After spending the afternoon with a dolt and a freak, she needed to be alone. She longed to have a conversation with someone having an IQ higher than a toothpick and, from what she could observe, neither of these guys fit the bill. They each served their purpose though, and she was paying both of...
She was about to do the unthinkable- beg her former boss, Rebecca Stein, to reinstate her position as an office assistant at Baldpate University. This was the lowest of the low, but the only way she could push the entire Colton escapade out of her mind was to turn her own ...
She wore a sharp blue dress with thin black striping. Pale cream colored heels and gold earrings topped off her outfit. “Sit, Clarice,” Mr. Morning ordered. Anna pulled at the mid-thigh hem of her pencil skirt, trying to better cover her legs. The soft couch cushions made it hard for her to keep ...
She had two stops to make before going home, and she dreaded them both. When she’d tried to give Fern’s class another signing lesson today, she’d had problems with Kyle again. Not only had he been unwilling to learn, but he’d convinced two of the other boys to ignore her as well. If that hadn’t b...
Because the truth is, I couldn’t predict the future if my life depended on it. I thought Brian loved me and wanted to be with me forever. NOT. I thought I’d totally blown my modeling audition and I’d never see or hear from Leslie Chesterfield again. NOT.Leslie Chesterfield called me that very sam...
OK, not a stupendous epic or anything. However, the red column on the bristol board has finally and not by accident but sheer muleheadedness butted up against the top line on the chart. The fact that this has occurred just in time for the e-submission is no accident. She has one day for the final...
For the first couple hours, conversations continuing from dinner filled the space between seats, and I strained to listen for clues that anyone was aligned with Karl. After the talking settled, some people slept, but Karl’s presence, in my line of sight near the middle of the plane, made it hard ...
Thanks for loving me, supporting me, and always believing in me, Acknowledgments They say it takes a village to raise a child, but in my case it also takes one to write a book. As usual, I am indebted to my amazing friends and critique partners, Bella Andre and Monica McCarty. Thanks for reading ...
None of his classmates were up yet, and the light showing through the windows was only just transitioning from the grey of pre-dawn to the first golden glow of sunrise. Rising quietly he washed and dressed, and made his way out into the courtyard. The lingering chill of night goose-pimpled the fl...
The noise and confusion under my window didn't relent. Looking at the ornate mantle clock someone had placed on a plain pine dresser, I saw it was still early, barely six. Sarah fed the hands at eight, and most of them had already done a couple of hours work by that time, but this...
The hat she had bought in Aruba and it had two, long, fine cotton straps that wound around above the brim several times and then tied around the chin to hold it on. She had thrown on the long, multicolored, striped skirt she had bought in Caracas when they had flown in and a bright orange, stretc...
There was no monster in the closet. No dragon under the bed. When I was twenty-six I learned differently. The bogeyman was real. The monsters popped up in my own backyard. I haven’t seen a dragon yet, but that doesn’t mean one doesn’t exist. I was just a small town cop, doing my job—a little bore...
Now! It was from the Messenger. “Abby, Carol, Rafa, let’s go, now!” Derick called out and turned on a flashlight extension he had on his rings. He had installed it before he left his room, just in case. They wove through the crowd in the dark. It was tricky; people were shifting, uneasy without ...
Ben said as he stared down at her. He’d braced his hands on either side of her so that she didn’t feel the weight of his body. “You were coming after me. You were hit by the SUV, because of me.” She shook her head, moving slightly against the pillow. “I didn’t look when I ran after you.” She sho...
Fred Fischer? Coyote Charlie? She had to get a look at his face. After leaping down the ladder, she hugged the wall as she crept to the doorway. There. Only a few yards away. He would cross in front of her in a matter of seconds. Crap! Was he coming inside? Coming for her? She leapt out of the do...