Six months after becoming widowed, Dr. Lorain Donaldson adopts a premature baby whose birth mother died of an overdose. The only thing the birth mother left behind was an autographed Jack Tomack baseball card. Eight years later, Lorain's adopted son, Stevie, is diagnosed with leukemia and may need a bone marrow transplant. Her search for the biological father points to the man her son idolizes and whom she has fallen in love with, Jack Tomack. But until the DNA tests come back, does she dare tell either Jack or Stevie what she suspects?

Born on September 11, 1985, Kevin Stillwater has lost one family member after another on his birthday, including both of his parents at the Pentagon in 2001. As a result, Kevin grew up troubled and afraid his birthday would ultimately lead to the extinction of his entire family. Although born into wealth, Jeremiah Flint follows his uncle Solomon into a career in law enforcement. While working for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, he befriends Kevin and enlists the young man's computer hacking skills to find his nephew, Ivan, who is missing in the foster care system. As Kevin's 21st birthday...

This collection of short stories for the holidays spans history and contemporary settings. In "The Promise" a young man learns his family tree has a few extra branches. "Michael" delves into the confused world of an Alzheimer victim's memories. A guardian angel in training learns why she's different in "Harmony's Left Wing." A Pearl Harbor survivor fights to get home for the holidays in "I'll Be Home for Christmas." In the "Christmas Treasure," a homeless girl finds a home for her and her infant. And in "Grandpa's Confession," a young boy learns why his father disappeared from his life when...

When Deputy Brent Saunders agreed to meet Mariah Wingate at the train station, he never dreamed that he would watch the girl he wanted to marry step off the train. Cautioned to move slowly in courting his nine-year-old orphaned niece's new governess, he drives her out into the country to look at the section of land he purchased to start a small horse ranch in partnership with a friend. Brent unintentionally puts her life in danger as his relationship with Mariah places her in the path of cattle thieves and a rapist who has terrorized the county for several months.

In the title story of this collection, "Tillie's Marbles," which won honors in the 2008 Kansas Voices prose competition, thirteen year old Tillie Herman struggles along with a handful of Dust Bowl survivors to escape an abandoned town. During her search for a lost key, she learns why her mother married her father and faces danger in dealing with the town bully. Other stories include: 'The Centerfold, ' 'Revelation, ' 'Father Ashley's Ghost, ' 'Emma, ' 'Sarah's Rescue, ' 'Peasant Princes, ' 'Winter Refuge, ' 'Sanctuary at St. Thomas Abbey, ' and 'A Question of Fate.' Review: "Tillie's Marbles...

Virginia King's hand in marriage is promised as collateral on a loan her father makes with Nicholas Grant in order to bury her mother in something better than a pine box. When Joseph King defaults on the loan, Virginia refuses to make love with her husband until she knows whether or not she loves Nicholas. In her quest for love, she suffers through pneumonia, cattle thieves, and the question as to whether Nicholas is her younger brother Simon's real father.

We each experience and envision our own version of Topeka. In these stories, 18 writers twist the past and future to explore alternate possibilities for our community. These stories will make you question what you know about the past and frighten you about what the future could hold. What if a big change pivoted on a small moment?