Stupid idiot.
Chance berated himself for the millionth time. Because he had feelings for Molly, he’d lost sight of his job, his goal, and in turn she could have been hurt. If he hadn’t been so busy getting a damn picnic together, he would have been with her.
“Chance, talk to me,” she said in a small voice. The sound of it undid him. Continue reading
Molly couldn’t sleep. Not surprising since she was in a new house with all kinds of new noises. Quietly slipping out of her room, she walked down the stairs and out onto the porch. Looking up, she took in the full moon and a sky full of stars.
“Couldn’t sleep either?” Chance asked from one of the rocking chairs, startling her.
Placing a hand over her now rapidly-beating heart, she forced a small smile. “Something like that.” Continue reading
After all of the heartache she’d been through in the last six months, Molly thought she could handle anything. Unfortunately, nothing prepared her to walk into the attic and find herself staring into the dark barrel of a gun.
The fact that the gun was being held by the man she just realized she loved didn’t help matters. Continue reading
Thomas worked silently behind the bar, washing the glasses as the customers finished their last mugs of ale. Millie caught the tick in his jaw as he eyed the group harassing Charity. By the looks of things, he didn’t give a rat’s ass who Mark was, he’d love to punch the guy out and take out the rest of them, too.
She waited to see what the young lad would do. Finally he grabbed a bar towel and went to wipe down the tables and chairs before stacking them for the night.
“Hey,” Mark called to him, “aren’t you Steve Mather’s kid brother?”
“Yeah, why?” Thomas admitted. Continue reading
“Well, as fate would have it, the following week both young lass’s were working the tavern. Millie being my usual found it odd to see Kiki muscling in on her territory. You all know how women can be. I won’t mention the words exchanged, in honor of such fine ladies and for the delicacy of you good folks here tonight. A great amount of hair pulling and finger clawing like two cats in heat commenced. I must admit it brought more than a few men to attention.”
“Hank broke up the fight, ordering both girls to pack up their belongings and leave. I felt the punishment much too harsh and being the cause of the skirmish I took it upon myself to handle the situation in a gentlemanly manner. Now, what I will say is the suggestion was mine and I could have been well in my cups already. I’d recently come from a friend’s house in which I’d partaken of a splash or two of his fine rum. But yes, truth be told, I offered the suggestion, as the legend goes.”
He paused, took another healthy sip from his mug, letting the audience, including her, wait with baited breath for him to continue. Would he go into detail of their night? Millie sensed a ghostly flush rising over her spirit. Could the one night be the reason for her still being here, the true cause she’d not been invited to Heaven? Continue reading
The crowds were thick tonight.The Old Town Tavern teemed with an unusual amount of guests for a Wednesday night. Millie Taylor couldn’t concentrate on making her normal ruckus up in the attic to surprise the few who frequented the bar. But then the regulars accepted the story that she was the one moving things about overhead.
Peeking from the stairwell, Millie noticed the tables and benches groaned with all the extra guests. The wait-staff were at a maximum and hustling around, trays laden with crusty crocks of French Onion soup and hearty sandwiches on fresh baked pub rolls. The barrels of fine ale emptied quicker than young Thomas Mather could keep them connected to the taps.
Now there was a fine specimen of man…young, dark-haired and filled out his breeches quite nicely, in both arse and crotch. She wished she could give him a go or two between the sheets. He reminded her of another man she’d known a long time ago, only this lad wasn’t as flirtatious as James Addison had been. Continue reading
What if the innocent enjoyment of a Christmas candy took a wrong turn? It could happen, Benny thought. There would, of course, be the ominous heaving and moaning and drooling of a choking victim. The hand clutched around the windpipe. The flailed elbows, the chest convulsing as the lungs looked for their next intake.
No more. And she would be done.
So would those two innocent little kids. The older one, helping his kid brother cut out another snowflake, would try to replace his mother with a string of inappropriate women. The little one would, likewise, be lost in the cycle of death and destruction, as the others tried (and failed) to patch their lives back together. The happy family, divided forever.
What a pleasant prospect. “Now you’ve gone and ruined Christmas,” his mother said, once upon a time. This was so much better. Continue reading
Less to do
Less to enjoy
Who would have thought
to be envious
of them
still struggling in their
busy-ness?
That hard life
hurried, horrid
harried with demands
from perfect strangers
and those who think
believe
in being friends
or BFFs
even when they are dead
wrong.
Damn, but that was good. Benny bit the not-quite-existent end of his pencil and savored the sensation he remembered, of wood crunching under his teeth and metal on his tongue. What a great moment, to have written such –
Oh, dear. Was it the standard prose/verse he’d always cranked out? Not quite good enough to publish, not bad enough to throw away. Always the same result, even in death. Even a dead guy couldn’t escape doubt. Continue reading
A cold chill has invaded the Waterworld Mermaid lagoon. Is it merely the firm grip of fall or something far more sinister?
Find out for yourself as we bring you a month-long short story anthology featuring ghost stories from mermaids Carlene Love Flores, Dana Rogers, Denny S. Bryce, Kerri Carpenter, Kimberly MacCarron, Loni Lynne, Masha Levinson and Susan Andrews. On October 31 our Ghosts in Mermaid Lagoon free read ends with a massive giveaway.
So step right into the lagoon, the water is perfect for tales of ghosts and mysteries of the great beyond.
I’ve got three things on my mind and want to blog about all of them, but, well, no, I can’t because it’s late, and I’ve got to return to the writer’s cave! So I decided to narrow the playing field and focus on one topic (or maybe two).
So keep reading for a tease about what’s coming up in October here in the pond…of the Waterworld Mermaids!
My Bucket List – For Lovers of Books with Strong Romantic Elements (catchy title, huh? and yeah, I went there writers world!)…
The rules of my bucket list game are that you can’t list anything about your own writing or books…I know, jeez, but it’s my game!
Here’s my top five! Continue reading