Sneak Peek, Sniffing Sand

A quick, teeny-tiny excerpt from my upcoming novel, Sniffing Sand...


Nina pushed herself between the papers Kevin held in front of him like a shield and his body. His heart thudded against her chest as she placed her chin on his shoulder. He was stiff and unresponsive, but she kissed the angle of his jaw anyway. Once. Twice. With the third kiss, Nina felt his body relax.

She took a step to the side, and turned their bodies so they faced the back of the building lot. The aquamarine water of Chincoteague Bay sparkled, changing with each shift of the current. It looked alive. Their land sloped gradually down to the sandy beach where water lapped at the shoreline. A sandpiper scurried the shore, intent on finding its dinner. Nina saw a whelk at the high tide line. The salt air filled her lungs as she inhaled deeply, willing her own heart to stop galloping. Every scuffle with Kevin—and lately there were a lot of them—upset her. How could it not? Just when she thought her deepest desires were becoming a reality, she had to fight repeatedly with the man meant to share those dreams.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Nina whispered.

At first she thought he might not answer, but after a long, silent minute Kevin nodded. “Yeah. Beautiful. And expensive.”

The house fight was over—for now, at least—and that was all that mattered to Nina. If she had to, she’d keep the peace one tiny piece at a time.


Nina turned from the living area and walked to the kitchen area. She swept a hand over the rich green marble countertop. It had been costly, but it was beautiful. So were the warm custom cherry cabinets and modern, stainless steel appliances. A wrought iron pot rack hung above an island, expensive Calphalon pots in a wealth of sizes dangling from hooks.

Sighing, she faced the back, all-glass wall, and stared out at the water. It sparkled now in much the same way it had when she and Kevin had argued over the countertop. The water was a constant, one of the few things in Nina’s dream that hadn’t been swept away like the tide.

She stood alone in the house.