When they returned to the cottage, they found a basket on the doorstep, with a bottle of champagne…and a sprig of lavender.

Lizzie looked at Will and squeezed his hand.

Myles Fletcher.

Will took the basket inside without a word. He opened the champagne and filled two glasses, handing one to her as he slipped one arm around her.

“To friends in harm’s way,” he said.

They touched their glasses together, and Lizzie whispered, “May they always know they’re not alone.”

Acknowledgments

For sharing their knowledge and expertise with me, many thanks to Gregory Harrell, my detective cousin; to Fire Chief Stephen Locke of the Hartford (VT) Fire Department; to Hilda Neggers Stilwell, my nurse sister; to Paul Hudson; and to Dave and Margie Carley (ah, Maine!). Any mistakes and liberties are my doing.

A special thanks to Denis Burke in Cleveland for the Irish stories!

There’s nothing like visiting Ireland -it’s an amazing place. I brought home several books that have helped me better understand what I saw on our trips. For more information on the Beara Peninsula, I recommend Beara: The Unexplored Peninsula by Francis Twomey and Tony McGettigan (Woodpark Publications); the Ordnance Survey’s The Beara Way (Wayfarer Series); The Stone Circles of Cork & Kerry by Jack Roberts (Bandia Publishing). Among my favorites of the countless books on Irish folktales is Irish Folktales, edited by Henry Glassie (Pantheon Books).

Finally, many thanks to thank my editor, Margaret Marbury, and to everyone at MIRA Books for their support, patience, creativity and thoughtfulness.

Thank you!

About Carla Neggers

Carla Neggers lives in rural Vermont with her husband and their two children. Since completing her first novel at the age of twenty-four, she has written over forty books and has appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists.