Christmas Tale

Karl Stuben stood on the ridge and looked out over his one-hundred-sixty acres. He loved the rolling hills of grass that stretched to the horizon in every direction. It was winter, the day before Christmas, and the grass was brown. His only neighbors, the Bartos...

Rough Night

I can’t sleep. I’ve tried everything, but my brain is out of control, and I can’t drift off. I even tried my worst-case solution involving counting backward from four-hundred, by threes. In Spanish. Usually, the counting is demanding enough that it gets my mind off...

Hideout

I shiver a little in the crisp, pine scented air. It’s cooler again this morning, reminding me that winter is approaching. Otherwise, it’s beautiful. Blotches of bright gold aspen leaves stand out from the lodgepole pines carpeting the mountainsides. But my eyes water...

Life Reset

James, no – make that Fred, saw the bandage covering part of his left hand and it brought back memories of the pain and horror of his pinky being loped off by Tony’s leg-breaker, Leo. He used a damn gardening tool for God’s sake. Fred had listened to the threats...

Misdialed

Joe fished his smartphone out of his pocket and swiftly entered his good friend Jason’s new number to convince him to hit a bar or two that evening. Jason had always been a great wingman. There were several rings and then to his surprise a feminine voice answered,...