Christmas brought a lot of sadness and sleepless nights, and I try to forget the holidays mostly now. The spring came, and my dad brought my spring clothes to me. Warm sunny afternoons replaced the cold ones we'd spent indoors. I stayed at the Hansons a lot, avoiding Zac and spending time with Jessica. Isaac had gone back to school in January, and I missed his company.

I was staying the night when the call came. Jessie and I were sleeping in the living room that night so that we could stay up late and watch movies. The phone rang twice before somebody in another part of the house answered it. There was a shriek. Jessie and I looked at each other and ran down the hall. We pushed open the door to her parents' room, and found Anna kneeling on the floor crying. Walker had the phone and was speaking quietly into the receiver. My heart was pounding in my ears.

"What happened?" Jessie asked, her voice filled with panic. I noticed that Taylor and Sam had also found their way to Anna and Walker's room.

Anna looked up. "They found them," she whispered. "Joe's okay. Mac's in the hospital, but they have high hopes..."

My eyes filled with tears, and I found myself hugging Jessie, Sam, and Taylor. More people were filing into the hall behind us, and were excitedly asking questions. Wendie burst into tears and clung to Jack when she found out that Joe was fine. He was crying, too.

After Walker had hung up and we'd all calmed down a little, he announced that he was going to call Isaac, and that they were going to get the boys.

"Where are they?" Zac asked, who had been the last to appear.

"They're in Oregon," Walker told him. "Apparently, their kidnapper lived there in some woods, and he was holding them hostage in his house."

"Why?" Nicky asked.

"The police aren't really sure," he said. "They've got the kidnapper, though, and the boys are both going to be just fine."

At some point, we moved into the living room. Walker left as soon as the sun came up, along with Jack. Anna and Wendie stayed with us. For the first time in months, we all had smiles on our faces.