A valentine for Candy

the long version

It was hard enough for Candace to leave her mother and gather and small sister in their Massachusetts home, but it was even worse to realize that before long she would be in Texas while her family would be far away in Germany for a year. Things certainly were different in Texas - the climate, the wild flowers, even the oil painting in the schoolroom! At home it was a picture of Abraham Lincoln; here it was a picture of Robert E. Less. Sometime Candy felt she would never get used to Bayou City and its ways. But being good friend with Josie Lee helped a lot, and before long - even though some of the girls still called her "Yank" - she had made a place for herself. Helping to collect children's books for the first public library in town, going crawfishing in the bayous, studying the stars with Jose Lee's brother, celebrating Christmas with firecrackers - and especially the grand Valentine's Day surprise - all made Candy's visit to colorful Texas a memorable one.