The red bathing suit stood out from all the others, its modest cut being a departure from the scant bikinis dominating the poolside. I noticed the girl wearing it from under an umbrella. She moved with ease in and out of the water, shoulders glistening with whatever oil she’d rubbed into them. As for me, I rarely emerged from my shaded little corner, lest my pale skin burn and blister. I was self-conscious about so much t...

Ashley awoke in the middle of the night to find fifteen missed calls on her phone. Her first instinct was to wake Bill, but as she reached for him, she had an alarming thought.Wasn’t he on call last night?Ashley allowed her hand to hover briefly, indulging a momentary false assurance.Upon touching her husband, she sighed in uneasy relief as the faces of a dozen people she loved flashed through her mind. It was unexpected...

Earl Powell pushed a shopping cart filled with two huge bags of dog food up to the counter. He also had three pouches of bacon-flavored treats, several packages of flea treatments, and boxes and boxes of little blue bags. There was very little in the cart for his own use; just a can of beans, a loaf of bread, and a jar of peanut butter. His needs were pretty simple, but he had a lot of canine mouths to feed, and that was...