The following morning, Cody woke up to someone pounding on his door. He leapt out of bed and dressed quickly. He cracked open his door.

Mrs. Winchester peered at him, adjusting her glasses. “You have a visitor.”

Cody’s heart rose as he imagined Theresa visiting him with the babies even though he knew that would be unlikely. He followed Mrs. Winchester to the entrance to the boardinghouse and saw Katie Sanders there.

Katie fidgeted nervously with her hands. “Hi, Mr. Witherspoon.”

“Call me Cody, please,” Cody told her.

“You see, Mr. Witherspoon—Cody—my parents told Theresa that they’re going to give the babies away. And they’re going to split them up,” Katie explained.

“What?” A look of horror crossed Cody’s face. He had always assumed that Theresa would keep the babies for the rest of their lives. He thought that was what they both wanted.

“They’ve found two separate families to take the babies. They’re coming to our house on Wednesday night to take them away,” Katie told Cody.

Cody thought quickly. He had imagined courting Theresa for several weeks and eventually proposing to her again, this time with more preparation and style. But if she was in danger of the babies being taken away, he would need to adjust his plans. “Thank you for telling me that, Katie.”

“You’re welcome. Theresa wanted you to know. If you don’t mind, I need to leave now to get to work. Theresa normally works at the school, but since she brought the babies home, I’ve been going in her place,” Katie said.

“Of course. Have a good day, Katie,” Cody told her and walked her to the front door.

“Thanks, Cody. You too!” Katie said cheerily. She exited the building and started for the schoolhouse.

Cody stood in the doorway, lost in thought. He needed to come up with a plan quickly. He knew what he wanted, but how could he make it happen in only two days’ time?

He scrambled around all morning, learning as much as he could from Dr. Bennett, Lewis, Jed, and Will, who had all become like brothers in the span of a few days. He’d learned Theresa’s favorite color, favorite flower, and favorite type of candy.

Cody dressed in his nicest suit. He wanted to look the part for the occasion. He hoped it would be a day that he and Theresa would both remember forever.

As Cody set off for the Sanders’ house, he realized that he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink all day. It would be wise to get something to eat. If things went according to plan, he and the Sanders family would want to celebrate.

Cody decided to stop at the mercantile for a Coca Cola and a snack.

“Back so soon?” Lewis teased. He had helped Cody prepare candy for Theresa.

“I didn’t want to go to the Sanders’ house on an empty stomach,” Cody explained.

Just then, the door opened and Fitzsimmon Clarkson strode into the mercantile. His face brightened when he saw Cody.

“Mr. Clarkson? What are you doing here?” Cody felt nervous suddenly. His boss had never shown up before in any of the other towns he had worked in. Was he in trouble?

“Good to see you, Witherspoon. I wasn’t sure if I’d see you again,” Clarkson joked.

“I’ll leave you two alone. Let me know if you need anything,” Lewis said, walking toward the back of the store with his ledger in hand.

“I’m not due back for two weeks,” Cody pointed out.

“Relax, Witherspoon,” Clarkson told him. “You’re not in trouble. I just hadn’t heard from you in a while, so I thought maybe the locals had captured you.”

Cody smiled ruefully. “Not exactly.”

“Ah, but there’s something going on here, isn’t there?” Clarkson took note of the bouquet of flowers and box of chocolates in Cody’s hands.

Cody nodded sheepishly. “I’m about to propose.”

Clarkson clapped Cody on the back. “Congratulations, son! This calls for celebration!”

Cody smiled, relieved that he wasn’t in trouble with his boss. “Thank you, Mr. Clarkson.”

“And it couldn’t have come at a better time,” Clarkson added.

“Why is that?” Cody was lost again.

“I’m promoting you to Vice President of Clarkson Insurance,” Clarkson explained. “Congratulations, son! You’ve worked hard for this, and you’ve earned it.”

Cody couldn’t believe it. First, Theresa had agreed to let him court her, and now his employer was promoting him to Vice President of the company? It seemed too good to be true. Cody realized Clarkson was still talking.

“We’ll have to introduce our wives, I’m sure they’ll get along. We’ll set you up in our neighborhood. There are a lot of nice properties where you could build a home if you’d like, or plenty to choose from if you want to buy one,” Clarkson rambled.

“Your neighborhood?” Cody asked, confused.

“Naturally, you’ll need to be at corporate headquarters in Austin,” Clarkson explained. “It will be nice for your new wife-to-be that you won’t be traveling so much, don’t you think?”

Cody considered it. Austin sounded promising. He’d been there a few times before and had always enjoyed himself. But he hadn’t talked to Theresa about moving. He knew that she had moved once before—from Orlan to Nowhere—but how did she feel about moving again? And did she even like living in a city?

“I thought you’d be overjoyed!” Clarkson seemed dismayed. “Where’s the enthusiasm? Are you not excited to take this job?”

“Oh, no, sir! I’m delighted!” Cody assured his boss. “Thank you for the opportunity. You won’t regret it.”

“Excellent,” Clarkson smiled. “I’ll expect you there in two weeks’ time. I’ll arrange for a rental house for you. Just the two of you, I assume?”

“Actually . . .” Cody trailed off. How would he explain this delicate situation to his employer?

Clarkson frowned. “More than two of you?”

“It’s a rather long story, Mr. Clarkson. If you can do me a favor, I’ll tell you the whole story soon. But if things go according to my plan, we’ll have a set of infants with us when we move in two weeks,” Cody replied.

Clarkson whistled. “Witherspoon, how scandalous! You haven’t even made her an honest woman yet, and there are twins on the way?”

Lewis poked his head up from his desk near the back of the store. “Everything okay out there?”

“It’s fine,” Cody called back. He looked at Clarkson. “I promise I’ll explain everything later. But it’s not what you think.”

Clarkson smiled and clapped Cody on the back again. “Whatever you say, Witherspoon. In any case, I was just passing through on my own way back to Austin, and I hoped I’d find you here. I’ve been to a few establishments—a law office, a doctor’s office, and a trading house. It seems like you have clients everywhere in this town. Well done, Witherspoon!”

Cody was relieved that Clarkson had visited that day and not a week earlier, when he’d had no clients at all. “Thank you, Mr. Clarkson.”

“Goodbye, sir!” Clarkson called to Lewis as he headed for the door. “See you in a few weeks, Witherspoon!”

Cody took a deep breath. This would add some complications to his plan, but he was confident that with Theresa’s help, they would be able to figure it out. “I’m going to the Sanders’ house now,” Cody told Lewis.

Lewis came back up to the front of the store. “I thought you wanted to eat something.”

“I suddenly have a lot more on my mind than food,” Cody explained.

“Who was that man? Did he bring you trouble?” Lewis asked, concerned.

“No, nothing like that,” Cody replied. “He’s my boss, Fitzsimmon Clarkson. He just gave me a promotion.”

“You don’t seem very excited about that,” Lewis observed.

Cody sighed. “It’s a wonderful opportunity. But it also would involve moving to Austin in two weeks. I don’t know how Theresa will feel about all this. Or how we’ll travel to Austin with the babies. Just taking them back and forth to church can be a challenge!”

Lewis nodded. “I’d be sad to see you both move to the city. But you need to do what’s right for your job. Plus, with so many of us holding one of your policies, maybe you could justify a trip to Nowhere every now and again.”

“That’s a good idea. I think I need to talk to Theresa before doing anything else,” Cody said.

“All right,” Lewis said. He handed Cody a small package of nuts. “Take these in case you get hungry.”

“Thank you, Lewis,” Cody said gratefully. He was appreciative that all of Theresa’s brothers-in-law were so effusive and generous. It seemed like they genuinely wanted Cody in their family.

Now he just had to convince the most important person of all that he belonged.

Cody rushed away from the mercantile, carrying his surprises for Theresa. He knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.

As Cody waited on the porch, he practiced what he would say to Theresa. After a few minutes, he looked at his watch and frowned. On every other visit to the Sanders’ house, someone had opened the door quickly for him. Where was everyone?

Cody wondered if they weren’t home. The family wagon was gone, but that could have simply meant that Cletus was at work. Cody pounded on the door again just in case. He set down the flowers and chocolate, saving them as a surprise in case Theresa opened the door. He wanted everything to be perfect.

This time, Theresa opened the door. Her eyes were red-rimmed as if she had been crying. “Oh, Cody,” Theresa breathed and flung herself into his arms.

Cody wrapped himself around Theresa and squeezed her, trying to comfort her. “What’s wrong?”

Theresa tried to speak, but tears ran down her cheeks. She motioned for Cody to follow her into the formal parlor.

Cody looked down at the babies snuggled in their bassinette and realized with a shock that only Gabriel was in the bassinette! Gabriel rolled around, seeming agitated with fat, wet tears rolling down his face. “Where’s Faith?”

Theresa’s bottom lip trembled. “I thought they weren’t coming until Wednesday. But they came today for Faith.”

“Who are you talking about? What are you saying, Theresa?” Cody asked.

“The family who wants to adopt Faith,” Theresa explained tearfully. “Cletus said they were coming on Wednesday for Gabriel, but there was another family who came this morning for Faith. She’s gone!”

“Oh, no!” Cody exclaimed. He finally understood why Theresa was so upset. His proposal would have to wait—the babies were more important. “Do you know where they live?”

“That’s the worst part,” Theresa continued. “The family who wants to adopt Gabriel lives in Nowhere. But the family who took Faith lives in the next town over. They are relatives of some of our friends from church. Oh, Cody, I don’t know how I’ll go on without the twins in my life!”

“Don’t worry, Theresa. I’ll find a way to fix this,” Cody said. Even as the words were coming out of his mouth, he realized he had no idea if it was true or not. He certainly hoped he could fix it, but there were no guarantees. Still, he had to do everything in his power to get the babies back. “At least we still have Gabriel.”

Theresa nodded, picking Gabriel up and holding him to her chest. He quieted a little, but Cody could still see the tears on his cheeks.

“Do you know where the family who took Faith lives?” Cody asked. If she could find out their address, maybe they could pay the family a visit and convince them to give her back.

Theresa shook her head. “I have no idea. It all happened so quickly, Cody. How could I have let this happen?” She looked down at the floor guiltily.

Cody placed his hands gently on Theresa’s shoulders. “It absolutely was not your fault, Theresa. You’ve done everything you can to take care of those babies. It’s not your fault this happened.”

“It’s hard not to feel like it is,” Theresa admitted. “I should have stood up to Cletus and Edna Petunia.”

Cody pulled Theresa in for a hug. He ran his hands up and down her arms, trying to comfort her. “I’m here now. We can confront them together.”

Theresa nodded. “Thank you. I know I may not show it, but that means everything to me.”

Cody and Theresa waited until Cletus got home from work to talk to both Cletus and Edna Petunia. Cody could tell that Theresa hadn’t slept in days, so he sent her to her room to take a nap as he took over Gabriel’s care. The poor boy wailed and fussed all afternoon. Cody was sure that Gabriel was upset because his sister had been taken away. He hated to think about the babies being separated. He and Theresa’s plan had to work. It just had to.