Trees that, by some miracle, not only took root but grew tall and remained strong. Trees that shouldn’t take root in the Colorado Mountains.

For some reason that was likely akin to the reasons Old Man Harker did all the crazy shit he did, he had cleared that space seventy years ago and planted hundreds of shoots of twenty different varieties of trees. Unusual because it wasn’t simply conifer and aspen. Harker’s Wood was an unusual spread of trees in the Colorado Mountains. The place where his wife was shot to death. Now seriously, how is that for the sisterhood binding tighter?Ĭhace Keaton was whispering to no one, sitting alone in the very early morning February cold of Harker’s Wood. And bonus, Angela Gray, my Pinklady reader/friend, turned out to be Emma Mae’s auntie.

Thank you to KT for sending me the link to Emma Mae’s awesome, freaking song. Emma Mae Bowen’s “Holding Out for A Hero”, Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away” and all the rest will put you in the mood and place you right in the action. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I encourage you to find the music I mention in this book and either listen to it while you read or later. I thought this was an impossible task but there it is.Īnd, as always and ever, thank you, Chas, for taking my back.

She laid it all out for me and gave me little bits and pieces to make Faye’s experience as a small town librarian richer for my readers. Dixie has provided a lifeline often throughout the years of our friendship and she didn’t disappoint. Or, in this instance, I emailed the fabulous Dixie Malone at Denver Public Library. When I needed to understand how a small town library works, I did what I usually do. To Carly Phillips, Thank you for remembering what it’s like and doing your bit to pave my way.

Breathe by Kristen Ashley