A Family for Jeffrey – Chapter 3

Suspicions Confirmed Maria struggled in her mind as she slowly closed the front door again from the inside. She stood there for a while then retraced her steps and sat on the lounge chair. She looked at the old woman sitting in her favourite chair sobbing and human sympathy replaced anger. The old woman had been kind to her during the years she’d stayed there … Continue reading A Family for Jeffrey – Chapter 3

A Family for Jeffrey – Chapter 2

Relatives in the Neighbourhood Maria opened the door wearily. She’d fitted in cleaning five houses today working quickly. After many years, she’d perfected a system, speed and a quick eye made her a sought-after professional at her work. She was sometimes envious of servants in rich houses whose jobs were specific and less onerous. But her overall monetary reward for speed and excellence made it … Continue reading A Family for Jeffrey – Chapter 2

A Family for Jeffrey – Chapter 1

The Mystery Unfolds. Jeffrey sighed as he steered the lawn mower carefully into a shed at the back of Mrs Jones home. She was a hard taskmaster and supervised every moment of his afterschool time on lawns and gardens. He hated this job, but no one else in the street had been prepared to give him a job after school each afternoon. Some of the … Continue reading A Family for Jeffrey – Chapter 1

Nowhere to Go – Chapter 4

The Misguided Choice Next morning the silence continued, and Mildred decided to let it run its course. He loved her and would forgive her, at least that’s what she hoped. She’d placed a wedge between them and Eric’s brother. She’d let him alone for a while but knew she’d have to apologize and bring the family together again. What if Gary had reported this to … Continue reading Nowhere to Go – Chapter 4

Nowhere to Go – Chapter 3

  Relationship Breakdown Milly sped home to work with the information gleaned on her desktop computer. She felt happy with her morning’s activities but noted Katy was beginning to fret. The child needed to be home resting. When finished she smiled proudly. Not a bad morning’s work she thought. She liked being busy. She emailed her finished work including attachments to Eric, and for good … Continue reading Nowhere to Go – Chapter 3

Nowhere to Go – Chapter 2

Mildred’s Burden Eric Mansfield worked for the government Department of Health and his days were full on trying to keep up with a system that was underfunded and understaffed. To reduce stress so he’d present home as a happy husband and father he did one hour of extreme workout after work at a gym near his office and would be physically tired but happy by … Continue reading Nowhere to Go – Chapter 2

Nowhere to Go – Chapter 1

Katy’s Discovery Katrina Patricia Mansfield paused from swinging to contemplate activities in the property below. She looked at her arms and noted how light the colour was compared to kids playing next door. They were tanned brown. Had they been out in the sun too long? Mom had always told her to be careful to put on sunscreen lotion before going outside to play. She’d … Continue reading Nowhere to Go – Chapter 1

Peggy Sue Moves On – Chapter 5

The Reconnection Joel drummed the desk with his fingers and his wife looked up from her workstation. “What’s troubling you Sheriff Joel?” “This business going on at Peggy Sue’s ranch. I suspect the Mahoney boys are involved, they’re always over there to use her track and jump equipment. She threatened to ban them when they were a bit rough with her horses and they’ve been … Continue reading Peggy Sue Moves On – Chapter 5

Peggy Sue Moves On – Chapter 4

Choosing a Life Partner Peggy Sue returned to her room and cried into her pillow. Jack could have told her he was going to get married or invited her to the wedding or hopefully she could have persuaded him to think again and give her a chance. She’d been the one to discontinue correspondence and he’d probably misinterpreted this not knowing how heavy her program … Continue reading Peggy Sue Moves On – Chapter 4

Peggy Sue Moves On – Chapter 3

All Grown Up Jack Turner wiped his eyes as he watched the Judd’s take off by car to place their daughter in Vet School in the next state. Joel was still away completing his law degree and doing rookie police work in their capital city. Joel had written to say he’d not been able to get time off to have a family get together before … Continue reading Peggy Sue Moves On – Chapter 3