The spring bubbled as a gentle breeze rustled the leaves above and the undergrowth around the pool. The clean smell of damp earth and fresh spring growth filled the air. Daniel laughed as yet another splash of water struck him from a completely differen...
Daniel peeked out the window and watched his daughter standing next to a car, chatting with the young man who owned it. Though the day’s outing was a civil protest against a factory releasing contaminated wastewater, he could see in the manner of the coup...
Daniel rose from his chair with a groan, wondering how many more times he might be able to accomplish it without help. As he picked up his cane from the table in his wrinkled left hand, he could almost hear old man Johanson’s words echoing back to him fro...
Kia gasped when one of Steve’s hands slipped beneath her skirt. Her hand crept between his legs again, and she shivered from the combination of his touch and the feeling of his hard cock beneath her fingers. She needed more, and tried to remove his belt....
Dan’s eyes popped open when he heard the hiss of something running through the dry leaves and grass, the sound drawing closer by the second. “Hey,” he protested when the two young squirrels used him as a convenient ramp to reach the tree behind him. They...
Brooke sat in the anchor’s chair, reading the last of the news item on the paper that the cameraman had handed her. Other than the clothes she was wearing, she looked every bit the part. “I’m Brooke Kline, for Channel Seven News.” Dan and the crew who wer...
Wearing a half-hearted smile, Mara looked out over the lake, trying to enjoy the beauty of the Minnesota morning. The laughter of a loon in the distance accompanied an earthy smelling breeze that rustled her golden blonde hair. Mara’s arm whipped, and the...
Sitting around the fire at Wade’s camp that evening, Mara glanced at her furiously blushing father and stifled a laugh. Her great uncle continued the story, much to her father’s chagrin. “Now, I didn’t see Steve’s gallantry, so I had no idea what was goin...
Twigs and dry leaves crunched underfoot as Glen wandered the trail, his thoughts turned inward. The warmth that permeated the sun-dappled wood prompted him to absently remove his jacket, and the action brought him out of his internal dialogue just long en...
Glen felt severely underdressed when he climbed out of the car and saw Melinda emerging from the house. She was wearing a knee-length skirt of basic black with a coat to match, and a white, masculine shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, giving the...
The honking calls of geese sounded from overhead, a prelude to their splashdown on the lake some distance away. In the circular pool, large, dark shapes cruised just below the shimmering surface of the water. Here and there, a fin or tail appeared, giving...
Dara sat near the edge of the lake, looking out between two white birch trees at the flotilla of canoes moving away from the island. The visit with her mother had helped, numbing the pain with touches of anger that had gripped her the day before, but cert...
Terra pulled back the curtains and grinned as morning sunlight streamed into the room. The day was bright and beautiful – the perfect start to her first summer vacation from college. As much as she enjoyed the classes that would lead her into her career a...
Terra looked at her phone, saw that it was just after eight, and tossed her book away with a scowl. I can’t believe he’s doing this again. His slow responses to her texts and the occasional missed call were something she’d grown to accept, but the last fe...
A sparrow perched on the windowsill, bathed in sunlight, singing of its joy in a new day – both of which were stabbing into Ella’s brain, even though her eyes were still closed. She whimpered and pulled the pillow over her face, but it didn’t help. The h...
Ella peeked into the bedroom after getting out of the shower that evening to see John was out like a light. Considering he’d provided his third donation of the day an hour or so before, it was hardly a mystery as to why. Still riding the euphoria of her...
Ella awakened with her head resting on a hummock of moss. Though beads of dew decorated her skin, she was warm, comfortable, and reluctant to rise. Birdsong and the soft gurgle of the spring that fed her great-grandmother’s pool further conspired to lul...
