The Clearing (25 page)

"Now, easy on the butter, my darling Mae," he says, sliding the dish toward me instead. "You've gotta watch the old ticker."

Mae beams at him. "You always take such good care of me."

"My pleasure," Joe says, bending down to kiss her on the cheek. "Eat up now, girls, and then we'l head down to the creek to toss out a few flies."

I eat a pancake, but my stomach is flip-floppy. I down the last of my juice and put my dirty plate in the sink, and then I fol ow the old couple out to the porch.

"Wil you look at that," Joe says, tipping his hat toward the backyard. "Never seen anything like it."

I turn to see what he's talking about. It's some drifting mist settling over the back field. It's mesmerizing. I can't help staring at it.

Moments later while Joe and Mae round up the fly-fishing tackle, I wander toward the mist. I can't explain why, but I feel pul ed toward the coolness of the white fog fil ing the clearing behind the farmhouse.

As I draw closer, everything starts to feel more familiar. My heart feels ful . And I sense, somehow, that this morning is ful of possibilities.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you to my dedicated literary agent, Stephen Barbara, and to my enthusiastic editor, Julie Tibbott, and her wonderful team at HMH, who believed in
The Clearing
from the start.

A frosting-covered thank-you goes to my friend Julie Blattberg, who listened to my ramblings of the book's concept over chocolate layer cake and encouraged me to bring the project to life. Thanks also to my writing mentor and friend, Pat White, and to Dona Sarkar and the Buzz Girls, my teen fiction blog sisters at BooksBoysBuzz.com, for their unflagging support.

I am also very indebted to Gordon Rottman, World War I guru and writer, for his help with dates and protocol, and to my friends and family who shared their stories and remembrances of the 1940s. I am humbled by your tales of sacrifice and service.

And above al , special thanks to my father, John-Carl Davis, who used to sing "Time in a Bottle" to me every night when I was a little girl. The inspiration has lasted a lifetime.

HEATHER DAVIS spent seven years living in the Upper Skagit Val ey of Washington, where
The Clearing
takes place. Like her protagonist, Amy, she had to get used to rural life in the val ey—learning farm chores and absorbing the culture of the smal town, which was quite different from where she grew up in urban Seattle. The beauty of the val ey and her fascination with the "Greatest Generation"—those Americans who lived through World War I —inspired Heather to write this story. She is also the author of
Never Cry Werewolf
.

www.heatherdavisbooks.com