"It's not fair." Tessa snapped. "I know, but–" Caroline started. "I shouldn't have to do something I don't want to do." Tessa turned from the mirror, the white chiffon of her wedding dress whispering on the pockmarked wooden floor. "I shouldn't have to marry him just because father wants me to." Continue Reading

"Whatcha thinkin'?" I turned my head and studied my grandfather's profile. He looked so old. In his little brown cap and paisley sweater vest, with his slight hunchback and silky white hair. I'd never spent this much time with him. But now that I lived in the same town as Gramps, my mom had told me I needed to spend more time with him and take him for a weekly walk on Saturday mornings. Continue Reading

Shayna ducked behind a curtain. She hid her face in the shadows of the green velvet and pressed her body as close to the wall as she could. She sucked in her gut and held her breath. She focused on the wet dog scent of the fabric instead of the damp cold seeping from the window into the drywall against her back.Continue Reading