As always, I want to thank my family for their continued, unflagging support. Husband Tim sustains me on so many levels. Granddaughter Aliah reminds me to giggle. Granddaughter Kaiya provides adjectives and details on a host of topics. Daughter-in-law Tracy is a brainstormer extraordinaire. Son Christopher is my nature and farming go-to guy. Son-in-law Troy is my go-to sports guy. Daughter Elizabeth gives me writing music and fiction insight. And grandson Jonah—well, at nine months, he just is.
For bringing this book full circle, I couldn’t ask for a better team. Thank you to my editor, Kim Moore, and to everyone at Harvest House. Thank you to my agent, Andrea Heinecke, and everyone at Alive Communications. You all make it so easy.
Thank you to everyone who kindly shared their expertise about cats, tornadoes, desert geology, stents, the Spanish language, and Navajo information: Cindi Cox, Tom Carlson, Peggy Hadacek, Karlie Garcia, and Kelly Glisson.
Thank you to my SDCWG writing friends who time and again brought me back to the passion of writing fiction: Elizabeth Van Tassel, Ann Larson, Sandi Esch, John Welch, Bobbe Van Hise, Tomi Leslie, Susan McFarland, and Tiffany Hayden.
A special thank-you to my long-lost cousin, Elizabeth Carlson Hurst, who found me during the writing of this story.
And always, always a big thank-you, dear Readers, for your encouragement.
In loving memory, I thank two people who blessed my writing journey for many years: website designer Kristen Balsis and agent Lee Hough. You are greatly missed.