chapter one

"So tell us about this contest," Cody said as she delivered the tray of meals to the table where Hope Evans sat with Cody"s sister, Hannah, and their mother, Stella Sweet. Hope"s mother, Audrey, and Stella"s husband, Billy, followed Cody from the kitchen, each carrying pitchers of sweet tea.

"Did you say it was in Wyoming?"

"Yes." Hope lifted the platter Cody offered to take a long, appreciative smell. "Nothing else ever smells this good. Thanks."

"So spill the beans," Cody remarked as she passed out plates. "I want all the details."

Hope smiled at Cody. They"d been friends all their lives, as well as cousins. Their mother, Stella, and her mother, Audrey, were half-sisters.

There wasn"t a time in her life that didn"t contain memories of the Sweet family. They"d always been part of her life, just like they"d always looked out for her and her mother.

They were the people who stood beside her when she became pregnant out of wedlock and refused to give the baby up for adoption. The child"s father skipped town without a word, and she"d not seen or heard from him since.

She hoped she never did. Her son didn"t know anything about his father, never asked, and didn"t seem interested. If he ever did ask, she"d tell him.

That"s one of the biggest lessons she learned from her mother. Never let the sun set on a lie. If you let it sleep with you, it might seduce you, and then you"ve taken the first step on the wrong path.

Hope pushed aside those thoughts and the unpleasant feeling they provoked. She didn"t want to think about the mistakes of her past. Today was a red-letter day in her son"s life, and if everyone at the table agreed, they would celebrate his achievement this weekend.

His victory.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she blinked at them. Her mother"s hand on her arm delivered a warm energy that soothed and calmed. Hope leaned over and put her head on Audrey"s shoulder. "I love you."

"How could you not?" Audrey quipped in a terrible British accent, earning a chuckle from people at the table.

"So, how did it happen?" Cody asked.

Hope felt a sense of excitement reappear. "Okay, Cody, here"s what happened…"

She fell into the memory as she spoke, seeing it play out again.

She was running late. Only a couple of minutes, but late, nonetheless. She fretted that she"d find her child standing in the pickup line alone, looking forgotten, as she turned into the pickup lane in front of the school.

It wasn"t hard to spot him. He was the only boy jumping up and down, waving his arms. The sight made Hope grin. He was excited about something.

She stopped and leaned over to open the door for him. "Hey bud, what has you so energetic?" she asked as he leaned in through the window to look at her.

"Mom, you have to park and come inside."

A small prick of concern had her turning off the engine. "Is everything okay? Are you in trouble? Did your teacher—"

"I"m not in trouble, but you have to come inside. Please?"

It was rare for her sweet child to ask for anything. Andy was a person who would cheerfully and gratefully make do, appreciating what he had rather than wasting time being envious of others.

She had her mother to thank for that. Audrey was a wonderful role model for a child. Her honor was unbreakable and pure. Hope had always been a little in awe of her mother.

Today, she gave silent thanks that Andy had been lucky enough to be blessed with her presence in his life. He may not have had a father, but what he had with Hope and Audrey was something Hope thought of as special.

She got out of the car and hurried around it to the sidewalk. Andy took her hand and literally pulled her to the entrance.

They dodged children, and teachers exchanged greetings and smiles as he tugged her toward the cafeteria. On the wall beside the door was a bulletin board. Andy stopped and pointed to a flyer push-pinned to the board.

"I need to do this, Mom." He tore it loose, revealing a duplicate beneath it.

Hope looked to see exactly how many flyers there were. Five. She wondered how many had been taken and what it was all about. "How about we take it to the car?"

Andy didn"t need any more encouragement and led the way. Hope knew that walk, that chin up, meeting a challenge head-on pose, and it filled her with admiration.

Her son might be one of the smallest kids in class, and he was not from a family of affluence, but he had determination in spades, and she admired that. Thus far, he hadn"t succeeded in most of his quests, but he didn"t let that stop him.

She wished she were more like Andy. He was an "I Can, I Do, I Will, and I Am, person." She"d never do anything to squash his spirit, so she followed, and when they got into the car, she turned toward him. "Tell me about this thing and why it"s important."

"Okay. See, there"s this family in Wyoming who is really rich. They own ranches and lots of land all over the place. And their goal is to take care of and protect the land.

"Like you and GiGi talk about and try to do. They love the land like that, too. But they have this ranch, and they"re having a contest, and if you win, you and one parent get to go to their ranch in Wyoming for two weeks and learn to cowboy and about caring for the land. All you have to do is write an essay on the…"

He checked the flyer for clarity and read, "…a three thousand word essay on protecting the environment and wildlife in the Rockies, and explaining how doing so is important to our planet."

"Wow, that"s an important topic. So, let me ask. How old do you have to be to enter?"

"Between eight and eighteen."

"So, you meet the age requirement."

"Yes, ma"am."

"And you believe you can write a good enough essay to beat out… wait, how many people are entering?"

"I don"t know. It just says it will choose one winner from each state."

"Oh, you only have to compete with all the other kids in Texas between eight and eighteen?"

"Yes, ma"am." His grin and the way he almost bounced in his seat ripped at her heart, and she felt her excitement wane. Competing with kids his own age was one thing. That was a level playing field. Competing with kids as much as ten years older would not be easy.

"And you"d deny him the chance to try and make a dream come true?" She almost heard her mother"s voice.

That solidified her decision. She smiled at Andy. "Then when we get home, you better get to work. If you want to win this contest, you have to know your subject matter. Do you understand what that means?"

"Google."

Hope"s tale of how it all came about was done with that last word. Everyone laughed, and clapped, and she, right along with them. It felt good to share exciting news with family.

What she didn"t share was something she"d hold in her heart forever. When she agreed to him entering, Andy threw his hands into the air, performed a horrible but hilarious victory dance, and then stopped and grew serious.

"I"m going to win, Mom. And then we"ll get to go to Wyoming. You can see the Milky Way there at night, and we"ll lie on the grass and watch it as it watches over us. Just like you always wished."

Hope didn"t try to hide the tears spilling from her eyes. She just smiled through them, hearing the echo of her and her mother"s voices saying those exact words as they lay in the grass and watched the night sky watch over them.

"You"re my hero, Andy. You know that. A genuine hero."

Andy reached for the stars with no guarantee of even making the first cut. But he did, and he not only made it but also won. She had the certified letter in her purse to prove it, along with an email she received that she"d printed out.

Everyone praised Andy for having the courage to enter the contest. Hope knew that none of them expected him to win, and she almost hated to tell them the good news first but to get the ball rolling on a celebration, she decided to spill the beans."

"It sure would be something for that sweet boy to win," Stella commented and then added, "But with so many entries and the age range, do you think he stands a chance?"

Hope couldn"t stop the smile that beat her attempts to hide it. "Actually, he won."

The entire group went silent, and then Audrey let out a "Woo hoo" that could have been heard across town. "Way to go, Andy!"

She hugged Hope, one-armed, grinning like she"d just won a lottery. "Tell us more."

"Well, according to the certified letter we received, he beat out seventeen thousand entrants to be declared the winner for the State of Texas. He was definitely going to Wyoming as the candidate from Texas. And he was also the youngest winner."

Everyone talked at once, praising Andy and asking questions.

The fact that Andy won filled Hope with a deep sense of pride for him. Now, Andy could see himself in a new light and, for the first time, feel like a winner. A hero. He and he alone would make Hope"s dream come true.

She"d always dreamed of standing outside in a meadow or field in that part of the country and looking at the night sky, watching the Milky Way drift across the sky, its beauty a thing of magic.

Now, thanks to her eight-year-old hero, she was going to do that very thing.