Stories

The world appraised each the moment they were born. While Walter Samson IV stands to inherit his family’s empire, Teyshawn Jones fights every day for a slim chance at a future. Neither can afford to stray from the narrow path before them, yet what each truly wants is the freedom to walk side-by-side.

Note: This story begins four-and-a-half years after Kept Boy to Made Man and seven months after Souris lands in Chicago. While it is not necessary, it is recommended you read those stories first as an introduction to the Land of Lincoln and many returning characters.

Calvin Kildare is lonely and lost. It seems that everyone around him is in love and has a direction for their life. With senior year starting, he’s never felt so out of place. When the guy he’s had a small crush on starts paying him attention, he can’t help but think he’ll be the one for him. However, things are never that easy, and Calvin finds himself having to navigate situations that are bound to test his limits.

Lee's not fourteen anymore. He’s twenty-two now—financially responsible, business-savvy, fiercely loyal to the family that saved him. But beneath the surface, he's still haunted by a past he barely survived.
He’s dodging therapy, reeling from the discovery of a missing brother, and surrounded by a meddling, well-meaning family who love hard and interfere harder.
His moral compass? Bent.
His heart? Still up for grabs.
Adulting isn’t a finish line—it’s a fight. And Lee’s about to learn some battles aren’t meant to be fought alone.

They meet at a diner that serves bad coffee and better silence. Two strangers orbiting the same sleepless hours, held together by routine and maybe something more. Jamie draws to breathe. Luca edits video to fill the hours. Neither of them means to start unraveling, but in the late-night hush between classes and expectations, something begins. A glance. A conversation. A quiet they both understand. This isn’t love. Not yet. It’s just maybe. And sometimes, maybe is the loudest thing in the world.

For Tony Scott coming home, five years since he left Thompsonville, to chase his dreams, is daunting. Five years since he has seen the only place he could call home, the only people he has been able to call family, and the only man he has ever loved!
If he is to find happiness he knows he must face the mistakes of his past and face those left behind.
What will he find there? Will the town have changed, or will it still be that sleepy seaside haven he had grown to love? Will he be welcomed back, or will he be shunned? All he can do is step off that bus and knock on that door. Only then will he know if he really is in a good place!

After a long period of emotional distance and self-reflection, Jim, a middle-aged man recovering from a divorce, is learning how to navigate life and fatherhood. When he meets Jon, a younger, confident man with whom he shares a mutual interest in fitness and running, Jim feels a spark he hasn’t felt in years. What begins as a casual friendship soon develops into something more, but Jim’s hesitations and fears about his age, his past, and his responsibilities as a father complicate his emotions.

Jonah Kildare moves to New York after losing both of his parents in a tragic accident. Now living with his father’s brother and his family, he has to find his way in a new place, with new people and experiences.

A young man influenced by an Indian friend takes a journey. The story is based on the people he meets and a life decision that he makes.

Wayne Benson is an engineer in the small town of Rosewood, Kentucky in the year 1993. Odd things begin to happen that eventually propel him and others into a fight for their lives. This story is told purely from his perspective through his journal entries.