“One person’s trash is another person’s treasure,” I’ve heard Hannah say, and it’s true. Someone threw Cat away but I loved her, and I know Hannah treasures me. We might not have much on this tumbledown farm, but we’ve got everything we need.
Raleigh’s living with us now. Hannah said he might as well, seeing as he’s family. The flood washed away his whole house, and I felt bad, at first, that he lost everything saving me, but Hannah said, “That’s just stuff, Blue. Doesn’t hold a candle to a daughter,” and I see it’s true. Whenever I call Raleigh Daddy, his face lights up like a lantern.
I talk to Cat as I plant tulip bulbs on her grave.
“Don’t you worry, Cat,” I tell her. “I’m taking good care of your kitten.” Spencer’s getting bigger every day, and it makes me laugh to watch him chasing leaves.
“Blue,” Hannah calls. I see her in the doorway, eyes shaded, searching for me, and Raleigh’s already in the truck. We’re going into town to see the movie The African Queen, and Hannah doesn’t want to be late.
“Coming, Mama,” I answer. I pick up Spencer and run for home.
One thing I’ve learned this summer is that the smallest words are the most powerful, like home and mama.
And love.
acknowledgments
I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, my family and dear friends. Seven years ago, my sister, an uncle, and a cousin died within six months of each other, and my writing voice died with them. Only with the love and support of family and friends were we able to get through that difficult time. With their help, my writing voice returned and I’m grateful to be back doing what I love, writing family stories. Genealogy was my sister’s passion, and I try to ignite that same passion for history and family stories in children and adults everywhere.
I want to give a special thank-you to my editor, Nancy Hinkel, who kept believing in me through those years, and whose unwavering support and encouragement made this a better book than it would have been otherwise. I hope the wait was worth it.
about the author
Natalie Kinsey-Warnock grew up on a dairy farm in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, where her Scottish ancestors settled in the early 1800s. She still lives there, with her husband, Tom, and the many horses, dogs, and cats she has rescued. Natalie has written several other books, most of them based on her childhood, her ancestors, and her true family stories, and she encourages students everywhere to look for their family stories. Her first book for Knopf was the acclaimed historical novel Gifts from the Sea.
Natalie is an athlete, naturalist, writer, historian, and artist, and her hobbies include biking, kayaking, cross-country skiing, hiking, bagpiping, fiddling, Civil War history, bird carving, quilting, and genealogy. She is developing a new history curriculum for schools, based on students researching their own family genealogy and history. You can learn more about Natalie by visiting her website, kinsey-warnock.com.
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