Ever After

364 Pages·2006·1.86 MB·English

by  Karen Kingsbury

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Other Life-Changing Fiction™
by Karen Kingsbury
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Beyond Tuesday Morning Moment of Weakness
Halfway to Forever
Stand-Alone Titles
Oceans Apart Women of Faith Fiction Series
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Children’s Title
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Redemption Series
Miracles
Redemption
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A Treasury of Miracles for Teens
Rejoice
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Reunion
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Fame Miracles
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Gift Books
Found
Stay Close Little Girl
Family
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Forever (winter 2007)
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Sarah’s Song
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www.KarenKingsbury.com
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Ever After
Adobe® Acrobat® eBook Reader® format
Copyright © 2006 by Karen Kingsbury
This title is also available as a Zondervan audio product.
Visit www.zondervan.com/audiopages for more information.
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
ISBN-10: 0-310-28161-X
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-28161-0
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible:
New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible
Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers printed in this book
are offered as a resource to you. These are not intended in any way to be or imply an
endorsement on the part of Zondervan, nor do we vouch for the content of these sites
and numbers for the life of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photo-
copy, recording, or any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without
the prior permission of the publisher.
Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 5375
Roundup Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80910
Interior design by Michelle Espinoza
Cover design by Brand Navigation
Cover photo by Stever Gardner, www.shootpw.com
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Table of Contents
In Memory 6
Acknowledgments 8
Chapter 1 14
Chapter 2 29
Chapter 3 37
Chapter 4 48
Chapter 5 56
Chapter 6 69
Chapter 7 81
Chapter 8 93
Chapter 9 109
Chapter 10 123
Chapter 11 127
Chapter 12 145
Chapter 13 157
Chapter 14 164
Chapter 15 174
Chapter 16 184
Chapter 17 195
Chapter 18 199
Chapter 19 212
Chapter 20 218
Chapter 21 232
Chapter 22 240
Chapter 23 252
Chapter 24 260
Chapter 25 269
Chapter 26 283
Chapter 27 296
Chapter 28 305
Chapter 29 312
Chapter 30 321
Chapter 31 330
From the Author 339
Book Club Questions 344
About the Author 362
About the Publisher 363
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In Memory of
Joshua Dingler
I
bring you this book in honor of the memory of Joshua Din-
gler, age nineteen.
At the final stages of editing Ever After, I received a letter from
one of my readers — Karen Dingler. She said God had used one
of my books to help her understand that her son, Joshua Dingler
of the First Battalion, the 108th Armor Regiment of the U.S. Army
in Calhoun, Georgia, had not died in vain.
What defined Joshua was his life, how he lived. Joshua was
the son of a pastor, Tommy Dingler. His mother had just taken on
the role of his army unit’s family support group leader when his
family learned of his death. Joshua left behind a younger brother,
Samuel.
When he was a young boy, Joshua played Little League base-
ball. He was a Boy Scout who earned the rank Life Scout, and in
middle school, he went to Australia and New Zealand as a stu-
dent ambassador for P eople 2 People. He helped out at church
and volunteered at the sound booth. He was in JROTC at East
Paulding High School in Hiram, Georgia, where he was known
and loved by everyone he came in contact with. He would defend
NASCAR to anyone who questioned it as a sport. Joshua planned
to come home and marry his high school love and wanted to be
a history teacher.
In honor of Joshua, I am starting two new links on my web-
site, www.KarenKingsbury.com. The first is for Active Military
6 Karen Kingsbury
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Ever After 7
Heroes. The second is for Fallen Military Heroes. If you have a
friend or loved one serving our country, please send me a photo
and a brief description of that person — name, rank, where they
are serving, and how we can pray for them. The Active Mili-
tary Heroes page will honor these men and women. It will be
a place where readers can see the face on the fight for freedom,
a place where readers can visit to pray for each other. If you’ve
lost a loved one or a friend in military action, please send that
photo and a brief description also. This will be posted on my
Fallen Military Heroes page. Joshua Dingler’s photo will be at
the top of that page. If you are sending a photo and information,
please put the word “SOLDIER” in the subject line and send it to
[email protected].
As you read the pages of Ever After, think about Joshua Din-
gler. The sacrifice for freedom is a real one. And please pray for
and support the families and members of the U.S. Military. Pray
every day.
In His light and love,
Karen Kingsbury
Joshua Dingler, 1986 – 2005
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Acknowledgments
A
s always, this book couldn’t have come together without
the help of many people. First, a special thanks to my great
friends at Zondervan, who believe in this sequel and have enor-
mous dreams and prayers for the way it will touch people and
change lives. Thank you!
Also, thanks to my amazing agent, Rick Chris tian, president
of Alive Communications. I am amazed more as every day passes
at your integrity, your brilliant talent, and your commitment to
the Lord and to getting my Life-Changing Fiction™ out to read-
ers all over the world. You are a strong man of God, Rick. You care
for my career as if you were personally responsible for the souls
God touches through these books. Thank you for looking out for
my personal time — the hours I have with my husband and kids.
I couldn’t do this without you.
As always, this book wouldn’t be possible without the help of
my husband and kids, who will eat just about anything when I’m
on deadline and who understand and love me anyway. I thank
God I’m still able to spend more time with you than with my pre-
tend people — as Austin calls them. Thanks for understanding
the sometimes crazy life I lead and for always being my greatest
support.
Also, thanks to my mother and assistant, Anne Kingsbury,
for her great sensitivity and love for my readers. You are a reflec-
tion of my own heart, Mom, or maybe I’m a reflection of yours.
Either way, we are a great team, and I a ppreciate you more than
you know. I’m grateful, also, for my dad, Ted Kingsbury, who is
8 Karen Kingsbury
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Ever After 9
and always has been my greatest encourager. I remember when I
was a little girl, Dad, and you would say, “One day, honey, every-
one will read your books and know what a wonderful writer you
are.” Thank you for believing in me long before anyone else ever
did. Thanks also to my sisters, Tricia and Susan and Lynne, who
help out with my business when the workload is too large to see
around. I appreciate you!
And a thanks to Katie Johnson, who runs a large part of my
business life — everything from my accounting to my calendar.
God brought you to me, Katie, and I’ll be grateful as long as I’m
writing for Him. Don’t ever leave, okay? And to Olga Kalachik,
whose hard work helping me prepare for events allows me to
operate a significant part of my business from my home. The
personal touch you both bring to my ministry is precious to me,
priceless to me . . . thank you with all my heart.
And thanks to my friends and family who continue to sur-
round me with love and prayer and support. I could list you by
name, but you know who you are. Thank you for believing in me
and for seeing who I really am. A true friend stands by through
the changing seasons of life and cheers you on, not for your suc-
cesses, but for staying true to what matters most. You are the ones
who know me that way, and I’m grateful for every one of you.
Please keep praying for me, since I can’t do a page of this, not
even a word, without God’s strength and gift.
Of course, the greatest thanks goes to God Almighty, the most
wonderful Author of all — the Author of life (Hebrews 12:2). The
gift is Yours. I pray I might have the incredible opportunity and
responsibility to use it for You all the days of my life.
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Dedicated To . . .
D
onald, my prince charming. In this season of life, with you
working as full-time teacher here at home for our boys, I
am maybe more proud of you than ever. I’m amazed at the way
you blend love and laughter, tenderness and tough standards, to
bring out the best in our boys. A second season of homeschool-
ing? Wow! Don’t for a minute think that your role in all this is
somehow smaller. You have the greatest responsibility of all. Not
only with our children, but in praying for me as I write and speak
and go about this crazy, fun job God has given me. I couldn’t do
it without you. Thanks for loving me, for being my best friend,
and for finding “date moments” amidst even the most maniacal
or mundane times. My favorite times are with you by my side. I
love you always, forever.
Kelsey, my precious daughter. You are just newly seventeen,
and somehow that sounds more serious than the other ages. As
if we jumped four years over the past twelve months. Seventeen
brings with it the screeching of brakes on a childhood that has
gone along full speed until now. Seventeen? Seventeen years since
I held you in the nursery, feeling a sort of love I’d never felt be-
fore? Seventeen sounds like bunches of lasts all lined up ready
to take the stage — and college counselors making plans to take
my little girl from home into a brand-new big world. Seventeen
tells me it won’t be much longer. Sometimes I find myself barely
able to exhale. The ride is so fast, I can only try not to blink so I
won’t miss a minute. Like the most beautiful springtime flower,
I see you growing and unfolding, becoming interested in current
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