Carl Wills scrambled into the front seat of the pickup with Jamee. They covered her with all their coats, and Cooper sped back down the mountain to the hospital. Jamee seemed lifeless, but she had a pulse. As she warmed, almost at the hospital, Jamee mumbled, “I got lost. . . I walked for miles, and then Grandma came . . . Grandma came, and I told her I was happier here than anywhere in the whole world. ”

They rushed Jamee to the emergency room where Mom worked. The doctor said another night in the cold mountains would have led to hypothermia, dangerously low body temperature, and maybe even death. When Darcy and her father were allowed to see Jamee in the small ER room, Mom was beside her. “Jamee’s a lucky child,” Mom sobbed, her eyes red from crying. “Praise the Lord, my baby is gonna be all right. ”

Darcy was alone with Jamee for a few minutes then. Mom had gone downstairs for a cup of coffee, and Carl Wills had slipped away when he knew Jamee was out of danger. “Jamee, Dad was the one who found you by the giant tree,” Darcy whispered.

“Really?” Jamee’s eyes filled up. “I’m sorry I ran off like I did. “I’m sorry I worried everybody. ”

Darcy leaned over, kissed her sister, and then joined Cooper in the waiting room. It was time to go home and let Jamee rest. In the morning Mom would bring Jamee home with her.

“I need a soda or something,” Cooper said. “Let’s go to the cafeteria for a second. ”

As Darcy walked with Cooper, she had a pang of regret about her father. She wished she had said something to him about how good it was that he had remembered just where the giant cedar was. That counted for something, didn’t it? If after all this time he remembered a little thing like that, then maybe he had not put his family completely out of his heart.

As Darcy and Cooper entered the cafeteria, Darcy saw them, two people in a far corner, heads bent, talking. They both looked weary and aged beyond their years. Darcy’s mother was weeping softly. When Darcy’s father reached out and gently cradled Mom’s cheek in his hand, Mom did not pull away. She did not smile, or embrace him, or anything like that. But she did not pull away either.

Watching them, Darcy remembered Tarah’s words, “Sometimes good people do rotten things. Then they realize the mistakes they’ve made and turn their lives around. . . . You can’t give up on people. . . . God don’t give up on us, no matter what we do. So where we get off givin’ up on each other?”

Darcy nodded and left her parents alone. Her world seemed to have shifted over the past few days. Her sister was safe, and three new loyal friends had come into her life unexpectedly when she needed them most.