Heaven's Blue — Penelope Marzec

Samantha Lyons, abducted by her father as a child, has finally come home to Clam Creek, a sleepy little town on the marsh in New Jersey. However, she needs an assistant to complete her mosquito research if she wants to continue living at Field Station Number 37, the first real home she has ever had. When David Halpern drives into town, she is sure he is the answer to her prayers. David is out of options when he and his son find sustenance in the basement of Holy Redeemer and a job offer from Samantha. David assumes he'll be safe from discovery in the backwater town and accepts the position. Samantha is appalled to discover that David has kidnapped his son, but she knows she isn't likely to get any other help and so she aids David in his deception. Then a fire consumes the marsh and everything that Samantha has worked on for two years is in danger. Risking her life, she drives out onto the blazing marsh. David saves her before her cottage collapses on her. David intends to nurse her back to health, but the police come and take him and his son away. Samantha is devastated and believes that God has punished her. With the help of her friends and a new litter of puppies, her trust in God is not only renewed but strengthened. Then David, now Alan Nugent again, calls her. He is distraught because his son has run away. Reaching the point where he knows he is powerless to save himself, he decides that he has no one else to turn to except God. For the first time in years, he offers up a brief prayer and Samantha finds the runaway. Still, it takes months for Alan to understand that he must turn his life around before heaven will bless him with Samantha's love.