A Tree Born Crooked (28 page)

“You’re shitting me.”

Marlena leaned back in her chair, stunned, but James could do nothing but laugh. He picked up the leg of fried chicken in front of him and took a bite. There was no denying it now. He was home.
 

Acknowledgments

Without my husband, Ryan Holt, and my mother, Janet Sokolay, this book simply would not have been possible. Thank you especially to Ryan for never letting me give up, never letting me settle, and never letting me fall. Special thanks also to my brother, Phillip Sokolay, for his amazing cover art and design, and to the following people for everything you have done for me and for this book: Taylor Brown, Leonard Chang, Will Chancellor, Zara Kramer, Allan Kramer, Michael McBride, Christine Gabriel, my Holt family, and my Pandamoon family. You are all rock stars. And to everyone who listened, everyone who lent support, everyone who took me seriously and believed in my work
—
so many, many thanks to you as well.