Smoke

1
Sometimes you feel the whisper of a storm before it hits. Smell the tang of ozone as it punctuates the air. Watch the once-­lifeless hair on your arms rise like the dead. The energy, the charge, it becomes a real and palpable thing.
But other times, like tonight, you sense nothing.
No whisper.
No warning.
And it s of little consequence to the storm whether or not you re prepared. Because, either way, it s coming.
Lightning carves jagged marks across the sky. My attic bedroom explodes with brightness. I squeeze my eyes tight, willing the storm to pass. Praying for it to pass. But the foreboding zigzag pattern that lingers behind my eyelids kills those fragile hopes. My pulse gains speed.
One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. Three Mississippi . . .
I get all the way to seven Mississippi before the deafening crash. Thunder punches like a fist through the atmosphere, pounding against the earth. The powerful echo carries inside my body, reverberating through every limb.
By my count the storm s about a mile away and closing in.
Dread sinks into my skin, takes residence in my bones. My fingernails, barely long enough to scratch an itch, dig hard into my palms. Because I know what comes next. And it s a force as unstoppable as the storm.
This is going to be bad.
I fling back the covers, my feet hitting the rug as the sloped walls flare again with light. Seconds later the boom of thunder hits.
And a scream follows. Just like I knew it would. I feel the cry like it s borne from my own throat.
I race down the narrow staircase to the second floor, where Geronimo paces. He whines, scratching at the bedroom door as the sky breaks open to release its sadness. Tears tick against the hall window like tiny pebbles.
I know, Geronimo. I wish I could make it stop, too.
Our beloved boxador ­boxer-­Lab mix ­knows I m not talk­ing about the rain.
Stay back, I say into his good ear, giving his frayed collar a tug. You can t help him this time.
Geronimo

Darcy Woods has held an eclectic mix of professions--from refueling helicopters for the US Army to recharging bodies and spirits at a spa--but her most beloved career is being an author. She is a happily-ever-after addict and finds all things metaphysical endlessly fascinating. She lives in Michigan with her husband and cat. Her first novel Summer of Supernovas won the Golden Heart® award. You can follow Darcy on Twitter at @woodswrite.

A complicated and artfully nuanced look at the lengths we ll go to for the people we love, Smoke is a page-turner full of heart and hope, not to be missed." Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces

A poignant story that explores the dilemma of doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. . . . Will stay with you long after you ve turned the last page. Amber Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Way I Used to Be

A compelling chronicle of a small-town American family navigating an economic hurricane in a rowboat filled with holes. You ll cheer for them.   Jeff Zentner, award-winning author of The Serpent King 

Bold, propulsive, and utterly incandescent, Smoke will burn in your heart and mind.   Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, author of All Eyes on Her

A beautiful reminder of what it takes to cultivate our most precious relationships. Marisa Reichardt, author of Underwater

Exquisite prose and luminous characters. Prepare to be dazzled! Pintip Dunn, New York Times bestselling author of Dating Makes Perfect 

"A character-driven, first-person narrative that is at turns anguished and funny. "  Kirkus Reviews

"A compelling page-turner."  School Library Journal