Rose of RiverBend

Fall 1923. After a thirteen-year absence, Rose Thoresen is returning to her beloved RiverBend. It may well be her final visit.Edmund O'Dell, Rose's son-in-law, has accepted the job as head of the Chicago Pinkerton office. As he prepares to move his family from Denver to Chicago, Rose faces a difficult decision: Will she continue at Palmer House where she has led many fallen women to Christ and mentored them in their faith, or will she give up this ministry and follow her daughter and grandchildren to their new home?I am seventy-four years old, Lord, and I believe that the work you entrusted to me when we founded Palmer House should now pass to Sarah and Olive. By your grace, Lord God, they are ready to assume this great and wonderful responsibility. I pray you make them fruitful branches in your kingdom, always abiding in the vine, Christ Jesus.As for me? I will go with Joy and her family to Chicago and pour what love, strength, and time I have left into Joy, Edmund, and their children.Rose asks only one thing of her son-in-law. "Edmund, when we take the train east, I would like to stop in RiverBend and spend several days there. I have not seen my friends and Jan's family in many years."Not since Jan left us and entered heaven.O'Dell readily agrees to Rose's request, and as they prepare to leave Denver, they must say goodbye to many friends.As the train chugs into RiverBend's little station, Rose knows the time she spends here will be filled with cherished memories, the sweet entwined with the bittersweet.Father, thank you for the precious days before me. In them all, please help me to love without measure and bring glory to your name.A Prairie HeritageBook 1: A Rose Blooms TwiceBook 2: Wild Heart on the PrairieBook 3: Joy on This MountainBook 4: The Captive WithinBook 5: StolenBook 6: Lost Are FoundBook 7: All God's PromisesBook 8: The Heart of JoyBook 9: Rose of RiverBend Vikki Kestell has more than 20 years of career experience as a writing, instructional design, and communications professional in government, academia, semiconductor manufacturing, health care, and nonprofit organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies. Vikki is an accomplished speaker and teacher and belongs to Tramway Community Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she teaches an evening Bible study for working women. She and her husband Conrad Smith make their home in Albuquerque. Faith-Filled Fiction: Vikki writes and publishes under the imprint of Faith-Filled Fiction(TM). To keep abreast of new book releases, visit her website, http://www.vikkikestell.com/, or find her on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/TheWritingOfVikkiKestell. Enjoy all the books of A Prairie Heritage as they become available: Book 1: A Rose Blooms Twice Book 2: Joy on This Mountain Book 3: The Captive Within Book 4: Wild Heart on the Prairie Book 5: Stolen Book 6: Lost Are Found, November 2014