The house next door had stood empty for many months and the weeds in the overgrown garden were spreading into my flower borders, becoming a nuisance. I’d taken early retirement when Jack became too il

I WOKE up after a vivid dream of Eleanor. I’d had quite a few recently. Eleanor was my half-sister. She was older than me – the daughter of Dad’s first wife, Dorrie. My mum only found out he had a fir

Julie stared out of the window at her garden, mostly bare branches with only a few spots of colour in the deep red of the dogwood and silver cineraria. She sighed – it was that unsettling period after

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

SISSIE sighed with relief as a wintry Oban came into view. Her Morris Minor was behaving, but it always felt good to complete the long drive from Glasgow. The sea was sparkling and the air frosty as t

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