ALMOST FOREVER by Deborah Raney

Bryn Hennesey loves working at the Grove Street Homeless Shelter but her husband, Adam, doesn’t want her there after one of the workers was attacked by a homeless person. Adam is a firefighter in their town of Hanover Falls. He works nights so Bryn has been secretly working at the shelter. On the night the shelter burned to the ground, Bryn was working. She is worried that Adam will see her when his station responds to the fire. She also is bothered by something else, something that haunts her. Bryn sees Adam go into the building, along with 4 other firefighters. Five heroic firefighters lost their lives that day, Adam among them. How can Bryn go on without her husband and how can she live with the haunting thought of what she may have done?

Garret Edmond’s wife, Molly, was the only female firefighter that died that day. He feels that it’s a husbands job to protect his wife. In his eyes, he failed miserably. The feelings of loss and guilt seem almost unbearable. How could God allow Molly to perish when they had only been married such a short time. They had their whole lives ahead of them.

Bryn takes in the dog of one of the homeless men when he has to relocate to another shelter due to the fire. She is out trying to walk this dog when she runs into Garret. They become fast friends because of what they have both been through. Bryn and Garret find things getting closer between them when Bryn has a dream one night that confirms her worst fears. How can she face Garret or any of the surviving spouses? How can she face anyone with what she now knows?

I really enjoyed “Almost Forever”! The characters were very believable and easy to identify with. Deborah shows that facing the truth and having faith in God and in yourself is the right way to go. The book was never preachy and I feel that Deborah got the spiritual message across perfectly! I highly recommend this book and I’m eagerly awaiting the next in the Hanover Falls series!