."

Sam strode toward Ed, stopping not a foot away. "Because I will fight you, Ed. I will fight you to my last penny and my last drop of blood. This town and its people are my life-and more precious to me than all the money in the world. I feel real sorry for those who sneer at it and who feel they've outgrown the need to belong. For all the education and wealth in the world, they're just too damned stupid to know what a gold mine they have sitting right here in this room."

A tight lump lodged itself in the middle of Cassie's throat, and she knew Sam's words had been aimed not just at Ed.

Ed looked around, his mouth open, a hostile look on his face as his gaze scanned the crowd. When his eyes met Miss Lena's, he stopped. They held each other for a long moment before she narrowed her lips and turned away, burying her face in Cassie's shoulder.

Sam spoke softly, but his words carried out over the mesmerized crowd. "And don't think that we'll forget that you've lied to us. Look out at the people of Walton, Ed, and see if you can look any of them in the eye without flinching. See if you're man enough now to tell us the truth."

Ed actually looked chagrined as his shoulders slumped and he looked back at his mother. She refused to meet his gaze. With a brief sigh of resignation, he collapsed into a chair, holding his handkerchief to his upper lip. The crowd began to murmur as he shook his head as if to clear it. Finally, he gave Cassie a quick nod and said with a weak voice, "It's all true." With a prompting look from Sam, he continued. "I'm behind all the proposed development in Walton by Roust Development."

People stood and began shouting and waving their arms; Miss Lena just shook and buried her face in Cassie's shoulder. A councilman banged a gavel, causing a silence to descend on the room once more.

Sam's voice was calm as he faced Ed, but Cassie could see his jawbone working furiously. "Why, Ed? I think we all need to hear why."

Ed kept his gaze focused on Cassie. "My reasons are personal."

Sam stepped forward, his face screwed up in a menacing cast. "I suggest you get real personal, Ed. We're listening."

Ed glanced up at the doctor for a moment, looking, for all Cassie could determine, as if he'd just emerged from a Come to Jesus revival. Quietly, he said, "I never planned to go forward with my planned town. I wanted to bulldoze Walton and build over it."

A stunned silence captured the audience, and Ed looked as if he wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole. But Sam was relentless in his inquisition. "Keep going, Ed. We're not leaving until you've told us the whole story."

Ed coughed and took a drink of water. A look of what Cassie could have sworn was relief crossed his face. With a deep breath, he began speaking, the easel standing between him and the people of Walton like the screen in a confessional. "For almost twenty years I have lived my life feeling as if I had been done a great wrong. And it has only been recently that I have found out the truth and that I have been the one wrong all these years." His gaze fastened back on Cassie, and she thought back to the letters between his parents and from his father to him. "And the one person I have deceived the most is Cassie Madison. I lied to her about my intentions for her house- abusing her trust-and only because she had the great misfortune to be her father's daughter." He looked around the quiet room. "It was her father I was after-and everything he loved. His house, this town. I thought I could only feel peace if his beloved house was buried under a huge shopping mall."

Glancing at the bowed head of Miss Lena, he said, "I also seem to have lost the trust of the dearest, sweetest woman I have ever had the pleasure to know, and I am ashamed. For the first time in my entire life, I feel horribly ashamed."

Cassie turned, sensing Sam watching her. Their gazes met, and she knew instinctively that Sam realized who Ed was. Miss Lena had finally stopped shaking, and Cassie hugged her tighter.

Ed faced Hank Adams. "And it was me and men I hired who've been doing all that vandalism over on Cassie's property, not Mr. Haney or anybody else. Yes, Richard Haney worked for Roust, but he never knew I was behind it. I take full responsibility for all damage and will take whatever punishment is due." He rubbed his hands over his face, hiding his eyes for a long moment. "I guess I should be thanking you all. I haven't felt this relieved in years." When he moved his hands away, Cassie could see the bright sheen of tears.

The poster board slipped off the easel and slid, facedown, across the wood-plank floor, stopping at Sam's feet. Sam left it there, not looking down.

Sheriff Adams began walking toward Ed as Ed addressed the room again. "I'm sorry. I really am sorry-as pitiful as those words must sound to you all. I have tried for so long to ignore the evidence, but Miss Lena, and those of you who care for her, have done your dangdest to make me see the stuff this town is made of. Tonight has taught me that I can't ignore it any longer. Miss Lena has shown me what a special place this is. Y'all truly care about each other-and for each other. It's something special and rare, and with people like me in the world, it will be a dying breed. If anything I say here tonight is going to have any weight, I hope it's this." He faced the town councilmembers. "I hope you vote no to more development and yes to preservation. I hope you vote no to people like Jim Roust and Ed Farrell, who want to indiscriminately tear down old buildings. Sure, Walton could use some improvement, but it should be done smartly. I hate to say this, but on this point, I agree with Dr. Parker."

Before the words had time to sink into Cassie's ears, the double doors at the back of the meeting room flew open, and Joe stood on the threshold. He was bundled in a ski jacket, snow clinging to the hood and his eyelashes. "I'm sorry to interrupt everybody, but I've got an emergency, and I need your help."

Her mind reeling from the recent turn of events, Cassie handed Miss Lena over to Mrs. Crandall, who sat on her other side, and got up to go to Joe.

He continued, his face a mask of worry. "Maddie's run away from home. She left a note." He pulled a crumpled up piece of notebook paper from his pocket and handed it to Cassie. "It's starting to snow real bad out there, and I'm afraid . . . we need to find her fast. Can I have volunteers to do a search party?"

While men and women streamed into the aisle toward Joe, Cassie bent her head to read the note.

I can't live here anymore. Nobody seems to realize that things will never be the same again without Mama. I don't know how Daddy is going to manage with all us kids, so I figured I'd make it easy for him by leaving. I've never felt I belonged here, anyway. I've decided to move to New York. I look old for my age, and I'm sure I can get a job waitressing or some-thing-anything just to get away from this stupid little town where nobody will miss me, anyway.

It wasn't signed, but there was no doubt as to who had written it.

Quietly, Cassie gave the note to Sam, who had come to stand by her, and watched as he read it. He handed it back to Joe, then quickly began organizing search teams and giving out his cell-phone number.

He turned to Joe. "Is Lucinda with the children?"

Joe nodded.

"Good. I want you and Hal Newcomb to go door to door to Maddie's friends' houses. Insist that the parents physically check the girls' bedrooms to see if Maddie is there. She could be hiding."

Ed managed to shoulder his way through the crowd. "Let me help. Please."

To Cassie's surprise, Sam nodded. "You can go with Hank. I don't think he wants you far from him, anyway." He pointed at Hank. "I want you to head out toward the interstate. God forbid she thinks she's going to hitchhike her way up north, but I wouldn't put it past her, either."

Hank and Ed headed toward the door, and Cassie grabbed her coat, running after them and calling to Sam over her shoulder. "I'm going with them."

Without waiting for a response, she followed Hank and Ed out to Hank's truck, the four-wheel drive easier to handle in the snow than his patrol car. They trudged out to the truck, and as Ed held the door open for her, he said, "I am sorry, Cassie. For what I've done to you and your house and for lying to you. If it hadn't been for those letters-"

She held up her hand, cutting him off. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't angry, because I am. And we've got lots to talk about, and we will talk, later. But right now we have to focus on finding Maddie and bringing her home safely."

Ed nodded, and they both climbed in as Hank started the engine. Cassie forced a smile. "I never thought I'd see the day when I was grateful for a four-wheel-drive truck."

Hank's face was grim. "Yeah. Let's just hope we don't get stuck on any icy patches. Nothing but ice skates can get you off of that."

They pulled forward on what used to be the paved road in front of the Town Hall but was now just a flattened ribbon of white winding its way around town.

Cassie spotted Sam's truck pulling out behind them, his face illuminated briefly by the flash of another set of headlights. People walked quickly out of the building, hurrying to spread the word that young Maddie Warner was lost somewhere out in the snow. If there had been time, Cassie would have hugged each and every one of them for not once considering their own safety. They had come together in a time of need to help one of their own, and it filled Cassie with pride to be among them.

Hank headed out toward the interstate, flipping on his high beams and illuminating snow and more snow and the occasional flakes blown off a tree branch.

Ed spoke from the backseat. "Why would she want to go to New York, do you think?"

Cassie looked out the window. "For some reason, she puts me on a pedestal. I think she wants to be like me."

Ed leaned forward, resting his arms on the back of the seat in front of him. "What better way to do it than to make her way to your big city, huh?"

"It's not my big city. I just live there."

He looked at her closely for a moment, then sat back.

Hank flipped on his scanner. "I'm sure with the snow falling like it is there won't be too much traffic on the highway. That might be a good thing for us."

Cassie clutched her knees tightly, not wanting to think about the implication. "Does she expect to walk all the way through the snow?" She leaned her head back against the seat. "My God, she doesn't even have boots." Tears welled in the back of her throat, but she swallowed them down. "What could she have been thinking?"

Ed waited a moment before answering. "When you were fourteen, do you remember ever thinking things through? Heck, I don't think I've had a clear thought for almost twenty years."

Cassie didn't answer, her eyes remaining focused on the empty road in front of them. Hank drove slowly as their gazes scoured the sides of the road. Twice Cassie thought she saw something, but both times what she thought was a leg or a head peeking out of the glaring white had turned out to be either a fallen branch or an icy rock.

When they reached the access ramp to the interstate, Hank slid to a stop. "I'm afraid to go any further in the truck. It's all icy here, and we might just flip over and end up upside down on the road below."

Cassie strained her eyes to see the six-lane highway, but no car lights or light source of any kind came from the road. Her gaze came to rest in front of the truck in the yellow arc of the headlights. She sat forward. "What's that?"

Hank squinted. "I can't tell from here. Stay in the truck and I'll go look."

Ignoring him, Cassie jumped out, reaching the object at the same time. Picking it out of the snow, she shouted, "It's Maddie's backpack. See? It has her name tag on it." A foot away lay a headband, the glassy beads covering it reflecting the lights from the car.

"Maddie!" Hank and Cassie screamed her name at the same time and were quickly joined by Ed. Hank took a step forward and slipped, his legs flying out from under him, landing awkwardly on his arm. The sound of snapping bone echoed in the snow-dusted air.

Hank grunted, then lay still, his face contorted in pain in the broad beam of the headlight.

Cassie kneeled. "Don't move, Hank. I'll call Sam on Ed's cell phone, okay? Just try not to move."

Ed had crawled his way to the edge, moving slowly. He tossed his cell phone to her, and she caught it. "Be careful. It's all ice under the snow. Maddie must have slipped over the embankment."

A small whimper came from the bottom of the hill. "Help me! My ankle. I can't move it!"

Hank grunted again as he struggled to sit up before collapsing in pain. Cassie put a restraining hand on his good shoulder. "Don't move, Hank. We don't need another casualty. And if that's Maddie down there, Ed and I can bring her up. Just lie still."

She dialed Sam's number while she watched Ed flatten himself on his stomach and peer over the embankment, where no guardrail prevented a potential fall. "Is that you, Maddie? It's Mr. Farrell and your Aunt Cassie. We've come to get you out of there, okay?"

"Please hurry. I'm so cold." Maddie's voice sounded faint and far away, as if being absorbed by the surrounding snow.

Sam answered on the first ring. "Sam, it's Cassie. We're at the entrance ramp to the interstate. We've found Maddie, and she might be hurt, but she's talking. And I think Hank's broken his arm."

There was no emotion in his voice when he answered back. "I'll be right there." His good-bye was the click of the phone.

Ed looked back at Cassie. "Go inside the truck and look on the floor of the backseat. There's some kind of rope back there. Grab it and bring it to me. I might need it to tie Maddie to me to bring her up."

Cassie nodded and did as she was asked, also bringing a blanket she'd found on the seat to put over Hank.

Ed stood rubbing his arms with his hands, trying to generate heat. "I'm going to go down and see if she's seriously injured. If she's not, I'm going to try and bring her up. I need you to stay here with Hank and wait for me-and let Sam know where I am when he gets here."

Her teeth chattered uncontrollably. "Okay. Be . . . be careful."

Wrapping the length of rope over his shoulder, Ed began to move slowly down the embankment, scooting down on his backside and using his heels for traction.

"Maddie, I'm coming down. Don't try to move."

Again, they heard the whimpering, but nothing more.

The short minutes it took for Ed to reach her seemed like hours. When Ed had completed a cursory examination and announced he would be bringing Maddie up, Cassie shouted with relief.

He tied Maddie to his back-piggyback style-while he dug through the layers of snow in search of handholds to grab on to. He slipped several times, once almost back to the bottom where he had begun, but eventually made it to the edge. Cassie grabbed Maddie's arms as Ed untied her and, after two failed attempts, pulled her off of Ed's back before waiting for Ed to roll forward onto level ground again.

As soon as they were both up, glaring headlights and crunching snow announced Sam's arrival. He smiled with relief when he spotted Maddie. After examining her ankle, he directed Ed to bundle her in a blanket he had brought and put her in the backseat of his truck.

He then turned to Hank. The sheriff 's face now appeared as white as the snow around him, and he'd begun to shiver. Sam knelt in the snow next to him. "Always have to be the center of attention, don't you, Hank?" Leaning closer, he said softly, "I'm going to have Ed help me put you in the backseat of your truck to keep you warm while I immobilize your arm. Then Ed's going to drive you and your truck to the hospital to have it set properly. The snow's tapering off, and he won't have any trouble with it in your truck."

Hank nodded weakly, then allowed himself to be lifted and carried back to his truck. Cassie climbed into Sam's truck next to Maddie and wrapped her arms around her, waiting for her own teeth to stop chattering. And when they did, she wasn't sure what she'd do first- yell at Maddie for scaring her or tell her how much she loved her.

She watched as Ed drove away with Hank and then waited as Sam climbed in behind the wheel and turned his own truck toward town.

Cassie was amazed at the calmness in her voice. "Maddie, why did you run away? Don't you know that your family loves you and that we were worried half out of our minds?" She remembered the anguish on Joe's face when he announced the news about Maddie running away, and Cassie wasn't sure whether she should kiss or strangle her niece.

Maddie started to cry. "Don't be angry, Aunt Cassie. I didn't think anybody would miss me."

"Oh, I'm not angry, Maddie. I was just so worried about you." She squeezed her tighter. "And nobody miss you? Did you know that half the town is out there in the snow, searching for you, or that your father is going crazy with concern over you?"

Maddie just sobbed louder. "No, I didn't. And I'm only crying now because my . . . ankle . . . hurts."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Cassie patted her shoulder, smothering a grin, relieved that she could still smile.

Sam turned around in his seat, eyebrow raised. "Gosh, she sounds like somebody I know." Cassie sent him a hard stare.

"I'm sorry, " Maddie sobbed, burying her face in Cassie's shoulder.

Cassie's eyes misted, her heart swelling for this girl who reminded her so much of herself. She touched Maddie's cheek and spoke softly. "Sweetheart, all the love and belonging you could ever want in your life is right here. If you'd only stop for a minute to look around, you'd know. They will love and accept you even if you decide to grow spots and join the circus. They're your people, Maddie. And most people spend their whole lives searching for what you've already got in this little town. Don't you ever forget that."

Sam's eyes met Cassie's in the rearview mirror, and in that moment her mind cleared. As if watching a movie in vivid color and exaggerated detail, she saw Joe, the children, Lucinda, Sam, her beautiful house with the magnolia in the front yard and creaking wood floors, and the longing in her heart that she had carried around like a suitcase all these years disappeared. She had what she wanted; she'd had it all her life. And finally she knew what it was.