Book 1-Chapter 2 (Title to be determined)

Disclaimer: OK, I wanted to put this up first so that no one misunderstands what I am doing here! I am NOT a professional writer! I only write for my pleasure. If anyone else enjoys it, that is wonderful! If not, that's ok too. I will never use anyone's material knowingly, so if someone see's that something I have written is similar to something they have seen or read, please, please, please inform me so that I can change it or reference it!!! I am not into plaguarism! I will not title anything I do until I am done because if any of you have ever experienced having to name something (i.e. a pet) you know that when you give it a name as a baby, you sometimes will regret the name you gave it! So, since this is not a living, breathing soul, I think it's best I wait until after I am further into it to name it! For my longer stories, I will try to only post one chapter at a time, so as not to bore anyone! This is all original work, so please ask before you use it somewhere else. I hope you enjoy what I write!

Please go here:http://the-two-rs.blogspot.com/search/label/Book%201%20Chapter%201 to read chapter 1 if you havn't already.

Chapter 2

It was beautiful day in Little Rock and Elli was driving the boys to baseball practice. They were huge baseball fans. The boys had been playing T-ball since they were old enough to hold a bat and Elli loved to have them involved in as many outside activities as possible. Tristan, her husband of 16 years never involved himself in their activities because he thought it was too much for them at their ages. He thought that Elli drove them too hard when it came to outside activities and therefore, he refused to take part in it. Tristan never had the niceties that their boys were able to have and Elli was going to make sure they had. He just didn’t see the need in it.
Tristan tried to be a good dad to the boys, but since about the second year of their marriage, Tristan had been verbally abusive to Elli. She just took it most of the time. It wasn’t until after the boys were born that Tristan began being physically abusive to Elli. She loved Tristan more than anything. He was only abusive to her when he was stressed out. She tried so hard to keep his stress level down, which is why she tried to keep the boys out of the house when he was there. She knew that they drove him crazy most of the time. But, lately it wasn’t working. He was always upset over one thing or another. She didn’t know what to do anymore.
Tristan was at work that day. It was Saturday morning and the boys had to be at practice by 10:00 a.m. She was well aware that if she did not get home to get the house cleaned and laundry done by the time Tristan made it home for the day that she would for sure get it that night. She was growing weary of the way he was treating her. No one knew what happened once they were in their bedroom. It was hard for Elli. She was emotionally drained and beginning to feel that if she didn’t do something soon, Tristan would go off the deep end and she didn’t want her boys to be on the receiving end this time.
“Mom, can we please go to McDonald’s after practice?” Caedan begged.
“Oh, honey, I wish we could, but momma’s got to get home and clean the house today. You know that daddy wants the house cleaned. Maybe we can stop and pick it up to go if you promise not to leave the mess when you’re done.”
“OK, thanks. I love you mom.”
“I love you too, Caedan”
Her boys were crazy about her, and she about her boys. She didn’t know what she would do if anything ever happened to them. Practice ran long this time. It was after noon when they finally ended for the day. She knew that if she didn’t get straight home, she wouldn’t be able to get everything done that Tristan expected to be done and make dinner. But, she wouldn’t let her boys down either. She drove through the drive through and waited. It was taking forever or maybe it just seemed that way because she was in a hurry. Either way, she knew she was in for it later.
“Mom, Justin’s touching me!” Caedan yelled, “Make him stop.”
“Oh, he is such a cry baby, mom. I barely touched him.” Justin was picking on Caedan again. Even though Caedan was older, he was a very sensitive child. Justin carried a lot of his dad’s characteristics. He was pushy and aggressive most of the time, but Justin also had a sensible side to him. He was very smart and knew when enough was enough. She never had to discipline either of the boys very often and really tried not to.
“Boys, I really need you both to stop. I will have your food for you as soon as I can and then we’ll be home and you can separate for a while,” I tried to reason with the boys. It usually works, but today, they just kept picking at each other. She knew they were tired because they had stayed up late last night watching a movie that Tristan thought wouldn’t be too scary for them. It kept them both up with nightmares most of the night. That was one of Tristan’s downfalls. He didn’t know how to deal with the boys. He always watched inappropriate T.V. shows when they were around or rough housed with them too much and they usually ended up walking away crying. Caedan did so more than Justin and that bothered Tristan. He would tease Caedan about it, which only made matters worse. Justin just ignored it most of the time. Justin was 2 years younger than Caedan, but just as big as Caedan. He was Tristan’s favorite and Tristan usually had no qualms saying so. It was becoming harder and harder to smooth things over with Caedan when he noticed how much Tristan catered to Justin.
As we pulled into the driveway, Elli’s heart began to race. Tristan had come home early. She knew he would be angry that she had bought the kids lunch and the house wasn’t clean. Elli thought about just driving on past the house, but knew she couldn’t do that. He would not allow it. “God,” Elli silently prayed, “please not today. Please just let him be asleep or preoccupied. I just don’t think I can handle another beating.” Elli stopped the car and told the boys to go in through the kitchen. She went in and did not see Tristan. She then walked into the living room, but still no Tristan. Then, she went to the bedroom. There he was. Frozen where she stood, Elli just stared. He wasn’t aware that anyone was in the room, but the girl he had in bed with him did. The girl gasped and poked Tristan. He looked up and saw Elli. “Go away,” he screamed. “I said leave now.” When Elli didn’t run he got out of the bed and lunged toward her. He struck Elli in the face, which knocked her to the floor. He kicked her out of the room and slammed and locked the door. I could hear the girl, and she was just a girl, probably not more than 22 years old, crying and screaming. I could hear him talking to her in a soft voice trying to calm her down. He was saying that I didn’t matter; only she did. He was telling her that he hit Elli only because she had scared him and that he would never do that her. She seemed to calm down from what Elli could hear.
When Elli finally was able to get to her feet, she turned around and saw Caedan and Justin standing in the hallway. They were crying. “Mom, what’s going on? Are you o.k.? You’re bleeding bad.”
She touched her mouth. It was really bleeding and Elli felt light headed. That was it. She couldn’t take it anymore. Without saying anything, Elli shuffled the boys outside and into the van. She pulled out and vowed to never see Tristan again. He had never cheated on her or at least not that she was aware. Now she wondered how long it had been going on. She drove for about an hour, not really knowing where she was going, but thinking that it would be best for her and the children if she just went to her parent’s house. That was about 3 hours or so away in Shreveport and she knew that they would be safe there. Elli’s parents never liked Tristan. He never liked them either. They rarely visited Elli and the boys. “If I could just make it to Shreveport, I could take further steps there to end this marriage once and for all,” she thought to herself. Her dad was a divorce lawyer and would know just what to do. She never wanted to see Tristan again and that made her very sad because she loved him deeply.
The boys remained silent in the back seat. They had never seen their dad abuse their mom. They knew he could be mean sometimes, but they had never seen this before. They were scared, scared for their mom and for themselves. They asked Elli if they could watch a movie and she said to go on ahead, just to put the headphones on so she could listen to some music. Music always calmed her down and she put in her Caedman’s Call CD and quietly prayed. She was scared. She had never thought she could get up the nerve to leave Tristan and yet, here she was, running as fast as she could to keep herself and her boys safe. She knew that the next year would be long and difficult and hoped that Tristan would just leave them alone.

"Amazing Grace" finale

So, this book is over. Can't say it was my favorite, but it was a good book. I have not read one yet by Danielle Steel that hasn't been good! I can usually judge how well I like a book by whether or not I want to put it down or not when reading it. This one I was able to put it down whenever I needed to! It was probably an 8 on a scale of 10, so I would recommend it, but not if you are wanting a book that will keep you glued to the story! Good read, though!

Book 1 (Title to be determined)

Disclaimer: OK, I wanted to put this up first so that no one misunderstands what I am doing here! I am NOT a professional writer! I only write for my pleasure. If anyone else enjoys it, that is wonderful! If not, that's ok too. I will never use anyone's material knowingly, so if someone see's that something I have written is similar to something they have seen or read, please, please, please inform me so that I can change it or reference it!!! I am not into plaguarism! I will not title anything I do until I am done because if any of you have ever experienced having to name something (i.e. a pet) you know that when you give it a name as a baby, you sometimes will regret the name you gave it! So, since this is not a living, breathing soul, I think it's best I wait until after I am further into it to name it! For my longer stories, I will try to only post one chapter at a time, so as not to bore anyone! This is all original work, so please ask before you use it somewhere else. I hope you enjoy what I write!



Chapter 1

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me......." Sarah sat in the pew next to Samantha. They call her Sam for short. "They"...she really should stop saying they. There isn't a "they" anymore. Sam is her 6 yr old precious little girl that has led such a hard life in her short time here on earth.

The music rang on…"I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now, I see." The problem is that Sarah is still lost. She isn’t sure if she will ever be found again. A tear quietly slipped down her cheek as she sat quietly listening to the choir sing the second verse of what once was her favorite song. She looked over and noticed the precious old Miss Jane in the next row watching her. She knew what the last year had held for Sarah and her baby. Sarah saw as much sadness in old Miss Jane’s eyes as she was sure she saw in Sarah’s.


John was only 42 years old when it happened. It was very dark that night in June. John was driving home from work. He had just flown in from a 6 day group of flights to Europe and was on his way home for a 4 day rest. John was a pilot and he was tired that night. It's no surprise that John fell asleep at the wheel. He never knew what hit him.


Sam and Sarah were excited as they waited on John to come home. He had called at 8:00 p.m. to say the plane had landed and he would be on his way home in about an hour after he settled all of the after flight paperwork that he had to do. We lived in a little suburb outside of Dallas, TX and on a Friday night, getting out of the city was a nightmare. It took him an hour to travel from DFW to the south side of Dallas that night. He pulled over to gas up and stretch his legs and called Sarah around ten to tell her he would be home in 20 minutes. He told her he loved her and hung up the phone. Sarah could hear the exhaustion in his voice, but knew that he was a very careful driver. He knew when he had had enough. If he had been too tired to drive anymore, even just twenty more minutes, he would have said so. At least Sarah thought he would have.


Sam had fallen asleep on the couch. Sarah usually let her stay up as long as she wanted and fall asleep on the couch because John loves to come in and see her laying there waiting on him. He enjoyed putting her to bed at night when he was home. He so rarely got that chance during the vacation months. These were his busiest times of the year. So, whenever he has the opportunity to spend time with Sam, even if it's just the tradition he has of putting her to bed, then Sarah let him do it. But, that night would be different. Sarah sat watching some sitcom on TV. She doesn't even remember what it was now. "Everybody Loves Raymond", "King of Queens"....oh well, it doesn't really matter.


Looking at her watch at 10:30, she realized John was 10 minutes late. She figured he had decided to run back into the convenience store to grab something he forgot. Ten minutes turned into twenty, then thirty, then an hour. Something was wrong. Sarah tried to call his cell phone, but it went straight to voice mail. Now she knew something was wrong. He never turned his cell phone off and she knew that he had a charger in his car and wouldn’t allow his phone to die. She called the police and told them what she knew, when she had talked to John last and could they please look for him. They told Sarah that he had not been missing for very long, but they would definitely drive out Hwy 77 and take a look for him. She waited anxiously for John to call, for the police to call to say they had found him and he had just pulled off the side of the road for a quick nap, for good news. At midnight, she heard a knock on the door. Sarah froze, unable to stand, unable to face the fear that shot through her at that moment. She knew that the news was not good. She knew that John was gone. As Sarah stood to walk to the door, her heart pounded with a kind of fear that only a wife of eighteen years could feel when she knew something was wrong with her beloved husband. Slowly she opened the big oak door that John had carried her through the day he made her his wife. This house was his gift to Sarah that day. She couldn't believe her eyes when he pulled up outside of the two story, brick home with a white picket fence and a big oak swing on the front porch. The flowers were meticulous and there was a huge elm tree in the front yard, a perfect place for a tire swing when they had children. It was beautiful. Sarah had grown up in a rough part of Dallas and never had the life that John had given her. They loved each other with a passion. They had been high school sweethearts and even gone to college together. Sarah couldn’t imagine living without John.


"Mrs. Collins? Mrs. Sarah Collins?” the office stated as clearly as he could so as to make sure she heard him correctly. He didn't want to make a mistake. Not with a task this important, this life-changing.


"Yes, I am Sarah Collins. Where is he? Where IS HE?” she shouted. Sarah started crying as the officer shook his head. She was grateful that the stairs to the second floor where in the foyer. Her knees went weak and buckled underneath her. The officer and his partner grabbed Sarah and sat her down on the carpeted stairs. Somehow she managed to not pass out from the shock.


"Ma'am, is your husband John Collins?" The officer wanted to make sure he had the right house, although he already knew he did. He could sense the panic in her voice.


Sarah managed to get out a weak, but audible, "Yes, please, is he ok? Did you find him? Is he alive?" The officer lowered his head, not wanting to tell her the news. He shook his head and as gingerly as he could, he told her that there had been an accident and John had not survived.


"Mrs. Collins, is there someone I can call for you…a neighbor, a friend or a relative? You shouldn't be alone right now."


"Um, ye...yes, my neighbor, next door, please," Sarah tried hard to keep her head. “Sam, oh my God, my little Sam has lost her daddy. I have to go get my baby." The officer grabbed Sarah because when she stood, she started to sway as if she were going to faint. He set her back down on the stairs.


"Ma'am, is she asleep? You should let her sleep right now. My partner will go wake your neighbor up. What is their name?” the officer asked. Sarah told the officer what he needed to know. The officer then helped Sarah into the kitchen so the he could get her a glass of water. As they walked through the living room, Sarah saw that Sam was sleeping like a little angel. She was oblivious to their world falling apart before them.


Before Sarah knew what was happening, her neighbor, Sylvia, and her husband Tom, were at their front door. They had a look on their face that could only be described as horror. Sylvia was crying and Tom was trying to fight back the tears. They had been neighbors for the 18 years Sarah and Tom had lived there. They were friends. Sarah wouldn't call them best friends, but they would do anything for them. Now was no different. Sylvia came running into the kitchen to Sarah and put her arms around her. She held Sarah for what seemed like an eternity. Tom and the officer went outside together. The officer told Tom all the details as he thought it would be a little easier for Tom to talk to Sarah once things settled down a bit. Sylvia didn't say anything to Sarah. She just held her. She knew that Sarah would talk when she needed to. She was just that kind of unselfish, loving kind of person. After the two sat there for a few minutes, Sarah told her that she needed to hold Sam. She needed to see, smell, touch her baby, her baby that was so much a part of John.


As Sarah walked into the living room, she sensed something different. Almost like a warmth that she hadn't noticed before. As she stood next to Sam, she saw her stir a little bit and then Sam started giggling.


"That tickles, daddy!...I love you, too...OK, I promise I will take care of mommy." Sam started crying then. Not a lot, just kind of whimpering, like someone had just told her that they had to go away for awhile.


Sarah froze. When she looked down at Sam, her eyes were wide open. She had her back turned to Sarah and she didn't notice that Sam was awake until she moved. "Sam, who are you talking to," Sarah asked quietly.


"Daddy. He's right there." She pointed to the other end of the couch. When Sarah looked up, she didn't see anything, but the warmth grew stronger and as she sat there marveling in the miracle that she had just witnessed, Sarah could feel a sense of calmness all around she and Sam. Sam could see her daddy. He was telling her to take care of her mom. She understood him. Sarah was sure that John was there in the room with them. But, how was it that Sam could see him, but she couldn’t. She wondered if John could see and hear what she was telling their daughter about what happened. She hoped so.


"Mommy, where is daddy going? Does he have to go in the big plane again?" Oh, this is so hard. What would Sarah tell her little girl? How could she tell her that her daddy would never come back and rock her to sleep or read her a story or watch her go on her first date? Sarah began to cry again. She couldn’t stop the tears. Sam just watched her. There were still some tears in Sam’s eyes as well. “Oh, John,” Sarah thought, “please, help me here.” Sarah looked at where Sam had said her daddy was sitting, but still could see anything. Sarah still felt the warmth around here. It felt like a big warm blanket was swaddled around her. She had never felt this kind of security in all of her life. It was almost like John was trying to tell her not to worry, they would be o.k. It was like he wanted her to feel safe. She was beginning to. They were a Christian family and John had always told her that if he wasn’t there, that God would be their security. At that very moment, she knew what to say to her daughter.


"Yes, honey, daddy is going to go back into the big plane again and he is going to fly to Heaven this time. He is going to be with God. Imagine getting to see God in person, and Jesus and the angels!" Sarah hoped that Sam would understand. She loved her Sunday school class and always talked about the baby Jesus and the angels. But, Sarah wasn’t sure she really understood that her daddy would never come home to them again.


"But, mommy, will daddy get to come back and see us again?" There was a look of fear in Sam's eyes.


"Daddy will always watch over you. He loves you, Sam. He loves you and I and he will always be with us here." Sarah patted Sam's heart.


"But, will I see daddy again? I want daddy to come back. DADDY!!! Wait! You didn't take me to my bed!" Sarah started crying. She couldn't stop herself. She picked up Sam and tried so hard to reassure her that she would never forget her daddy. That she would always see her daddy in her dreams and that she would never let her forget. Sarah held Sam until she fell asleep in her arms. She didn't know how she was going to manage alone. "Oh, John, please come back, please," Sarah whispered. In her mind she would have sworn that she heard John’s voice tell her to have faith and continue to believe and that they would be just fine.


She stood up and carried Sam to bed. When she came back down, it was all she could do to manage the stairs. Sylvia and Tom were waiting for her in the living room. Tom wanted to explain all that the officer had told him. He wasn't sure if Sarah could handle it all at once. She sat down and told him that she needed to know everything, even if it took the rest of the night. As Tom started relaying all the details, Sarah's mind could only think of her dear, sweet husband and all he must have gone through that night.

Book #2 Nora Roberts "Reflections" and "Dreams"

Book 2 of 2009! I haven't quite finished my 1st one, but I wanted to go on ahead get this posted today. I was looking for a picture of the cover and realized that Nora Roberts does "Reflections & Dreams" quite a lot. It will interesting to see what this is all about. If anyone has read any of her books titled the same, but different stories, please let me know because I would be interested in reading them.

This one is based on the characters of "Considering Kate". I found it for sale on Amazon again. The link is http://www.amazon.de/Reflections-Dreams-Stanislaski-Saga/dp/0373285701. You can probably find it at any book store, but sometimes, Amazon is still cheaper.

I will post a few days before I start this one so that anyone else who might want to read along with me can start it as well.

Nora Roberts is another of my favorite authors. She also writes under the pen name J.D. Robb. If you go to this link http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm?author_number=296, you will find a good review of Nora Roberts. She is a phenomenal writer. She has such a broad range of writing techniques, both as Nora and as J.D. I haven't actually read any of her books under the pen name J.D. Robb as of yet, but you can bet I will and soon! ENJOY!!!






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"Amazing Grace"

You know, this is a strangely written book!!! I know that the two seperate stories are going to come together eventually! If anyone has read this book, you can chime in too! I have never read a book that tells the story of two totally seperate lives that rarely interact, but this one is doing it. Like I said, I know that they will probably come together in the end because I am starting to see a little more interaction between the two.

If you are curious, you may want to check it out for yourself! It's by Danielle Steel. The cover looks like this:

Only Danielle Steel could pull off a book like this! I think that other writers would not have been able to. Oh well, it's a great book and if you are into romance, "chick-flick" type books, then you would like this one!

...Halfway through....

Well, I am now about halfway through my book! I have another waiting in the wings already from another favorite author! At this rate, I may finish 15 or 20 books this year! Wow...what a cool resolution to actually fulfill! I may not lose any weight, but I will be a little bit smarter!

I wanted to mention that I have actually started writing! I don't want to post it until I have the first chapter written and ready, so it may be a few days. It's hard for me to stay up too late during the week because I am working the 5:45 to 2:45 schedule, so I have to be up and moving by 4:30 a.m. Kind of makes it difficult to stay up too long!

For those of you that don't know her, I would like to point you in the direction of my good friend, Pam's blog http://www.pramom26.blogger.com/. She is such a kind hearted person that is so giving to her children and has just been through a long three and half years. She is a wonderful Christian that I could only wish for in my life. I am proud to call her a friend of mine of 15 years now. We first met in Germany when we lived here 15 years ago. Actually, it was almost exactly 16 years ago, now that I think about it....to the day! Haley's birthday was the day we met. That was on February 3, 1993. The fire alarm went off in our building. She and I were the only ones that decided to take it seriously and were sitting together out on the porch until the alarm went off. We hit it off immediately and she started inviting us down to eat dinner with them. Their son, James, was about 6 months older than Haley. They were best friends. They would not let any other kid come in and play with them! It was funny! We went to church together a lot, did FCC at the same time (well, she was better at it then I was!) and just had a great time together! She was there for me when Thomas was born and I was there for her when she found out she would be having another baby(Zach!) (Well, she might have been in the states on vacation when she found out....) but, none-the-less, we celebrated! I couldn't ask for a better friend and a better person! I hope that if you don't follow her blog, you will at least take a look at it!

Alright! Gotta go for now...take care and hope that you take the time to read Danielle Steel's "Amazing Grace". I must say, it's not my most favorite book, but she is still an amazing writer and nothing she writes is bad! Check her out if you haven't already!

Possible Book Exchange

Not sure if any of you are interested or not, but I was thinking it might be cool to do a book swap! I know there are only three of you who are followers to my blog here, but I am hoping to get more. Even though I am in Germany, you can still get the flat rate boxes at the Post Office and pay less than $9.00 shipping. You can fit several books into one box too. It's just an idea and may help me reach my goal of 10 books this year!

If you might be interested, even just one of you, leave me a comment and I will post all the books that I have. If we send three or four books at a time, then it will save money since we can use the flat rate box. I know you can buy a paperback for anywhere from $5.00 to $10.00, so one book costs around the same as the flat rate postage. Let me know! We might be able to find some good books this way!