In 2015 eight people began a path of their lives that would change the lives of millions. But how did their love story begin? Follow the seven men that will later become the Rosaline family as they begin their journey toward love and one another.
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July 23, 2004; Rosaline Utah
"Thanks again, Shelly," Michelle Jones said as she stood in the doorway of Dex's parents' house. "I know you haven't been feeling great, and I really appreciate you keeping an eye on Max lately. Trudy Johnson will be home this afternoon so she'll be able to watch him again for a couple of weeks, and after that Aby Johnston said she could take him for a couple of weeks before school starts."
"Don't worry about it, Missy," Michelle Hanes said. "Max is such an angel. I never have any trouble with him at all. He mostly just follows Dex around like a little duck."
They said goodbye, and Missy headed down the steps and to her car, in a hurry to get to work, calling a quick, "Bye, sweetheart! Be good! I love you!" to Max as she went.
When the door closed, Shelly turned to the fidgety ten-year-old who stood next to her. "So, Max, did you have breakfast this morning?"
"No," Max said with a pout. "The power flashed at our house last night so the alarms didn't go off and we were running too behind for breakfast." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wrapped granola bar. "I've got this though."
"Well that won't fill you up. You'll be hungry again in five minutes." Shelly sighed and shook her head. "Why don't you go wake Dex up and I'll make the two of you breakfast? Marshal, Jake, and Link all went to Bear Lake with their friends for the 24th, so it's just the two of you today." Max nodded excitedly and went running up the stairs to Dex's room, where he found the older boy sprawled on his stomach in a pair of basketball shorts with no shirt, and his mouth hanging slack as he snored softly.
Max smirked and took a flying leap and landed on Dex who let out an "Oof," and nearly flung the smaller boy across the room, but stopped himself. "God damn it, Maxfield!" he snapped. "Why do you have to do that every morning? You could just say "Wake up."
"But you won't wake up if I do that." Max said, moving to sit cross legged at the foot of the bed, while Dex flipped over and sat up, rubbing his eyes with one hand, while the other arm held him upright. His wild curls were even more wild than usual, and his chin had patchy stubble here and there. In the past couple of months, he had grown a couple of inches and his voice had started to take on a rougher tone, more akin to his fathers. His once friendly demeanor had become slightly colder and more reserved, but as he looked at the almost vibrating ten-year-old he couldn't help but give him an indulgent smile.
"You spend too much time with Alex," he chuckled. "I've got three older brothers. I sleep lighter. Do me a favor and just tap me from now on, okay?" Max nodded enthusiastically and Dex chuckled before getting to his feet and stretching. "I'm gonna take a shower. Tell mom I'll be down in just a minute."
"Okay!" Max went running down the stairs and Dex let his shoulders slump for a second before he grabbed his towel off the hook on the back of his door and headed for the shower. He did his routine quickly, shaving in record time, and hurried downstairs where he found his mother about to start pouring pancake batter onto a skillet and already looking tired.
