After the first night, Winnie seemed to fit in with the Tucks. Jesse took her everywhere he went, and she willingly followed. The first weeks of summer were starting something that might just last forever.

With Jesse always off on some 'adventure' with Winnie, Meg helped out more and more. She learned the comings and goings of the Tuck's small world, and loved every minute. She counted the days she had been there, if only just to know how long she hadn't had to count.

Miles and Tuck continued to show her the forest. After another two weeks, she felt like she knew every waterfall, creek, creek, rock, and tree. Mae taught her about the rest of life. Cooking, cleaning, being joyful; all were part of her daily lessons.

Meg felt herself becoming like a second mother to the Tucks, watching them for their well-being. Tuck and Mae were solid, never-changing. Jesse was happier than ever. But Miles seemed to grow more distant from all of them as time went by.

Meg couldn't bring herself to just watch him drift away, but she couldn't seem to anchor herself down either.

One night, she was sitting alone by the lake, watching the stars reflect in the water, when Miles came out of the woods, deep in thought. He saw her, apologized, and began to leave.

She stopped him. "You can stay. There's enough room on this log for both of us, y'know. What's on your mind?"

"Just some of life's little worries," he said, sitting down next to her. "What's on yours?"

"I used to watch the stars with my little brother. It's been a long time since I've seen him."

Miles could sense a story behind her words. He decided to find out what it was. "What happened?"

"It's a long story."

"I've got all the time in the world." Miles had to keep himself from laughing at the ironic humor of the statement.

"Alright, if you really wanna hear it."

"I do."

"When I was 17, my brothers, one older and one younger, decided to leave London to come to America. I begged so much they let me come too. We all worked to bring my parents and younger sister over. My older brother worked as a carpenter, my younger one as a blacksmith, and I as a housemaid or companion.

My older brother, Ryan, got married about a year after we got here. They had a boy, Nathan. A month after he was born, scarlet fever took all three of them.

My younger brother, Shane, and I sent for my family. Their ship sank. Out of six in my family, only two were left. My brother couldn't take it all. He took to drinking real heavy. One night he went to the pub and never came back. I waited, but eventually I had to leave. I kept coming farther and farther west. I got to Treegap about two months ago."

"I'm so sorry." He really was. He didn't understand how God could do the things he did. Somehow, he and Meg had the same fate, but in different ways.

Meg smiled bitter-sweetly. "Don't be. I'll see 'em again. It seems that everyone dies."

For only the second time in his life, Miles wanted to tell someone the truth. He argued with himself trying to figure out what to do. He couldn't tell her. Not yet.

He wanted to do something, but he didn't know what. He only defense kicked in. He ran. He excused himself and went where he knew things would go his way. The card table at Treegap's saloon.

Meg sat alone for a while, memories flooding her mind. Fears of the past were surfacing, and she wasn't quite sure what to do.