A Time Of War

 TDTLBU

………………………………………..

"Mommy, why does Daddy have one leg?"

Katie looked up from the tiny baby sweater she was knitting… such a soft, fluffy little sweater in pale sunshiny yellow… 

and smiled at her oldest. He had been given a vague explanation for his father's missing leg, but had never been told the 

full story. To be honest, she was surprised it hadn't come up before this, but then… the children had never known Mac 

with two legs and… somehow it sounded strange to think it, but… neither had she. It was just one of those ordinary, 

everyday facts of life. And Mac almost never talked about the war anymore.

"Why don't you ask him, Jamie?" Katie answered as she heard Mac's footsteps in the entryway. 

"Ask me what?" Mac appeared in the doorway, grinning from ear to ear. "How are all my favorite people?" He opened his 

arms and bent to gather the little ones up as they ran to him with cries of "Daddy's home!" 

"Don't you dare drop them," Katie warned as Mac straightened up with all three of the children wiggling in his arms. 

She rose slowly from her chair, pressing a hand to her growing stomach. Standing on tiptoe, she dropped a kiss on her 

husband's cheek. 

"Daddy!" Jamie twisted to look up at Mac, his eyes glowing with curiosity. "Why do you have one leg?"

"One leg, eh?" Mac glanced down at his boots. "Why… I've got two, don't I?" He let the children slide to the ground. 

"No you don't," Jamie knocked enthusiastically on Mac's wooden right leg, producing hollow-sounding thunks. "This 

one is fake!"

"Okay, so you've found me out," Mac collapsed, rather than sat, into a chair. Katie had long since given up trying to teach 

him more refined manners. If you love someone, you'd better embrace everything about them, her mother had warned 

her when she got married. Because you'll never be able to change them. Can't teach an old dog new tricks. Mac had heard 

this and protested at being called an 'old dog'. 

"Thought I had you fooled," Mac rolled up his right pants' leg and unstrapped the wooden leg. "How are my Li’l C's 

doing?" He grinned as the twins, Cody and Claire, clambered to climb into his lap. Jamie, rather strong for his six years, 

took the wooden leg and dragged it into its corner by the fireplace. He had claimed this duty as particularly his own 

months ago, and he did it proudly. 

"Why, Daddy?" Jamie pressed impatiently. Now that he had gotten it into his head, he would not rest until he knew the 

whole story. 

"Well, it happened this way," Mac leaned back in his chair, wrapping an arm each around Cody and Claire. Jamie dropped

to the floor beside the chair, crossing his legs and propping his chin in his hands. Katie resumed her seat opposite and 

took up her knitting again, but her eyes were on her husband's face. 

"See, I was on the beach with all my buddies and we were having an awful lot of fun," Mac spoke jauntily with a trace of 

sarcasm that was lost on the children. Katie shot him a warning glance. "And I wasn't looking where I was going when 

suddenly… bam! My leg just popped right off." He made a popping sound. 

"Why didn't you put it back on?" Three year old Claire stared wide-eyed at her Daddy.

"Why… it was lost. Couldn't find it. So…"

"Mac," Katie interposed quietly. "Maybe you should tell them the truth."

"What… isn't that the truth, Lintie?" He shook his head in unison with her and sighed. "Won't do, will it? Alright, kids, 

I'll give it to you straight. It all started a long time ago, back when I had two legs. Y'see, there was an awful bad man 

named Hitler and he had a lot of bad men to do bad things for him, and they were called Nazis."

"Nassies?" Claire echoed and Mac shuddered, pulling her golden-brown head close against his heart.

"Yeah," he spoke more quietly. "Nassies. Bad men. Very bad. Well, they lived on the other side of the sea,"

"Sea!" Cody cried, grinning. "Like me 'n Claire, Daddy?"

"No," Mac chuckled. "Not like my little C's. I mean the real sea… the ocean. They lived far away, these bad men. Well, the 

bad men decided they wanted to take over the whole world and I guess Hitler, who was the baddest man of all, wanted to 

be king or something."

"King?" Jamie frowned. "Isn't God the king?"

"Well, you're right, li'l buddy. God is king, He's the King of Kings. But there's kings on earth too, and sometimes 

they can be bad."

"Like Hitler?"

"Right. Um… so anyway, they needed good men to stop the bad men, so a lot of men from America decided to become 

soldiers and go stop the bad men so they couldn't take over the world."

"Soldiers!" Jamie cried. "Were you a soldier, Daddy?"

"You bet I was," Mac grinned, reaching down to ruffle his hair. Jamie was gaping at him with an expression of awe.

"What did the bad men do?" Cody wanted to know and a shadow crossed Mac's face. Katie was smiling faintly, nodding 

at him encouragingly. She trusted him to tell the story. That story… to these innocent little angels… he groaned inwardly.

"They hurt people," he said slowly. "And they took them away from their houses and made them live in… camps…"

"I wouldn't like that," Claire said solemnly. "Did you stop the bad men, Daddy?"

"Yes… we did. Me and my buddies… and all the good soldiers."

"What about the part about your leg?" Jamie bounced up and down in his spot. 

"Yeah. That. Well, all the good soldiers had to go across the ocean to stop the bad soldiers. We went to Africa and…"

"Africa! Did you see lions?"

"No, I didn't see any lions," Mac laughed. "I saw plenty of lizards though. I reckon the lions were pretty scared of us, we 

made a lot of noise."

Katie giggled and Mac grinned at her.

"Anyway. We went to Africa and Italy and stopped the bad men there and then we went to England so we could take a 

break and get ready for the biggest part of all. And when we were ready, we went to France on big ships to a place called 

Normandy. And then…then comes… the beach…" his voice dropped to a whisper. Katie dropped her knitting and leaned 

forward to squeeze his hand. 

"Omaha," Mac murmured and swallowed hard. He lifted his head and raised his voice. "There were these huge cliffs on 

the beach," he made a broad sweeping motion with his arm and Claire and Cody ducked, giggling. "All the bad men were 

on top of the cliffs with all kinds of guns and bombs and rockets and other things that go BANG! And BOOM!" Mac had

regained his composure quickly and he yelled as he imitated the sounds of the explosives. Claire clapped her hands over 

her ears and buried her face in his chest, shrieking with laughter. Jamie had jumped to his feet and was making his own 

imitations, his voice shrill. 

[Spoiler Removed]

[Spoiler Removed]

[Spoiler Removed] "We climbed off the ship into little boats and the boats took us to the beach. Now once we got on the 

beach, all the bad men were trying to stop us from crossing the beach and going up the cliffs…"

"And BANG!! BOOM!!! CRASH!!!!" Jamie howled wildly.

"You betcha." Mac grinned. "Settle down, laddie, if you wanna hear the rest of the story. Anyway," he continued as Jamie 

dropped back down to the floor. "There were these things buried in the sand that if you stepped on them, they exploded 

all over the place. And I…" he leaned forward, eyes wide to mirror Jamie. "I stepped on one of those things and…" he had 

dropped his voice so low they could barely hear him. In the next moment, he sat bolt upright, startling the twins as he 

yelled. "KABOOM!!!! It exploded in my face and that… was the end of my leg."

"Whoa…" Jamie breathed, awestruck. This was a much better story than he had anticipated. Just wait till he could tell the 

other boys at church! How jealous they would be… none of them had a father whose leg had been exploded off by a 

Thing buried in the sand, while fighting the Nassies.  "What happened after that?"

"Well after that, I couldn't walk, so I just laid down on the beach and took a nap," Mac grinned sheepishly. He had been 

unconscious for hours after the explosion… he never knew how long. "And when I woke up, some of the good soldiers 

had found me and they took me to a tent hospital. [Spoiler Removed]”

[Spoiler Removed]

“[Spoiler Removed] and then they put me on a plane and took me straight to England."

"A big plane?" Jamie asked, incredulous.

"An enormous plane."

Jamie sighed in raptures of ecstasy. This story just got better and better.

"They took me to a hospital in England and put me in bed, cuz I still couldn't walk."

"You had to go to bed," Cody laughed, greatly amused. "Silly Daddy."

"Yup. Silly Daddy." Mac's grin was irrepressible now and he stared at Katie, his eyes twinkling. "Then comes the best part 

of the story. Y'see, my leg hurt awful bad… and I was crying… like a baby, I guess." The children all laughed at this. "And 

then came a nurse…the sweetest, kindest, loveliest nurse in all the world… and she made me feel all better."

He beamed at Katie, his mind wandering back to the vivid memories of their first meeting.

"Don't leave me," he had gasped in pain and terror, gripping her hand desperately.

"I'm here," she had comforted, running gentle fingers over his cheek. "I'll stay as long as you need me."

Forever, he had thought, over and over in the months that followed as he lost his heart to her. I'll need you forever. Forever

and a day.

And now here she was, sitting across from him in their own living room surrounded by their own little ones… and she had

promised to stay with him forever. Forever and a day.

"Can you guess who that nurse was?" Mac paused for emphasis. And then, with great flourish, "It was Mommy!"

For at least half a minute after that, Mac couldn't speak. He and Katie were both bombarded with excited questions.

"It was the first time I ever met Mommy," Mac continued when the chatter abated. "And I fell head over heels in love with 

her, right on the spot." He disentangled his arm from Cody's grasp and held his hand out to Katie. She took it, moving 

from her chair to kneel beside his. He dropped a kiss on her lips and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"So y'see, getting my leg blown off wasn't so bad after all," Mac told Jamie. "Because if it hadn't happened, I might never 

have found Mommy."

"Thank you, Daddy," Claire planted a slobbery kiss on his cheek.

"You're welcome but… for what?"

"For finding Mommy," Claire replied solemnly. "I'd be sad if she was still losted."

"Me too, Claire-baby," Mac laughed. "We'd all be sad without Mommy.

———————————————

Rachel smiled, bending down and holding out her arms as Benji ran towards her. His black eyes were like little round stars, his cheeks chubby and rosy once again. [spoiler removed]

“How’s Baby?” she crooned, gathering him up and squeezing him while he giggled and kicked his legs. “Is Baby happy? Is my little Benji so happy? Ah, yes you are, yes you are,” she laughed. “Little Benji is so happy.” 

She wished that she could be half as happy. [spoiler removed] she feared for the future. [spoiler removed] Alone

in the world… refugees… strangers in a strange land, like her people of old, wandering in the desert without a home.

“Ah, but God brought them to the Promised Land, little one,” she said aloud, as if she had been speaking to Benji the whole time. “You see? He had a plan for them. And surely… surely He has a plan for us. He promised… “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee”. We…” her smile wavered but she kept it bravely pasted on her face. “We are loved, little one. You’ll see.”

But she didn’t feel loved. She had the promise of God, but she had yet to see the fulfillment. She only felt alone… horribly alone. She rose from where she had been crouching on the ground, letting Benji down again as

he squirmed in her arms. It was a chilly day, in spite of being early summer, and a cold breeze swept over her. [spoiler removed]

Benji sat in the dirt at her feet, sifting it through his fingers with delighted baby chuckles. He collected little 

pebbles, stacking them on top of each other in a little pile. She stooped again to his level, playing in the dirt like a child. She reached beyond him to gather more of the tiny pebbles and added them to his stack, smiling at the laughter this brought. 

———————————————

Donna wiped a dishcloth slowly over a hot, soapy dish, enjoying the feel of the warm water. 

She let her eyes drift out over the frozen landscape beyond her kitchen window, taking in the 

grandeur of the sparkling blanket of snow. Silvery-blue ice crusted over the oak tree in a pattern 

as delicate as the finest lace. A fringe of pointed icicles hung from the eaves of the roof and over 

the top of her window, creating dark blue shadows on the pure white snow beneath. 

She washed the last dish and pulled the drain from the sink, watching the water swirl slowly 

down. Wiping her soapy hands on her apron, she turned to the kitchen table, where she had 

carefully laid out things to wrap for Ronnie. Three dozen molasses cookies, still soft and warm 

from the oven, five pairs of thick wool socks, two woolen shirts, a pound of peppermint candyand a pound of lemon drops, clippings of the local farming news, several bars of real chocolate...

all waiting to be packed with love and prayers into the box that already looked too small. She 

sighed sadly as she pulled out wax paper, brown paper, tape, and scissors, and prepared to do 

battle with the mailing regulations. 

The soft creaking of the door and heavy footsteps in the entryway announced Jim’s arrival. She 

called out to him, automatically.

“Be sure to wipe the snow off your boots, dear.”

————————————————

"Mac lifted Katie off her feet, swinging her in the air with a cry of joy. When he pulled her into his embrace, she didn’t resist, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder. He was weeping openly, not bothering to hide his tears. He didn’t care if the whole world saw him standing there, crying and holding onto Katie as if his life depended on her. But then… maybe it did."

Am writing down this idea before I forget it... I just listened to Josh Turner's song "Why Don't We Just Dance" I think that's the title... And now an idea for the sequel. "Dance nights" at the Scott house in which they turn on the radio and scoot all the furniture out of the way. And then Mac and Katie dance while the kids bounce in circles around them. Occasionally being picked up by Mac and spun in circles or tossed up in the air... Y'know, all good fun ☺️

now I shall have a chapter in which she is canning while he sits at the table and snips beans... 

*Begin excerpt*

Jamie squatted down in the dirt, reaching with eager fingers for a hard green tomato dangling temptingly from a vine.

"Mato, Daddy!" he squealed. 

Mac glanced over from the opposite row where he was picking beans.

"No, li'l buddy," he grinned. "Not the green tomatoes. Pick the red tomatoes."

"Red mato?" Jamie pointed again to the aforementioned green tomato. Mac shook his head and moved to kneel beside the little boy. 

"No. See, this one is green. Green tomato is not good, 'kay? Unless Mommy is making green tomato relish, but Mommy has enough stuff to do today. Here, this is red, see? See red tomato? Now you pick it."

"Red mato!" Jamie laughed and plopped it into his little blue bucket. "Red mato?" he pointed at another red one and Mac nodded proudly. 

"That's right, li'l buddy. Wed mato." Mac resumed his bean-picking, keeping one eye on Jamie and the tomatoes. Amazingly, the little boy managed to stick to red ones after that, although he paused often to give note to some fascinating distraction. Often he set his bucket down, bending over until his little nose was almost squashed in the dirt in order to inspect a fat beetle or a wriggly worm. He poked a giant garden spider sitting on his web and screamed in delight when it shook.

"Daddy!" he cried suddenly, his little face lighting up. "Daddy, wook! What is it, Daddy?"

Again leaving the beans, although not regretfully, Mac hurried to see what was causing the excitement. A small garden tortoise was slowly plodding down the row. It stopped to look up rather complacently at the toddler and blinked its round eyes.

"What is it, Daddy?" Jamie repeated tentatively, touching it with a chubby finger.

"That is a tortoise," Mac said wisely and Jamie gaped at the creature in awe.

"Towtis," he declared emphatically. Glancing around, he snatched a tomato out of his pail and offered it to the tortoise with the order, "Eat, towtis. Eat wed mato!"

Mac chuckled and sat back on his heels to watch Jamie and the tortoise. It apparently did not want the tomato. It simply turned its head and then slowly withdrew into its shell. Jamie shrieked wildly, jumping up and down, clapping his dimpled hands.

"More! More, towtis!" he crouched down, pressing the side of his head on the ground as he attempted to see into the shell. "Come out, towtis!"

But it didn't come out. Undeterred, Jamie stood, brushed clods of dirt from his knees, and scooped the tortoise up.

"Hey!" Mac called after him as he toddled towards the house. "Where ya going?"

"Show Mommy towtis," Jamie called back. Mac gave the beans a derogatory glance, then scrambled to his feet to follow Jamie. Katie was sitting on the porch, snipping green beans. A full bucket of beans yet to be done lay at her feet and a bowl half full was vying for space in her lap. She was sitting on the porch swing, gently rocking back and forth and singing softly. She looked up to beam at Jamie as he clambered up the porch steps, Mac on his heels.

"Here are my boys!" she called out happily. 

"Look!" Jamie squealed. "Towtis, Mommy!"

Katie set her bowl aside and leaned forward to inspect the terrified animal.

"You found a tortoise!" she grinned with as much enthusiasm as Jamie himself. "It's so cute!"

"Yeah," Jamie agreed importantly as he set his new find on the porch floor. From seemingly out of nowhere, he produced a tomato and popped down on his stomach to try and coax the tortoise out of its shell. With a heavy sigh of relief, Mac dropped onto the swing beside Katie and stretched his bad leg out in front of him.

"Is it bothering you?" Katie frowned.

"Nah, not much," he grinned. "No more than usual." He leaned down to kiss her cheek. "How goes the bean-snipping?"

"I'm a little slow today," Katie admitted ruefully. "There's more of them than I expected."

"Why don't you take a break? I'll finish picking and then I'll come in and snip for you."

"Can't have you doing all my work," Katie protested, laughing.

"Nonsense. What's your work is my work. We share the burden, right? Anyway, can't have two of my most precious treasures put at risk… you and the little one are going to take care of yourselves."

"Might be three of us the way I'm feeling," Katie groaned. "I'm just sure there's two in here." She laid her hand on her stomach and sighed wearily.

"The more the merrier," Mac beamed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him and closed her eyes.

"Oh, oh!" Jamie shrieked. "It's coming out, Daddy!"

Mac looked, and sure enough, the tortoise was barely poking his head out of his shell.

"What is it?" Katie murmured sleepily, not opening her eyes.

"The tortoise emerges," Mac said dramatically. "Thus frightening its bold kidnapper. Or exciting him, I guess." He laughed. Katie smiled.

"I should get back to work." But she nestled closer in her husband's embrace, still unwilling to move.

"No, you're going inside to take a nap." Mac said firmly. "And that's an order."

"Aye, aye, Captain." Katie laughed softly.

"C'mon, Jamie," Mac nudged the little boy with the toe of his boot. "Let's us men get back to the garden and let Mommy get some rest, okay? And Mr. Tortoise here has got to go home.

Jamie looked up with startled green eyes.

"No, Daddy!" He protested, picking up the tortoise and hugging it.

"Aw, let him play with it for a while," Katie lifted her head. "He can't hurt it and it probably won't hurt him."

Mac found Katie in the courtyard. She was sitting with her lap full of letters, but staring off into the distance without reading them. They seemed almost to smell faintly of apples and cinnamon… a homespun aura revealing the simple background from which she came. He sat down beside her without a word and she turned, smiling faintly up at him. 

"Hi," she offered by way of greeting. He didn't answer. Reaching out, he picked up her wrist, cradling it gently in his big hand. The dark red marks of fingerprints still bruised her skin. Her face turned pale and she pulled her arm away.

"No need to worry about that," she spoke cheerfully. "I'm just fine."

"I hurt you," his voice was barely above a whisper. "I promised I wouldn't…"

"That's nonsense, Mac. You didn't hurt me. Just an accident, that's all. I know you wouldn't do that on purpose. And the marks will go away soon."

He shook his head, looking half-dazed. He reached for her hands again, taking both of them in his. His touch was soft, almost caressing, as he bent his head to meet her eyes. She hadn't realized that strong and calloused fingers could be so gentle.

"I'm sorry," he murmured earnestly, his eyes brimming over with sorrow and pain. "I won't ever hurt you again. I won't ever let anything hurt you. I promise." His tone was deadly serious and she dropped her carefree attitude immediately. She could see by the look on his face that he meant exactly what he said and it touched her in a way nothing ever had. Mac was not a man to be taken lightly. 

"Thank you," she whispered back, not knowing what exactly to say. He smiled then… not his usual impish grin, but a warm and eager flash of happy gratitude. Lifting her hands to his lips he kissed her bruises. 

"I love you, Katie."

She was stunned into silence. What could be said when a man told you he loved you? She studied his face a moment, wondering if he truly meant it. Or was it merely a profession of friendship? What she saw in his eyes startled her. It was love, true and deep… the love of a man worth having. 

Malcom I. Scott

Born 1921

Katherine Elizabeth Stewart

Born 1926?

1946-

James Duncan

Cody Stewart

Claire Elizabeth

Kara Jeanette

Kara can mean either Wild, Stormy One, or be an abbreviation of Katherine, meaning Pure.

Jeanette meaning God Is Gracious, and maybe a little bit after Janette Oke (; I think…. I think this may be her, Mia!! 

But I did so want that Eileen, and I am quite upset it won’t let me choose it…. And after Wrenna was a bust already!! They both mean Little Bird, what’s so dreadful about that?? But she fairly throws it back every time I try to pin either one on her.

Her name is Cara Jeanette, although she was promptly dubbed Jeanie by her very proud indeed daddy! (Perhaps Cara Jenn in later years)  So much easier for little tongues to pronounce, too. What does she look like? Well, she’s a puzzle-piece baby, and no denying it. She has her mummy’s face, her daddy’s irrepressible and irresistible grin, not to mention a touch of his temper as well😜 Equally irrepressible curls inherited from them both…. Jamie’s love for the water and all things on it, hazel eyes, courtesy of the grandpa she never met….  (Heaven help the person provoking her, ‘cause soft as they look, they turn stubbornly stony where Mac’s throw sparks!) And warmly cinnamon-y hair, curling jubilantly with a mind all its own, hazel eyes with a tendency to shout things even when her mouth does not…. A smattering of freckles bridge her nose, and paint her a most picturesque little bit of a dolly!

She has the love for working with the bees that forcibly skipped her dad, the same knack for training dogs…. Not just for companions, but as working dogs. She really takes after her Grandpa Scott very much, in many ways. A girly girl resides deep within, but a fair bit of her Auntie Emma sticks to her surface in regards of trees and tomboyish characteristics!

Chickadee…. Because she’s bright, and tiny, and curious, and always jumping on breadcrumbs of information…. And whistling! She has skipped the harmonica, and plays no other instrument, but her own tongue has fooled many a person into believing she does. Of course, this gives pestiferous laddies many a chance to spout the

”Whistling Girls And Crowing Hens” saying, but only those she’s on extremely friendly terms with dare say it more than once! 

Anyhoo... To finish what I was trying to say. About John Kelly, I mean. So I didn't really put it in the book, but the munitions factory he gets a job at is in Cleveland. So basically he lives there, but would be in Jefferson on the weekends. Or at least, that's what he had planned until Lissie disappeared. But he's only an hour away. Poor guy... I'm of half a mind to send him after her. But he ain't going back on his convictions this time.

Would it be weird if he could reconcile with her if Ronnie couldn't? 🤔 No spoilers though, just considering all the angles.

It has to do with Mac and his ridiculous habit of popping up when I least expect him. It was during the morning church service yesterday and I suddenly had this weird flash scene of Katie going into labor with Jamie and they were at the hospital, but they wouldn't let Mac into the delivery room because this is the 40s, even though Katie was begging for him. So he up and threatens to toss the doctor out the window if they don't let him in. So the doctor, who is short and fat and little, looks Mac up and down and decides, without further argument, to let him in... 🤣 It was horribly improper of me, I know, to commence giggling in the middle of Tom's properly dignified sermon... But man, I get tired of listening to the guy. So sometimes I let my mind wander... And it was like watching a movie... 😳

Something I forgot to mention before... So Cara (or is it Kara?) being very like her Daddy is prone to also pop up in random places... The other day was when I was listening to Return to Sender... Member how I said she was an Elvis fan? And I got a flash scene of her dancing to the mailbox and singing that song... 😆

Ohhh... I found out why it's considered the worst WWII battle now... We lost 19,000 Yanks in that battle. 81,000 total American casualties, including missing, captured, and wounded. 800 of your guys died and 1,400 British. Over one million Allied troops total, 500,000 were Yanks. My great grandpa was there... Wounded too. 

As for other American losses during the worst battles of the war, it was approx 2,500 on D-Day, 6,000 at Iwo Jima, 12,000 at Okinawa. So yeah... battle of the Bulge was the worst by far 😳😳😳

They go straight through France all the way to the German border and invade in September. After a battle and siege, they take the city of Aachen in late October and continue to advance across Germany until December 7th. They move to the rear for a break after six months solid combat, but go straight back to the front when Battle of the Bulge starts on the 16th of December. Josh will prob rejoin them in September, right before they invade Germany. Sometime in between then and December 16th, he and Emma will be getting married... 

And right around Christmas is Ronnie's day of reckoning...  (Hopefully 'tis the correct phrase... I sorta like the sound of it... Anyhoo, besides the point.)

*begin excerpt*

Emma wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, shaking her head to free her vision from the wisps of hair that had escaped her pins. It was crazy, she reflected, to be sweating when it was this cold. The air was frigid. And she had learned that even blood can freeze. 

“How ‘bout a patching job, nurse?” 

She didn’t even turn at the voice. She simply clenched her eyes shut and drew a deep, silent breath. She was so tired. So tired. She was almost afraid to work now for fear that her fingers would fumble and her mind wouldn’t even be able to catch up.

“They’ll… they’ll see to you inside,” she faltered. “I’m on break.” She lowered her face to bury it in her hands, wanting to hide from the world. Her head ached unbearably and she was frozen stiff. If she could only make it back to her cot, she would be fine. The soldier standing behind her hadn’t answered, but she wasn’t worried about him. If he was able to stand and ask for help in a perfectly rational voice, then he wasn’t in any immediate danger. In the next moment, she felt herself wrapped in his embrace. She didn’t even react, just sighed tremblingly as she realized who he was. 

“You’re alive,” she murmured, dropping her head to rest on his chest, the scratchy wool of his overcoat somehow warmer and more comforting than the thought of her blankets back in her tent. 

“Sometimes I wonder,” Josh laughed without humor. “I feel dead.”

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Just a scratch.”

“Let me see.” Emma pulled back, reaching for his arm. “That is certainly more than a scratch, you idiot. Get in here and let me fix it.” 

“Not yet,” Josh pulled her towards him again. “Right now, just seeing you is all the medicine I need. I’m okay, Em.”

“How is it you always manage to find me in all this chaos?” she whispered into his shoulder. 

“Always? I’ve seen you three times in the past three years.”

“And I haven’t seen Ronnie even once. Where is he?”

“Emma…” Josh’s voice was suddenly stilted and Emma felt her breath catch in alarm. Twisting in his arms, she lifted her face to meet his eyes.

“What’s happened, Scout?”

“That’s just it. I… don’t know.”

“You’re in the same unit,” she spoke flatly. “How do you not know where he is?” She frowned as she watched Josh’s face. He swallowed hard, biting his lip, and took a deep breath.

“Missing,” he stated bluntly. “Missing in action. It’s been just under three weeks.”

“Three... Three weeks? Missing? Oh… Josh…” her face crumpled and she clutched at the folds of his coat desperately. She was ice cold, shivering in the wind. He undid the buttons of his coat with stiff, frozen fingers, pressing her body close against his, wrapping the coat around them both together. She didn’t cry, just clung to him, her eyes squeezed shut and her face pale as death.

*end excerpt*

*Excerpt*

That night, Marci told Emma something she never in all her life dreamed she'd ever have occasion to say.

"Emma… I think I'm in love with a Canuck!"

"A what?" Emma stared at her friend in utter confusion as Marci dissolved into helpless tears and giggles. 

"I dunno what's wrong with me," she gasped, suddenly not able to control her laughter. It was some kind of nervous breakdown for certain, that must be it. Perhaps the stress of combat was getting to her. "But oh, Emma, he's just all kinds of wonderful!" 

And more than that, she would not dare to say. She no longer trusted her emotional state. Being actually, truly in love was much more of a roller coaster than she had ever guessed it would be.

*End excerpt*

Just remembered this snippet from the book...

Mac turned to wrap his arms around Katie, bending his head over hers.

“Ann am fasgadh a chèile, bidh daoine beò,” he whispered.

“What’s that mean?” Katie didn’t lift her face, but she could feel him smile.

“In the shelter of each other, people live.”

Presenting a picture that brought on an instant Mac-flash... Can't you just picture him playing hide and seek with Jamie? And also... the towtisses, of course... 😜

"Looks like we're gonna have an early winter," Mac frowned at the weather report in the paper. "Course, don't they always say that? Y'know there are only two seasons in Minnesota, winter and winter is coming."

"Well, you're the one who wanted to live here, Dear," Katie murmured complacently, her eyes on the tiny overalls she was patching. She snipped a thread off between her teeth and grinned up at Mac. The main qualm she had had over marrying him was the fact that Minnesota was so very far away from Ohio. But he was determined to keep the family farm, never you mind that bees could kill him if he wasn't careful. 

"Mm." Mac shrugged and turned back to the paper. In the corner, the radio was crackling quietly, the sounds of "Hi-Ho Silver!" barely discernible through the static. Jamie was plopped down in front of the radio, reacting quite enthusiastically to every sound of the program. Morton Q. Plodalong galloped wildly to the rescue of the Indian Princess, a wooden spoon snitched from the kitchen, shooting off his six-shooters and screaming "Hi-Ho!" all the way. 

"Bang, bang!" Jamie squealed, launching Morton Q. in a final flying leap and accidentally landing squarely on the princess. Said princess immediately was transformed into a weapon and Morton Q. continued his wild race, brandishing the spoon and screeching. 

"Tune in next week for more exciting adventures of The Lone Ranger," the radio announced. Morton Q. Was allowed a brief rest as he was dropped unceremoniously to the floor. Jamie jumped to his feet, clapping enthusiastically and yelling "More, Daddy!"

"No more," Mac laughed. "You have to wait till next week. Turn it off, kay? It's almost bed time."

"I'm not goin' to bed," Jamie grumbled, crossing his chubby arms and poking out his bottom lip. 

"Ohh, yes you are, little man," Katie smiled maternally. "And when you wake up in the morning, Daddy will take us all to Grandma's house for apple picking. So you have something to dream about."

"And Uncle (needs a name... Tis Mac's uncle, Jamie's great uncle, the one who helped out on the farm)?" Jamie's face lit up.

"Yes, Uncle (same uncle) will be there. Now you pick up those toys."

"Scoot," Mac added, helpfully. Jamie scooted, picking up scattered toys by the armful and dropping them into the enormous cedar toy chest Mac had made. "The bottomless pit," Mac called it, after getting a fair sampling of the endless random items that both disappeared into it and strangely appeared out of it. An entire set of frying pans, three bathroom towels, countless socks, and Mac's old boots had all mysteriously been found in it at one point or another. Katie's hairbrush was a prime target and on one notable occasion, Jamie had been seen trying to stuff his father's wooden leg into it.

"So you won't go to work and you'll play with me all day," had been his explanation. Mac had gone to work regardless, but had come home early to take Jamie fishing. Although he never connected the leg incident to the impromptu fishing trip. It wouldn't do to give the little guy ideas.

But Jamie didn't need to be given ideas. He had a good store of them all on his own. There were days when Katie thanked God he wasn't related by blood to his Uncle Josh. She didn't even want to know how much crazier that would make her life. Jamie was on the verge of a new idea when one of the babies began to cry. Katie dropped her mending and went to her babies and Jamie grinned. Good. It was much easier to manipulate Daddy. At the moment, Mac had turned back to his paper, while still keeping one eye on the progress of the toy cleaning. Jamie danced up to him and yanked the paper out of his startled hands.

"Can't make me go to bed if you can't find me!" he cried and took off as fast as his fat little legs could go. It took Mac a few minutes of considerable fumbling before he got his wooden leg strapped on again. Only then was he able to head in search of his prodigal son.

Jamie had run in the direction of the parlor and thus his father traced that route. The moment Mac stepped into the parlor, he noticed a pair of little bare feet sticking out from under the curtains. 

"Crivvens, where did the laddie go?" Mac cried in mock confusion. A giggle was heard from behind the curtains. "Must be in the cupboard…" he made a great show of digging through the cupboard where Katie kept music books. "Nope… maybe the vase…" he peered inside thoughtfully. The curtains giggled again.

"Mac?" Katie called from the other room, a baby in each arm. "Can you put Jamie to bed?"

"Nope," Mac called back, dropping to the floor to see beneath the sofa. 

"Why not?" 

"Can't find him," Mac shrugged, struggling to his feet again. Carefully he inspected a high shelf, used for knick knacks and then underneath it where a potted plant stood. This time, the curtains giggled very loudly indeed. Mac's head shot up, smacking against the knick knack shelf. With a muttered Gaelic exclamation, he turned his attention toward the curtains. 

"Hmm…" he mused thoughtfully. "There's something very odd about those curtains…" Another giggle. The bare toes wriggled in excitement. "There's a funny lump there. A… Jamie-sized lump. I wonder…"

He went over to the curtains and poked at them. They wiggled. He poked again. Another giggle. 

"Aha!" Mac cried, dropping to his knees to tickle the curtains.

"No! Holp!" The curtains shrieked with laughter. "Daddy! Stop!"

"What?" Mac yelled, tickling harder. "I can't hear you!" He reached behind the curtains and dragged Jamie out. The little boy was squirming wildly and howling with delighted laughter as he was slung over his daddy's shoulder and carried off triumphantly to bed. Stopping along the way to collect Morton Q Plodalong, of course.

Great, thanks for the name! Japheth he be then, and Uncle Jafe to Jamie, I'm guessing 😁 Gotta be feeling this guy out now... Know any more about him yet? And knowing he is a bachelor, right? How d'you feel about a later-in-life romance subplot...? I'm not entirely certain how old he is... Guessing forty-ish if Mac's twenty-three beginning of the sequel...

Mm... Knee injury, eh? Got an almost Mac-flash here about them both pretending to be invalids and making Katie mad... 🤪

Also, I feel I must know Mac's opinion on cotton candy aaaand... BOOM!! There it goes. Right this literal second I have got another Mac-flash of him with Jamie at the fair and Jamie just stuffing cotton candy into himself and being absolutely covered in sticky pink fluff and oh boy, this be great fun.…

Was remembering earlier a note my brother wrote at five-ish years old... "Wen yor fother is mad, God still luvs you all the tim." And suddenly wondered if Jamie would ever do that after getting in trouble over something... 🤔😆

*begin random excerpts*

They slipped noiselessly into the night… mere shadows in the moonless dark. He had never before in all his life been so glad to see such a dark night. Had the moon been out, its reflection on the hard-packed snow would have been bright as the light of day.  

They made slow progress, their pace impeded by the wounded man. His feet were dragging, his legs barely moving. He seemed to be losing consciousness, his head falling limply to his chest for moments at a time before he snapped it back up again, fighting as hard as he could to press himself on. But after an hour of struggling through the snow, it became evident that he could go on no longer. 

*new excerpt*

He stood at the back of the line, watching with a grimace as the rations were ladled out. He thought of home… saw his mother pulling apple pies, golden-brown and bubbling from the oven. Thick cuts of juicy roast beef, roasted potatoes. Creamy milk and cold mint tea, vegetables fresh from the garden... tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and lettuce. It was all so real he could smell it. Heck, he could almost taste it. He could swallow that stale porridge and maybe it would even taste like Angus steak. He burned the images deeper in his mind, forcing himself into a kind of almost anticipation for the slop he was about to receive. 

*new excerpt*

All through the long years of the war, he had fought because he knew it was something he had to do. He hated war, he hated fighting. But he had been fighting for others and he knew it was his duty… a just and righteous cause. But now… for the first time… he wanted to fight. To fight for himself. 

*new excerpt*

But as the long weary days dragged slowly and painfully past, the promise dulled. Home dimmed with each step. As the icy winter days rolled into a soggy and freezing spring, even memories lay obscured in dark shadows. And one miserable morning, where snow lay on the ground as thick as always, he let himself fall. He just couldn't go on… couldn’t take another step. 

*end excerpts*

Katie's eyes lit up at the colorful display of beautiful handmade quilts lining the walls of the hall and on racks down the center. Mac groaned in mock agony as his wife wandered slowly down the rows, carefully examining every pattern, every stitch, every material of the quilts.

"This isn't gonna take half of forever, is it Lintie?" he complained, lunging at Jamie who managed to escape just at that moment. Jamie didn't get far and was unceremoniously scooped up and tucked under his Daddy's arm.

"Oh, you," Katie sighed longsufferingly. "Why don't you boys go entertain yourselves and leave me in peace? I want to look at these quilts and the judging will start in less than an hour. I gotta be here for that."

"All right come on, li'l buddy," Mac told Jamie, unnecessarily , of course. Jamie couldn't help but go along, dangling as he was so far above the ground. "Let's go find tractors and pigs."

"Piggies!" Jamie squealed, clapping his hands. Ma, stooped to plant a kiss on Katie's cheek.

"See you at the pork chop stand for lunch at noon?" 

"Aye aye, Sir," she saluted. Mac meandered off into the crowd, Jamie giggling and kicking his arms and legs wildly. Katie watched them go, shaking her head with a smile.

"Lucky, aren't I?" she whispered to nobody in particular. "How I love my boys!"

"Now watch me," Mac instructed Jamie. "And I'll show you the proper way to enjoy a fair." He let the little boy slide to the ground. Jamie reached up to curl his tiny hand around Mac's finger and toddled along at his daddy's side. "None of this boring stuff when you're with me, laddie," Mac went on. "No jam or quilt contests for us, no sir. We're going on a ride and then we're gonna see the pigs and cows, eh?"

"Mooo!!" Jamie yelled, doing an excited little hop. "Moo, oink!!"

"Right here," Mac stopped in front of a game booth and lifted Jamie onto the counter. "Now this is fun. Watch this!" He picked up one of the balls, hitting the target dead center. Jamie laughed and bounced on the counter.

"Me try!" His ball went far afoul of the target, but Mac praised him as if it had been a perfect hit and the little boy glowed. When they left the game booth, Jamie had a brand new stuffed red donkey tucked proudly under his arm. 

Hungry in spite of the fact that he had had a huge breakfast, Mac wandered over into the food stands. The smells of everything imaginable fried mingled with the scent of cinnamon donuts, grilled pork and beef, and sizzling Italian sausages.

"Fresh squeezed lemonade, ice cold!" cried a vendor exhibiting his wares. "Funnel cake! Get your ice cream here! Fresh fried donuts!"

"Say," Mac grinned at Jamie. "Hows about some cotton candy, li'l buddy?" Jamie agreed enthusiastically, although he had never tried cotton candy in his life. Daddy looked excited, so that must mean this cotton candy was a very good thing. 

"Donty have some too?" he queried, pushing the red donkey in Mac's face as they joined the line at the cotton candy booth.

"Yep, Donty have some too," Mac laughed. "I'll take the biggest bag you got," he added to the vendor.

A few minutes later found Jamie and Donty both riding on Mac's shoulders, Jamie blissfully stuffing both his and Donty's faces with the handfuls of pink fluff Mac handed up to them.

"Nummy! Jamie cried, his mouth full. "Me likes it. More, Daddy!"

"This stuff oughta come chocolate flavored," Mac complied with his son's demands, handing up another wad of candy. Jamie smashed half of it into his mouth and smeared the other half in Mac's hair, laughing delightedly at the effect it produced. Mac didn't exactly realize the state his hair was in by the time he and Jamie finished off the bag of candy. He continued to take Jamie on the carousel and then to a hog show, still blissfully ignorant in spite of the amused glances he received from passers by. It wasn't until an hour later when he met Katie for pork chops that he found out. 

Katie had already gone through the line and sat waiting at a picnic table, supplementing the pork chops with her own homemade coleslaw, potato salad, and chocolate chip cookies. Double the chocolate chips, of course, the way Mac liked them. She waved her boys over and her eyes widened as she stared at Mac.

"What is it?" Mac grinned, confused, as Katie burst into hysterical laughter. She couldn't answer, just pulled a little mirror from her purse and held it out to him. His hair was sticking up in every direction and liberally smeared with the now-melting cotton candy. Jamie was even stickier, pink fluff covering his hands and face and all over Donty to boot.

"That settles it," Katie gasped when she could find her voice again. "You are taking Jamie home for nap instead of me, and you are going to wash your hair before you come back tonight."

"But what are you going to do?" Mac protested, his mouth already full of pork chop.

"Gwendy and I are going to explore. There's plenty to do around here," Katie replied loftily. "And we deserve a little fun anyway."

"Will you still ride the ferris wheel with me tonight?" Mac made puppy eyes at her and her heart visibly melted.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," she smiled dreamily, reaching across the table to lace her fingers through his.

Letter from Mac to Marjorie Scott

September, 1944

Dear Mom,

Well, they finally let me out of this hospital. Not that I actually wanted to be out… I mean, they never asked me. But I'm out all the same and now they want to ship me home. Don't get me wrong, Mom, I want to come home, more than anything. Dream every night of the farm and your cooking and all those trees and the hills and hunting enough to keep me busy for days. But… there's something here that I can't exactly leave yet. I should say someone.

I didn't tell you before, Mom, but there's someone awfully important here and I just can't get on that ship tomorrow. I've gotta stay a while, wait and hope… maybe I'll be lucky yet. You see, there's a girl here… a nurse… Mom, I can't do her justice in a letter. She's the sweetest, kindest, gentlest, most beautiful girl I've ever met in all my life. I didn't know that angels lived among us like that. She's just the most wonderful person I could ever dream of. I'd have died inside if it hadn't been for her. She's kept me going, all the way through the darkest times here, just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore. I'm in love with her. Can't even imagine trying to live without her. And now… I don't know what to do.

You see, her heart belongs to someone else. She was engaged and he was killed in the Pacific. I asked her to marry me, but she said not ever. I know, I know. I oughta go home and leave her alone. I can see her heart is broken and it breaks mine too… I want to make her happy somehow. Want to see her smile and know that she's smiling because of me. But there isn't anything I can do. It's dumb of me to stay. I know it. No point in telling me so. But I can't go until I know for sure. If I wait and hope long and hard enough, then maybe…

So I'm sorry, Mom. You'll have to wait a little while longer to kill the fatted calf. I want to see you something terrible, and Uncle Jafe too… but I can't go. 

And hey, don't be worrying about me. My leg, or rather my not-leg, is just fine. It hurts sometimes, like it's still there, but I'm okay. I'll get a job, find a decent place to stay, and I certainly know how to eat so don't worry about me starving myself to death. I'll be home just as soon as I can figure everything out… whether that means tearing myself away or maybe… but I'm not going to dare writing it yet. No sense in jinxing it.

Oh, her name is Katie. Katie Stewart. She's so much like a little songbird though… I call her Lintie. You'd love her, Mom, you really would. Wish I could bring her home to meet you.

Love you!

Mac

He almost stepped on it before he managed to see it, half-hidden in the grass. Kneeling beside it, he lifted the tiny creature gently. It was a pale-brown little songbird with round black eyes. Softly, he ran one finger over its tiny head.

"A Lintie," he murmured, smiling softly as he cradled the bird in his big hand. Its wing was broken, hanging limp and crooked at its side. "What happened to you, eh?" The little bird was frightened, hiding its head beneath its good wing. "Don't be scared, I won't hurt ya. See if I can get ya fixed up… if I can get up again, that is," he laughed ruefully, mentally cursing himself for being so stupid as to go all the way down when he wasn't wearing his prosthesis. Getting up on his crutches again without hurting the bird or leaving it behind would take some doing.

"What did you find?" Katie's voice interrupted Mac's thoughts and he turned to see her kneeling at his side. She leaned forward eagerly and he showed her the bird.

"It's a Lintie. And it's hurt… needs a nurse."

"Ohh…" Katie gasped, reaching out with a finger to gently touch the brown head of the bird. "How precious… what a sweet little thing! Poor birdie, are you hurt? Well. I know exactly what to do, I'll make it all better." She raised smiling eyes to Mac's face. "You stopped for this little bird? That's… that's really sweet, Mac,"

Mac grinned, pleased.

"I was gonna bring it to you, but…" 

"Can't get up, can you?" Katie laughed. Her eyes were dancing teasingly. "Well… let's see now…" she held out her hand for the bird and he passed it over, careful not to hurt it. "This is a predicament, isn't it?" She stood and pretended to walk away. Mac was still sitting there, laughing. Katie had shoved his crutches to the side when she sat down and now… they were too far away.

"Come back here, you, I can't reach those d– those crutches," he remembered to break off just before saying "darned". She paused, looked back over her shoulder, grinning.

"I guess you'll have to crawl then," she knew he was completely helpless without the crutches and part of her, well, most of her was feeling horribly guilty for teasing him like this. But she couldn't help it… and anyway, she knew he was the sort that could take it. She turned to go again.

"You wouldn't." Mac didn't move. 

"Sure. It'd teach you a lesson to keep that leg of yours on. And maybe we birds are better off without a cat?" She hated herself for saying that. It had just slipped out before she thought about it. Retracing her steps quickly, she picked up his crutches and brought them to him.

"Here ya go, don't look so wretchedly dejected, you're making me feel bad," she laughed, grasping his elbow with her free hand to help him up. Once he was standing again, he reached out and caught her wrist.

"Not so fast, Lintie," he grinned impishly and pulled her closer. "You owe me an apology."

"Do I?" she asked innocently. 

"Yup. You owe me a kiss."

"Oh." Katie raised her eyebrows. "You sure know what you're doing, don't you? Well, I was horrid, so…" she stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry."

He hadn't expected her to actually do it and his eyes widened, his senses reeling in shock. He could hear her laughing, but her voice seemed far away somehow. What was she saying… he couldn't pull his wits together to catch her words. And suddenly, she was kissing his lips and he thought he was going to die of happiness.

"There, that's all you get," Katie grabbed his elbow again as he staggered a few steps. "Watch it, you're gonna go down again and next time you won't get so lucky."

He managed to regain his balance and make it to the edge of the courtyard where she left him and the bird sitting on a bench. By the time she returned with toothpicks, tape, and sugar water to patch up the bird, he was in his right mind again. Mostly. He helped, holding the bird as she carefully fashioned a splint for its broken wing, and fed it the sugar water, but he barely realized what he was doing. He could still feel the soft brush of her lips against his and he ached to kiss her again. The words she said… or he thought she said… were ringing in his ears. He couldn't believe them… perhaps it was just his imagination torturing him. Her voice had been so soft, he had barely caught the words… and what if he had heard them wrong?

"I love you, Mac."

A cruel chance of fate it would be to play such a trick on his mind. He knew just how fragile was the ground upon which he tread and he trembled with the fear of losing her. But she had kissed him, hadn't she? And maybe… just maybe… she really had said it after all.

He had never realized it was possible to love one person so much.