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

“Hey, hey, weird girl,” a voice called out behind her as she hefted up the weight of her bag on one shoulder.


She tried to keep balance and look cool as she stood amongst the trees at the far end of the school grounds, through the hole in the fence at the end of the playing fields and out into the small expanse of wildlife that remained because no one really knew what to do with it.


Rosemary Connell raised her eyebrows as she saw Jason Danielson struggling to push his way through the hole—broad shoulders, lank hair, acne marks on his forehead.


“Oh, Danielson, you really know how to get a girl’s attention,” she countered, taking a long drag from her cigarette and expelling a cloud of smoke.


Straightening up, his face flushed red.


“Ah, yeah, I don’t know your name though,” he said, “but you’re a friend of Charlie Calohan’s, right?”


“So, ah, where is she? I thought she’d be with you.”


Chapter 29