Chapter 43 Home

• *Isabella*
• Dust—thick and red—coats everything, clingin’ to my skin, my clothes, my hair. It is a far cry from the lush green hills of Tennessee, where willows dip their branches into cool streams. That life feels like a dream now. This place is different. Harsh, untamed… but it is ours.
• For days, we scouted the land, searchin’ for the right place to settle. And then, we found it. A valley nestled between the pines and the open prairie, with a river runnin’ nearby and enough game to keep our bellies full through the winter. The land is rough, but it is rich. The air is clean, the sky endless. This will be home.