Short Family

WHITE CAT BLACK CAT - The Hunter ******************************************** One hot summer day, in front of the fan The white cat was sweating as only cats can When outside the window he suddenly spied A tiny bird chirping on the other side. The cat stretched hard, from his back to his front, And thought, “What a great day to go out and hunt!”

A long-married couple is forced to confront their friend's painful past when a church revival comes to a nearby town ... A woman in an arranged marriage struggles to connect with the son she hid from her husband for years ... A well-meaning sister unwittingly reunites an abuser with his victims. Through an indelible array of lives, Yoon Choi explores where first and second generations either clash or find common ground,

The fifth tale in the cycle of stories about people discovering that life outside their comfort zone is not so bad; if you have the courage to take The Plunge After having faced many testing situations young lesbian, Verina Lamb, is thrown into a loop again when she returns to her home, her sanctuary, to find her step-mother, Cynthia, enjoying a cup of tea in the garden. Cynthia's new boyfriend John is there too and .... they are both bare!

Jason Mckinney never expected to find a zombie on the downstairs toilet, but apparently, everything eventually runs out of toilet paper at the worst possible time. Enter the *Federated Alliance of Rare Things, specifically created for those embarrassing bathroom moments, and the McKinney family, recruited as the latest Saviour of the Bog Roll. The paycheque is out of this world. Jason has kids, a house that needs some desperate upkeep, and a chupacabra falling in love with him. Life as a saviour is interesting, sometimes terrifying, and frequently lavender scented.

As we age, memories can fade, affecting not only recall but also connections with loved ones. Engaging in brain-stimulating activities like reading can slow cognitive decline, as noted by the American Academy of Neurology. This book offers an enjoyable way to exercise your memory and bring details back into focus. With short stories set in familiar outdoor settings, you’ll be transported into the great outdoors from the first chapter.

Who was St. Joseph? Why did Jesus want him as his foster-father? Pope Francis, declaring 2021 the Year of St. Joseph, invites everyone to "discover in Joseph—the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, quiet and hidden presence—an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble." He also states that "In Joseph, Jesus saw the tender love of God." God chose St. Joseph as His favorite carpenter—and to be the man who taught Jesus how to be a carpenter. But St. Joseph never speaks a single line in all the Gospels. How to discover someone who is so quiet? 'God's Carpenter' lets us discover ...

A stolen Desert Eagle, a weapon designed to protect warriors defending their nations, the official sidearm of the Israeli military, continues its fall from grace in LA misadventures.

In the tenth book in The Good Lord Made Them All series, Joe Wheeler offers a wonderful collection of stories about many different kinds of animal, including dogs, cats, horses, pigs, and turtles. Their family-friendly adventures will have you laughing with glee. Perfect to read aloud, and a must-have to complete the series.

"Dizzy & Gillespie" unfolds as an emotionally rich mystery, intertwining the lives of a devoted daughter and her aging mother. Within their once-grand, now-fading New York City apartment, they face the relentless challenges of poverty, the encroaching tides of gentrification, and the relentless passage of time. Their bond, tested by life's struggles and their community's transformation, finds a glimmer of hope with the arrival of two rescue kittens, Dizzy and Gillespie. However, the actions of a new neighbor soon set off a chain of events that will alter their lives forever. This story ...

Addison is the daughter of one of the MC members. She’s also got an ad up online that shakes me to the core. She wants to auction off her innocence to the highest bidder. Before her dad finds out, I’m going to talk her out of it. Except she knows what she’s doing when I arrive. She says she’ll take the ad down on one condition: I need to fulfill its parameters. Come hell or high water, I’ll claim Addison no matter what it takes. A fast-paced knight in shining armor short read featuring innocence, a spicy advertisement, and the MC member who breaks a few rules to get his happily ...

Can this mail-order bride convince her husband he needs a ready-made family? With the help of the Westward Home and Hearts Matrimonial Agency, Piper Paulson finds herself on a train to meet and marry her future husband, a kind-hearted teacher in Montgomery, Colorado. Together, they make the perfect pair until, suddenly, Piper finds herself at odds with her husband. She doesn’t know how to get what she wants and save their marriage at the same time. August Harrison falls in love with his mail-order bride right from the start. He believes he and the quiet woman who grew up in an orphanage ...

Wide ranging stories to add wonder and mindfulness to your day...but short stories and poetry? Yes! These are bite-size chunks of fun, weirdness, introspection, and narrative. Sort of like M&Ms, but with more letters. I even have a category of Very Short Stories, for those that want a quick read. The following are extracts from a couple of them—but I have lighter stuff too! The group of newfound friends steadfastly neared the top of the mountain. A shaft of light penetrated the foliage. They felt the yellow warmth on their head and the top of their dry eyes. Looking up, they saw the beam ...

Shirley Jackson is one of the most important American writers of the last hundred years. Since her death in 1965, her place in the landscape of twentieth-century fiction has grown only more exalted. As we approach the centenary of her birth comes this astonishing compilation of fifty-six pieces—more than forty of which have never been published before. Two of Jackson’s children co-edited this volume, culling through the vast archives of their mother’s papers at the Library of Congress, selecting only the very best for inclusion.

She’s out of second chances. He’s losing hope. Will love lead them home? Emma Smucker thought Paradise Township would be her fresh start. But when her new teaching methods spark suspicion, she risks losing another home—and the children who depend on her. Matthew Blank was once the town’s finest carpenter. Now blind, he struggles to keep his family’s workshop alive. Helping Emma craft learning tools gives him new purpose and draws them closer than either expected. As gossip spreads and fear grows, Emma and Matthew must stand together. Will they find the courage to build a future on...

Zach and his man of the house James don’t have the most typical relationship – in fact, it’s far from normal. Zach loves letting the man who raised him give it to him hard and rough, and James loves sharing his boy with all his hunky friends! Road tripping across America, the two of them stop at a roadside rest stop in the middle of nowhere. Instead of a quick bathroom break, the two step hunks get a taste of how long-haul truckers satisfy all their pent up primal urges while on the road – hard and nasty in the truck stop restroom! This smoking hot gay menage romance story will ...

You can’t have faith with the spirit of fear. The ancestors cannot reach you if you aren’t strong enough to believe. REINA is excited about leaving her hometown of Houma, LA. Away from the legends, stares, and whispers that run rampant about her family. She just wants to get away and feel normal for once in her life. Her parents OSCAR and ESMERALDA fear losing their daughter to her independence, not knowing a more menacing force awaits her. After settling into the private university in Alabama, she embraces her freedom. A day trip with one of her roommates, NIKKI, turns into a nightmare...

Ginny O'Toole has spent a lifetime repaying her family's debt, and she's finally at the end of her servitude with one last job. Of course, it couldn't be easy. After stealing the computer files that will free her once and for all, she finds herself on the run from a pissed off vampire who has never fallen for her helpless act. A deadly predator too sexy for his own good. If he doesn't knock it off, he's going to see just how powerful she can really be.

About HEALED She’s hurting and I feel her. Filled with tears, fears, and broken pieces of promises… I’ve decided to participate in her victory. It doesn’t take me long to discover she doesn’t feel worthy of love. She doesn’t understand why this route was chosen as a piece of her journey, but all I know is if she gives me the opportunity, I’m going to love her like she needs to be love. She’s afraid. Afraid of moving forward. Afraid of failing. Afraid of hidden secrets being revealed. And afraid of repeating past mistakes. But how will she ever understand that love was meant ...

On Ash Wednesday in 1908, Swiss German immigrant Fritz Hirter arrives at his children’s school, where he is the lone custodian. But soon after lessons start, a fast-moving fire breaks out—its cause is unknown, but its effects are horrifying. Although Fritz is soon cleared of any responsibility for the catastrophe, the community continues to suspect him, supremely testing Fritz and his family.

On January 15, 1921, five members of the infamous Bigham family of Pamplico, South Carolina, were gunned down in cold blood during a one-hour killing spree, resulting in the prosecution – across six years, three trials and many appeals – of Edmund Dalrimple Bigham for their murders. This was the culmination of a nearly one-hundred-year reign of terror by successive members of the Bigham family, including many other murders, as well as serial extortion, fraud and systematic embezzlement that the authorities were mostly powerless to stop. Current interest in another five deaths, between ...