Patience had tried to make bread with the starter Rud had bought from the older woman, and it had not turned out well. Rud managed to swallow a couple of pieces anyway to make Patience feel better about her latest attempt. The gravy from the deer roast helped make the bread more palatable. After supper, the boy was cleaning up the dishes, so Patience and Rud walked down to the lake and sat together on the half-log bench. Patience held his hand again as they walked.

Patience had decided she would take her brother to her uncle, then come back to their valley to be with Rud. The valley was her home now, and Rud was going to be her man. She excitedly told Rud her plan. Rud could not believe it. He told her he never once truly thought she would stay, but he wanted her with him more than anything.

As she placed her hand on his face, Patience told him he had better believe it, because she was staying. He wrapped his arms around her in their first embrace.

* * * * *

Rud's excitement was tempered by what he needed to tell her. He savored the moment with Patience in his arms a few extra seconds, kissed her forehead then took both of her hands in his. He told her he had only bad news from the town, and she needed to be prepared to hear it. Patience expression quickly went from excitement to worry. Rud told her what Sarah, the shopkeeper's daughter had said, what her uncle had done, how he had gone to her father's house, talked with Smith, who confirmed what Sarah had told him.

Rud told her what he had told Smith to get the items he thought might help the boy, who Smith had called "Billy." Patience had never heard Rud call William anything other than "boy" and knew Smith was the only one who called her brother "Billy," so it must all be true. Lastly, Rud told her what the doctor had said about the boy's condition.

Rud gave Patience the package with her name on it, but she just looked at it with very sad eyes. Rud had thought it would make her happy to have something from her previous life, and after a while, Patience told him it very much did, but she could not bring herself to open it now. Rud also handed her the note the doctor had written.

Patience thanked him, took the packages and the note, and headed back to the cabin without him. She said, "I will tell my brother in the morning," as she walked away. Except for Rud and her brother, all the people she loved were either dead or thought she was dead, and her only other family, her uncle, was the reason for it all. It was too much for Patience to comprehend and so different from what she had expected to hear. Her head was spinning with all this news. Rud had no choice but to give her the time she needed.

The next morning the boy took the news in stride, whether his young mind understood it all Rud could not tell. He seemed happy to hear Smith was still at the house and was very happy at what Suzie, the upstairs maid, had picked out for him. It was his whistle that would usually get him in trouble because he would not stop blowing it when his mother told him to stop. His happy manner raised Patience's spirits for a short while.

Patience maintained her daily routine, but it seemed her sadness would not leave. She did not hold Rud's hand when they walked, and there was no talk of this being her home and Rud being her man.

Rud reacted in the only way he knew. He withdrew to his hunting and daily chores, unsure of his future with Patience. He wanted her desperately, still feared her leaving, and felt the hurt build within him. Rud felt alone.

* * * * *

The boy still did not talk, and it was bothering Rud. One morning, Rud was showing the boy how to use a retort to turn small wood blocks into the charcoal the forge required. Rud asked the boy if he could call him Billy. The boy nodded.

Rud said, "Billy, I am worried about you. You have not said a single word since the day your parents were killed. I know it is hard and you saw a lot, but your sister is worried and wants to take you to see a doctor. You may have to leave this valley if that is what it takes to get better."

Billy shook his head emphatically from side to side. Rud spoke rather sternly to Billy saying, "That is not good enough. When you are ready to talk, you need to tell your sister you want to stay."

Rud turned to tend the fire, and Billy said teasingly, "Can I call you Rudolph?" Rud smiled and said, "Only if you want me to whoop your bottom!" Billy replied, "You like my sister, don't you." Rud said, "Yes, very much." Billy said, "That's okay with me. She likes you too." Rud responded, "Billy, you sure talk a lot, now go tell your sister you love her and want to stay."

Billy, not "boy" anymore, smiled, walked out of the blacksmith shed, and said, "Okay, I will tell her that you love her" and ran off laughing before Rud could throw something at him. Rud thought to himself, "That was easy; I should have had that talk with him long before now."

A little while later, Rud was welding a new metal edge on the plow blade. He stopped hammering and shoved the metal back into the coals. Rud sensed someone was there, turned, and saw Patience standing in the doorway. He had not seen her smile since he had told her about her uncle. They had almost been strangers, and he missed her.

She said William, who wants to be called Billy now, had come in and was talking as if he had never stopped. Rud asked if it made her happy, and she said very much. Rud told her to remember that when he won't shut up! Patience said she was tired of being sad, and William talking again had made her see it was time to put all that behind her.

She had just opened the package Smith had sent, and it was one of her favorite dolls. Her mother had given it to her when she was a little girl, and it meant a great deal to her. Patience told Rud, "Thank you for risking so much to get it." Then she walked over and put her hand on his chest. Her eyes brightened as she smiled. Patience said, "Billy said other things too, interesting things." Rud asked, "Like what," not knowing where this was leading. Patience said, "I love you too."

He started to tell her he had not said it, but instead just looked at her for a few seconds, then leaned down and kissed her right on those beautiful lips. Awkward at first, but they quickly got the hang of it. Holding her, kissing her, having her kiss and hold him, her body against his, Rud thought had to be the greatest feeling ever. They kissed and held each other for a long while. Then Rud had to take the plow blade out of the coals before it burned.

Patience turned to go back to the cabin. Her hips swayed a little more than usual as she walked. "Supper will be ready about sunset," she said, "I picked our first ripe tomato today." Rud was still savoring the feeling of her lips on his as he stood there silently watching her. He realized she had said it, but he had not. Rud said, "I love you, Patience." Her smile somehow bigger now, Patience turned, walked quickly back to Rud, kissed him hard on the lips then walked out of the shed.