A little bit from the new book, enjoy!

The hospital scene...

Dottie shuffled her feet beneath the covers; even with socks due to her failing circulation, her feet were cold. Someone walked soundlessly past the room, further beyond her door she heard muffled conversation followed by quiet laughter. She considered that perhaps living in a nursing home won’t be so bad she would at least have people around her. Presently she went for days at a time without uttering a word. It was true that her family visited, her great-granddaughters coming to see her more often than their mothers did. Then there were the hours that she shuffled from room to room in silence. Seated at her picture window, she watched as families exit then re-enter the homes that surrounded hers. None of them looked her way.

The world lived around her; she did not live within it.

Tears stung her eyes, tears she had not felt for many years. The last time she had cried was after she lost her Nicky. It happened days after the funeral and long after the friends and family had left. The wall of emotion hit her, after the long illness that he suffered; she initially felt relief. She was thankful that his pain and suffering had ended. Then one day she stood at the sink and rinsed dishes, she ran water over his favorite coffee cup she had absentmindedly used. She emotionally fell to pieces, a rarity for her.

Dottie stared at the flat white ceiling the tears subside replaced by a soft smile. All and all she has had a good life, not everyone was lucky enough to love that deeply. She remembered a time where she would catch him watching her. Nicky always looked at her with those dark, needy eyes, drinking her in. Dottie felt both exhilarated and alarmed by the emotion he evoked in her. She still recalls that first soft kiss, and then much later in the relationship, how good it felt entwined with him as dawn broke. In the beginning, it was a challenge to keep her head whenever he was near. Handsome and tall with an ornery twinkle in those soft brown eyes at all times. He was dangerous, and nothing she needed but everything she wanted. Dark hair, tall and broad-shouldered...the man was sin on earth to her. The old woman laid her head back; although weary, she resisted sleep having found comfort in her memories. Her mind tossed back his words, those that gave her solace in those early days after he passed. She expected them to fade over time until she no longer heard his voice within her. Instead, as she grew weaker, his words became stronger within her. Dottie wondered if anyone would believe their story and she regretted not having written it down before now. She feared her weary mind would never fully recall everything. It was a story of strength, one of love and partnership. Her girls could benefit from hearing it. Dottie turned to glance at her reflection; it was now deep in the night the city beyond her window slept. The woman in the glass bore silver hair and was thin, her eyes a watered version of their brilliance. Like her memory, she too had faded. She wondered if her family would see whom she had been or would they remain blinded by the frail being she had become. She had one more go left in her but after this; she was done. She had to make the most of this.

To the unadorned walls she promised, “I am nearly ready Nicky, soon darling, very soon.”

Get in on the excitement of this new release!