Silvio was ecstatic when Brad and I returned to Casa Amor.

This year he had done something special that I immediately noticed. We exchanged a few words; and then as usual, he was off to the airport and I into the house to unpack. But back to my point...this year, there were flowers in every room. Silvio had filled the house with fresh flowers which would become not only a hobby for the summer, but something beautiful to appreciate as we enjoyed the house.

While I would be touring some that summer, it was going to be at a much slower pace. I intended to have Liam and Isabella take the reigns a bit and focus on marketing and selling the book from online channels. Each of them had done their respective parts, and I was rewarding them fro time to time as the royalty checks came in.

It was my goal to finish my new novel by Thanksgiving and have it on the shelves for the Christmas and New Year's holiday season. I figured that most of the writing could be done over the summer and I could dedicate what time I needed to in the fall to bring it to completion.

While I was excited to be spending the first summer at Casa Amor alone with Brad, I was also growing concerned for my Father and his health. Little by little as we talked, I could see his mind failing a bit. Additionally, he had become quite the complainer with respect to his physical health as well. He had been banged up quite a bit between high school and college sports, and the military. Despite all this, he was a "tough old bird", and I knew he would not give up without a fight.

Ellen called a few weeks after we settled into Casa Amor. She had a new angle for us to explore.