The phone rings in the front office. Two weeks ago our receptionist had gotten her fill of Red Valley and moved out, so Ernie and I have…
The back roads were never really an option for Charlie before tonight. He was never angry enough to need to take an extra hour to get back to the farm. Darkness everywhere. On every winding section of the forest and field filled country route, nothing but shadow and a few forlorn fences.
The box was bigger than I was. When my father hauled it into my room, it sounded as heavy as lead when he thumped it down on…
“They figure out what’s doing this yet?”
The man who had taken up unwelcome residence at my booth was arranged sloppily, one arm thrown over the back of the seat. His necktie lapped at the…
Meredith lay in bed, drifting to sleep as Ethan caressed her head, smoothing her hair back. He was overcome by fatigue, his strokes growing slower as he slipped into slumber as well.
Both so relaxed, they didn’t notice the front door, which they had forgotten to lock, being nudged open.
She’s lying in her bed, surrounded by mounds of blankets and pillows, wanting nothing more than to glue her eyes shut.
Not that she thinks that will help.
She hasn’t slept in weeks, the one month mark approaching quickly, reminding her that she never got…
Rotted Roots — Part 13: Loose Ends
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Rotted Roots — Part 12: Adverse Parties
No one moved. Each breath was like sawing through steel tension with a handsaw. Only Ryder, adjusting his sleeves, seemed calm…
When Ethan Ryder stepped off the elevator for the fifty-second floor with his sister, the only thing keeping the fury from his face was the plastic surgery he had done.