Sweet Saturday Sample

Welcome! Thanks for coming to my corner of the blogging world. If you've been here before on Saturdays, you may have already met Jess, a widow with a snowplowing business, a waitressing job, and a teenager who doesn't help much. This week I'd like to show a little about Jake, her handsome, rugged neighbor:

           The snow in front of the house had no paw prints. Charlie was probably in the back. Jake went out the back door and whistled, and soon the little bundle of energy raced around the house to greet him.

            Jake had learned to come prepared with something to play fetch. He drew the neon green tennis ball from his pocket and tossed it as far as he could. Charlie raced after it and Jake laughed as the puppy bounced around in the deep snow, looking for the ball. After a quick search, Charlie brought it back. Like the well-trained animal he was, he set it gently down at Jake’s feet and stepped back. Jake picked up the ball and prepared to throw it again.

            Just as he raised his arm, a succession of cracking sounds pierced the air. Jake froze. For a moment he was transported back to Iraq. All around him, men fell, screaming from their wounds. He sank to the ground and started in surprise when his face hit the cold snow.

            Snow? In the desert?

            Slowly, he lifted his head. He wasn’t in the desert. There were no soldiers falling around him, but the cracking noise continued. Firecrackers.

Thanks for reading! The story now has a title: The Christmas Phoenix, and it's been accepted for publication at Astraea Press for this holiday season! As soon as it's available, I'll have a link above where you can order it.

Be sure to check out more great samples at Sweet Saturday Samples!