"It should. I've slaved over that boxed stuffing for a full five minutes." She fanned her face and grinned, then took her place kitty-corner from the little girl who held her heart. "Would you like to ask the blessing?"

They bowed their heads and Lana listened, throat full, as Sydney prayed a litany of thank-yous and blessings.

Finally, she said, "And bless Paige and Nathan and their dad. I hope you give them a real good dinner like ours. Thank you for sending me a friend. And please take care of my mom. I hope she's okay. Amen."

Unexpected tears spurted behind Lana's eyelids. Tess. Oh, Tess. Where are you?

She pressed her fingertips hard into her eyelids to gain control. A small hand patted her arm.

"It's okay, Lana. God's taking care of my mom."

Most times she tried not to worry about her twin but she'd heard from her only once since the return to Whisper Falls. Tess had called, full of over-the-top excitement, an endless spiel of chatter and wild promises that told Lana immediately she was high. She'd tried to talk to her sister, urging her again to go to the mission for help. Tess had hung up on her.

"I wish I knew where she was." Lana scooped mashed potatoes onto her plate.

"You miss her," Sydney said, adultlike. "Maybe we can call some of her old friends?"

Most of Tess's friends had long since abandoned her but it was worth a try. Though Tess had never been much of a mother, she'd once been a good sister, and Lana did miss her. Terribly. "That's actually a very good idea, Sydney. After dinner, we'll give it a try. Now, do you want some of these fluffy, creamy, Sydney-awesome mashed potatoes or not?"

Sydney grinned and took the bowl. "And some of that Lana-awesome gravy and stuffing, too!"

They both laughed heartily at that comment, considering the foods were packaged.

"Paige said her grandma cooks everything in the universe for Thanksgiving dinner. They even have corn on the cob and chocolate pie."

"Wow. Wish I'd thought of that."

"It must be fun to have a grandma." Sydney drizzled brown gravy over the potatoes and stuffing as well as the chicken. A sea of gravy. "She lets Paige and Nathan and their cousins decorate cookies, and they play games with her, too. Did you ever have a grandma?"

"I did. My Grandmother Packard lived right here in Whisper Falls."

"Was she nice?"

"Really great. She sewed Tess and me matching dresses every year for Easter." Losing Grandma Packard at age nine had been a turning point in her young life and in her mother's, too. Mama's anger and moods had spun out of control once Grandma was gone.

"That's cool. I wish I had a grandma." Sydney's matter-of-fact comment hurt worse than if she'd whined in self-pity.

"Next time we're in Walmart, we'll buy you one." Lana pointed a hot roll. "Nine ninety-five plus tax."

Sydney put a hand over her full mouth and giggled. "Will you buy me a sister and brother too?"

"Tall order but why not? As long as they are on sale."

Smiling, feeling good, they continued their feast. The day was going great, better than she'd expected. Thank you, Lord. Really. Thank you.

"Lana?" Sydney said, putting down her roll and looking suddenly serious.

"Mmm-hmm," Lana managed to answer while chewing a succulent piece of chicken breast.

"You know what I'd really like to have more than anything?"

Lana swallowed and reached for her coffee cup. "More than a grandma or a brother or a sister?"

"Yes, even more than that."

A puppy, Lana was certain. She was going to have to give this pet thing more serious thought. "What?"

"A daddy. A real good daddy. Just like Davis."

The kids were bouncing off the walls.

Davis, his belly full, flopped into his recliner and pointed the remote. Mom had outdone herself this year. He couldn't think of a single Thanksgiving food she hadn't produced at some point during the rainy day. They'd stayed even longer than usual playing board games and snacking while the Cowboys and Lions battled on the gridiron.

He snagged Paige as she romped through with Nathan in hot pursuit. "Good day, huh, pumpkin?"

"Yep, except I felt bad for Charlie. He didn't even feel like eating Grandma's magic cookie bars."

Jenny's son, always frail, had seemed worse today. He'd slept most of the afternoon, worrying his parents.

"Me, too." He hugged his child, thankful for her robust health. "Aunt Jenny is taking him to the doctor in Little Rock tomorrow."

"I hope he's better. He said he was going to have to get an operation."

"That's true."

"I prayed for him."

Of course she did. That was Paige. Freckles and faith.

Nathan, who stood beside Davis's chair, head cocked as if he was listening, clearly wasn't. He said, "I'm hungry."

"Hungry?" Davis burst out laughing. "You can't be hungry."

Nathan pooched out his belly, rubbing the tiny mound beneath his camo T-shirt. "Can I have some pie?"

"Grandma sent home enough leftovers to last a week. Go for it."

Paige, still draped across Davis's lap like a blanket, patted Davis's neck. "Daddy, why doesn't Aunt Jenny like Lana and Sydney?"

Whoa. Where had that come from? He grasped Paige's hand and sat her up. "Did she say that?"

"She said Lana was a bad person and she might hurt us. I heard her tell Grandma."

Heat rose on the back of his neck. Where did Jenny get off saying such a thing? "Lana's not a bad person. Aunt Jenny's upset because Charlie's sick. She says things she doesn't mean."

"That's what Grandma said. She said you have to be careful about judging people. She said Lana might have problems we don't know about."

Thanks, Mom. "Grandma's right."

"Does Lana have problems, Daddy? She's really nice to me and Nathan. I'm sure she would never, ever do anything to hurt us. Never. We love her. I don't think she has problems. I think she's wonderful, like Mommy was."

"Everyone has problems, pumpkin. Lana is no different than Aunt Jenny or you or me."

Davis felt like a hypocrite, considering how he'd wrestled with Lana's admission about Sydney's father. How did a woman not know who fathered her child?

But all day today he'd thought about her. Not just today but every day. Even though he'd avoided her house all week, he thought about her. Missed her.

When they'd pulled into their driveway after the wonderful day at Mom's and Dad's, he'd noticed her car was home. His conscience had twinged then and it twinged now. Today was Thanksgiving, a family day, a day he and his children had basked in all the noise and pleasure that was family. Yet, he was fairly certain Lana and Sydney had spent the holiday alone.

He should have invited her to the Turner Thanksgiving madness, regardless of Jenny. He didn't appreciate the seed of gossip his sister had placed in his daughter's head. That was wrong, no matter how upset or how protective Jenny might be.

He popped his chair upright. "I have an idea. Let's take one of Grandma's pies over to Lana and Sydney."

Ten minutes later, he and his kids stood on the Ross porch, each of them holding containers of food. The rain continued to drip like a leaky shower from a cold, slate sky.

Lana opened the door. As soon as she saw him, her smile bloomed. His stomach, full as it was, went south. He smiled back, staring long enough that Paige said, "Dad! It's cold out here."

Lana blushed a pretty pink and opened the door. They flooded inside, all talking at once. Sydney exclaimed over the pecan pie while Nathan hugged Lana's waist and told her she was pretty. She hugged him back and told him he was the handsomest little boy she'd ever seen. Then the trio of kids headed to the kitchen to eat pie as if they hadn't eaten all day long.

"How was your Thanksgiving?" Lana asked once the kids had disappeared.

"Great. The whole clan was there. Even my aunts and uncles from out of town." Everyone I wanted to see except you. "So how did the Rosses celebrate?"

"We made dinner together and watched a Christmas movie. The oven doesn't work so we had Oreos for dessert. And ice cream."

He laughed. "Works for me. Ice cream on top of pecan pie sounds pretty good."

"Want some?"

No. I want you. I want to hold you and smell your hair and touch your creamy-looking skin.

Davis shook the flash of forbidden thought out of his head. "I'm still stuffed. You?"

"Later, but I should probably look in on the kids now."

"Good plan."

"Sit down and relax. I'll put on some fresh coffee while I'm in there." Lana disappeared through the French doors leading through the dining room and beyond to the kitchen. Davis watched her until she disappeared from sight, unnervingly glad to see her again.

The ever-present work list-the one he and she had made together weeks ago-lay on a side table. Restless, he picked it up and ran a finger down the check marks. She had a long way to go on a complete remodel but the house was ready for winter. He was glad about that. He didn't like to think of her and Sydney in a draughty, cold house with frozen pipes.

The French door clicked open and Lana came to where he stood. His belly dipped again and he didn't deny his attraction. She smelled like flowers. Gardenias, he thought. In her heeled boots she reached his ear. Her reputation from long ago didn't matter to him at all, and he wondered if he should worry about that fact. Lana Ross had him by the heart.

"You've been busy," he said to her tilted face, gripping the notepad to keep his hands off her.

"Mostly I've painted and cleaned and ripped out old flooring."

"And put weather stripping around the doors and windows."

"Some of the doors and windows need replacing but there's no time for that now." She made a face. "Or money yet."

He laid aside the notepad and stuck his hands behind his back. "How's the Gazette job going?"

"Better. I think I'm getting the hang of this article-writing business. Saturday morning, I'm covering the Christmas Bazaar committee meeting. Saturday evening is the Cheerleaders' chili supper. Sunday, the Baptist Church is having its one hundredth birthday homecoming with a special speaker and a dedication of the new family center. I'm covering all those."

"I'm impressed."

"Me, too." She widened her eyes, laughing at herself. "So what have you been up to lately?"

"Thinking about you too much." The reply shocked her as much as it shocked him.

"Really?"

"I missed you."

"I'm right down the street."

The words flailed him, though her tone held no accusation. He was the one who'd withdrawn, not her. "If I had invited you to the Turner Thanksgiving feast, would you have come?"

"And given your sister a heart attack?" Lana smiled but her bottom lip trembled. Jenny's attitude hurt her, no matter how tough she tried to be.

Davis moved closer, finding her fingers. They felt cold. "Jenny's had some stuff going on, Lana. Not just with you. Her son is really sick."

Lana's chin came up, her eyes searching. "I didn't know that."

"He has a heart condition. I don't know the details. I just know he's been sickly all his life and is going to need another surgery real soon."

"I am so sorry." The cold fingers laced into his.

"Yeah. Me, too, but that's no excuse for her weird animosity against you."

"It's not exactly weird, Davis." She dropped her head. "I wasn't nice to her in high school."

He studied the top of her head, that pale strip of scalp where the dark brown hair parted. "Ancient history. Time to get over it."

"I guess."

"No guessing needed." He tilted her chin and gazed into her troubled eyes. "The rest of my family likes you. Especially me."

And then he didn't resist what he'd wanted to do for days. He kissed her.

Lana gripped the sides of Davis's jacket and gave herself to the kiss. His mouth was warm and tender like the man and tasted vaguely sweet like whipped topping. His chest, honed by work, was firm and strong, the perfect refuge for her personal storms. She wanted to sail into his safe harbor and stay. And oh, the way he kissed. The way his calloused hand cupped her cheek and threaded into her hair. She dropped her hands to his waist and around his back, snuggling closer.

She was dimly aware of the children's voices and a coffee smell drifting from the kitchen. But most of her senses were attuned to Davis, this man who didn't seem to have the good sense to stay away.