Trudy looked out the window. Sunlight topped the white-barked branches of the trees. She let Birch bury his face against her. Stroking his hair, she tried to comfort him although she felt in need of comfort herself. "We'll make it," she said, thinking of the garden and the shelves of canned food in the root cellar. He said in a halting voice, "I can't figure out the why of it all, Trudy.Everything was so fine.I thought." She kissed him again. "Don't think for awhile, Birch. Things will look better if you rest with me awhile." He gathered her into his arms. "Only you!" he whispered against her neck. "You and the kids, True. But I wanted more for you than hard times..."--Excerpted from Shiloh Autumn