"I'd love for you to meet her," Kel told Dixie. "She's a very intelligent little girl."

"I'm sure she is," Dixie replied. "But why do you want me to meet her?"

"She needs a good home, Dix," her husband said earnestly. "And we can give her one."

Dixie pretended to be busy with paperwork so that Kel wouldn't see the shock on her face. In the relatively short time they'd been married, the subject of children hadn't really come up. She'd simply assumed that they were both too busy with their respective careers to make the commitment that parenthood would require. And now Kel was thinking of taking this child in?

Yes, she realized that her husband had a special place in his heart for the young orphan. Tina had been in the back seat of the car that her drunken father had crashed into Kel's car. Her father had been killed instantly, and Tina herself had suffered a broken foot. Kel had been rendered unconscious and had suffered some minor contusions to his head and had to stay in the hospital for a couple of days.

Kel had blamed himself for the accident and for the death of Tina's father. Tina herself had been unwilling to talk to anyone except Johnny, until Kel had gone to visit her and learned that the girl's father had been an abusive alcoholic who fought with his family.

"I know this is very sudden," Kel continued. "But she has no one. Her mother's dead, and her uncle and aunt have a lot of children themselves and are reluctant to take her in. The only other option is for her to go into a foster home. Please, Dix, will you at least think about it?"

"All right," she agreed. "I'll meet her."

Tina had red hair and freckles and looked to be about ten years old. She was sitting up in bed drawing pictures of horses.

"Hi, Tina," said Kel. "This is my wife, Dixie."

"Hello, Tina," said Dixie.

"Hi," said Tina.

"Can I see what you're drawing?" asked Dixie.

"Sure." The little girl handed the drawing to the nurse.

"You're very talented," Dixie said.

"Thank you," Tina replied.

"I've always loved horses, too," said Dixie. "I know of a ranch nearby where you can go and ride horses all day long. The owners are friends of mine. Would you like for me to take you there sometime when your foot's better?"

"Oh, yes!" Tina exclaimed.

"So, what do you think?" Kel asked Dixie later when they were alone.

"She certainly seems to be a very sweet girl," Dixie replied. "And she deserves a good home with parents who love her. But do you think we're ready for that kind of responsibility?"

"With the right amount of determination, I don't see why not," Kel said. "We certainly wouldn't be the only dual-career family with a child, and a part of me has always wanted to be a father."

Dixie didn't say anything. She was too busy thinking. She'd felt drawn to Tina as well, although perhaps not quite as strongly as Kel obviously was, and besides a part of her had always wanted to be a mother, too.

'