She hadn’t thought him a coward, the type to steal off in the night instead of saying goodbye. But what did it matter? They’d had no future together. Why draw out the goodbyes? Maybe it was just as well he’d left as he had.

Had he thought she’d try to convince him to stay?

“Did something happen? You didn’t fight, did you?”

Sarah shook her head. Their talk in the truck qualified as something that had happened, but the things they’d said were private and she wanted to keep them to herself.

“Your sleigh ride must not have gone nearly as well as mine,” Rosie mused, looking concerned as she closed a tray lid and placed it inside a bag.

“Well, there sure wasn’t a proposal.”

Sarah had said her comment as a joke, but the way the three Butterflies stopped what they were doing to stare at her, mouths agape, said they hadn’t taken her that way.

“Did you want there to be a proposal?” Maybelle asked, her brows deeply veed.

“Of course not. Bodie and I are—were,” she corrected, “just friends.”

“Personally, I think he’s a friend you should take off after, so you can travel and see the world with him,” Claudia suggested.

“That’s your dream, Claudia. Not mine. I’m happy in Pine Hill.”

Maybelle said, “You really need to talk to that husband of yours about taking you on vacation.”

“He says for our fiftieth wedding anniversary, he’ll take me anywhere I want,” Claudia assured. “So, I’m biding my time to tell him I want to visit Europe. Only a few more years to go.”

“Harrumph,” Maybelle snorted. “What’s he going to do if you book something sooner? If you want to travel, then, woman, travel.”

Claudia’s eyes grew huge, then she shook her head. “This is about Sarah, not me. I’ll travel someday.”

Maybelle, Rosie, and Sarah sighed simultaneously. If Sarah had the extra money, she’d book Claudia on a trip herself.

They resumed their assembly line preparation of food trays to be delivered to shut-ins.

Sarah held her breath, hoping the women would not resume the conversation about Bodie. She should have known better.

“Is Bodie coming back?” Claudia asked.

Sarah shook her head. “He was only here to get Hamilton House ready by Christmas. He did that. There’s no reason for him to return.”

He’d done everything she’d asked of him and more. Maybe someday she’d tell the Butterflies about Bodie’s quilt. That he’d been the soldier her quilt had gone to, that he’d come to find her, to thank her, and had ended up staying to help her.

He had.