“So I can leave Hailey and David with you?”

“I did have plans this morning, but they can wait.” He’d hoped to finish the gift he was working on for Margaret. The antique rocker had belonged to her father. Matt had stumbled upon it in the loft up in the barn, and Sadie had told him its history. Joshua McKenna had repaired it earlier, and Matt had sanded and varnished the wood. Sadie had sewed new cushions for the seat and back. Matt had hoped to add a final coat of varnish that morning so it would be ready for Margaret on Christmas morning. Well…he’d have to find time tonight.

“I don’t know what you women think you’re going to accomplish,” he said, “but if you sincerely believe it’ll make a difference, then I’ll do my part—and I’ll wish you well.”

Margaret thanked him with a brilliant smile, rose from the table and kissed him. The kiss was deep and full of promise. She was letting him know he’d be rewarded a hundred times over at a more appropriate hour.

Soon afterward Margaret headed into town. Once the kids were up, dressed and fed, Matt decided he wanted to know exactly what the women intended. Reaching for the phone, he called Jeb McKenna, his closest neighbor.

“Is Maddy gone, too?” he asked. Matt heard children crying in the background.

“I’ve got my hands full.”

“Me, too,” Matt confessed.

“Do you know what they’re planning?” Jeb asked.

“I don’t have a clue, but I’m sorry now that I didn’t go with her. They have great intentions, but what can they do that hasn’t already been tried?”

“You signed the petition?”

“Along with everyone else in town,” Matt told him.

“Buffalo Bob contacted the governor and asked for help.”

“Did he hear back?” Now, that was promising.

“Not yet.”

Matt sighed impatiently. “I feel like we should be there.”

“I do, too.”

“Daddy.” Hailey tugged at his jeans. “Can we go to town and have a soda?”

Matt grinned at his daughter. “Just a minute, honey.” What an inspiration. “I’ll meet you at the soda fountain,” Matt suggested. “That way we can keep the kids occupied and we can talk ourselves.”

“Good idea,” Jeb said.

Matt pushed a tape into the truck’s console and sang Christmas songs with his children as he drove into town. When he parked outside Hassie’s, he noticed several other vehicles there, too. The two youngsters followed him excitedly into the drugstore.

The soda fountain appeared to be the most popular place in town; Gage Sinclair was there with his two daughters, and Jeb McKenna had arrived ahead of him. So had Brandon Wyatt and six-year-old Jason. Every stool at the fountain was occupied.

Matt acknowledged his friends with a quick nod.

“Hey, Matt,” Jeb said in a jocular tone, “seeing that you called us together, I’m hoping you’ve come up with a few ideas to share.”

“Me?” Matt glanced at Jeb, who shifted his weight. “I called a couple of the other guys, too. I think we made a mistake by taking such a negative attitude. Now the women are stuck trying to cope with the problem all by themselves.”

The door opened and Dennis Urlacher walked in with his three-year-old son. Little Josh might be named after Sarah’s father, but he was the spitting image of his own.

“I’m not late, am I?” Dennis asked, taken aback by the sight of all the children.

Leta was doing her best to keep up with orders, but she was obviously overwhelmed. As soon as she delivered one soda, she got an order for two more. Apparently Hassie was at the meeting over at Sarah’s shop, as well. The men stood in a small circle while the children sat at the counter. Their joyous laughter made all the fathers smile, none more than Matt.

“So, does anyone have any ideas?” Dennis asked.

“Did you get anywhere with the governor’s office?” Jeb asked Bob.

Bob shook his head. “I got the runaround. Reading between the lines, I could tell the politicians don’t want to get involved in this fight. Buffalo Valley is on its own.”

“Okay,” Matt said, “maybe the politicians don’t want to take sides in this issue, but there are plenty of other influential people who aren’t afraid of challenging Value-X.”

“Who?”

A flurry of names followed—writers and filmmakers and media personalities—along with a volunteer to contact each one immediately after the holidays. This was exactly the kind of pressure necessary to get the company’s attention.

Soon the men were talking excitedly, their voices blending with those of their children. Various ideas were considered, discarded, put aside for research or further thought. The women were right—they had to become a united front.

“Do you seriously believe anyone at the corporate level will listen?” Gage asked. “They’ve dealt with organized opposition before.”

Matt shrugged, although he suspected that if Margaret was the one doing the talking, those muck-a-mucks would soon learn she refused to be ignored. A smile formed on his face as he imagined Margaret standing before the conglomerate’s board of directors. They’d listen, all right.

“What’s so funny?” Brandon Wyatt asked.

“Nothing.” Matt shook his head, dispelling the image.

“Joanie’s been real upset about all this.”

“Maddy, too,” Jeb said. “I don’t think the grocery will be too badly affected, but that’s not the point. She’s worried about how everyone else will fare.”

“Value-X would ruin Joanie’s and my business,” Brandon said. “But I don’t think a bunch of suits in some fancy office in Seattle really care what’ll happen to a small video store in Buffalo Valley.”

The other men agreed.

“We could hold a rally,” Gage suggested.

“The women have already thought of that,” Leta inserted, speaking from behind the counter. “They figured it wouldn’t have enough impact unless we got major media coverage.”

Several of the men nodded; others seemed prepared to argue.

“Hassie’s probably got a few ideas,” Gage said next. “When she comes back from the meeting, we’ll—”

Leta broke in. “Hassie’s not with the others,” she informed them as she set a chocolate soda on the polished mahogany counter.

“She’s not?” The question came from two or three men simultaneously, including Matt.

“Nope. She’s at home this morning.”

This was news to them all.

“Hassie’s not with the other women?” Dennis repeated, frowning. “But…”

“How many of them are over at Sarah’s, anyway?” Matt wanted to know.

“They’re not at Sarah’s,” Dennis told them.

“Then where are they?” Matt had assumed that was where the women had met. Sarah had the most space for such a gathering.

“I think they’re over at the church with Joyce Dawson,” Brandon Wyatt said. “I’m not sure, but something Joanie said…”

Matt figured it wasn’t all that important where the women had congregated. The community was coming together, bringing forth ideas. Value-X might be a powerful corporation, but the men and women of Buffalo Valley weren’t going to submit humbly to this invasion.

Sleep had eluded Vaughn Kyle all night. The message of the Christmas play had stayed with him. A community standing together, enduring through hard times, its unique character created by that history of struggle and victory. Not a community, this community. Buffalo Valley.

His confession to Carrie after the performance had played no small part in his inability to sleep. Unfortunately Carrie wasn’t the only woman he needed to talk to, and the conversation with Natalie would probably be even harder.

He waited until eight, Seattle time, before calling her. His decision to resign and the reasons for it would infuriate her. And his plan to end their relationship—he didn’t even want to think about her reaction to that. He wasn’t convinced that she truly loved him, but the humiliation of being rejected would be difficult for her to accept. He sighed; he’d betrayed Carrie twice over and now he was doing the same to Natalie.

The house was still quiet when Vaughn brought the portable phone into his room. Sitting on the bed, he dialed Natalie’s home number and waited four long rings before she picked up.

“Hello.” Her voice was groggy with sleep. Normally she’d be awake by now. He’d already started off on the wrong foot, and he had yet to say a word.

“I got you up, didn’t I,” he said.

“Vaughn,” she said sleepily, then yawned. “Hello, darling.”

Vaughn tried to ignore the guilt that rushed forward. Mere hours ago, he’d been holding and kissing Carrie.

“This is a surprise,” Natalie cooed. “You must really be missing me.”

“I need to talk to you about Value-X,” Vaughn said, getting directly to the point. There was no easy way to do this.

“Now?” she protested. “You’re always telling me all I think about is work. I didn’t get home until after eleven last night, and work is the last thing I want to think about now. You know we’re under a lot of pressure just before the holidays. There’s so much I have to get done, especially since I’ll be leaving on this trip.”

“I do know, and I apologize.” He honestly felt bad about this. “I’ll be sending in a fax this morning.”

She sighed as if to say she was already bored. “Why?”

He hesitated, bracing himself for her angry outburst. “I’ve resigned.”

“What?” Her shriek was loud enough to actually startle him. “If this is a joke, Vaughn, I am not amused.”

In some ways he wished it was. He doubted this was one of those situations he’d look back on years from now and find amusing. “You asked me to check out Buffalo Valley.”

“So?” she asked. “You mentioned an aunt or someone you knew who lived there. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is that the town isn’t interested in Value-X setting up shop.”

Natalie didn’t so much as pause. “Honey, listen, we’ve already been through this. Few communities fully appreciate everything we can do for them. Invariably there’s a handful of discontented, ill-informed people who take it upon themselves to make a fuss. For the most part it’s a token protest. Rarely is it ever a threat.”

“If that’s the case, why did you ask me to report back to you on Buffalo Valley?” She’d been worried, Vaughn knew; otherwise she’d never have suggested he check the place out.

“After the bad publicity in that Montana town, I overreacted. That was a mistake,” she said quickly. “I see that now. A big mistake! I can’t allow you to throw away the opportunity of a lifetime because I sent you into battle unprepared.”

“Battle?”