Sweet Summer

Book excerpt: As Aura continued to dance in the moonlight, Patrick leaned against the doorway and pondered the mood of the night. He was six and felt very big indeed. He wondered if he was old enough to have a sweetheart. "Pappy, am I old enough to court?" "Not quite, son! Why?" "Well, sir, I think that girl is going to be my sweetheart!" So begins the lifelong love between Aura Blake and Patrick Garner. Soon afterward, Aura finds herself orphaned at age six, and she and Pat are separated for much of their childhood as Aura endures bitter mistreatment and isolation at the hands of extended family members. When God, in His providence, brings Aura into kinder surroundings and the two childhood sweethearts back in touch, their little spark from long ago blazes into an epic love. This love story, inspired by the author's own parents, follows Aura in her fight for survival, anchored by her deep faith in God, and Pat in his quest to find himself and God, as he wrestles with the impact of his failing health on his passionate adventures in the great outdoors. Together, Patrick and Aura face unspeakable tragedies that would destroy most loves and lives. Yet in the end, both find their place in the world as their love proves unquenchable and their faith unshakable.