Blaze of Memory (Psy-Changeling 7)

Husky feminine laughter, playful fingers dancing along the waistband of his jeans. "I guess I'll have to take it one kiss at a time."

PETROKOV FAMILY ARCHIVES

Letter dated May 5, 1995

Dearest Matthew,

Today, as I watched you promise to honor and cherish the woman you love, I saw the beginning of a dawn so bright, nothing will dare stand in its way. Our hope, our courage, our very heart carries on in your willingness to love, to be vulnerable, to hurt.

Those in the Net call us weak, but they're wrong. It's easy to ignore emotion, to bar the pathways of the soul. If I hadn't loved your father, his death wouldn't have forever broken a part of me. But if I hadn't loved your father, I'd never have known what it is to be human.

As the years pass, I hope you'll remember that, that your children's children will remember that. And when the shadows return, as they eventually will, remember this, too - we survived once. And we'll keep on surviving.

Nothing is stronger than the will of the human heart.

With all my love,

Mom