Jack gently fingered every bill in the envelope. He had not seen this much money since that night Cal's safe had been open. Then there had been at least twenty times more than he held in his hands now. But that had just been cash to Cal and had no real meaning. What he had here was a special legacy, a one time gift from his parents, not to waste and with which to fulfill their wishes.

He knew that each dollar represented hours of his father's hard work on the farm and the daily sacrifices made by his mother over the sixteen years of their marriage.

He took the money out of the envelope and counted it out. $1500 dollars. He sat there idly thinking what to do with it and as he did, he turned the envelope to the other side. And he smiled. While his mother had taught his dad how to read and write, Hank had never quite mastered cursive writing. He saw his dad's carefully printed block letters.

His eyes focused on the words. Apparently his father had very clear plans for the money. He had heard his parents talk about making the down payment on the farm, but when they died, he assumed that the money had been destroyed as well. Yet here it was.

DOWN PAYMENT ON FARM $500
JACK'S EDUCATION $500
SAVINGS $450
SOMETHING FOR EDY $50

Jack absorbed all of this information. They had been serious about him continuing in school. They had talked about it all the time. He just never knew that the money was there.

"If that was as important to them as it once was to me, then I am going to do it,"thought Jack.

With a wife, job and maybe a family, it might take a bit longer, but what better tribute could there be to his parents.

He would take some of the money and repay Molly as soon as they returned to Denver. He would be happy not to be in debt to anyone. Jack decided that he too would get something special for Rose and like his father, he would save the rest for his children's education.

Now came the problem of getting the money back to Denver without losing it. Jack smiled to himself.

"Rose will divorce me right away if I buy a small safe to carry around with us."

No, the best thing would be to go and see if Mr. Woodward was still at the First State Bank. He had known his parents and would know what to do.

Jack stretched out his legs and put his hands behind his head, threading his fingers together. What a day this had been. It had been full of pleasant surprises. From finding love and laughter at the old farm, to discovering this magic box.

He set everything aside and took up his art portfolio. There was so much that he wanted to get on paper from today. He needed to release all of those images. He was sorry now that he had not let Rose take her camera. But he had not wanted the destruction he assumed he would find, recorded that way. He knew he could get it all down on paper. He put his pencil to his sketchbook and began.

* * * * * * * * * *

Rose opened one eye and then the other. It was definitely morning. She reached out her hand to the place where Jack should have been and it was cold and empty. She sat up alarmed at first and then she saw him. He was across the room in the chair where he had been last night. His head was resting on his right shoulder, his hands lay limp in his lap. His eyes were closed and his hair was hanging over his face. Around the chair were scattered balled up pieces of paper, some old documents and pictures, several finished drawings and most unbelievably, an envelope of money. She didn't know what to think.

Her stomach churned a bit as she got out of bed. Everyday now she was more and more sure that she was with child. But now after asking Jack a few leading questions, she was not afraid to tell him. Another few days, just to make sure and she would. It was 11 days now since things should have started. And she was going through all this unpleasantness almost every morning. If she didn't tell him soon, he'd suspect it anyway.

Rose walked over to Jack, carefully stepping over the mess on the floor. She kissed the top of his head and carefully picked up his drawings. There were four. Anders and Amanda playing with Oscar, Jack as she had found him at the grave, a couple standing on the hill, looking off into the distance…his parents, and she herself holding Oscar. As usual Jack's drawings were filled with rich details and the figures came to life on the pages before her.

She held the drawings to her chest and thought about how truly happy she was for Jack.

"I think he was finally able to put this all behind him yesterday,"she thought.

She realized now that Jack was a very complex person. Outwardly, he seemed so strong, always displaying confidence and optimism. He was extremely kind and gentle and had an almost uncanny sense of knowing what people around him were thinking. And, he was much more sensitive than he let on. If she had not seen him yesterday, she would never have believed that her strong, competent Jack, could also be so vulnerable. She had wished that she could have taken some of his pain away.

"I rely so much on him to take care of me. I am glad that I could comfort him for a change,"Rose whispered softly to herself.

Rose smiled and touched his hair again. She loved him and knew she was so lucky. Soon now, she would tell him about the baby. And that would ease her burden a little. Together they could share the worries and concerns of bringing a child into the world.

She tore off a little piece of paper from his sketchbook and wrote,

"JACK, I LOVE YOU. WENT TO GET READY. BE BACK SOON. LOVE, ROSE."