AUGUST 22, 1861

It had been a week since Cody and Melissa had come home. Jacy had been very happy when they had finally returned around suppertime the day after they had disappeared. Cody returned to his wheelchair, but he seemed very different since his return. He was happy and cheerful for a change. Maybe the little journey had helped him. Jacy crossed her fingers. She hoped that Cody would stay the way he was now, and not return to his old sulking self.

Melissa seemed to be all right, too. Seeing them both back in one piece had been such a wonderful sight that Jacy hadn't even the heart to scold them for running off. So it had been a wonderful reunion, except for Ike. Ike was laid up for at least a week or more depending on his head injury. Now the Pony Express was minus two riders.

Riding into town, Jacy couldn't think of their home life being any better. Well, except . . . if only Cody could walk again. But that just didn't seem like it was ever going to happen. Jacy don't think like that. She chastised herself. It was possible. She just had to have hope and faith.

Back home Melissa was watching Cody do some leg exercises. "Why don't you want to tell Jacy, yet? Or anybody?"

"Because I want to wait. I think everybody should know it at once, and I think Jacy will be pleasantly surprised when I walk in Caller Bob's barn and can twirl her around the floor."

"I can't wait to see her face when she sees that you can walk again." Melissa's smile beamed just thinking about the scenario. Cody groaned. "Do your legs still hurt?"

"Yes, they do, but I take that as a good sign." Cody grinned. "It means their healing I think. At least it means I can feel them again."

"Maybe we should have a doctor take a look at you." Melissa said.

"Naw, I don't need a doc, and besides they have enough problems of their own." Cody said.

"Yeah poor Meg and Serena. I hope they find their babies and Daniel soon." Melissa caught a hold of Cody as he almost stumbled.

Cody waved her away. "I'm fine. I have to keep exercising my legs, so that they won't hurt. If I don't keep at it, then they won't get better."

"Ok, but don't overdue it. If you do it too much, you might hurt yourself worse." Melissa didn't want anything to set Cody's progress back.

"All right doc, Melissa," Cody smirked and then sat back down in his wheelchair. Melissa blushed. "Are you planning on being a doctor?"

"No, no way. I want to be a horse trainer. Tally's going to teach me when he comes back." Melissa wished he were back now.

Cody smiled. "I'll bet you'll make a very good horse trainer." He wasn't sure what that was, but whatever it was, he was sure that Melissa would make a good one.

Meanwhile back in town, Jacy had just arrived. As she was riding towards the PEG, Jewel came running up to her. Jacy stopped Trixsy and listened. "Jacy, come on, I've got the most wonderful dress for you to wear to the dance." She led her over to the hotel. Jacy was puzzled. Why was she taking her to the hotel? Why not the general store? Because she knew the boutique was closed until Grace and Charlie returned.

Jacy followed Jewel into the hotel and over to a table where Jennifer was sitting. “This is it.” Jacy picked up the dress from Jennifer’s lap and held it in front of her and twirled it around. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Jacy nodded. “Yes, but whose is it?”

“It’s yours if you want it. I ordered the material and had Jennifer make it for me to give to you. I thought you would be the ‘belle of the square dance’ if you wore this. I knew you liked stars.” Jewel replied as she smiled at her sister, hoping that she would like it.

The material was a not a real dark navy blue and tan material with yellow, pink, red, purple, gold and green stars all over it. It was very pretty, Jacy thought. But why was Jewel giving her a present. She was somewhat suspicious. “Why did you have it made for me?”

“Well, I wanted to cheer you up because you’ve been so down. And also I thought that it might help you.” She handed out the dress to her sister.

“Help me? How?”

“Well, if you wear this dress then lots of boys are sure to ask you to dance at the square dance social and”

Before she could finish Jacy said, “But I don’t want anybody to twirl me around the floor. I want Cody.” She frowned and handed the dress back to Jewel. Jennifer frowned because she knew from Ike that Cody was in a wheelchair and couldn’t walk.

Jewel lost her excitement over the dress and said, “But I thought you were looking for another fella. Cody’s in a wheelchair. He probably will never walk again. You need a man that can walk and who is full of life like you are. You don’t need to be strapped to an invalid the rest of your life.”

“What I need and what I want is up to me, not you.” Angrily Jacy made an about face and started walking out.

Not wanting her surprise present to go to waste and not wanting her sister to be mad, she hurried after Jacy and caught her by the arm. “Jacy wait.” Jacy stopped and turned around with a scowl on her face. If Jewel were going to try and talk her out of hanging on to Cody then she wouldn’t listen. “But I thought you liked Kid. You’ve been doing things with him.” She opened her mouth to say something else, but Jacy cut her short.

“I don’t like Kid, at least not in that way. I like Cody. I’ve just been going places with Kid because Cody keeps suggesting it, and I wish he wouldn’t.”

“OK, so then we need to get Cody interested in you. And there’s only one way to do that.”

Jacy lost the scowl on her face. “How?”

“By making him jealous.” Jacy slightly shook her head. She didn’t like that idea. “Yes, yes, yes. You wear the dress, have boys lining up to dance with you, and it will make Cody so jealous that he won’t want you around another boy ever again.”

“That’s a good idea, but he’s not going to the dance. He won’t see any boys lined up to dance with me.” Jacy replied.

“Then will get the boys out to the house, so then Cody will see them lining up to take you to the dance. And he’ll get jealous and maybe then he’ll decide to go to the dance. And in the least he might stop pushing you off on Kid.” Jewel stated.

Jacy was about to shake her head at Jewel’s suggestion, but the idea of stopping Cody from getting her to go places with Kid interest her. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Kid, but she hated taking up so much of his time when he probably had other things he would rather be doing. Taking her lack of response as an affirmative, Jewel handed the dress back to Jacy. “It will look beautiful on you. Now leave everything else up to me, and you’ll see, you’ll have Cody giving you so much attention that no other guy will be able to get near you.” Still not liking the idea a whole lot, but still not knowing what to say, she took the dress and left the hotel. She wondered if Jewel’s idea would work. She also wondered whom she would get to come calling on her to make Cody jealous.