EARLY HARVEST 28th of the Prairie Preacher Series Darrell and Jeannie had a wonderful marriage and were looking forward to the arrival of their first child later this summer. However, this summer so far had been miserable. They had lost one of their best friends, Diane Harrington, who died from a fall while expecting their first baby. Diane died, but the baby, though premature, survived. The little girl, Dana, had recently come home from the hospital. Jeannie would babysit both babies while the men worked in the fields. Dana and her daddy, Matt, lived in the same yard with Darrell and Jeannie. It had been an extremely dry year with miserly rains in the spring. The crops were drying up in the fields. Farmers had been gathering every bit of hay or grain they could find. The men were hurrying to finish the last field before the long awaited rains began. It was supposed to be heavy and last a while, so the hay or crops would be ruined if left in the field. There was a rush to get it in. All was going well, and then in early afternoon, life took another tragic turn. In a matter of minutes, life at the Jessup place would change forever.