My oldest son, Brandon, and his lovely Maira have made me a grandmother.

I thrive on routine, mainly because I’m a slow learner.  It took me about ten years to feel like a real teacher. After a decade of sports officiating, I was finally comfortable wearing stripes. I’ve been writing novels for almost 25 years and, only now, am I finding my footing in the publishing world. So, slow and steady has worked pretty well for me. Abrupt changes, not so much. Just traversing that crossover from summer vacation to the school year sometimes leaves me in a tizzy.

But life has a habit of taking sudden turns. Things we never expect land squarely at our feet. Seven years ago, a fifteen-year-old boy, a former student of mine, needed a place to live. In a matter of weeks, I was attending foster mom school. I’d never been able to have children. And then, suddenly, I was a mom.

Today, I have three sons, all grown and handsome and charming. (Do all moms say that?) And this morning, I became a grandmother. Never in my imagination did I ever consider the possibility.

I can’t remember ever holding an infant, except for the time a kind gentleman passed me his baby on a plane so he could reach under the seat to retrieve my glasses. I’ve heard that babies have a certain irresistible smell. I’ve never experienced the fragrance. And that newborns have soft spots on the tops of their tiny heads. I’ve never touched one. And that when someone hands you an  infant you might be reluctant to let go. I don’t know about that either.

But I do know I’m going to give this grandma thing a go, and, hopefully, I’ll catch on quickly.

Anne Montgomery’s new novel, The Scent of Rain, tells the story of two Arizona teenagers whose fates become intertwined. Rose flees into the mountains to escape from her abusive polygamous community where her only future is marriage to a man older than her father. Adan, whose only wish is to be reunited with his mother, is on the run from the cruelties of the foster care system. Are there any adults they can trust? Can they even trust each other?  The Scent of Rain is available at https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780996390149 and wherever books are sold.