CHAPTER 1 Paris Jenks sighed and scratched her ear lobe while waking slowly to the chug-chug of an agricultural tractor and the post-dawn excitement of Meg and Dawn. They were orchard dogs, fed miserly and given shelter in return for helping to eradicate rabbits. The curly blonde schoolteacher scratched a breast and knew with a sigh what that had been abou...
Chapter 11 The New Order It felt quite strange walking into the office on Monday morning. I was expected to inhabit the corner office, the same office John Flannery had occupied. It was a given that John would not be returning from his leave. As usual, I was the first to arrive and that gave me an opportunity to scout his office more thoroughly. I had assum...
Landon and Kyla arrived at the hospital in just enough time to find out from the nurses at the nurses' station that her aunt was being prepped for a C-section. Kyla's heart nearly sank at the news. She had talked to her aunt throughout her entire pregnancy and knew she would only agree to such a procedure if it were absolutely necessary. Landon saw the wor...
"Have you decided on the next scene?" She looked up from her appetizer to see the question in his blue-gray eyes. She reached into her purse and passed him the slip of paper, looking away. Moments later she looked up at his comment. "This will take a little while." She shivered at how clinical he had become. Exactly as she wanted. It was their arrangement...
A big thank you to Tigerjen for taking time out of her busy schedule to edit my story at the last minute... And I mean the last minute! * * * * * It was a long five hour drive from the hospital. Seven year old Tim, and his father had been doing it since his mother had been diagnosed with cancer, last spring. Tonight was Christmas Eve, and it was snowing v...
Author's note: This is a submission for the 2018 Valentine's Day contest. Thought I would try something a little different for once, so please read, vote, and tell me what you think in the comments section below. Enjoy! *** "Sher!" I hurriedly took off my shoes as I stepped through the doorway to the humble little apartment that I share with my wife. "Sh...
Chapter 6 What doesn't kill you ... That early December weekend began the confirmation of the love affair between Gabrielle and me. If there had been any doubt beforehand, there was none now. By Christmas we had moved in together. We made no secret of our relationship. I phoned Rex to make sure he was aware of our decision and while he was surprised and won...
This story contains some reminiscences, part of which are written in narrative form on the dates specified internally, and the last part being told on the present day, which is in January of 2010 in this story. I hope that won't be too jarring for the reader, but it seemed to work out best to do it that way. ________________________ January 7, 2010: I was...
I include the customary warning that this story won't make much sense unless you start at Part 1 and include the others. All characters are figments of the imagination and do not reflect any person living or dead. Some places are given their real names because it just makes sense. While the story may be based in some part on factual events, they have been ch...
It looked like an attractive way to pick up a little extra money. The ad was for volunteers for physiological research - either men or women. The fee was for each day's service, in a clinic, and it could be done on a weekend. To a couple in their forties, with college expenses looming, it seemed a good way to acquire a bit of extra cash. My husband was imme...