"Everyone join hands," Ty Haug's father said before he began the annual Thanksgiving prayer. He made it sound incredibly solemn as he told everyone to bow their heads in prayer. Without thinking Ty lifted his fingers from beneath the table and joined hands with the man on his left and the woman on his right.

There was something sacred about the Thanksgiving prayer and sharing this day with those he knew and loved. Ty didn't need to glance to the left to know he was sitting next to his Uncle Fred with his beefy farmer's hand. The slight delicate one that was laid in the palm of his right hand was an exercise in contrast. Soft, small, and gentle. He was supposed to spend the day in the company of people he knew and loved, but the woman sitting next to him didn't fit into either category.

Just hours earlier, Ty had arrived at the airport, gathered his luggage and waited for his brother Vince to pick him up. As it turned out, he was the last flight of the day, because of a raging ice storm that had hit the Minneapolis area. All flights in and out of Minneapolis had been cancelled. He was lucky he wasn't one of those other poor saps who would spend Thanksgiving in an airport. Dad's deep fried turkey and Mom's pumpkin pie awaited him. Ty couldn't wait to get home.

Vince's deep voice resonated on Ty's cell phone as he played his messages.

"Hey, Ty. I'm going to be a little late picking you up. Roads are pretty icy. They have the sanders out, but traffic is backed up. I think there may have been an accident up ahead. I'll call you when I get there."

Great. Ty thought to himself. The airport was stacked with impatient people who had just learned their flights were cancelled and his brother was out driving on roads that could get him killed. Perfect.

Stirred from his memory, Ty looked again to his right and the small hand that was placed so trustingly in his and gave it a small reassuring squeeze as his father said 'Dear God in heaven..."

His thoughts drifted back to that morning at the airport.

He didn't know why he sat down in the terminal. He guessed it was because it was an open seat. Sitting next to him was a woman with her head in her hands and her maple and brown sugar hair dripping down to cover her face.

Uncomfortably Ty cleared his throat and spoke. "I take it your flight was cancelled."

The woman stirred and sat up straighter, pushing her hair from her eyes. She looked at Ty with warm brown eyes, a bit stunned that anyone was even talking to her.

"Yes. I was

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