by Karen White
The last edge of light glimmered in the sky, a last good-bye. “Always.”
In the last four years we’d changed, leaving behind who we’d once been. But we’d learned that change is more than leaving behind; it’s a gathering up, a harvest of newness and possibilities.
But some things would never change. The flat landscape of the Mississippi Delta with its fields of rows carved from the rich alluvial soil. The sunsets that sank into the cypress swamps and into the great river whose bends and curves defied again and again the human need to contain its borders. The cycle of seasons telling us when to sow, and when to reap. Johnny would stay the same charming boy of our memories, never growing old, never changing. Always a hero to his son.
With Will’s arm still around my shoulder, we turned back toward the house where the light gleamed from the windows, welcoming us home. The last of the daylight sank into the dark earth as we put the war and the past behind us and stepped into our future. And I pondered how sometimes the best secrets are those that are never told.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My heartfelt thanks go to Kristina McMorris for spearheading this amazing project and getting nine other authors to wholeheartedly agree on the story concept. Grand Central would never have happened without her. Thanks also to our editor, Cindy Hwang, for seeing the potential for an anthology centered around a New York City icon at a pivotal time in history—truly a writer’s dream!
Thank you to my father, Lloyd Sconiers, and to Andrew Zappone for your detailed knowledge of the U.S. military in the 1940s. I wish I were writing something longer because I certainly had enough details from you both to fill an entire novel! Any errors in using your meticulous research are my own.
Thanks to train enthusiast John Osgood for your helpful suggestions, and a huge thanks to Robert Holland, whose knowledge of trains and the railroad system was as astounding as it was interesting. Thank you for finding those elusive facts that were so critical to my story.
My biggest thanks go to the servicemen and women of our country, both past and present, whose sacrifices I appreciate more than I can ever express with mere words.