Side by Side

by Laura Hamby

I’m Abbie Black, owner of Gable Cove’s Coffee Klatch, widow and custodial guardian for my young, teen (step)daughter, Lily. My late husband entrusted me with Lily’s raising, and for the past three years, I’ve given it my all, pretty much to the exclusion of having my own life. In my bid to eke out just a wedge of a life of my own, I caused an uproar by selling our house and moving us into the purportedly haunted Gladiolus Garden House, into the third floor apartment. Now I can add ‘reluctant believer in ghosts’ to my resume. A brief meeting with Lily’s social studies teacher one morning while helping her set up her social studies project led to a date! Who’d’ve thunk it? Me, dating Mr. Johnson, everyone’s favorite 7th grade social studies teacher. Ike couldn’t be more perfect, so his ex-wife’s loss is my gain. All we have to do is survive a variety of things ranging from helpful Gable Cove denizens intent on furthering the cause of love to our assorted family members, but most importantly, survive my darling Lily. Because if you ask her, my dating her social studies teacher means Life As She Knows It is over. Forever. Happily for me, Fate appears to agree that Ike and I deserve a second chance at happiness, and with luck, we’ll find it, side by side.

96 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 28, 2014

About the author

I write. It's a sanity saving thing. Living in a sea of testosterone with 1 hubby, 3 sons, and 1 brother-in-law, the only other females who live with us are the dogs and cat. Is it any wonder I write romance and eat chocolate?
In and around writing, I enjoy adventures with my family, train laundry (Sooner or later it will learn to do itself. Right?), clean my house, feed my family, provide bus service (I sure hope this minivan doesn't make my butt look fat.), chat with my friends, do crafts, read voraciously, and on the occasions when my loving spouse has abandoned the remote, I watch TV. Sleep is optional. That's why caffeine was invented.

Please visit my website for free online reads and writing tips: http://laurahamby.webs.com and my blog: Musings of a Chocoholic Romance Novelist: http://laurahamby.blogspot.com.