Josie closed the door. "Come. Amanda's here, and I made us tea." She led the way into the kitchen.

Amanda didn't even wait for Meg to sit before bombarding her. "What is this I hear about you marrying Tommy? Everyone in town is talking about it. Are you out of your cotton-picking mind?"

Meg pulled out a chair and sat. "No. I mean yes. I mean I don't know."

Amanda leaned forward on crossed arms. "What do you mean, you don't know?"

Josie filled Meg's cup. "It's not her fault." She set the teapot on the table. "Tell Amanda what happened in court."

Meg sighed. "The judge was just about to give his ruling-"

"And he was about to rule for Meg," Josie interjected.

Meg reached into her sleeve for her handkerchief. "That's when Tommy jumped up and said he wanted to marry me."

Amanda sat back, aghast. "And you accepted?"

Josie answered for her. "Meg had no choice. Not after Mr. Farrell and Papa agreed to make Two-Time a one-time town, but only after the wedding."

"What else could I do but say yes?" Meg asked. Everyone counted on the feud coming to an end, but that wasn't all. She then explained the impossible position Tommy was in. Had put her in. Grant had put them both in. "If we don't marry, his family will be in financial ruin. I don't even know if they can raise ten grand. Either way, we have less than a week to get married."

"A week!"

Josie nodded. "That's all time the judge will give them."

Meg sighed. "I asked Barnes to talk to him, but it was no use. The judge said we already have the fixings for a wedding, so there was no reason for delay."

Josie squeezed Meg's hand. "He also said that the sooner our two families are joined through marriage, the sooner the town's clocks could be synchronized."

"What does Papa say?" Amanda asked. "You know how he feels about Tommy. About the whole family. Surely he disapproves."

Meg dabbed at her eyes. "He agrees with the judge's decision."

"What!" Amanda's gaze darted from Meg to Josie and back again. "But he never wanted you to marry Tommy in the first place. He's never had a civil word to say about him. What made him change his mind?"

"He says my reputation is ruined. And he's right-it is. Who would want to marry me now after everything that's happened?"

Meg's thoughts traveled back to New Year's Eve. Grant sure hadn't made her feel like damaged goods that night. What a fool she was! Would she ever be able to trust another man?

"Oh, Meg," Josie said. "I'm sure some nice man will come along and see you for the wonderful, loving woman you are."

"I'm not so sure about that." Meg sighed. "Every man in town thinks I'll sue at the drop of a hat. Why, just the other day Mr. Harrison refused to sell me a bar of that new Ivory soap. Said he didn't want me suing if it didn't float."

Amanda made a face. "Trust me, you don't need floating soap, and you certainly don't need a man. Women have more choices today than poor Mama had. Marriage is no longer a woman's only option."

"Maybe not," Josie said, "but there are still more good reasons for getting married than not."

"Like bringing a town together," Meg added. If nothing else good came out of this marriage, at least she could take comfort in that.

Amanda wrinkled her nose. "And Papa agreed to the town having only one time?" she asked, looking as doubtful as she sounded.

"He didn't have much choice," Josie said. "I, for one, will be happy to see the end of this silly feud."

"Don't count on it." Amanda took a sip of tea before adding, "The clocks might change, but Papa's attitude won't. He doesn't see much beyond his own nose. Nor does he understand how his stubbornness affects others."

Meg's heart sank. What if she married Tommy and nothing changed? What if the town remained as divided as ever?

"We still don't know what caused the feud in the first place," Josie said.

"And probably never will," Meg added.

Josie regarded her with a worried frown. "Are you okay with this, Meg? Marrying Tommy?"

"It's for a good cause." Meg heaved a heavy sigh. Maybe given time, she and Tommy would come to love each other like a proper married couple should.

Amanda rolled her eyes. "And you make fun of my causes. At least I'm not required to change my name or kowtow to a man."

Josie's brow creased. "Meg, you didn't answer my question."

Meg took a deep breath. She didn't even know how to answer. "I did want to marry him at one time, but so much has happened. I just don't feel the same as I once did."

"Oh, Meg." Josie shook her head. "That's no way to start a marriage. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Meg said and looked away. "I just don't know."

Twenty-six.

Meg stood in front of the mirror in the church anteroom, dressed in her wedding gown. Mama had done an amazing job of mending the tear, and it was almost invisible now. Too bad hearts couldn't be as easily patched.

It had been the longest week of Meg's life, and the shadows beneath her eyes attested to the fact that it had also been the hardest. Her sisters and Mama had left the room to take care of some last-minute preparations. Meg was grateful to be alone, though her thoughts gave her no comfort.

This was her wedding day, and she felt...what? Nervous? Anxious? Sad? Disheartened? Actually, she would settle for any of those feelings. But all she felt was numb.

She went through the motions with little thought or care. It was like everything was happening to someone else.

Following a quick tap on the door, her father's head popped in.

"Tommy's here," he said.

Meg tried not to let her dismay show. Any hope of him leaving her at the altar a second time was now gone. The sharp edge of guilt ripped through her. Tommy had done everything possible to make up for all the trouble he'd caused. He'd apologized, not just once but several times during the last few days. So why was she still holding a grudge, if that's what it was? Why did she feel so utterly trapped?

"He's early," she said, the words like acid on her tongue.

"He's not early at all," Papa said. "He's right on time. Lockwood time. Guess that means he plans to go through with the wedding. Got a minute?"

"Of course."

He pushed the door open all the way and stood gazing at her, a suspicious gleam in his eyes. "You look beautiful. Just like your mother did on her wedding day." He stepped into the room carrying a box and closed the door with a backward thrust of his foot.

Meg forced a smile. "And you look so handsome."

His tie was crooked and his hair slightly mussed, but somehow that made him look all the more endearing. It was easy to blame her father for the whole terrible mess, but the truth was she was equally at fault. Papa had warned her from the start to stay away from Tommy, insisting he was nothing but trouble. Had she not been so mule-headed, she might have listened. Instead, she'd rebelled by imagining her feelings for Tommy were more intense than they really were.

"I wanted to give you your wedding present. It just arrived from France." Setting the box on a chair, he pulled out a gold clock and placed it on the mantel.

"Oh, Papa. It's beautiful. But..." She checked her pendant watch. "But the time is wrong." It was running fast.

"Not wrong, my pet. That's the time that Farrell and I agreed upon. It's the standard time set by the Harvard College Observatory, adjusted by longitude and latitude. We're now running ahead of the sun." He shook his head. "God forgive us."

Meg flung her arms around her father's neck, and he got all red in the face. She pulled away. "Does this mean that you and Farrell have made up?"

A look of disgust crossed his face. "Let's not go overboard. We agreed to synchronize the town's clocks, that's all." He forced her to look at him with a finger to her chin. "Isn't that enough?"

She pulled away. "I'm going to be a Farrell, Papa." If that wasn't enough, she and Tommy planned to live with his parents for at least the first year of their marriage.

He rolled his eyes. "Don't remind me."

"Papa!"

"All right, all right. Not another disparaging word about the Farrells will pass through these lips."

She laughed. She couldn't help it. "That will be the day."

He laughed too.

She grew serious. "Papa." She knew better than to pursue the subject, but she couldn't seem to help herself. "What happened to make you and Mr. Farrell hate each other?"

He heaved a sigh. "Meg, we've been over this before."

"But you've never answered my question."

Her father's face darkened. "Why do you keep pushing it, Meg? Nothing that happened in the past affects you."

"Oh, but it does, Papa. Don't you see? It affects this whole town. Our families not talking will affect every holiday, our children..."

At the mention of children, her father grimaced. The thought of sharing grandchildren with his nemesis was evidently a hard pill to swallow. "I'll see that it doesn't. I just want you to be happy."

That's all she wanted too, but she didn't know if that was possible now. Tommy didn't make her heart flutter. Not the way Grant Garrison did when he kissed her. She drew in her breath. Why did the memory continue to haunt her? She now knew the kiss had meant nothing to him. That she meant nothing to him. So why keep obsessing over it? And on her wedding day, no less.

"All right. Have it your way." She started for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To find Tommy's father. If you won't tell me the reason for the feud, maybe my future father-in-law will."

He threw up his hands. "For the love of Pete. What has gotten into you?"

"I mean it. If you won't tell me, I'll insist that Mr. Farrell does." In a softer voice she added, "You owe me that much, Papa."

Her father's shoulders sagged, and he rubbed his hands over his face. Finally he said, "What I'm about to tell you stays in this room. You're not to breathe a word of this to anyone. Do I make myself clear?"

She stilled. "I won't. I promise."

He glanced at the clock as if hoping for a reprieve. When the clock remained silent, he began, "Farrell was in love with your mother. And she was in love-" He stopped as if the mere effort of saying the words was too much for him to bear.

Meg's breath caught. Mama and Mr. Farrell? It didn't seem possible. "But...but she married you."

"Only because...she had to."

It took a moment for the meaning of his words to become clear. "You mean you and Mama-"

When he made no effort to correct her, she shook her head in disbelief. Mama was so upright and moral-the perfect lady. Never had Meg heard her say an unkind word or known her to do anything improper. It was unthinkable.

"Don't blame your mother," her father said as if guessing her thoughts. "In my youth, I was quite irresistible."

"You're still irresistible today, Papa." The hair at his temples was more white than brown, and his waist was as wide as his shoulders, but he still cut a debonair figure, especially today in his dark suit.

This brought a shadow of a smile to his face. "Ah, dear daughter. And I thought you would hate me if you knew what I'd done."

"I could never hate you, Papa." Her mind whirled. "Does...does Josie know?"

A shadow of regret crossed his face. "I'm in the clock business. How can I tell my oldest daughter that her father timed her birth so poorly?"

"So your feud with Mr. Farrell started over Mama?"

"Once your mother found out she was in a family way, she had no choice but to marry me." His voice broke, and a look of unbearable pain etched his face.

Meg had always felt closer to her father than her mother-it was easier to relate to her father's many faults than her mother's calm perfection. But now she felt her alliance shift. Had her mother really loved another man all her life? Did all that grace and loving devotion hide a broken heart? Had her mother sacrificed her happiness for the greater good? Much as Meg was about to do...

"I love your mother very much," he said, as if guessing her thoughts. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost her."

"But Mr. Farrell is married. He would never... Mama would never-" Something suddenly occurred to her. "That's why you've kept this town divided all these years. To keep Mama away from Mr. Farrell."

It was hard to believe that a forty-minute time disparity could create such a wide gap between people, but it had worked like a charm. Small differences often led to great disputes.

"I'm not perfect." He suddenly looked every bit his age. "I know that's hard to accept."

"It's not as hard as you might think, Papa," she said without irony.

He shrugged. "Now that you know, does it change anything?"