EPILOGUE AND AUTHOR NOTES
This story is far from over, but I want to close this portion of it. I think that it has shown how the friendship between Nathan and Elizabeth has grown as old hurts were resolved.
This story evolved from its original intent. I deliberately chose that the war ended towards the end and became a cause of celebration. It was important to me to show the suffering and worry of not only the fighters themselves but the families that wait for news. But I also wanted to showcase that every battle fought, every sacrifice made, and every freedom and privilege gained can only be truly appreciated by remembering the cost and how things have evolved.
For the story, I used a storyline that they wanted to reopen the mine by bringing attention to the fact that they never do anything with Founders Day. But Coal Valley and the mine disaster were key to them becoming Hope Valley. As a Mountie, Jack Thornton lost his life in service to others, just like Nathan and Bill have made sacrifices to protect those they have been charged with.
But they aren't the only ones to make sacrifices because the families are also making sacrifices. I hope that by the end, you will see the beautiful story that I intended to honor, not just the soldiers but the families who stand beside them.
With that in mind, I dedicate this story to my three daughters, Kasie, Korey, and Katelyn, who served right along with my husband and me. In the 26 years, we were a military family, they endured countless moves every 3 years, including multiple high schools in the case of my oldest. There were deployments and separations of our family at times due to orders. But through it all, they were resilient and adapted to the changes without complaint. They endured lots of worries and heartache with confidence that serves them well even now as adults.
Nathan and Elizabeth's next chapters will be shown in the sequel of this story called A FRESH START. It will pick up where this leaves off HAVE NO FEAR. I should have it started in the next week, but no promises of quick updates as I have others going too.
