Smokey sighed and sniffed the shirt front and wide-brimmed hat of the abandoned Park Ranger uniform. It had been dropped near the scenic overview, next to the Michigan-plated Lexus. Betsy likely hadn’t even noticed that her guide had paws, not hands and feet.
Fantasy
An Ounce of Prevention, or Who’s Chasing Whom?
Betsy jogged through the underbrush, pounding her Calphalon saucepan with a designer stainless slotted spoon. The rhythm was irregular, to keep the grizzly ahead in a state of terrified confusion. Continue reading
Beyond the Waterfall
He looked away from the waterfall and rubbed his hands over his face. “I’m not ready. I don’t understand.”
The water tumbled and flashed, as if laughing at him. Continue reading
Stay back, Stay Alive (How cold am I?)
Cold. Literally frozen to the bone. Not that I’m whining. Not that I can do that anymore. Continue reading
Emergency Delivery
She’d traversed the mountain, her skis crackling and sparking as she streaked down the final slope. Just a few kilometers more across the icy flatlands; she would reach the Hold before full sunrise. Continue reading
Blackguards in Christmas Town
Corky tipped the bill of her cap back and scratched her forehead, staring up the length of the tall pine.
Lula at Forty
Lula, at forty, was too old to be a whore, and too smart to be a madam. Scratching a living from the arid Oklahoma soil did not appeal to her.
She never did cotton to book learning. At least, not the kind of learning offered at the town’s one-room school house. It squatted at the edge of town like a carbuncle, Continue reading
Valley of the Trolls 