And that you take care of yourself. That, too. Michael loves you and you love him. I hope to shit you haven’t blown that. If you have, I will definitely haunt you.
I know that sadness has stalked you in your life, Jo, from early on. I saw you fight it and win. You always won. But maybe now it’s harder. Maybe you should give in to it just enough. We’re all sad sometimes. I’m sad right now, thinking of you reading this letter. But I want to look down （God—I hope it’s down and not up） and see you flying, running, laughing, living your life to the fullest.
Play without a net, flygirl. Because even from here, I’ve got your six.
Always.
I love you.
T
Jolene folds the letter into thirds and slips it back into the envelope. She knows she will read it a hundred more times in her life. Whenever she needs to remember.
For a brief, beautiful second, she looks in the chair beside her and sees Tami there, her head thrown back, laughing, saying something Jolene can’t quite hear.
“Look, Mom!” Betsy says running up to her. “We found a yellow ribbon on the beach.”
Jolene smiles and rises to her feet. She takes the ribbon in her hand, feeling its satiny softness between her fingers. She can’t help thinking of Tami’s ribbons. Of Smitty’s ribbons. Of yellow ribbons on trees all across the country. To her, yellow will always be the color of good-bye.
“Mom?” Betsy says, looking up at her. “Are you ready to come to the beach yet? We’re waiting.”
Jolene holds up the ribbon, watches it flutter in the breeze; then she loosens her hold on it, lets it fly up into the blue, blue sky. Sunlight blinds her for a moment, swallows the strip of fabric, and takes it away. Good-bye.
“I’m ready,” she says quietly, taking her daughter’s hand.
Smiling, she walks down to the beach to join her family.
Acknowledgments
In the research and writing of this book, I felt a little like Alice, tumbling into a strange and foreign world full of acronyms and unknown words. I knew very little about a soldier’s life—or a family’s sacrifice—beyond what I saw on the news each night. On my journey, I encountered three very special people, and to them, I offer my endless gratitude.
To Sergeant Andrew Wanamaker, thanks for getting me started and pointing me in the right direction.
To Captain Keith Kosik, thanks for answering a cold e-mail from a strange woman who claimed to be a writer. And for answering endless questions, many of which probably made you want to laugh.
Finally, to Chief Warrant Officer 5 Teresa Burgess. I can’t tell you how much your support, help, and friendship has meant in the past year. You repeatedly took time away from your busy schedule to read and reread drafts of this manuscript, and each time you helped me make the story better. More honest. Your comments were always helpful and insightful. You are an inspiration, Teresa, in so many ways. Somehow you balance it all—being a soldier, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot, a wife, and a mother—and you do it with grace and courage. You are truly an example of everything that is right with our country.
Also by Kristin Hannah
Night Road
Winter Garden
True Colors
Firefly Lane
Magic Hour
Comfort and Joy
The Things We Do for Love
Distant Shores
Between Sisters
Summer Island
Angel Falls
On Mystic Lake
Home Again
Waiting for the Moon
When Lightning Strikes
If You Believe
Once in Every Life
The Enchantment
A Handful of Heaven
About the Author
Kristin Hannah is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty novels. A former lawyer turned writer, she is the mother of one son and lives with her husband in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. Please visit her at www.kristinhannah.com.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
HOME FRONT. Copyright ? 2012 by Kristin Hannah. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Hannah, Kristin.
Home front / Kristin Hannah.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-312-57720-9 （hardcover）
ISBN 978-1-4299-4221-8 （e-book）
1. Domestic fiction. I. Title.
PS3558.A4763H66 2012
813'.54—dc23
2011033805
e-ISBN 978-1-4299-4221-8
First Edition: February 2012
Home Front
by Kristin Hannah