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“Is that David laughing?” he asked.

Steffie shrugged. “I’d better find out if something’s wrong.”

He nodded, and they walked hand in hand to the porch.

“Dad?” she asked softly when she saw her father, rocking contentedly. His smile broadened when he noticed her and Charles. His gaze fell to their hands, which were still clasped tightly together, and his eyes fairly twinkled. “Check the freezer, will you? By heaven, I wish I’d thought of this sooner.”

“The freezer?” she repeated, glancing at Charles, wondering if her father had lost his wits. “Why do you want me to check it?”

“We need something special to fix for dinner tonight. We’re going to have a celebration!”

Steffie frowned in puzzlement. “What kind of celebration?”

“There’s going to be a wedding in the family.”

Steffie groaned inwardly. “Dad…”

“Don’t argue with me, Princess, there isn’t time.”

“But, Dad…”

“See there?” he said, pointing toward the long stretch of driveway. “What did I tell you?”

Steffie looked, but she couldn’t see anything except a small puff of dust, barely discernible against the skyline.

“I was about to give up on those two,” he said with a wry chuckle. “They’re both too stubborn for their own good. I have to admit they gave me pause, but your mother was right. Guess I shouldn’t have doubted her.”

“Dad, what are you talking about?”

“Your sister and Colby. They’re on their way back to the house now.”

Steffie glanced up again, and this time the make and color of the car was unmistakable. Colby was returning to the house. And although she couldn’t clearly tell who the passenger was, she knew it had to be her sister.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“Even now I can’t believe it,” Valerie said wistfully, sitting cross-legged on her bed. Steffie and Norah lounged on the opposite end, listening.

“Colby actually chased you down on the freeway?” Norah wanted to know.

Valerie’s smile lit up her whole face as she nodded. “It really was romantic to have him race after me. He told me he didn’t realize he was planning to do it until he was on the interstate.”

“You’ve got everything worked out?” Steffie asked. From what Norah had told her, and from remarks Valerie herself had made, she knew there were a lot of obstacles standing in the way of this marriage.

“We’ve talked things out the best we can. It’s been a struggle to come up with the right compromises. I’ve got a call in to Rowdy Cassidy at CHIPS. I think I can talk him into letting me open a branch of the company in Oregon. He’s already done a feasibility study for the Pacific Northwest. He was just waiting until he could find the right person to head it up. He didn’t originally have me in mind, but I don’t think he’ll have a problem giving it to me. Then again—” she paused thoughtfully “—it may be better to discuss this in person.”

“Colby doesn’t mind if you continue working?” Norah’s voice was tinged with disbelief.

“No. Because it’s what I need. Naturally he’d rather I was there to pamper him when he gets home from the hospital every night, but this way we’ll learn to pamper each other.”

“I’m so happy for you.” Steffie leaned forward to hug her sister. Valerie’s eyes reflected an inner joy that Steffie had never seen in her before. This was what love—real love—did for a person. When two people cared this deeply for each other, it couldn’t help but show.

“Now that we’ve decided to go ahead with the wedding, Colby wants to do it as soon as possible,” Valerie went on to say. “I hope everyone’s willing to work fast and hard because we’ve got a wedding to plan for next month.”

“Next month!” Norah’s blue eyes widened incredulously.

“I was lucky to get him to wait that long. Colby would rather we flew to Vegas tonight and—”

“No way!” was Norah and Steffie’s automatic response.