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"Wait, son! Please"

No one had ever called him son His own dad "split" the day his nant Whenever Marianne’s boyfriends bothered to call hi, they invariably came up with a cruel reminder of how small he was

There’d also never been anyone who’d wanted to talk to hi to catch hied beside him

The driveas so steep that the man and woman towered over Nickon level ground

The couple crouched down, and it didn’t feel ht in the eyes

Their eyes, Nick noticed, glistened with tears

"Who are you?" theup at Dennis’s house and being shouted at by Dennis Hating the i

"Well, I’m Charles MacKenzie, and this is randpa, and we can’t tell you how grateful we are that you saved her If she’d gone across the road…" The voice faltered

"She was sitting down," Nick said "She wouldn’t have crossed the road I don’t think she was running away Was she?"

"Heavens, no!" Clara replied "She was just fascinated by the lights on the trees Theto theht blue eyes"

Nick didn’t have bright blue eyes At least, the last tiray But if this nice lady wanted to think his eyes were bright blue, that was okay with hiine Elizabeth would go outside," Charles et outside with all of us watching her But she did, and you saved her You o"

"Why don’t you let us drive you ho dark"

"I’m okay"

"Could you join us for dinner? We could call your parents and invite them, too We’d like to tell them what you did"

"No I mean, they’re--" Not home Nick was certain it was true, that Dennis and his mom had already left for work If he told these kind people he’d be alone for the evening, they’d really want him to stay for dinner, and when Dennis sent one of his custoo now"

"All right," Charles said "We don’t want to keep you But here’s so--anything at all--you come to us Just walk up this driveway, knock on the door and say ‘I’m the boy who rescued Elizabeth’"

"You don’t even need to say that much," Clara said "We’ll see your blue eyes and knoho you are But if it see us, if for soh we never will, you can say ‘I’m Elizabeth’s hero’" Clara didn’t ask if that was okay with Nick Instead, she added, "I really wish you’d let me send you home with some Christmas cookies"

"You should take her up on that, son She’s a terrific cook Do you like apple butter?"

"I’ve never tasted it"

"Then it’s time you did My Clara et you to take a jar or two?"

He was so tempted, not by the offer of food, but by the kindness that cao" Now If he didn’t, he ht Thank you, Elizabeth’s hero And please remember e told you We’re here if you need us"

How could he ever forget? Nick wondered as he continued his journey hoh he knew his destination would be a locked house and a frigid porch The sooner he put distance between himself and what he wanted so much--but would never have--the better

He must have run faster than he’d ever run before In no time he rounded the corner where Dennis’s house would come into view

Dennis’s pickup was in the drive and a rental truck, like the U-Haul Dennis had rented to move Nick and Marianne from Medford to Sarah’s Orchard, was parked out front

Dennis, histhe vehicles It wasn’t just hisloaded, but Dennis’s, as well And there were things Nick had never seen Equipment fro late Histhe second the trucks were loaded--about five s he hadn’t put on the van by then would be left behind

Would he have been left behind if he’d accepted Mrs MacKenzie’s offer of apple butter and cookies?