Taste of Mountain Life

My husband called from Las Vegas at 7:43 on a Friday night. I remember the exact time because I was kneeling

Emily knew something was wrong when she saw the folding chairs stacked beside the dining room wall.

  Arthur had promised himself he would only walk around the duck pond once. By the second lap, his

  “Come here, boy,” Lucas Reed whispered. The dog stood several feet away, trembling but alert.

  “I’ve had enough,” Rachel said. Her voice was barely above a whisper, but everyone in the apartment heard it.

“There must be another option,” Michael said. “Check again.” The veterinarian removed her glasses and

Luke Bennett arrived in Briar County, Georgia, during peach-blossom season. He rented a neglected house

The woman on Ethan’s bed looked as though she had stepped out of a perfume advertisement—except for the

  Caleb first met Bear on a freezing Monday morning in a county shelter outside Pittsburgh.

The puppy waited outside Thomas Reed’s duplex in San Antonio for five days. He slept beneath the broken