A few yards in front of her Lindsay emerged from the mercantile with an odd look on her face.

"What'd you find?" Ginny asked, hoping the boys hadn't actually broken anything."Something good to eat? Biscuits maybe?" She grinned. "Seems like they eat those with every meal in this state."

Lindsay licked her lips and swallowed, walking out to meet Ginny."Umm...Not exactly."

"Lindsay?"The blood drained from Ginny's face as she got a good look at Lindsay's expression. Something wasn't right."What-?"

"We found Jane."

Chapter Fifteen.

It took a few seconds for Lindsay's words to penetrate Ginny's brain. When they finally did, her jaw sagged.

Lindsay stepped forward and placed her index finger under Ginny's china grin pulled at her lips as she lifted her finger, clicking shut Ginny's open mouth."Don't catch flies."

Irritated, Ginny pulled her face away from Lindsay."Wh-what did you say? Say it again."

There was a look of guarded hopefulness in those blue eyes that nearly made Lindsay forget where she was and pull Ginny into her arms and kiss away every doubt that still lingered there."Ginny," she softened her voice and gently grasped biceps so tense they felt like bands of steel."We found your sister. She's inside the store... with the boys." Lindsay gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Jane seems fine; she was laughing when I left."

"I...I can't..." Ginny blinked a few times."I can't believe it," she whispered, looking away."She can't just be in the store."Ginny shook her head."Not after all this time."

Lindsay couldn't believe Ginny was still standing there after what she'd just told her. She's in shock, I guess."I know. It doesn't seem possible. But it's true."

Tear-filled, disbelieving eyes glistened in the morning sun as they swung up to meet Lindsay's. Ginny's voice dropped to the barest of broken whispers. "She's alive?"

"God, yes." Lindsay tenderly laid her palm against Ginny's cheek."She's beautiful and looks just like you," she marveled, gently tucking a strand of wind-blown red hair behind Ginny's ear, "only with blonde hair."

With a shaking hand, Ginny reached out and ran her fingers through the ends of Lindsay's hair. "When I was younger I had blonde ha-" Then, as though exploding out of mental fog, Ginny gasped and her eyes went round."I have to go inside!"She pulled away from Lindsay and bolted for the door, not bothering to look as she called out, "C'mon. What are you waiting for?"

Lindsay laughed, the action causing a sting of pain in ribs she was beginning to think would never heal, and hurried to catch up with the blur of motion in front of her."Now that's more like it."

Ginny pushed open the door, the scent of tobacco and leather rolling over her. Her gaze frantically flicked around the store. This early, there were no other customers, and in the very back, by a rack of saddle supplies, she spotted James and Lewis on their knees, their backs to her.

Standing next to James was a smiling young couple. The man and woman looked to be in their late twenties and were dressed in a store-bought, dark suit and dress. They were speaking animatedly to the children, their faces wreathed with broad grins.

Ginny took a step deeper into the store."Boys?"

Two heads snapped around at the sound of Ginny's voice. Both boys were smiling wildly and they jumped to their feet and dashed over to Ginny, flinging themselves at her in their exuberance.

James' hat fell off as he wrapped his arms around Ginny, forgetting that he was supposed to be mad at her."We found her!"

Ginny smiled lovingly at his bright face, its unbridled joy nearly making her heart swell."That's just how happy I felt when I finally found you."

Her arm tightened around him, conveying the same warmth and affection she'd given him his entire life."Really?" he asked, eyes wide as he studied Ginny's face intently.

Ginny's vision swam as she regarded the boy pressed tightly against her."Really, honey."

Undone by the simple action and words, he buried his face in her dress and began to cry.

Bewildered, Lewis stared at his brother. Why was he crying? This was happy not sad. They'd found Jane!

Ginny, however, understood completely."Oh, James," she whispered brokenly, knowing that somehow she'd finally broken through the anger that had clung to him like a leech ever since the fire, and wondering at his bizarre timing. Her other arm encircled him and she pressed her cheek against the top of his head."It's all going to be okay," she soothed, feeling his small body shake against hers."I promise."

Through all this the couple stood quietly by, not completely sure what was happening. But somehow it didn't seem right to interrupt.

Lewis, however, showed no such restraint."She's here!" He began excitedly pointing, growing impatient with his brother and Ginny's odd behavior. "Look, Ginny! Jane's not sick anymore. She got well!"

Ginny pressed her lips into James' hair before lifting her head and gazing across the room.

A small blonde head poked its way out from behind the woman's skirt, and Ginny's knees felt weak at the sight.

A warm hand, whose touch her body knew, came to rest in the center of Ginny's back and for a second she leaned into the touch."Lindsay?"She looked pleadingly at Lindsay, who immediately began helping her gently pry James from her body.

"C'mere," Lindsay encouraged softly, smiling when the boy wrapped himself around her, and continued to sob out weeks of angry frustration and disappointment. She used the other hand to corral an ecstatic Lewis, then held her breath as Ginny crossed the room. As an afterthought, she let go of Lewis just long enough to reach behind her and slide the heavy deadbolt into place.

No interruptions.

Ginny spared a hesitant glance at the man and woman standing quietly by, keeping a close eye on Jane. She assumed they were the adoptive parents.

The woman appeared to be in her late twenties and was the one who had waved the boys into the store earlier. Tall and slim, her red hair was several shades darker than Ginny's and she had pale, lightly freckled skin. She wore a bright blue, store-bought dress with a pale blue apron to cover it. In one hand the woman held a feather duster, with her other she gently stroked the back of Jane's head. She must work here. The idle thought chased its way across Ginny's mind.

The man was husky and about the same height as the woman Ginny supposed was his wife. Clean-shaven, and wearing pressed trousers and a white linen shirt and tie, he managed to look comfortable yet dignified.

"I'm Laura Gable," the woman indicated the man standing to her left, "and this is my husband Calvin."She smiled."I think you know everyone else here." Laura smiled cautiously."You must be the sister those cute boys were carrying on about."

Lewis blushed and James wiped at his wet cheeks with this sleeve, a sheepish look flitting across his face.

"I can't believe she has family." Laura glanced down at Jane, who was busily chewing her fingers, her big blue eyes fastened on her sister."How perfectly wonderful for Jane." An unexpected scattering of tears fell when she blinked."We thought she was alone in the world."

Calvin laid a hand on his wife's shoulder and Ginny caught the gentle squeeze he gave it.

The lump in her throat was making it hard to breathe and Ginny had to swallow several times before she could speak. She was pretty sure she was about to burst into tears so she decided to save introductions to the Gables until later. She dropped down on the hardwood floor in front of the toddler, her eyes brimming with tears."Jane, honey?"Another swallow."It's me."

Jane's apprehensive expression made Ginny's stomach churn and suddenly she was glad she hadn't had an opportunity to eat breakfast yet. She tried to coax her sister out with her voice."It's me, sweetie. Ginny."Out of habit, she held her arms out, her heart threatening to escape the confines of her chest as the very real possibility of rejection slammed home with devastating force.

Jane stood her ground, carefully looking at Ginny but not moving.

She can't have forgotten me already, Ginny's mind anguished. It hasn't been that long, has it? Oh, God.

Lindsay felt a little lightheaded after holding her breath for so long. It was like watching two trains on the same track, heading straight for one another. Soon all there would be was carnage. Her heart was in her throat, and, with every passing second that Jane remained mostly hidden behind Laura Gable's skirt, the tension in the room ratcheted up another excruciating notch.

Ginny told herself this was silly. What could she expect? Jane was just a baby, she would surely grow used to her again as quickly as she'd apparently forgotten her... but it still felt like a knife had been buried in her chest and someone was twisting it. Slowly.

Devastated, she began to lower her arms; her breathing hitched and her eyes began to burn."Jane," she whispered."You have to know me.... Remember?"I was there when you were born. I held you right then, before Arthur even.

Jane's eyes suddenly lit with recognition and a happy grin curled her pink, wet lips.

"Gin-neee!" she warbled happily.

Lindsay's eyes fluttered closed and she sucked in an enormous breath."Thank you, God," she mumbled, feeling Lewis and James begin breathing again as well. Unceremoniously, she plunked down on her bottom, taking the boys right along with her as Ginny scooped the baby into her arms.

"Jane!"The redhead squeezed her sister as tightly as she dared. Her eyes were screwed shut but that didn't stem the tide of hot tears streaming down her cheeks.

The little girl laughed and placed a sloppy kiss on Ginny's mouth.

"It's about time," James grumbled, his own eyes still red and teary.

Lindsay's attention was drawn unerringly back to her lover and the reunion Ginny had been dreaming of. James was right. "No shit," she finally answered, hearing the boys' muffled snorts at her choice of words. She sighed happily an unconscious smile tweaking her lips when she saw Jane give Ginny an enormous, wet kiss."No shit."

Lindsay and Ginny allowed their clasped hands to swing gently between them as they walked along the dirt road in the quiet neighborhood where the Gables' large home sat. Lindsay had been more than pleased when Ginny informed her that it was quite common and acceptable for female friends to hold hands in public, and she found herself reveling in this simple, loving gesture.

The warm wind and sun caressed their faces and the fabric of Ginny's dress and Lindsay's shirt. Jane was walking along in front of them, and they both gazed down at her as she explored while they talked. The early evening sun was hanging low in the sky, splashing the horizon and the tops of the juniper trees with shades of indigo and crimson.

It was by all accounts, a gorgeous day.

Lindsay took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts."B-ba-bat. B. A. T."

"Yes!"Ginny crowed, letting go of their joined hands so she could slap her partner on the back."You did it again."

Jane turned around to see what the shouting was about.

Ginny waggled her fingers at the toddler, who mirrored the gesture before quickly being distracted by a tall weed.

Lindsay's face lit up."Really?"

Ginny beamed. You're learning so quickly, Lindsay. Ginny had been teaching Lindsay to read for weeks, using a single, many times folded sheet of newsprint they kept in their bag. But Lindsay had memorized the articles long ago, and so they were trying something else."Really," she confirmed. She cocked her head in question, the breeze blowing her hair back and fully away from her heart-shaped face."Another?"

Lindsay stopped and licked her lips nervously. She rocked back on her heels, tempted to stop while she was on a roll. She'd never gotten three words in a row right before."Okay," she said hesitantly."One more, but that's it."

Ginny laughed."All right. Last one for the day. Cat."

Lindsay rolled her eyes."I don't like cats."

"You don't have to like them. Besides, since when are you in love with hats and bats or the word fat."

"Okay, okay's-ca-cat.Ca-ca." She paused."K. A. T."

Ginny shook her head, wishing they'd stopped after the last one."That was really close but not quite right, sweetheart. It starts with a C not a K."

Lindsay's forehead wrinkled."But the ca- sound is the sound a K makes, right?"

"It does. But a C also makes that sound. Sorry, love, they sound alike but you picked the wrong one."

"If they sound the same then why do we need them both?"

Uh oh. Ginny winced inwardly, knowing she was about to try and explain something that was just as baffling to her as it was going to be to Lindsay. "Well, they don't always sound the same. Umm... sometimes the C sounds like an S and sometimes the K is silent."

Lindsay just stared.

"Like in the word 'knot' or 'knife,'" Ginny went on."There is no K sound, but it still starts the words."

"Knife starts with the letter K?"She lifted a single eyebrow.

"Uh huh."

"Bullshit."

"It does!"

Lindsay put her hands on her hips."So let me get this straight. The K can sound exactly like a C or like an S or like absolutely nothing at all?"

"Yes," Ginny said weakly."But-"

Lindsay raised a hand to stop her and made a mental note not to bother with the useless letter K ever again."Never mind. I was just checking."But she was clearly a little dejected.

Ginny gazed at her fondly, fighting back the almost overwhelming urge to gather Lindsay in her arms and kiss her senseless."Don't get discouraged. You're doing so wonderfully, Lindsay."She saw the beginnings of a smile and let everything she felt inside show on her face. "I'm really proud of you."

Lindsay felt her cheeks heat."I still can't read."

"Soon," Ginny told her."Very soon."

Jane let out an unhappy squawk as she tripped over her own feet and Lindsay and Ginny's attention was drawn downward. Ginny helped Jane to her feet, kissed her scrape gently, and dusted off her chubby knees.

Lindsay watched in amazement as the tears that had been threatening to fall disappeared as quickly as they came and Jane began marching across the grass as though nothing at all had happened.

"She's fearless, isn't she?" Ginny noted absently, grateful for this time alone together."She always has been. Right from the first."

Calvin Gable had insisted that they close the store as though it was a true holiday. After hearing the boys' delightful recounting of their night spent by the pond in Tyler, he had gamely stripped off his jacket and stylish vest and tie, in favor of an old cotton shirt and a borrowed fishing pole. With Ginny's blessing, he and the boys, and a picnic basket so heavy that Calvin was the only one who could carry it, set out for the river just after noon. Ginny had no doubt they would have a wonderful time.

Ginny gazed down at her sister as she toddled along, exploring every rock and stick she came across, with a curious, discerning eye. "Nuh uh." Ginny let go of Lindsay's hands and scrambled to get to the girl."Not in your mouth, honey," she scolded gently, holding out her hand so that Jane could spit out whatever she'd deposited into her mouth.

Lindsay grimaced.

"Jane," Ginny warned, a single eyebrow twitched.

Jane shook her head defiantly.

"You love to make me do this, don't you," Ginny muttered, but it was clear by the tone of her voice she really didn't mind. Kneeling, she probed the inside of Jane's mouth for a moment until she was able to scoop out the small stone from between greedy, pink lips.

Lindsay laughed when Ginny had to wipe her soaked fingers on the skirt of her dress.

"Just wait, Pea Pod," Ginny teased, allowing Lindsay to haul her to her feet, "you'll get your turn."