“On your mark!” Benny screams. I lift my face to the sun, stare down the length of track we are about to explode upon.
I’ve even put away The Saint’s Way for now. I haven’t looked at it once since we left. It’s not that I’ve turned my back on saints as a whole; it’s just that I personally don’t think I fit into their group. I don’t want to be Saint Agnes anymore. I just want to be Agnes. Whoever she might be.
“Get set!”
Next to me, Honey tenses. Her red braids hang in front of her shoulders like ropes. She glances quickly at me. “The barrette looks great on you.”
I grin and stare straight ahead, trying not to think about the pink flower petals clipped to the top of my ponytail. “Don’t try to distract me, goof.”
“Go!”
From here, the distance seems long. But as my arms pump up and down and my legs carry me over the soft grass, the space between us gets shorter and shorter until all at once, despite everything, I am there.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I could not have written this book without the support of many people. I am forever grateful to my agent, Jessica Regel, whose faith in me, not to mention her unbelievable persistence, has, in my eyes, set her far above the rest. Thank you to my editors, Melanie Cecka and Elizabeth Schonhorst, whose keen eye for detail and sense of humor helped me create a richer, more sensitive story, and to all the staff at Bloomsbury, whose enthusiasm for my work continues to both awe and humble me. It was my parents who gave me a love of writing, as well as supportive, enthusiastic feedback throughout all my years struggling to get it right, and for that I am forever indebted. Thank you to my dear friend Joe Biondo, who believed in me from the very beginning; Donna and Lou Rader; Judy Plummer; Gina Marsicano; Lynn Chalmers; and Don McMillan, all of whom read early drafts of my work and pushed me to continue. Thank you so much. To my brother, Dr. Samuel Plummer, who helped me with the medical terminology, and P. J. Adonizio, for his specific advice on funeral arrangements. Thank you to my children, who have made my life richer than I could have ever dreamed possible. My husband, Paul, is the one who, with his patience and love, has helped me realize one of my biggest dreams; thank you, love, from the bottom of my heart.