Keepers - Stories

Mike, a veterinary student, meets a charming new client.

Plants and animals were my thing. The intricacies of nature intrigued me and yet there was an elegant simplicity that I loved.

6888 Ardra. Heavy gravity planet. Human-compatible atmosphere. Generally temperate climate; I’d aimed for the southern continent which had milder weather and a good mix of terrain.

“Damn Sonez anyway.” He’d tried to keep me on his ship instead of letting me explore the planet with a team after the probe returned. Well I’d stopped his plotting before he could ruin my life.

And I’d show everyone just what Essell Deray could do.

Many men enjoyed the life and freedom of being a cowboy, but it wasn't an easy one in The Old West. The aches were many, but it was the loneliness that could wear a man down. Jubal was one of those who dreamed as he moved and protected cattle, and the day finally came he had enough money to buy his own piece of land. Fate, though, dealt him a terrible hand once again, taking everything from him and leaving him lost and alone. Was Lucas his savior, or just more trouble for a man who'd learned to trust no one?

Michael feels trapped. In his poor, conservative hometown. In his dead-end job. In caring for his grandfather. Everything changes when he meets Eric, the new curator for the railroad museum. Carefree and refreshingly confident, Eric guides Michael to places he's forgotten, reminding him that it may not be too late to follow his dreams.

40,000 words.

A lot can occur in a single day, and this day starts with Virgil Pruitt riding into a sad, struggling Texas town seven years after the end of the Mexican-American War. Sometimes it's not easy to be a good man, one who calls out unfair hate when he sees it, but Virgil doesn't always look for easy. Will he pay the price for being such a man, or will he be rewarded for standing up for young Wyatt Burnham?

Parallax needs help, but he never expected a human to walk the broken path.

To have someone to love is one of life’s greatest gifts, his grandma used to say. However, what grandma didn’t know, and Otis didn’t have the heart to tell her, was that getting there in this day and age required going through a painful phase called dating. Something he’s not very good at, to put it lightly. However, when someone moves in an apartment a few doors down from his, Otis begins to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

Full summary inside.

Hoyt Ford likes clean cut skinny boys with good hair. so when his senses tell him he's falling for a big butch lumberjack he tries to run from the feeling, and straight into the furry arms of Mato, an actual bear he meets in the woods.

Marc Wynn has accompanied his beloved aunt to estate sales for years, but he's never found anything he couldn't live without-until he meets Sawyer Calhoun. Sawyer wastes no time in revealing his romantic interest in Marc, but their promising first evening ends badly with Sawyer as adamant about broadcasting his sexuality as Marc is about hiding his. But when Sawyer hires Marc to restore his grandfather's house, their intense attraction grows into an emotional connection neither can resist. During the renovations, surprises come to light, and Sawyer must face his past when a tragedy threatens Marc's livelihood.

Hunting was all I knew. Stalking prey, selling meat, and making pelts... Life was calm, but then I was found sleeping. What's to come is untold. May the divine bless my soul.