“I didn’t even know Lake Eden had a fire department!”

“Oh, it wasn’t here. We’re just visiting Lake Eden. How about you? Do you live here?”

“I’m the same as you, just visiting.” Candy remembered the cover story that Andrea had made up for her. “My boyfriend dumped me for my best friend, and I needed a change of scene.”

“You also need a new boyfriend!”

“You’re right about that,” Candy said with a giggle. This party was a lot more fun now that Sonny had gotten here. “Let’s grab a Coke and go sit at the table over by the last Christmas tree we decorated.

“Sounds good. I’ll get the drinks. You stake out the table.”

Candy made a beeline for the table and nabbed it before anyone else could claim it. When Sonny arrived with two Cokes and they’d popped them open, she asked, “How about you? Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Not yet, but I believe in miracles.”

Candy laughed so hard, tears came to her eyes. “Too bad we don’t go to the same school. There’s a guy in my science class who’d be perfect for you.”

“That won’t do me much good unless he goes to Hamilton in Des Moines.”

“That’s my school!” Candy gasped, forgetting all about her cover story. “But I’ve never seen you there.”

“That’s because I’m not there yet. I don’t start until January.”

“Your folks just moved to Des Moines?”

“Not exactly. My dad’s been there all along, but after Mom died, he put me in that boarding school I told you about. He just didn’t know how to take care of me, you know? I mean…I was pretty little when it happened.”

“That’s awful! But now that you’re older and you can take care of yourself, you’re coming back to live with him?”

“Sort of.”

Candy leaned forward. She knew there was more to the story than that. “What does sort of mean?”

“Dad got married again so he sent for me.”

Candy felt a lump form in her throat. Sonny’s story was eerily close to hers. They’d both faced the loss of a parent and their remaining parent had remarried.

“What’s the matter? You look a little strange.”

“It’s just that we’ve got almost the same situation, except it’s reversed. My dad’s the one who died and my mom just got remarried. My situation’s a little different, though, because my mom married a man with a daughter.”

“So suddenly you’ve got a stepsister?”

“Right.”

“So what do you think of her? Is she awful?”

Candy swallowed hard again. She really wanted someone to confide in and Sonny was awfully nice. “Larry, he’s my stepdad, says she’s perfect. She’s beautiful, and she sings like a professional, and she’s on the honor rolls, and…”

“But what do you think of her?” Sonny interrupted.

“I…” Candy stopped speaking and blinked away tears. “I don’t know. I ran away the day before she came.”

“Without even meeting her?”

Candy had the urge to break down and sob, but she stared at the angel on top of the tree instead. “Yes. We’re too different. She would have hated me.”