He whirled back to face her. "It's dinner and a town party at the pumpkin patch. And if you relax just a little bit, it might even be fun. I'll shower before we go and I'll be nice the whole time unless you insist on baiting me."

Nora went along with Tom's plans even though she was certain this was a bad idea. It was dangerous-she had a crush on him. He was going to be her fantasy man long after he married the princess and sold the orchard. But she talked herself into it because certainly this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Not only would Darla soon be back, the harvest would be over and Nora was going to have to move on to other things.

So-she did laundry at her neighbor's, had a wonderful blouse and vest that was a hand-me-down from Leslie down the street, dragged out a pair of boots she'd gotten from church donations and put on her best jeans-they were almost new. Everything was ironed with spray starch so she'd look crisp. No ponytail tonight-she left her hair down and curled, something she never bothered to do for work at the orchard. She added a little makeup to her lips and eyes. After baths, she dressed the girls in their pajamas, loaded a grocery bag with their night diapers, a bottle for Fay, their favorite blankets, and off she went to the orchard.

Tom might see this as a couple of friends having dinner, but for Nora it was the one date she was going to agree to this decade. But when she got to the house, she sensed a problem that hadn't occurred to her-Maxie was far too hopeful.

Well, Nora knew she wasn't fond of Darla. She'd heard the women talking about her-Miss Picky Pants. And Nora also knew that Maxie liked her, maybe because they had things in common, like coming from poor roots. And they liked dogs and children and laughed at the same things. But she wanted to warn Maxie not to get excited.

But of course there was no opportunity to warn her. She kissed the girls good-night and found herself in Tom's truck, on her way to a restaurant.

"Why are you nervous?" he asked her. "It's not like we haven't had dinners together before. Lots of them."

"But this is strange," she said. "This is us going to a restaurant."

And oh, it was such a lovely restaurant-all dark wood and candles and just full of people having a good time. His hand was at the small of her back, guiding her into the restaurant and to their table-a lovely little table just slightly apart from the crowd up against some windows out of which she could see the starlight. She was at once enchanted and terrified.

The waiter handed them menus.

"Nora, have a glass of wine," Tom said. "You can indulge a little bit tonight. What do you like?"

"I have no idea," she said.

Tom looked up at the waiter. "How about a nice pinot grigio?" he asked the waiter. "And bring me a Sam Adams. Also, while we look at the menu, can you start us off with stuffed grape leaves and calamari?"

"Outstanding," the waiter said.

Nora glanced at the menu briefly. She slammed it shut suddenly and in a quiet hiss she said, "This is far too expensive!"

He closed his menu and looked at her over a small votive candle. "Here's what we'll do, Nora. If it's okay, I'll order for us. How about we split a Greek salad and have the chicken kabobs, unless you can brave the menu and find something you'll like better."

She just shook her head. Then she nodded and he laughed at her.

"It's okay, Nora-it's a business expense, I suppose. Taking an employee to dinner. Of course, when the harvest is over, I won't be able to deduct you anymore."

"Don't do that," she said. "Don't act like this sort of thing is going to happen again."

He closed his menu and said, "Crap. You're afraid you'll like me! Listen, take it easy on that, all right? You hardly talked on the way over-is that the problem? You don't want to like me outside of work? Because I'd like to make it clear-that's okay with me. We get along, so why not? And get this-I actually enjoy spending time with you."

Many, many reasons to worry about this, she thought. Like being devastated, for one thing.

The wine came and he said, "Have a sip of wine. I hope you like it okay. And I hope you relax a little, otherwise you're going to suck all the fun out of this."

"Right," she said, taking a sip. She glanced up at the waiter. "This is very nice. Thank you." And then she took another sip and a deep breath. He was right; he was going to some trouble. She should be cordial.

She relaxed as much as possible, put her glass down and said, "I apologize. This is very special. I don't want to ruin it."

"Great. Now tell me, how's it going with Jed?"

"Going well," she said. "I keep trying to not be swayed by his generosity and he keeps admiring me for that. He offered to help me finish school if I'm interested. Being a professor at Stanford, I guess he can get me in and I qualify for family housing. If I wanted to do that, he could help."

"Do you want to?"

She looked down. "Eventually," she said. "Right now I have a few loose ends to work out. But that's a very good destination, don't you think? Good for my girls, too. The best thing I can do for them is set an example."

After appetizers, a little more wine and some talk about going back to college, Tom asked about those things she had to work out. Well, she wasn't about to tell him she'd like to be sure Maxie wasn't retired before she was ready.

"I haven't told anyone but Noah," she said. "Can you keep it to yourself?"

He made a face. "If it isn't going to cause death or injury," he said.

"It's about my house," she admitted. "When Chad brought me to Virgin River, I thought he'd rented it, I thought he had plans like he said. Fay was barely two weeks old and it was winter, I wasn't into asking a lot of questions. When he left us there and took off with the truck and most of our things, I expected to be evicted right away, but nothing happened. I just kept quiet and let the neighbors and the town help me out-bringing me supplies, sealing off the doors and windows so we wouldn't freeze, offering me part-time work as the snow started to melt. But months passed and no one sent me bills for rent. I paid what I could on the gas and electric bills-bills addressed to some unknown tenant. After a few months I realized Chad must've known the house was abandoned or something. I've been squatting. I owe a lot of money-to the power company for sure, though I don't exactly use much in that tiny house. And someone is due rent or something."

He stared at her in wonder.

"Oh, no," she said. "Oh, God, I've told you something you just can't imagine. Please don't lose all respect for me-I plan to make it right. I'm saving every cent I can. I'll pay the back rent, I swear I will."

"Nora. Stop. I'm shocked all right-that he didn't even take care of the safety of his own children."

She shrugged. "He's not a nice person, Tom. But before you waste any more anger on him, remember, I got myself into this mess."

"You were vulnerable. Homeless with small children. Don't let him off that easy."

"At the end of the day, he's not off easy. Last I heard, he's going to spend a long time in prison. I wish I hadn't told you so much... ."

He reached for her hand across the table, giving a reassuring squeeze. "I'm glad you told me. You've come a long way, you should be proud of yourself, not beating yourself up. Is there some way I can help with this?"

A gentle smile came to her lips. "Tom Cavanaugh, you're such a good and generous man. Thank you, but no. I'm going to be fine. I have lots of options."

The salad was delivered and when the waiter left, Tom said, "I have a feeling about some of those options. You aren't going to stay here, are you?"

She thought briefly and then said, "Less than a year ago I lived in a little house that wouldn't keep out the wind, no food in the house and two babies. I wanted so little then-I just wanted to keep us warm and safe. And now I want so much more. I can get it, too, as long as I work hard and stay positive."

"What do you want, Nora?"

She bit her lip for a second. Then very quietly she said, "I want to be like Maxie." He gave her hand a little squeeze. "I'm going to do whatever is best for my children. That's what I'm going to do."

"And that, Nora, is probably more like Maxie than any other thing."

"What was it like? Growing up with her?"

He gave a little laugh. "Probably not as easy as you might think. She was strict. I got real tired of hearing about the virtues of hard work and sacrifice. I'd complain to my grandpa about how hard she was on me and he told me she'd mellowed by the time I came along. She could really drive a person hard. I think the only one she didn't get after was Grandpa. He was the sweetest man who ever lived. I don't think he ever had a bad day-not that I could tell, anyway. And Maxie adored him. But she loved me in a much tougher way-if I didn't do my chores, I didn't get a pass. If I didn't eat the green stuff on the plate, I could sit there till it grew mold. When I was sixteen, all I wanted in the world was a car so I didn't have to take the bus to school or be driven by my grandmother and you know what she said? *I guess you'll be wanting more hours in the orchard, won't you, Tom?'"