Greetings friends! Happy New Year, now that it’s February 2! I hope you are all doing well.

So Book 2 of the series Anomaly will be coming out later this month! This book takes place a few years after the events of Book 1, Don’t Say a Word, and continues to feature Kaya, Grayson, Dr.Blake, and Graham while introducing new characters Alice, Tony, Emily, Brad, and Ponyboy (the guy pictured above, who is a very, very good boy), who will feature a ton in the whole series. Each book in this series contains a full story, beginning to end, so can be read alone, but it might be a bit confusing if you don’t read the books that come before. I also usually end my books with a very small cliffhanger, which is just a tease for the next book. So yes, I recommend you read them in order, but I think you will still be entertained if you read them as stand alones. At least the first few. But they’re better in order.

I am going to share chapter one from Book 2, which is called Blinding Justice. For those of you that read Book 1, this is the return of the prodigal father, and Kaya and Grayson’s inevitable wedding. It takes place in the late 1990s. I hope you enjoy the story!

Chapter 1

Peter stood behind the hedge surrounding the courtyard to watch the ceremony. He knew he wouldn’t be welcome by the family. His family. What used to be his family. But it had been his choice to walk away all those years ago. He had never walked away completely. He had been watching them, from afar, for years. Not in the ways of a stalker. The world had been invaded by the internet.  Information could be found online. He saw when his daughter made the cheerleading team in high school, and then when she was voted team captain during her senior year. He had found the yearly honor roll from his son’s school every year on the digital version of the town’s newspaper, and the list of names of the graduates when he finally finished school. His daughter was three years behind her brother, and then they were both at State University. Lucky for Peter, who was adept in the ways of modern technology, social media was becoming easier and easier to access. He was able to see pictures and stories on MySpace, and then Facebook. He could see his children’s activities and thoughts, at least the ones they made public. When he finally decided to make contact, he would have to urge them to be more private with who could see their information. But for now, he was glad it was available for him, so he could track their progress in life.

It was harder to track his wife. She was now his ex-wife, he knew. He could see her progress at work as she got promoted through the years, making great strides even after she was left to raise their two children on her own, with no financial assistance except the balance of their joint savings account. But the news that hit him the hardest had been the announcement in the Wisteria Weekly News. Janice had gotten engaged. And the man she was engaged to was the dentist he used to bring his children to see when they were small. The man that provided the children with a new toothbrush every six months. Maybe Janice liked the perks. Maybe Dr. Flagg polished her teeth for free. What hurts the most was thinking about what else of Janice’s he was polishing. He hadn’t left because he stopped loving his wife. He left because he did love her, and their kids. He didn’t feel like he had a choice. He didn’t really regret his choice. The children were doing great. Janice was happy. And today, on this beautiful spring day in Wisteria, his daughter was getting married.

He watched as his son walked down the aisle, escorting his mother to her seat in front, and then went back to walk his grandmothers to their seats with their husbands. The bridesmaids started their trek, and Peter shook his head in disbelief. His daughter’s friends had all grown up so much. He felt as though no time had passed, but this was the proof that it had. As if to mock him, his left knee started to ache again. He shifted his position to take some weight off of it. Soon, his son walked back down the aisle, this time on the arm of a woman he had never met, but he knew she was his daughter-in-law. They took their place at the altar. A tear started to roll down Peter’s face as he realized that his daughter-in-law was obviously very pregnant. He was going to be a grandfather soon. He had already missed so much.

The music stopped. Peter looked to the back of the aisle, and he saw his daughter. She was a vision of absolute beauty, an angel, with her chestnut hair wrapped around the back of her head, wavy tendrils framing her face, her fragile features, her beaming smile. He wasn’t close enough to see them, but he remembered her shining blue eyes. She was radiant. She was holding on to the arm of an older man whose face he couldn’t see. He braced himself to see the dentist walking his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day. It was a job that should have gone to Peter, and it would have, if only he had made a different choice…but if he had made a different choice, this wedding might not have ever happened.

The music started. The Wedding March. Everyone stood as the bride made her way toward her true love. Peter tried to get a good look at the face of the dentist, only to find…it wasn’t the dentist at all. It was a man he had never seen before. He was a man of average height, with a deeply receded hairline. What was left on his head was a tufty gray fringe, and he wore a pair of lopsided round spectacles that appeared to be sliding down toward the tip of his bulbous nose. He was wearing a black tux that matched all of the other men in the wedding, but on this man, the suit looked frumpy, as if he had slept in it the night before. The man stumbled slightly, and Peter’s daughter caught his arm. They looked at each other and giggled before continuing their walk. When they made it to the altar, the groom stepped forward to meet them. His daughter kissed the older man on the cheek, took the groom’s hand, and went the last few steps to stand in front of the justice of peace, to be finally joined in holy matrimony. The ceremony progressed, and then came to its conclusion. The bride and groom kissed, everyone applauded, and the wedding party receded back up the aisle. Peter wiped the tears from his eyes. They were tears of joy, and tears of loss.

Peter Reed had lost years with his family. They were years that he spent searching, trying to find out the truth about himself, and by extension, his family. He did what he felt he had to, to protect them, and to be completely honest, himself. It made sense that they had all moved on. They had to. He wanted that for them. They were not obligated to stay in stasis until he returned. He wasn’t even sure he was ready to return. He only wanted to watch, and maybe establish some sort of brief contact…

“Hey, you, what are you doing back there?”

Peter turned to look behind him. There was a man in the formal clothing of a catering staff. He was holding a sealed trash bag in each hand, apparently bringing them out to the dumpster nearby. “I…uh, I’m just…”

“I told the other guy that came by earlier the family said we could leave any leftovers out on the south side of the venue after everyone leaves. But in the meantime, you need to clear out.” He turned to leave but then turned back quickly. “Oh, will you all be needing utensils? I can make sure we leave you some plastic forks and knives. And maybe some disposable napkins if you want.”

“I don’t…I guess…”

The man shook his head. “Listen,” he said apologetically. “I understand. I’ve been through some hard times myself. It’s hard to believe that our country has come to this, especially in a place like Wisteria. I’m sorry they don’t let you guys stay in the shelter during the daytime hours. I can’t imagine it’s easy to have to wander around all day. At least there are some shady trees at the park. If it gets too hot, I think the community center has an air-conditioned area where you can go and rest and get something cold to drink. And then come back later for the food. Probably around six?”

Peter stared at the man, and then he nodded. “Okay,” he said. “Yeah, thank you. You’ve been very generous. I’ll…I’ll just go.” He turned back toward the courtyard and took one more look. He saw her, his daughter. Kaya. She was standing on the lawn, talking to the dentist. The dentist had his hand on her elbow. On her right was the groom. His name was Grayson Pike. His son-in-law. Peter swallowed. He took one more sweeping look over the group of guests at the reception. There was Janice, his ex-wife, talking to Peter’s own parents, Tom and Candice. They all laughed. It made him happy to see them still being friendly with each other. Janice had never done anything wrong. She deserved to have their love and support. Maybe they had even befriended the dentist. And there, sitting at another table, was Graham, his first-born child. Graham had become a man. He was sitting next to his wife. Her name was Gina. She had her hand on her protruding belly, and she was smiling. The older man, the one who had walked his daughter down the aisle, was sitting at the same table, and he was talking. He was also looking around, as if he had lost something. Then he bent down and looked under the table. He came back up and shrugged. Graham and Gina laughed. Peter turned away. He was intruding here. He had to leave. If he didn’t leave now…he took a few steps forward.

“Hey!”

Peter stopped, but he didn’t turn around. 

“Hey! You! Stop.”

Peter took another step toward the street, praying his face had been shielded well enough by his baseball cap.

“I said stop! Come on! I can’t run in these heels. Give me a break.”

Peter took a breath, and closed his eyes. Then he opened them again, and turned around. And there she stood, about twenty feet away. He took off his hat.

She ran up to the edge of the courtyard, looking over the hedge at the sidewalk. When he looked at her, she stopped in her tracks, her mouth agape, eyes focused on the sight before her. A full minute passed as they stared at each other. Just as she went to take a step toward him, her new husband was at her side. “Kaya, what is it?” he asked, putting his hand on her arm.

She looked at him, and then back at Peter. She pointed. “Him,” she said.

“That’s the guy I saw behind the bushes during the ceremony,” Grayson said. “I’ll go talk to him.” He took a few steps toward the sidewalk, but Kaya grabbed his arm.

“Grayson,” she said softly. “No.” She held his arm tightly. “I…I need to go. Grayson…I thought he was just some creepy guy, gawking at us, but…that’s…I think that’s…”

“I’m  her father,” Peter said, taking a step toward her.

Kaya continued to stare, and then a sly smile spread across her face. “I knew you’d come,” she said. “I told Graham, years ago. I told him you’d come to my wedding, and you’d watch me get married, and then we’d talk…” She reached out toward him.

Peter quickly took a step back. “No, Kaya,” he said. “No. Not yet.”

Kaya jerked back, her arm still outstretched. She looked at her hand. “I…oh my God.” She dropped her arm to her side. “So it’s true,” she whispered.

“What’s true?” Grayson asked. He looked up and glared at Peter. “This is the absolute worst time that you could have shown up, Mr. Reed. This is our wedding day.”

Kaya nodded slowly, looking at her feet. “It’s the happiest day of my life.”

Grayson looked at her. “Kaya, what do you want me to do?” he asked, desperate to do something. “How can I help you?”

Kaya looked at him gratefully. “Go get Graham, babe,” she said. “But don’t tell him why. Just tell him I need him right now.”

Grayson nodded. He looked at Peter one more time, shooting him a warning look. “I’ll be right back,” he said, and he jogged away.

“He’s great,” Peter said. “I can tell. He really loves you.”

Kaya laughed bitterly. “So you don’t even need to touch him to tell, huh? I guess your skills are really advanced.”

Peter smiled at his daughter, although confused by her words. “You don’t need any special skills,” he told her, “to be able to see when a man is madly in love with your daughter. I could see it in every part of him. You did great, Kaya.”

“And you remember my name.” 

That statement ripped at Peter’s heart. “Your name,” he said. “I chose it, you know. Your mother had no idea what to name you. She was reading out loud from this baby name book she had taken out of the library. When she read off Kaya, I suddenly remembered a trip I had taken to Jamaica during spring break in college. These local guys were walking around the beach, trying to sell pot to tourists. They called it kaya. So when your mother said the name, it hit me funny, and I told her that was the name I wanted. I didn’t tell her why at first. She just thought it was pretty.”

“Everyone thinks it’s pretty,” Kaya said. “Some people ask me if it’s Hawaiian. I looked it up. It actually is a Hawaiian word. It means the sea. I think I like that better than meaning pot in Jamaican.”

Peter laughed. “Do you like the sea? Have you ever been?”

“No, “she said, rubbing her arms with her hands, as if she was cold. “I plan to, though, someday.”

Peter nodded. “We have so much to catch up on.”

Grayson ran back over. “Graham is coming,” he said. “He didn’t want to leave Gina alone, so he was bringing her over to your mom.” He turned to Peter. “She’s almost at full term,” he said. 

Peter could tell that Grayson was trying to convey a message to him. The message was, “This is my territory. These are my people. You don’t belong here. Watch your step.” He nodded. “I could see her earlier. She looks beautiful.”

Kaya looked toward the courtyard as her brother walked calmly over to the small group. “What’s up, Ky?” he asked. “Are those homeless guys from before bothering you again?” He looked toward the man on the sidewalk. At first, it appeared that he hadn’t made the connection. Then he looked back again and nodded. “Hello, Dad,” he said, still remaining calm.

“Hello, Graham,” he said. “Congratulations on the wife and baby.”

Graham nodded. “Thank you,” he said. He turned to Kaya. “Do you want me to…do anything right now?”

Kaya looked back and forth between her brother and her father. “He doesn’t want me to touch him,” she said.

Graham thought for a moment. “So we were right then.”

Peter watched his son’s face. “What were you right about?” he asked quizzically.

“You have the skill,” Graham said.

“What skill?” Peter asked.

“Oh for God’s sake, Dad,” Kaya exclaimed. “You know very well what skill.”

“Maybe I do,” Peter answered. “But maybe what some people call a skill, others call a curse.”

“And that’s why you left me to deal with the curse all by myself?” Kaya snapped.

Grayson stepped up. “I really don’t think this is the right time to get into this.” He turned to Graham for support.

Graham nodded. “Dad, I’m not sure what to do or say right now. Kaya suspected a long time ago that you would appear at her wedding,  behind the bushes. You did exactly that. I also remember her telling me that when you did show up at her wedding, she wouldn’t be angry, and she wouldn’t turn you away.” He looked at Kaya. “Remember that, Kaya? You said that you would listen to what he had to say.”

Kaya’s face softened. “I did say that.” 

“Kaya!” a female voice called out. “The photographer needs you.”

Kaya looked back at Peter. “This is my wedding day,” she said. “I…I guess I’m glad you showed up. It’s like you fulfilled a prophecy. But like Grayson said, this is not the time or place to get into this conversation. I do want to talk to you.  We have a lot to catch up on.” She reached for Grayson’s hand.

“Wait!” Peter called out quickly. He didn’t want the moment to end. He wanted to gaze at his daughter in her wedding dress for just a little bit longer. “Who was that guy, the one that walked you down the aisle? I know it wasn’t Steve Flagg.”

Graham shook his head. “You know about Steve?” he asked. “Well, I guess if you know about Kaya and Grayson getting married, you’d know about Mom and Steve’s engagement.”

“That’s Dr. Blake,” Kaya said. “He’s a close family friend. Graham and I met him at State. He’s…helped us a lot over the past few years. He’s been, well, like a father to me. I couldn’t think of anyone else I’d want to walk me down the aisle. And Dr. Blake, well, he knows things. About me. About us.” She motioned to her brother. “And I guess, by association, about you, too.”

Peter winced. “About me? What about me? What does this man know?”

Grayson spoke up. “Listen, Mr. Reed…”

“Peter, please.”

Grayson nodded. “Peter. We have pictures to take, and people to greet. Graham, can you…”

Graham nodded. “You two go back. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” 

Kaya gave Peter one last faint smile, and then walked away with her husband, hand in hand. 

Peter looked at Graham. There was so much he wanted to know, including what this Dr. Blake knew about his family, but right now, his son was standing right in front of him, all grown up. His face relaxed. “You must be close to six feet tall,” he said.

Graham laughed awkwardly. “Five-ten,” he said. “I think these shoes give me a little bit of extra height. I never got as tall as you, or even Grandpa.” He looked more carefully at his father. “I guess it’s a good thing for me that male pattern baldness comes from the mother’s side of the family, huh?”

Peter’s hand went straight to the top of his head. “It’s not that,” he said. “It’s just some thinning on top. Most of it has grown back.” He chuckled. “It started during a stressful period of time in my life, soon after I left…Wisteria. I started to pull some of it out methodically, when I was anxious. There’s actually a name for it. Trichotillomania.”

“Huh,” Graham said. “Is it hereditary?”

“I don’t think so.” Peter took a step onto the lawn, closer to his son. “Some things are just learned.”

Graham nodded. “I’m in school to become a psychologist,” he said. “I’ve been working in research for a few years, but now I’m back in grad school. It’s a bit different than that path you took.”

“To say the least,” Peter said. “I guess advertising isn’t for the faint of heart. But you’ve done well, Graham. I’ve followed your progress since high school.”

Graham looked at the ground. “I always wondered if you knew what we were up to.” He looked back up. “Internet?”

Peter nodded. “Internet. Son, I have to say I’m very proud of you. Of both you and Kaya. You’ve really done well. I was a bit skeptical when I saw that Kaya had been working for the police, and was planning on attending the police academy. I’m both proud and scared for her. She’s a brave girl.”

“Woman,” Graham corrected. “She’s easily the bravest person I’ve ever known.” He turned back to look at the crowd at the reception. He caught sight of Gina, still talking to his mother and her fiancé. “So do you want to wait, or do you want to talk about the elephant in the courtyard right now?”

Peter felt a palpitation in his chest. “The elephant?” he asked. “What elephant are you referring to?”

Graham smiled in amusement. “I might still be young, Dad,” he said, “but I’m not stupid. It might have taken us a long time to figure out what was going on with Kaya, and most likely with you, but we did figure it out eventually, and the hard way. Dad, Dr. Blake has found out that Kaya has the anomaly. I’ve been tested, and I have it too, but it doesn’t express itself the way Kaya’s does. We’re assuming we got the anomaly from your side of the family, but we’d have to do some testing to know for certain. We’d probably want to consider bringing in Grandma and Grandpa, too.”

Peter looked at Graham, his eyes wide. “Son,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re gonna have to enlighten me. Because you’re saying a lot of things here. A lot of confusing things. And to be honest with you, I have no idea what in the hell you’re going on about.”

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I hope you enjoyed the sneak peek at my new book, and that you will look for it on Amazon, KU, and Barnes and Noble later this month. It will also be available on Ingram Spark in case you want to order it at your favorite book store. Be sure to check my social media pages for more information!

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