Edge of Heaven

When Lucy Davenport's father gives her to Holman Carpenter in exchange for a mysterious favor, her life is changed forever. Holman takes 18 year old Lucy away from her isolated Georgia cabin to his farm in the North Carolina mountains. Still mourning the death of her own mother, she suddenly finds herself wife to a virtual stranger and mother to his 13 children. Lucy's initial challenge is to adjust to her new family. Then there are the neighbors to consider: cheerful Bessie and her family, gruff-talking Herby with his menacing friends, and the charming peddler Jake who offers a chance for escape. Though she gradually learns to accept the ways of Holman's people, Lucy never forgets that her Cherokee mother left her a precious legacy, engraved on a gold locket. When will the legacy be realized? Where might she reach the edge of heaven?