Jude Calohan has been keeping his head down for years. In the quiet town of Bower Bliss, Texas, he has tried to be a good man, a good father, tried not to think too much about his relationship with his own father ... and yet despite this, in the gentle autumn of an uneventful year, Jude Calohan soon finds his relationship with both his eldest child and his own identity as a father called into question.<br><br>Amidst the sleepy apple groves of small town America, will Jude Calohan be able to keep his family together while his eldest child Charlie discovers the confidence to make one of the biggest choices of their young life?

Love Among Strangers

“I didn’t exactly say that, Charlie—”


“But you impliedit,” the teenager retorted sharply. “You think people are going to pick on me and I need to know to use a gun to, what, intimidate them? Or are you thinking maybe I’m a good fit for one of those kids that shoots up their school?”


“That wasn’t what I meant, Charlie. I thought it’d be nice to do something outside instead of having you cooped up in your room all the time.”


Firmly, Charlie pushed back from the table and stood up, abandoning the plate still piled with half-eaten food.


“Yeah, well, that’s not how it came across.”


Before Jude was able to respond, the space opposite was empty, Charlie’s footsteps heavy upon the stairs.


“Well, Dad,” said Rowan with a bemused smile, reaching out for more potatoes, “I think that could have gone better.”


Chapter 11