“I would love to spend the day with y’all, but I don’t really need babysitting,” Stevie said.

“Then consider it as you keeping us sane rather than us watching over you. We’re all getting stir-crazy. I actually wished someone would need Uncle Cody and Mama to go do some doctor stuff so she could get out for a little while,” Mia said.

“In that case, thank you,” Stevie said, “and thank you for this supper too. After four days of scrounging for what we could make in Max’s barn, I won’t take food for granted again.”

“You are so welcome.” Mia’s face lit up in a smile.

History can’t be changed, Cody thought. But if it could and Stevie and I had gotten together when we were young, would we have a daughter just younger than Mia?

Mia left after a few more minutes, and Tex followed her. When Cody was sure that she was gone for good, he looked across the coffee table at Stevie. “You said you understood. Did someone like Ricky hurt you?”

“Not physically, but I grew up thinking that because I’m tall and have freckles and red hair, that I was ugly. My first boyfriend in college told me I was beautiful, and I was putty in his hands for about six months,” she answered.

“And after six months?” Cody asked.

“I found out that he was cheating on me with a petite blond cheerleader, or maybe he was cheating on her with me. That’s the more likely story. He took her on real dates, not just rides in his car for ice cream and a booty call in the back seat,” Stevie said.

“I’m sorry. Seems like you and Mia didn’t have much luck with past boyfriends.” Cody felt horrible for both of them even if he couldn’t do anything about the past.

“Thanks for that. It took me a while to figure out that all guys aren’t trustworthy. Enough about all that. Didn’t Mia say she brought chocolate pie?” Stevie started to get up.

“Oh, no!” Cody said. “You sit still. I’ll get the pie.”

*  *  *

Stevie awoke the next morning, and for a split second, she wondered where she was. Nothing looked familiar, and then in a flash, the fog cleared, and she remembered everything.

“Good morning!” Cody brought her a cup of coffee. “How are you feeling today. Headache? Memory problems?”

“I feel great,” she answered. “Why did you let me sleep so long? The sun is already up. Shouldn’t you and Jesse be taking care of chores, or do you have doctor appointments today?”