Maya sang her heart out. Jake sat in a shadowy corner where he could watch without being in the way. He told her to pick anything, and they’d do it. Anything to reconnect with his daughter post-divorce. Sure, karaoke night wouldn’t heal the hurt for his teenaged daughter, but maybe for tonight it would offer the escape they both needed. Her face was alight with a smile as she belted out the unfamiliar lyrics, but he had little doubt it…
Paralyzed with fear, Jude stared at the audience. He tried not to blink against the bright floodlights illuminating him in the center of the stage. Three bleary-eyed children behind him in beds stared expectantly. The almost invisible earbud crackled to life, and he forced himself to remain still and not jump at the overwhelming sound. Someone whispered the next line to him, and he let the persona of Peter Pan come over him as he lured the Darling children to…
Jake’s lungs burned as he collapsed on the front porch, gasping for air while mentally reminding himself he wasn’t dying. Not that his body was listening. Out of shape, he’d taken Carrie’s challenge to go for a run with her this morning, and he’d left her two blocks behind shouting about it not being a race. Yeah right. Hadn’t she said something about New Year’s resolutions and how he should join her? Well, no way was he going to lose…
Abe wandered down the path thick with frost on his morning walk to the woods. He avoided people whenever possible. It wasn’t hard when you lived in a two-bit backwater town where livestock outnumbered the people. Nothing stopped them from attempting to lure him into small talk about the weather, though. Ahead, weaving between the barren trees, Pip stopped, ears cocked. She sniffed the air once, let out a yip, and darted forward. Hesitated once to be sure he was…