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The Stray
Can a near-fatal cycling accident save Dare Jordan from himself?
One November morning in rural Southern Point, Virginia, an out-of-control van slams into Dare Jordan's custom road bike. The crushing impact lands the OCD accountant at the foot of a ditch—and at the feet of six-year-old Hoagy Butler and his Bassett hound, Lila. The boy’s quick thinking spells the difference between life and death for Dare, and doctors promise a swift recovery from his injuries. But Dare’s planned return to self-imposed isolation and meticulous ritual takes a detour the day he delivers a quick word of thanks to Hoagy and his ailing grandmother, Rose. Dare’s visit to the Butlers’ crumbling trailer sends him crashing into their world of gut-wrenching poverty and deprivation—and dead center of Hoagy’s beautiful and fiercely protective social worker, Katrina Masterson. The daughter of a migrant farm worker, Katrina knows firsthand that the fight for a small piece of the American dream can call for an outright brawl, and she’s not about to let anything threaten Hoagy’s odds for success. The Butlers and Katrina don’t want Dare’s money; they want his time. And giving them what they want will send Dare head-on into the pain and heartache he’s spent decades denying. What he initially wrote off as a random mishap now seems like destiny, changing his life, and that of the young boy who rescued him, forever.
Set in the transitional landscape of America’s contemporary South, where rural pastoral beauty and simple values clash with suburban sprawl, The Stray takes readers into the heart of Dare Jordan’s grudging journey of self-discovery and transformation, from the depths of grief and loss to embracing the love of a trio of people he could only have met by accident.
THE STRAY is Volume II in Jennifer Olmstead's VIRGINIA SOUTHERN POINT COLLECTION, featuring contemporary stories as unique as their setting in the beautiful southernmost region of Virginia, where the pastoral farms of Back Bay meet the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean. MEN AMONG SIRENS is Volume I in the collection.
One November morning in rural Southern Point, Virginia, an out-of-control van slams into Dare Jordan's custom road bike. The crushing impact lands the OCD accountant at the foot of a ditch—and at the feet of six-year-old Hoagy Butler and his Bassett hound, Lila. The boy’s quick thinking spells the difference between life and death for Dare, and doctors promise a swift recovery from his injuries. But Dare’s planned return to self-imposed isolation and meticulous ritual takes a detour the day he delivers a quick word of thanks to Hoagy and his ailing grandmother, Rose. Dare’s visit to the Butlers’ crumbling trailer sends him crashing into their world of gut-wrenching poverty and deprivation—and dead center of Hoagy’s beautiful and fiercely protective social worker, Katrina Masterson. The daughter of a migrant farm worker, Katrina knows firsthand that the fight for a small piece of the American dream can call for an outright brawl, and she’s not about to let anything threaten Hoagy’s odds for success. The Butlers and Katrina don’t want Dare’s money; they want his time. And giving them what they want will send Dare head-on into the pain and heartache he’s spent decades denying. What he initially wrote off as a random mishap now seems like destiny, changing his life, and that of the young boy who rescued him, forever.
Set in the transitional landscape of America’s contemporary South, where rural pastoral beauty and simple values clash with suburban sprawl, The Stray takes readers into the heart of Dare Jordan’s grudging journey of self-discovery and transformation, from the depths of grief and loss to embracing the love of a trio of people he could only have met by accident.
THE STRAY is Volume II in Jennifer Olmstead's VIRGINIA SOUTHERN POINT COLLECTION, featuring contemporary stories as unique as their setting in the beautiful southernmost region of Virginia, where the pastoral farms of Back Bay meet the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean. MEN AMONG SIRENS is Volume I in the collection.
319 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 2, 2018
1 person is currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Olmstead
9 books21 followersHello all,
NEWS SHARE! From Afar is now on audible and other audio outlets. Have a free listen on my YouTube channel!
https://youtu.be/CtR3WSqt3A8?si=3tpEE...
Jennifer Olmstead is a Virginia-based writer with more than 25 years of professional experience, the founder and publisher of Back Bay Journal, a news publication serving Virginia Beach, Virginia and Knotts Island, North Carolina. She is the author of THE VIRGINIA SOUTHERN POINT COLLECTION, featuring contemporary stories as unique as their setting in the beautiful southernmost region of Virginia, where the pastoral farms of Back Bay meet the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean. MEN AMONG SIRENS, THE STRAY, EARTHBOUND CREATURES, and FROM AFAR are volumes I-IV in the collection.
NEWS SHARE! From Afar is now on audible and other audio outlets. Have a free listen on my YouTube channel!
https://youtu.be/CtR3WSqt3A8?si=3tpEE...
Jennifer Olmstead is a Virginia-based writer with more than 25 years of professional experience, the founder and publisher of Back Bay Journal, a news publication serving Virginia Beach, Virginia and Knotts Island, North Carolina. She is the author of THE VIRGINIA SOUTHERN POINT COLLECTION, featuring contemporary stories as unique as their setting in the beautiful southernmost region of Virginia, where the pastoral farms of Back Bay meet the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean. MEN AMONG SIRENS, THE STRAY, EARTHBOUND CREATURES, and FROM AFAR are volumes I-IV in the collection.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 28, 2018
Seriously another AMAZING read thanks to Goodreads giveaway kindle edition book! Really loving this kindle reading app and find I read books so much more faster than I did in print for some reason! Prob it’s super easy to just pull it up whenever I’m not busy or waiting for in line for something!
Anyways back to the amazing book, it’s one of the most humbling books I’ve read this year and love the main characters like they are personal friends. Dare is an OCD, germ-a-phobe workaholic who is a loner by choice and likes it that way minus his cleaning lady Patty who takes care of him like he was her own son. Dare is literally ripped from his carefully strategically planned life of his when getting hit by a car while on his bike rides in the country & left by the side of the road to bleed to death. This is the beginning of the end of his tidy yet uneventful life .
He is found and saved by a six yr old boy named Hoagy his old stinky dog & his ailing granny Rose who all live in a small trailer where they pretty much save his life since he would of bled to death if they didn’t find him when they did.
Dare has a slow recovery and soon meets Katrina, Hoagy’s beautiful case worker who takes on a more motherly role to Hoagy than she’s supposed to bc of her devotion to helping those less fortunate than her. Dare soon becomes entangled into these three lives & they somehow transform him into someone his mother would be proud to see her son become. Katrina and Hoagy both trigger his past losses and by the end of the story he has transitioned completely than the man he was before his accident.
This is a beautifully written story about loss, love, and family dynamics that are created through friendship That life may not give you the family you want but people can unexpectedly show up in your life and become family. It’s a great book on life and how one chance encounter or in Dare’s case, an almost death experience, can alter the path you have chosen for yourself and re-pave the way to a different and much happier future than you would of never of had if it wasn’t for that life changing encounter. From beginning to end I loved reading this book!!! Thanks again Goodreads for the awesome freebie!!!!
Anyways back to the amazing book, it’s one of the most humbling books I’ve read this year and love the main characters like they are personal friends. Dare is an OCD, germ-a-phobe workaholic who is a loner by choice and likes it that way minus his cleaning lady Patty who takes care of him like he was her own son. Dare is literally ripped from his carefully strategically planned life of his when getting hit by a car while on his bike rides in the country & left by the side of the road to bleed to death. This is the beginning of the end of his tidy yet uneventful life .
He is found and saved by a six yr old boy named Hoagy his old stinky dog & his ailing granny Rose who all live in a small trailer where they pretty much save his life since he would of bled to death if they didn’t find him when they did.
Dare has a slow recovery and soon meets Katrina, Hoagy’s beautiful case worker who takes on a more motherly role to Hoagy than she’s supposed to bc of her devotion to helping those less fortunate than her. Dare soon becomes entangled into these three lives & they somehow transform him into someone his mother would be proud to see her son become. Katrina and Hoagy both trigger his past losses and by the end of the story he has transitioned completely than the man he was before his accident.
This is a beautifully written story about loss, love, and family dynamics that are created through friendship That life may not give you the family you want but people can unexpectedly show up in your life and become family. It’s a great book on life and how one chance encounter or in Dare’s case, an almost death experience, can alter the path you have chosen for yourself and re-pave the way to a different and much happier future than you would of never of had if it wasn’t for that life changing encounter. From beginning to end I loved reading this book!!! Thanks again Goodreads for the awesome freebie!!!!
February 21, 2020
Another tug to my past in Southeastern Virginia. Fond memories were called up. I used an accounting firm similarly like Dare's. I thought the development of the character Hoagy and his relationship was well done. The strong character Katrina showed her strength in keeping on her journey. Well done Ms. Olmstead
October 15, 2018
Slow moving but good book
I almost gave up after the first quarter of the book. It moved so slowly. But the story line was good so stuck with it. The characters were interesting to see how much they grew and changed. Good ending so glad I stuck with the story.
I almost gave up after the first quarter of the book. It moved so slowly. But the story line was good so stuck with it. The characters were interesting to see how much they grew and changed. Good ending so glad I stuck with the story.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews