Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $9.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    2gethered
    2gethered
    2gethered
    Ebook125 pages1 hour

    2gethered

    By Lynn Gayle

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Truman Miller hasn't been dealt the best hand in life. His mother is never around, and with her being an alcoholic, she drinks away what money she gets monthly from the government. That's forced him to work and pay the bills since he was sixteen.

     

    Evanna Stahl has been caring for her sick mom for years. She's never questioned why this was her life, but with graduation approaching and a boyfriend who isn't at all supportive, she's becoming overwhelmed by her future and prays for help. She knows God is always with her.

     

    Both Truman and Evanna have had to grow up long before they should have, but at least they've always had each other. They've always done what they could with what they had in order to make it work.

     

    The hits keep coming, but when one door closes, they're assured that God opens another. And they have faith that they can get through anything as long as they're together.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLinda Mooney
    Release dateMar 1, 2024
    ISBN9781953797391
    2gethered

    Read more from Lynn Gayle

    Related to 2gethered

    Related ebooks

    Contemporary Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      An Unspeakable Life

      Jan 10, 2022

      It was a perfect fall afternoon when Muriel found out she was pregnant. Tourists snatched up apple cider by the gallon at farm stands. Leaf peepers stood on the side of the road with their cameras aimed in all directions; wherever you looked, a quint

      12 min read

    • Article

      The Traveler Part 1

      Sep 1, 2020

      Jamie wandered aimlessly, kicking a broken chunk of sidewalk, following the chip of cement as it skittered and bounced through leaves and off curbs. In a trance, she walked down unknown blocks and around unfamiliar corners, her mind so far away that

      9 min read

    • Article

      Partners

      Sep 15, 2018

      Enter,” she says, and is obeyed. He’s taller than before, or perhaps he only seems taller now that he’s here, in the house. She walks behind him, moving toward the living room, and wonders if he might be too tall for her house. It soon dawns on her t

      8 min read

    • Article

      The Bathroom

      Jun 10, 2024

      Content Disclosure: Sexual Innuendo The garage light flips on like a flashbulb, freezing me in a mug shot. “Del, you out here?” my wife says sleepily as she steps down the cement riser. She looks at me standing before the window; then her attention i

      12 min read

    • Article

      The Space Between Us

      Oct 9, 2019

      The Space Between Us
      8 min read

    • Article

      Counter Waves

      Oct 23, 2020

      Counter Waves
      8 min read

    • Article

      In the DOG HOUSE

      May 13, 2020

      In the DOG HOUSE
      6 min read

    • Article

      Metaphors

      Mar 10, 2023

      I’m knitting on my front porch when a car roars to a stop in front of my house. It’s a red Mustang convertible, top down on this warm Thursday afternoon in June. Two girls sit in the front, two in the back. They smile and wave at me. I smile back tho

      8 min read

    • Article

      Daughters’ Bodies

      Dec 1, 2019

      WHEN I’M about to go away to college, my grandmother dies and my mother silently puts herself up for adoption. LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO ADOPT ME: Kind, lonely, beautiful woman in her 50s. Dead husband. No children. Cooks and cleans. 4’11 and 90 lbs. Gu

      20 min read

    • Article

      Laugh EVERY DAY

      Jul 2, 2023

      Live, Laugh, Love Day-to-day life can get hectic and it’s easy to forget the simple things, such as a bit of humour. Laughing is the perfect way to indulge in a bit of me-time and just be happy. While laughing is obviously fun, did you know it’s ac

      9 min read

    • Article

      The Danger

      Sep 10, 2024

      Content Disclosure: Mild Violence; Strong Language Duane had just settled comfortably into his favorite easy chair with his Kindle and a cup of tea when his wife completely and utterly lost her mind. “Goddamn shit piss FUCK!” “Honey?” Duane said mild

      9 min read

    • Article

      The Real Monster

      May 2, 2024

      The Real Monster
      5 min read

    • Article

      Counselor of Chippewa Cabin

      Jun 26, 2020

      Counselor of Chippewa Cabin
      5 min read

    • Article

      Going Green

      Oct 1, 2020

      Going Green
      6 min read

    • Article

      Finding Joan (again)

      Aug 8, 2024

      Finding Joan (again)
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Shape Of A Person

      Oct 20, 2022

      The Shape Of A Person
      25 min read

    • Article

      A Change Of Verbs

      May 10, 2021

      A change of verbs can be a boon to a man’s life. Such was the thought that seized Simon McCalla in midbite of his double-toasted English muffin. It was Friday, precisely 7:52 AM by the clock on the range. “I said, what time is it?” yelled his wife fr

      22 min read

    • Article

      David Sedaris

      Sep 15, 2017

      Our house on Emerald Isle, The Sea Section, is divided down the middle, and has an E beside one front door and a W beside the other. The east side is ruled by Hugh, and the bedroom we share is on the top floor. It opens onto a deck that overlooks the

      12 min read

    • Article

      Family Matters

      May 15, 2020

      Family Matters
      5 min read

    • Article

      Hiding In Plain Sight

      Jun 29, 2023

      Hiding In Plain Sight
      6 min read

    • Article

      Ella’s Choice

      Oct 6, 2021

      Ella’s Choice
      7 min read

    • Article

      Power Of A Pup

      Jan 24, 2020

      Power Of A Pup
      6 min read

    • Article

      Something Better

      May 10, 2022

      Something Better
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Promise OF SPRING

      Feb 10, 2021

      The Promise OF SPRING
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Beast Within

      Mar 21, 2024

      The Beast Within
      6 min read

    • Article

      Power Of A Pup

      Jun 25, 2022

      Power Of A Pup
      6 min read

    • Article

      In The Dog HOUSE

      Jan 26, 2021

      In The Dog HOUSE
      6 min read

    • Article

      Chuckles

      Oct 1, 2021

      A recently divorced woman moves back to her hometown, hoping to start over. A few weeks later, while making a dentist appointment, she’s surprised to recognise the dentist’s name as that of a good-looking boy from her high school 20 years ago. Howeve

      4 min read

    • Article

      Now The Leaves Are Falling Fast

      Apr 10, 2021

      I watched my wife leave our neighbor’s house, her empty hands shoved deep in the pockets of her red anorak. She came inside through our carport. I met her in our kitchen. “Beverly was really happy for the soup,” she said. “Honestly, it was a little s

      8 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for 2gethered

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      2gethered - Lynn Gayle

      One

      He was exhausted to the point of almost being comatose. Regardless, Truman doggedly continued pumping his bike pedals as he hunched over the handlebars, but it felt like his body was on automatic. He briefly debated whether to get off and hoof it the rest of the way. That thought quickly went out the window. If he did, it would take him at least another hour to get home. Maybe longer. Gritting his teeth, he kept pushing.

      When he finally reached his turnoff, he cut across the corner of the lawn to reach the sidewalk running perpendicular. Ahead lay his destination: two rows of apartments. Low-rent housing, all single-story, all connected by a thin wall between each unit. Each shabby little box identical to the one next to it except for something the renters put outside to indicate which one was theirs—a pair of aluminum lawn chairs, a barbeque grill, a hummingbird feeder. In his case, it was the one with nothing.

      Going around to the front door, he nearly fell off the bike. His legs were numb, as were his feet, but he’d made it.

      He removed the ball chain necklace from around his neck. The silver key to the apartment dangled from it. Unlocking the door, he wheeled his bike inside before shutting and locking the door behind him. Even though neighbors kept an eye out for each other, things like bikes were commonly stolen, as the thief always managed to get away with it before anyone could intervene. Funny thing that no one cared to steal barbeque grills, lawn chairs, or bird feeders. Or children’s toys, for that matter. But bicycles and skateboards and the like were primo targets.

      Mom?

      The lamp in the living room had been left on, as it usually was whenever he had to work. Plus it made the place appear to be occupied. Parking his bike against the bookcase, Truman walked into the kitchen. Mom, I’m home!

      Silence.

      His stomach tightened, reminding him again that he hadn’t eaten since noon, and it now was… He glanced at the clock on top of the range. 9:18 p.m. Sighing, he went to the fridge and opened it. Inside were two cans of beer, a container of leftover spaghetti, a bottle of mustard, a bottle of ketchup, and a shriveled up orange in the vegetable bin.

      He tried once more. Mom? Not getting a response, he grabbed the spaghetti and set it on the counter. He knew he should be happy there was something he could eat. Obviously, his mother had yet to go to the store.

      Or maybe she’s there now, he told himself, and quickly dismissed it. It was the end of the month, meaning the government check had arrived. Please, Mom. Save some of it for the rent and utilities and all.

      Dumping the contents into a pan, he slid it into the oven. As his dinner heated up, he went into the one bedroom that his mother used and checked to see if she might be there. As he’d expected, she wasn’t. Neither was she in the bathroom. In short, she was in absentia. Again. Always again. Truman tried to remember that last time he’d actually been face-to-face with the woman, but he was hard pressed.

      After washing his hands, he returned to the kitchen and collapsed in one of the dinette chairs. He was in the process of removing his shoes when he heard a knock on the front door. A familiar knock in the form of a code. A code he’d known since he was twelve.

      One…one two…one two three…

      He didn’t bother looking through the peephole before opening it.

      Evanna stood on the cement step, a huge smile on her pretty face. Good evening, Mr. Miller. I saw you riding by and thought you might like some of this. She produced a bowl from behind her back. Judging by the smell coming from beneath the foil cover, he guessed it was her homemade chicken noodle soup. He gratefully accepted the bowl, which was still warm to the touch, and held the door open so she could come inside.

      How’d you know I was hungry for some of this? he teased.

      Because I know you all too well, Truman Miller, she shot back, teasing as well.

      She turned and walked into the kitchen, taking a seat at the table. Grabbing a spoon from the drawer, he slid into the chair he’d just vacated. He blew onto the first mouthful before testing it. Finding it wouldn’t scald him, he began eating. Shoveling it in, actually, to where Evanna warned him, You’re gonna make yourself sick if you don’t slow down.

      Don’t care, he responded. I haven’t had anything to eat since lunch, and that was the last of the bread and peanut butter. He caught her glancing at the clock, which reminded him. Weren’t you supposed to work the night shift over at the pancake house?

      I traded with Geena. I got… She stopped and turned to stare at him. "We have that math final tomorrow."

      Yippidee-doo-dah, he muttered and ate another spoonful.

      She gave him that look he was well acquainted with. Tru.

      Yeah, I know my grades are pathetic, but I’m not flunking. I feel confident enough to pass this one. At least with a solid C. Maybe a C minus.

      Honestly? She stared at him with those soulful brown eyes.

      I promise, Vannie.

      She leaned back in her chair. I’d hate walking up to get my diploma Saturday and you not getting yours, too.

      Don’t worry. I’ll be there. He snorted. I might even take you out for ice cream afterwards to celebrate.

      A funny expression crossed her face. He also knew it well. Let me guess. No ice cream?

      I’ve already promised Davis I’d go out with him. He wants to have supper at Tucson’s Steakhouse. She flashed a quick smile. He promised I could order the steak and lobster.

      Enjoy yourself, he told her, and meant it.

      Thanks. She seemed more relaxed. She’d probably expected him to rant and rave about the guy, like he had before. Try to talk her out of it. And he would have, but the last thing he wanted was to cause more bad blood between them. Vannie was his best friend. His closest friend. She was almost like a sister, although he knew he loved her in a way a brother shouldn’t love his sister. That didn’t matter. He knew she loved him. She often told him so. However, he knew she didn’t love him the same way he loved her.

      Judging by the way she began fidgeting in her seat, he knew she was about to leave. He wasn’t ready for her to go. Not yet.

      How’s your mom doing? he asked, hoping to delay the inevitable.

      She sighed. Okay, I guess.

      You guess?

      Yeah. She’s not eating like she should. She’s losing weight, and even I can tell.

      Is she still bucking going to the doctor?

      We don’t have the money, Tru. You know that.

      Can’t she still get care from the county hospital?

      It doesn’t work like that, Evanna replied darkly. No insurance, no money, no doctor, no treatment. If they do try to do something for you, you’re placed at the back of the line so those with the way to pay get first dibs. You know that.

      Speaking of mothers, you didn’t happen to see mine recently, did you?

      She tilted her head as she stared at him. Yeah. She left around, ohh, I think it was around six o’clock or so.

      Did you happen to notice what she was wearing?

      Yeah. That little white blouse she ties above her midriff, and her short jeans skirt.

      Truman paused, and Evanna reached over to grasp his arm. I’m sorry, Tru.

      "Don’t be. She’s probably over at The Last Chance, laughing it up with whoever will buy her a beer. He gave her a tired smile. Good thing I sleep on the couch. That way I know when she gets home. Lifting the bowl, he poured the last of the savory broth down his throat. That was great. Thanks for bringing it over."

      I need to get back and study some more.

      Let me wash this first, and you can take it home with you.

      He got to his feet to take it over to the sink. Evanna stood and walked up to stand next to him.

      Tru, have you thought any more about what you’re going to do after you graduate?

      Oh, yeah. Armin said he’d bring me on full-time once I get my diploma.

      Is that what you really want to do? she persisted.

      He grabbed the dishtowel to dry the bowl before handing it to her. "Yeah. It’s what I really want to do. I like my job. I like the construction business. And I’m learning a lot. Armin says I have the brains to

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1