Buffalo Valley

Dearest Friends,

I hope you enjoy this final journey to Buffalo Valley. As always, I found it difficult to set these characters and their community aside. Buffalo Valley will always remain a part of me because Dakota towns like this are part of my heritage.

Writing these four books has blessed me in a number of ways. Through my initial research trips, and later, when promoting the titles, I was privileged to meet some wonderful, down-home folks I’d consider it an honor to call friends. People like Erik Sakariassen and everyone at SAKS NEWS, and Matt Olien and the good people at Prairie Public Broadcasting station who generously gave me Schmeckfest , a video about the food traditions of Germans from Russia. We might not be able to correctly pronounce what we’re eating, but it sure tastes good! The bookstores where I signed the trilogy books were terrific. MAXWELL’S BOOKS in Bismarck stayed open for me in the middle of a fierce windstorm; A NOVEL PLACE in Osseo, Minnesota, hosted one of the best signings I’ve ever done; the WALDENBOOKS in the Southridge Mall in Greendale, Wisconsin, attracted an enthusiastic crowd. Thank you, one and all.

A special bonus was becoming reacquainted with aunts, uncles and cousins. Aunt Gladys, you’re a kick—and you’re right, I haven’t started decorating those eggs yet. Hey, my intentions are good! To Lettie and Gary, you promised to visit Wayne and me in Seattle and we’re counting on it. To my cousin Paula and her husband, Mike—Wayne and I enjoyed the tour of your farm, including the directions on how to find you. (Was that the third dip in the road past the mile marker, or the second?)

To Aunt Betty and Uncle Vern, I love you both to death. I’m so blessed to have you in my life. Thank you for the incredible gift of laughter and the example of your love. (My aunt Betty and uncle Vern have been married over seventy years, and when I mentioned how wonderful that was, my aunt said, “In all those years Vern has been tried and true.” My uncle Vern, who’s hard of hearing, replied with a snort, “Well, I’m tired of you, too!” See what I mean about the laughter?)

These books have been an adventure: the research, the writing, the touring and the good friends I’ve made along the way. I hope you’ll enjoy one last trip to Buffalo Valley.

Warmest regards,

To

my mom and dad, Ted and Connie Adler. Boy, did I get lucky to have you for my parents! I love you both.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

S o this was North Dakota. Gazing steadily ahead, Vaughn Kyle barreled down the freeway just outside Grand Forks. Within a few miles, the four lanes had narrowed to two. Dreary, dirt-smudged snow lay piled up along both sides of the highway. Fresh snow had begun to fall, pristine and bright, glinting in the late-afternoon sun.

His parents had retired earlier in the year, leaving Denver, where Vaughn had been born and raised, and returning to the state they’d left long ago. They’d moved north, away from the majestic peaks of the Rocky Mountains to the endlessly boring landscape of the Dakotas. This was supposed to be beautiful? Maybe in summer, he mused, when the fields of grain rippled with the wind, acre after acre. Now, though, in December, in the dead of winter, the beauty of this place escaped him. All that was visible was a winding stretch of black asphalt cutting through flat, monotonous terrain that stretched for miles in every direction.

After seven years as an Airborne Ranger in the U.S. Army’s Second Battalion based in Fort Lewis, Washington, Vaughn was poised to begin the second stage of his working life. He had his discharge papers and he’d recently been hired by Value-X, a mega-retailer with headquarters in Seattle. Value-X was one of America’s most notable success stories. New stores were opening every day all across the United States and Canada.

His course was set for the future, thanks largely to Natalie Nichols. They’d met two years earlier through mutual friends. Natalie was smart, savvy and ambitious; Value-X had recognized her skills and she’d advanced quickly, being promoted to a vice presidency before the age of thirty.

Vaughn had been attracted by her dedication and purpose, and he’d admired her ambition. His own work ethic was strong; as he’d come to realize, that was increasingly rare in this age of quick fixes and no-fault living. Natalie was the one who’d convinced him to leave the army. He was ready. When he’d enlisted after finishing college, he’d done so intending to make the military his career. In the seven years since, he’d learned the advantages and drawbacks of soldiering.

He didn’t mind the regimented life, but the career possibilities weren’t all he’d hoped they would be. What he lacked, as Natalie had pointed out, was opportunity. He was limited in how far he could rise through the ranks or how quickly, while the private sector was wide-open and looking for promising employees like him. He’d been interviewed by three headhunters who recruited candidates for a variety of corporations and in just a few weeks had six job offers.