JILL tries to avoid talking to herself but always allows private laugh-out-loud moments when there’s no one around. This morning, standing alone in her spare bedroom, arms heavily loaded with a huge p

DO you think Ellen would enjoy living here?” Scott asked his wife dubiously. “I don’t know. But we have to make the offer,” Hannah replied. Ellen, Scott’s older sister, was a sharp-tongued woman, quic

NEW YEAR’S EVE ”Have you made any resolutions?” Sophie asked. Emma put her phone on speaker as she poured a cup of tea. No Champagne for her tonight. “No. Every year I resolve to exercise more and tak

JANUARY 1. Hazel sat in the quiet cottage. It was one of two, semidetached, on the outskirts of the village, completely surrounded by fields. When she looked out of the window, all she saw was unrelen

WHEN Jade’s phone rang and the name “Mum” appeared on screen, her first reaction was to reject the call. Her mum communicated with her frequently, normally by text message, and often for the most mund

HAVE you seen the latest from Down Under?” Kelly wandered into the kitchen one Tuesday morning, hair all over the place and eyes still full of sleep. Lynne glanced up from her notebook, where she was