Beany, now married with two children, struggles to help Kay's young son who is having emotional difficulties.

Fifteen year old Beany is a practical and competent high school sophomore. She knows just how to make the grocery budget stretch just right. She looks out for ways of making people feel more comfortable. From the moment she heard about her long lost cousin, 18 year old Sheila McBride, she pictured a desolate and helpless soul needing a mother hen to make her feel welcome and give her an easier time of things after the difficult life she's led. But from the moment Sheila arrives, everything seems to go wrong. Sheila isn't very talkative and is fond of her gaudy clothes. Beany worries that she just won't fit in if she doesn't dress differently. After not hitting it off very well with the Malones, Sheila decides to strike out on her own. Meanwhile, the well-meaning Beany has become assistant to a newspaper advice-columnist and gets personally involved in one of the letter-writers - who leaves Beany with a baby to take care of! Johnny works desperately to get Emerson Worth's historical manuscript finished so that his accomplishments will be recognized before he dies. The much-coveted Golden Spur award is won - but only after the elderly gentleman's death. Beany is still dating the insecure and tempermental Norbett Rhodes. Frustration mounts because Beany and Norbett have a major misunderstanding. This engaging story highlights some of the wisdom teenagers have not yet acquired through the eyes of the "wise ones" in the story - Martie Malone (their father), Eve Baxter (the advice columnist) and Emerson Worth.

This is a charming and engaging story of a Catholic family living in Denver during World War II. The Malones - Beany (13), Johnny (15), Mary Fred (16) and Elizabeth (19) lost their mother several years before the story begins. Their father, Martie, is a respected newspaperman whose column is often assigned reading in the local schools. Mr. Malone is a loving father who frankly explains to his children that he's glad he doesn't have the means to spoil them, as he knows it's better for them to take initiative and responsibility for themselves. This first story focuses on Mary Fred and her adventures as a high school junior and the owner of a new horse. Mary Fred, Johnny and Beany all want to earn money for some pet projects, as so they decide to share the chores of cooking and cleaning rather than hire a new maid when "Mrs. no-complaint Adams" quits. When Mr. Malone is called away to Hawaii for several months, their grandmother Nonna, a fashionable interior-decorator, arrives with lots of nice things for the children...and her own ideas about how the family should live. Meanwhile, the most popular boy in school takes a sudden interest in Mary Fred. When Father sends three orphan children for the Malones to care for and Nonna wants to send them to an orphanage, some important decisions have to be made. Mary Fred eventually comes to a greater appreciation for her family and the things that matter most.

Beany is offered the dream wedding by her step-grandmother who is a fashionable wedding consultant. Tempers flare and personalities clash as these dreams conflict with other, more important things.