Libby Drew

In Service of Others “My loyalty to my Country and Team is beyond reproach. I humbly serve as a guardian to my fellow Americans, always ready to defend those who are unable to defend themselves. The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstance, sets me apart from others. I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. My Nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time.” —

Jess struggles daily with the consequences of a deadly mission. Ben believes he knows what will help: a support dog. Jess is unconvinced.

This week's words of the day are begging for a paragraph of flash fiction.

“Michael. Michael.” That’s not a welcome sound. I’ve woken to Matthew Burke calling my name once before recently, and that morning had been filled with blood and gunfire. I open my mouth to say, “I’m awake. I’m fine,” but the words emerge garbled. There’s a sticky mess of something smeared around my left temple and snaking across my cheek. “Fuck me.” I get that out clearly enough, though not without pain. “Lie still.” A firm hand stops me from rolling onto my side. “There’s an

You sweet thing! Thank you. If I can carve enough time out to get a chapter posted early, I promise I will.

Worse, in the state of Florida, at least in my sister's experience, the insurance company can insist on repairs and maintenance to your residence or they'll drop you like a hot potato. I mean, I get it, all things considered with the prevalence of hurricanes, but to be told you need to put on a new roof or get dropped... that's not an expense many people can afford. After 25 years, we own our home outright, and while it's not the largest investment we have, strictly speaking, it's up there. I'd lose sleep if it weren't insured. On an unrelated note, I wasn't supposed to work today. I got called unexpectedly. It meant I had to put on underwear and go out in the rain, which sucked, and now my feet hurt. I'm currently self-medicating with a glass of Pinot Gris. BUT, for fun, I ran the "Billie" question by some of my colleagues, and the female Billies won the day. Just thought I'd share. ☺️

Very true. It's all about choice.

I'm a big believer in insurance. Life is unpredictable.

Thank you for reading and commenting! Yeah, I'm a sucker for an animal lover too. What a wonderful and amazing gift to have Micco's ability. I'm jealous. 😊

True. But frankly, off subject, blindly stupid, in my opinion.

Right? I know this area well. For many, their monthly homeowners insurance payment exceeds their mortgage, if you can imagine. But it's simply accepted as a way of life. Could Sam afford it? Hmmmm.... 😏

It's a consideration. But I will say that not all of the action that took place at Sam's house was aboveboard, as Micco has already alluded.

Ha! Okay, yeah, this was a bad cliffhanger. I'm not gonna lie. Sorry?😁 Thanks for the comment!

I adore how your mind jumps ahead to all these little details.

I promise that very soon, at least some of these questions will start to get answered. Next week's chapter will resolve a lot of what has been asked about in the comments here. Thanks as always for reading and commenting!

So many good questions. And I know you won't believe me, but SOME will be answered soon. 😉 I smiled when I read your comment about the name Billie, and I quizzed my family who were standing in the room. Who was the first person they thought of when I said the name Billie. I got Eilish, Piper, and Ocean. So you're right in that! Billie was the actual first name of the man I interviewed during my research. His last name has been changed, of course. It's difficult to explain, but... he had such a presence about him, that afterward, I couldn't picture him as being named anything else. The mind is a funny thing. Thanks for reading, as always!

This story is full of little tidbits that came of out of my research, and the topic -- the ways of medicine men -- was fascinating to read. Thanks for the comment!

Thanks for reading. Yeah, it doesn't look good for Micco. But have faith. 😉

All good questions! *whistles innocently*

I had nothing left in Wewoka once my mom and Mary were gone, so I didn’t fuss about being shipped to Florida. Few emotions penetrated my depression at the time. The Sunshine State was not the happiest place on earth, in my esteemed ten-year-old opinion. Big Cypress Reservation, with its swamps and wild, untamed areas, felt full of danger, and my aunt and uncle offered little comfort. My cousins weren’t exactly supportive either. “Acting weird” they called it, when I tilted my head, got tha

Where's the rest of the GIF? Who said you could cut it off like that? 😏

Awesome comments! SO awesome, everyone. Thank you! I love reading everyone's thoughts and guesses. 🥰

Chase collects me soon after, and Calhoun even offers a sincere sounding apology as we walk out. “Sorry for upsetting you, Mr. Garrett,” he says. “No problem,” I mutter. A true warrior walks the high road. I feel no closer to knowing the truth about Sam’s death. Chase’s silence as we navigate out of Clewiston gives me time to pick at the mystery, but I never was much good at them. That was his department. “Do you want to go home?” he asks as we reach the highway. I pictur

Yep, he is definitely questioning himself, but also has many years of growth and maturity draw on that will help him sort what is real and what is contrived. Thanks for reading!

Thank you! Yes, Chase and Micco share an incredibly strong bond. One which was severed over a horrible misunderstanding, as you will soon read. 😉