Family Ties

By Laura Ware

When she's asked to house her brother Frankie, Linda finds herself torn between her husband and her family.  Pressure grows as both sides demand she make a choice.  Will she break under the strain?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JJ Press
• Release date: Jan 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393044383

Laura Ware

Laura Ware writes in a variety of genres. Her novels are mostly inspirational fiction, although she is currently working on a fantasy series as well. Her short fiction ranges from mainstream to fantasy/science fiction and several things in between. Her stories have been published in a number of Fiction River anthologies, including Past Crime, Last Stand, Editor’s Choice and Feel the Fear. Laura also writes a weekly column for the Highlands News-Sun and her essay “Touched by an Angel” was published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Random Acts of Kindness in 2017.

Book preview

Linda Harrison’s two teenage sons, Kenny and Paul, almost tripped each other in their eagerness to get into the apartment. Linda stepped to the side after unlocking the door to check the mailbox on the wall.

When she got into the apartment, she noticed the boys had dumped their book bags by the video game console that sat in the middle of the den, just asking to be stepped on or tripped over. The boys had already made their way into the kitchen and she could hear them arguing.

Linda groaned. Her fifth-grade class had gotten a bad case of what she thought of as the Friday Afternoon Wiggles that day and by the time the dismissal bell rang her head had been pounding. Her headache hadn’t been helped by the fact that Kenny and Paul had gotten involved in one of those arguments that siblings sometimes seem to have had from birth.

Linda shook her head as she dropped the mail and the newspaper on the small round table that was just under the window in the den. The family called it Mom’s table – it was the closest thing she had been able to manage to an office in the apartment, and it was where she sat in the evenings and worked on schoolwork or paid bills. She could see the TV from her chair, and it helped her to spend time with Roger and the boys at night.

She sighed, tucking her multicolored tote bag under the table. Roger had packed some things and moved to a friend’s place three nights ago. He’d called every night since then but did most of his talking with the boys.

Thinking of Roger calling made her gaze travel to the redwood chest that served as a coffee table. They had bought the black cordless phone with answering machine and Caller ID two months ago. She had