Fire

Introduction

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These pages contain excerpts and rough draft versions of chapters from a book I have been writing for the past eighteen months. It chronicles the special bond between the main character (Jack), two young girls (Holly and Jennifer), and the experiences they share together.

The complete novel, when finished, will actually begin much earlier in Jack's life in order to provide personality characteristics and other historical information that will make these later chapters make sense. I chose not to include the earlier parts of the book here because it does move a bit more slowly, and I know you are here to read about a specific series of events in Jack's life. However, it may help to know a little about the most recent few years leading up to this part of the book, in which we enter the story around August 2004.

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In February 1999, when Jack was thirty-nine years old, he met Cherise, the seven-year old daughter of his employer at a restaurant. Jack and Cherise got to know each other well, and formed a very close relationship that lasted five years. They were torn apart by Cherise's parents when they discovered the relationship, and Jack was forced to move away.

The end of the relationship was full of hard choices and heartreaking moments, but Cherise vowed to look for Jack when she turned fourteen, which is the age of consent in their home country of Canada. Jack barely avoided jail, and decided he would wait for Cherise, moving only twelve miles away to make it easier for her to find him four years down the road.

This is where the following chapters come in. Jack has moved to a new town, expecting to live quietly and unknown to his new neighbors. He works out of his home office as a website designer, and intends to keep to himself, waiting for the day when he and Cherise can reunite -- if they do. The future is never sure, and whatever it held for him, Jack was willing to take. In the end, he really had no choice.

The story is told in the first person from Jack's perspective as he lived it. I hope you enjoy reading it. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me. If you're reading this, you know how to find my address. ;-) Click here to begin reading Part 1. There are links to the right and at bottom of every page for all other parts.