Present Day: Daniel's POV

"Oooh! Looks like somebody's got a date for the Christmas formal," fourteen year old Nick Belden teased.

He pretended to kiss the back of his hand several times and made obnoxious faces at his cousin Laura who had just come over and joined the group of Bobwhites' offspring sitting at their usual lunch table.

"Cut it out, Nick," Daniel Regan admonished. "Laura wouldn't go out with that Brandon Claremont if he were the last jerk on earth."

"Well…actually…" Laura gave a grimace and bit her lip nervously.

"Oh my gosh, Laura! Are you crazy? That creep?" Fiona Regan cried out. "You heard how rude he was to Daniel about Ashley. Please tell me you aren't thinking about going to the dance with him!"

Daniel and the others turned to get a glimpse of the boy Laura had just been talking with on the other side of the cafeteria.

"Come on, guys. He's really not all that bad…and…he's gorgeous…and he's a senior…and…"

"And, if he gets fresh with you, I'll rearrange his face… …again!" Matt Belden growled.

Everyone laughed, except for Laura and Matt's younger sister Maddie. The shy girl quickly reached out her small hand and placed it on her brother's muscular forearm. "Matt, that's not funny. It's wrestling season, and you don't want to get cut from the team…"

"Oh, Maddie, I was just kidding," Matt said with a laugh. "Believe me, I learned my lesson the last time I hit him. If sitting out a football game wasn't bad enough, I had to listen to one of our dad's famous guilt trip speeches. No more fighting for me, okay. I promise."

Again, everyone laughed.

This time, even Laura joined in the fun. But, she still looked uncertain.

"So, would you all hate me if I said yes and went with Brandon to the dance?" She reached across Lydia, her twin sister, to tap Daniel on the arm. "Hmm? Daniel? What do you think?"

The black haired teen shrugged and looked down at the table solemnly. Surely, he didn't want to hurt his cousin's feelings, but he wasn't too keen on the idea of her going on a date with the same guy who had made fun of him and his sick girlfriend. Besides, Brandon had been Daniel's biggest rival in every team sport he'd ever played in since pee wee football.

Before he could think to answer Laura's question, the young people were interrupted by the sudden presence of a very shy young man by the name of Cason McCrimmon. He was the school's chess club champion, a most talented violinist, and Daniel suspected he had a secret crush on Maddie.

"Hi everybody," Cason said shyly. "How's it going?"

The group of teens murmured various greetings. Daniel noticed the blush creeping across Maddie's face.

"Um…Maddie, I was wondering if…uh…you could maybe stay after school today and…um…help me out with my calculus," Cason continued nervously.

"Actually, I…I can't," Maddie said with disappointment. "I have to take my cousin Emily to our grandmother's house this afternoon."

By the looks of the sad "Oh" forming on Cason's lips, Daniel surmised that the timid blonde had been planning to get Maddie alone so he could ask her to the Christmas formal. He decided to intervene on the young man's behalf.

"I could take Emily to Crabapple Farm," Daniel volunteered quickly. "I have Mom's old car today."

"But, you promised we could stay late so I could practice for the spring musical tryouts," his sister Fiona whined.

"I can come back and get you, Fi. Or, you could even walk. It's cold out, but it's not that far away you know."

"Why do you need Maddie to help you with calculus?" Nick suddenly asked Cason, his mouth full of French fries. "You're the one who beat her out for the school's math award last year."

Daniel gave Nick a glaring stare and tried to kick the younger boy's shin under the table, but he missed and hit Matt's leg instead.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Sorry," Daniel said sheepishly.

"It's…um…it's okay, you guys," Cason stammered. "No big deal if you can't stay, Maddie. I guess…I'll uh… catch you all later."

Matt seemed to finally understand where all of this had been going, and he quickly jumped up to stop his sister's caller from leaving.

"Hey, Dude, what's the rush? Sit down, and chill with us. Look, I got a solution. Maddie can stay and hang with you, Danny can take Emmie to Crabapple Farm, and I'll just take Fiona and Maddie home after my wrestling practice. No sweat."

Cason and Maddie exchanged shy smiles.

She deserves to be happy, Daniel thought to himself. This is a good match.

"But, I thought you said Coach Dees cancelled your practice today." Nick gave his older brother a confused stare.

This time, both Daniel and Matt kicked Nick under the table, and neither one missed.

"Hey!" Nick reached down and rubbed his aching shin.

Everyone giggled again as Lydia gave Maddie a special wink.

Daniel, who had long been praying for Maddie to break out of her social fears, silently thanked God for this little miracle.

He's exactly what she's needed, he thought with a satisfied smile. All is right with the world.

Later, at Crabapple Farm:

"Hey, Daniel," Peter Belden greeted his great nephew, "could you give me a hand, here?"

The older man, clinging to a long strand of holiday lights in one hand and the top of a stepladder with the other, beckoned the approaching teen closer with a nod of his gray head.

"Sure, Uncle Peter," Daniel called. He quickly limped his way over, leaving his cousin Emily to wander into the farmhouse alone.

"I think your GrandMoms is in the kitchen baking cookies, Em," Peter called after the young girl. He turned back to Daniel. "Oh well, she'll follow the smell of sweet stuff."

"Pulling out all the lights again this year, huh?" Daniel asked, lifting handfuls of the lights up to the older man so he could clip them to the eaves of the weathered farmhouse.

"Oh, you know how it is. I wouldn't bother, if it weren't for you kids. But, you all seem to just love 'em so."

"I know Emmie really does."

"Here," Peter commanded, "Step up on the other side of the ladder, and let's finish this last section."

Fearing that his lame leg might cause him to lose his balance, Daniel hesitated for a moment.

Should I remind him of my injury?

He thought of his great uncle's recent hip replacement surgery, and he decided to give the task a try.

Well, I guess if he can get up there and balance, then so can I.

It made Daniel feel good to be treated as if nothing was wrong with him. He had been getting tired of the way others seemed to assume his weak limb made him unfit for most tasks.

Taking great care, Daniel joined the older man on the ladder and continued to help him hang Christmas lights.

"I thought Maddie was walking Em over this afternoon," Peter said after a while. "How did you get roped into coming?"

"Well…I think…she um…had some math work to do at school."

"Oh, I see. How about you? Are you doing okay in your studies?"

"Yes, sir," Daniel replied politely. "I guess I have a lot more time to focus on school now that I can't play sports. Really, though, I've never made bad grades. I'm sure I could do better, but…I have all A's and B's."

"That's good," Peter said kindly.

The thought of pleasing the elder Mr. Belden made Daniel feel warm with pride. He had always looked up to him, feeling that he was more like a grandfather than a great uncle. Of course, he also found it difficult to think of Bill Regan as his great uncle, too. As far as he was concerned, Dan Mangan may be his father, but Bill would always be his dad.

After a while of working together in companionable silence, Peter continued on with the small talk.

"Did you and your dad get that big star hung up on top of your barn again this year?" He asked.

Daniel laughed.

"Oh, yes sir. But, it wasn't easy, I can tell you that. Will got this crazy idea that we should borrow old Mr. Rowinger's cherry picker and hang it that way. Of course, he stuck me up in the basket, and then he nearly took out the top half of the barn with it when he couldn't figure out how to move the boom. To make a long story short, Will owes Dad a new weather vane."

More laughter erupted from them both as they stepped down to admire the last of their work.

"Yeah, that Will is a hard worker, alright. Matthew Wheeler says he's even better as a groom than Bill was when we first started." Peter stepped back and put his hands on his hips. "Ah! Look there! We're pretty good workers, ourselves. Those lights look about as good as one of those professional jobs. And it didn't break the bank!"

"Speaking of the bank, Uncle Peter," Daniel said shyly, "do you ever miss it at all?"

"Not anymore, son. I have really enjoyed my retirement. Especially since all you youngsters came along." He affectionately squeezed Daniel's shoulder momentarily as the two of them headed toward the back door which led into the kitchen. "Remember those fishing trips your dad and I used to set up for you boys every summer when you were little?"

"Do I ever! Seems like Will always got stung by something, Nick always fell in the water, and Matt and I were the only ones who ever caught anything. Those trips were crazy, but… I miss 'em. We should plan another one."

He suddenly stopped in front of one of the kitchen windows and remembered something Bobby Belden had told him about the scavenger hunt Dan had left for him before he died. Without thinking, he quickly slipped off his winter gloves and slid a bare hand under the old window sill.

"Careful, Daniel," Peter warned, "you'll get a splinter."

The teen pulled his hand back quickly, but not because he'd been poked by the aged wood. It was because he was shocked by how quickly he'd found what he was looking for. He'd felt the deep grooves of some numbers his real father had carved there many, many years before.

He felt his cheeks growing warm, thinking that his great uncle might not even know what his father had done to his house. But, when he looked up at the older man, he saw a light of understanding, and a knowing smile waiting for him. It was as if he had read his mind.

"It's okay. He asked me for permission before he did it." Peter's voice was soft and wistful. "My word, it seems so long ago. He wasn't much older than you. And, Lord, don't you look just like him!"

The older man sighed.

"He would be so proud of you, Daniel. I know Bill is. And, don't take it to heart what happened at Thanksgiving, okay? You know Bill's temper only seems worse than it is. He really does trust you."

"I know," Daniel said with a shrug. "But, it did kind of hurt. He should know me better than that."

"If it makes you feel any better, I once got just as angry with him about your mother. Did he ever tell you about it?"

"Wow, no!" Daniel exclaimed. "Did you… think they were…um…doing stuff they shouldn't have…before they got married?"

Now it was Peter's turn to blush.

"Come on, let's go in out of this cold weather, and I'll tell you about the night Bill told me he wanted to date your mother. Let's just say it didn't go as well as the day Dan asked for permission to cut on that window sill."

"Wow!" Daniel repeated.