“I left a message on his answering machine. I may not remember much right now, but I remember that. I told him I didn’t think he should marry Noelle….”

“Why would you do that?”

“Well, because—oh dear, Sarah, I might have ruined everything.”

“We’ll deal with it as soon as we’re home,” Sarah said firmly.

A car sounded from behind them. “Someone’s coming,” Mary cried, her voice rising with excitement.

“We’ve got to hitch a ride.” Sarah whirled around and held out her thumb as prominently as she could.

“That’s not going to work,” Mary insisted, thrusting out her leg. “Don’t you remember that old Clark Gable movie?”

“Clark Gable got a ride by showing off his ankle?”

“No… Claudette Colbert did.”

The truck turned the corner; Sarah wasn’t willing to trust in either her thumb or Mary’s leg, so she raised both hands above her head and waved frantically.

“It’s Greg,” Mary cried in relief.

“And Jake’s with him.” Thank God. Sarah had never been happier to see her husband.

To their shock and anger, the two men drove directly past them.

“Hey!” Mary shouted after her husband. “I am in no mood for games.”

The truck stopped, and the driver and passenger doors opened at the same time. Greg climbed down and headed over to Mary, while Jake hurried toward Sarah.

“We’re friends for life,” Mary told her husband, throwing her arm around Sarah again.

“You’re drunk,” Greg said. “Just what have you been drinking?”

“I know exactly what I’m doing,” she answered with offended dignity.

“Do you?” Jake asked Sarah.

“Of course I do.”

“We’re on a mission,” Mary told the two men.

Jake frowned. “What happened to the car?”

“I’ll tell you all about it later,” Sarah promised, enunciating very carefully.

“What mission?” Jake asked.

Sarah exchanged an exasperated look with Mary. “Why do we have to explain everything?”

“Men,” Mary said in a low voice. “Can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em.”

Her friend was so wise.

The drive back to Rose took even longer than the trip into Portland. The roads seemed to get icier and more slippery with every mile. Keeping her eyes on the road, Noelle knew how tense Thom must be.

“Would you rather wait until after Christmas?” she asked as they neared her family’s home. It might be better if they got through the holidays before making their announcement and throwing their families into chaos. Noelle hated the thought of dissension on Christmas Day.

“Wait? You mean to announce our engagement?” Thom clarified. “I don’t think we should. You’re going to marry me, and I want to tell the whole world. I refuse to keep this a secret simply because our mothers don’t happen to get along. They’ll just have to adjust.”

“But—”