About the Author I was raised on a farm, and believe me, it's hard work! I realized later how much I benefited by it. After doing farm work, everything else is easy. I was married, raised four beautiful children, divorced, and now have four wonderful grandchildren. I have worked in restaurants for over forty years and I enjoy it as much now as when I first started doing it. Yes, my minimum wage is $2.23 per hour, but every day is worth it. Every day is a whole new adventure!

Alison Owings travelled the USA from border to border and coast to coast, to hear firsthand what waitresses think about their lives, their work and their world.

It happens in an instant. On a stormy December night, two cars collide head-on, and four people's lives are forever shattered.—In the aftermath of the accident that took the life of her husband of twenty-one years, Lainey Williams is a widow with conflicting feelings of loss, guilt and regret over a union that was far from ideal. After Lainey failed to give him a son, Don turned from his wife, seeking comfort in alcohol. The night of the accident, Don was at the wheel, and drunk. He never even saw the other car coming. The horrific crash that sent his wife, Marva, into a coma has forced Nathan Sullivan to reassess his life. When their daughter went off to college, he realized how little he and Marva had left in common. What was missing most was the love. It begins as two grieving people offering each other comfort and friendship. Trust grows, along with mutual passion. But just as Lainey and Nathan are starting to rebuild their lives—both separately and together—Lainey uncovers a shocking secret about Don. And Nathan is confronted with the most agonizing decision of his life that will put his relationship with Lainey to the ultimate test.—

Rick Adams is a young man leaving his small hometown of Talbot to explore the larger, changing world of the 1990s. Outside the shelter of his small circle of friends for the first time, he finds it difficult to weave himself into the tapestry of his college community. So when an opportunity arises to reunite with his friends over Spring Break, Rick jumps at the chance. But in his short time away, he has begun to come to terms with a realization that may change the way he relates to his friends -- one of many changes that threatens to shatter the bonds of youth forever.Will a week spent in the natural splendor of the Sierras rebuild their bonds? Or will secrets, close quarters, and the absence of creature comforts stretch those bonds beyond repair?

Nine seemingly random characters, all in the midst of a personal crisis. A struggling first-year teacher, his unsatisfied wife, and the little girl who lives with them. A lonely realtor and her lawyer husband, who's involved in a high-profile case. A single mother with an alcohol problem and her two rebellious children. A middle-aged professor looking for a woman to spice up his life. Their lives are seemingly unconnected, but the decisions they make during a tension-filled work week lead to a series of events that interconnects and propels them toward a tragedy that will impact all of their lives-forever.