up after lunch with Justino and Lena, Becky found herself smiling for no real reason, except that today was a good day. Sure, her face and arms burned as if she had a fever. But because of that, she’d decided to have her first boyfriend.

      And she wouldn’t let the freckles stand in her way.

      * * *

      FOR THE FIRST time since she’d arrived at the Marshall brothers’ home, Susannah was uncomfortable. And it was her own fault.

      Wyatt hadn’t said anything, of course. She would have been relieved if he had—then she could apologize, assure him she wasn’t afraid, had never believed he would hurt her or Amber. Her reaction over the broken computer had been involuntary. Unthinking. Stupid.

      The weekend passed and the opportunity she wanted never seemed to present itself. When she did see him—at breakfast—Wyatt was polite but quiet and aloof. He spent more time out of the house than he had since she’d come to stay, ate more meals with the teenagers in the bunkhouse. Short of following him around the ranch, how would she get a chance to talk to him?

      Then, on Monday morning, disaster struck. Lena Smith collapsed and was sent to the hospital. Fortunately, the town’s new doctor, Rachel Vale, had arrived and was able to support Garrett as he managed the situation. The kids and the adults left behind were concerned, of course, and hearing that Lena had developed diabetes did not reassure them. Garrett provided some basic information to help the kids cope, but Susannah worried about what would happen when Lena returned to camp. Travis’s mother was a diabetic and kept a very strict diet. What did that mean? How should Lena be eating now?

      A library would have the answer, and she was familiar with the one in Buffalo, having taken Nathan and Amber there when they lived nearby. All she had to do was get there.