Book Details
Publisher: Westbow
Published: October 2017
ISBN10: 1973604426
ISBN13: 9781973604426
Genre: Romance
Subgenre: Contemporary
Target Audience: Women
Book Content
| Action: |  |
| Conflict: | |
| Humor: | |
| Mystery: | |
| Romance: | |
| Spirituality: | |
| Suspense: | |
| Language: |  |
| Sensuality: | |
| Violence: | |
Topics/Issues
Disaster Relief, anger, betrayed, betrayal, bitter, bitterness, deceit, deception, drugs, drug use, drug abuse, faith, faithful, family, family obligation, fear, fearful, forgiving, forgive, forgiveness, grace, grief, death, mourning, loss, grieving, guilt, guilty, heal, healing, hope, hopeful, hopefulness, marital, marriage, married, reconciliation, reconcile, redemption, salvation, redeem, singleness, unmarried, widow
Setting
As Doves Fly in the Wind
By Mary Lou Cheatham
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Chapter 1
DALE
A weekday, 1980’s...
Dale’s face twitched. He must have drunk a pot of coffee since daylight. No, they were out of coffee.
The diapers stunk. Or was that the cat? They didn’t have a cat. That old tomcat hung around, lived under the trailer. Sally’s vanilla flavor. Ammonia. Was he the only one who smelled it?
His face kept twitching.
She needed to wake up. People on the night shift didn’t need to sleep no more than four hours a day. They could get up and spend some time with their family. See about the baby. Give him some sugar. Sorry. Stupid. Lazy. She didn’t want to be around him.
“Get up, honey, and give me some kisses.”
She didn’t wake up. Sally wouldn’t take nothing to help keep her awake.
“Did you leave the eggs out on the counter all week?” He slung the egg carton against the cabinets. “I don’t care. Let it stink in here.”
He tripped over pop bottles, window cleaner, and carburetor cleaners. They had some camping stove fluid somewhere.
He knew what he was doing, but his hands wouldn’t be still. Why did they put cold medicine in blister packs? He jabbed them open with scissors.
Cut his finger, but it didn’t matter. Mixed the blood in with it. WHOOEE.
Paint thinner, fingernail polish remover, drain cleaner, battery acid. It was going to be good stuff.
Hear that?
The baby was bawling. When he got through cooking the stuff, he’d see if she had a bottle in the fridge.
“Shut up. I can’t take it.”
Spots in front of his eyes.
Oh, come on. I can’t see how to mix this up.
They were out to get him. WHOOP!
Hear them calling me?
“Dale.” A voice came from somewhere.
“Who’s calling me?”
“Dale, check on Alice.” Sally’s voice came through the window. If she was awake, she could check on the baby.
“I can’t right now. Can’t leave the stove.”
It was hard to get his breath. His heart clicked like a run-away alarm clock. Blood poured from his nose.
Unexpectedly the stove blew up. From down on the floor, he saw pretty flames. He loved a big fire. Didn’t everybody?
It smelled like steak grilling. His arms must have been on fire.
He crawled out of the kitchen to the hall. Flames were everywhere. It all happened so fast. He didn’t know what was going on. The trailer popped like a tornado hit it.
He had to get to the baby’s room. Sally was in the back. The heater blew up in the hall by the main bedroom door. He couldn’t get back there.
All he could do was jump out the hall door. There wasn’t any steps there. He’d been meaning to make some.
Flames were flying. He didn’t know how, but baby Alice was in his arms. They fell into the mud, sliding. Pieces of the trailer shot like bullets all over the place.
He needed to go back in there and get Sally, but there wasn’t no “in there.” Nothing but fire.