How To Grow Berries In Your Backyard?

“You.” I snapped my head up. A naked man marched into the kitchen. Heat rushed to my face. The man draped in tattoos and bronze skin glared at me. “What are you doing here?” I squeaked. “I should be the one asking you that.” He closed the gap between us, and his body slammed against mine, pinning me against the door. His hand wrapped around my neck. I dug my nails into his flesh but he didn’t flinch. “You’re with the Red Claw pack aren’t you?” He sneered and tightened his hold. “Screw…you,” I rasped. “Ezra,” Dad barked. “What?” “Put her down. She’s my daughter.” His hold loosened and I dropped to the floor. I held my neck and glared at him. “You have an eighteen-year-old daughter?” Alpha Ezra asked. Dad shrugged, “Twenty, but yes.” Summer is on the run from her former Alpha, and seeks refuge with her estranged Father. She hides a secret that could get her killed so the one person she must stay away from is the one she's drawn to the most. Alpha Ezra is sort of her Dad's best friend and logically off-limits but soon the lines between them blur and before they know it the desire is too hot to put out. Summer's past catches up with her and the only option is to cheat fate or repeat history. Ezra and Summer must work together or risk being ripped apart.

When I was seven, my father brought home a beautiful lady who gave me a mango. That day, my mother watched me happily eating the mango while she signed her name on the divorce papers. After that, she jumped off the roof of our building. From then on, mangoes became the nightmare of my life. So on my wedding day, I told my husband, Alan Holt, "If you ever want a divorce, just give me a mango." Alan pulled me into his arms, quiet. From then on, mangoes became off-limits for him, too. On Christmas Eve of our fifth year of marriage, Alan's childhood sweetheart, Larissa Fennimore, left a mango on his desk at the office. The very same day, Alan announced he was cutting ties with Larissa and fired her from the company. That day, I truly believed he was the man I was meant to be with. Half a year later, I flew back from overseas, having just closed a partnership deal worth about 200 million dollars. At the celebration dinner, Alan handed me a drink. After I had finished half the glass, his so-called childhood sweetheart, the woman who had been kicked out of the company, stood behind me with a big grin and asked, "Does the mango juice taste good?" I stared at Alan in disbelief, and he was trying hard not to laugh. "Don't be mad. Larissa insisted I played a little joke on you. I didn't actually give you a mango; I just gave you a bottle of mango juice. But I think she's right. The fact that you don't eat mangoes is a real problem. You were really enjoying that juice just now." My face went cold. I lifted my hand and threw the rest of the mango juice in his face, then turned around and walked away. Some things are never a joke. I wouldn't kid around with mangoes or divorce.

As soon as my neighbor, Shirley Lambert, walked past my house and peeked inside, her eyes lit up. "Mrs. Fisher, this place is huge. It has great lighting too. It'd make the perfect playroom for my son. "You live alone anyway. Just move into our living room. A two-bedroom apartment has more than enough space. "Since we're neighbors, I'll let you stay for free. No rent." I felt so irritated that I nearly gagged. She actually shoved past me into the house and started pointing around like she owned the place. "This crappy couch has to go. The living room would feel way bigger without it. "Oh, and the whole floor needs carpeting. That'd make it safe for my son when he runs around. "Also, why don't you have an air-conditioner? What if my precious boy gets a heat stroke? Could you even afford his medical bills?" She suddenly turned around and glared at me. "Mrs. Fisher, I'm talking to you. Are you deaf? Haven't you got any manners?" Anyone who didn't know better would've thought I was her servant and not her neighbor. I snorted. Clearly, she had no idea about my reputation as the neighborhood menace. "Well, I see you've got plenty of money, and I've got deep pockets. Why don't you hand all your cash over to me for keeping? "And if you like other people's houses so much, I'll write that for you in my letter to Santa this Christmas!"

Paige McDougall, a young witch running a successful orchard with her family, meets Charles one morning and feels an instant connection. But Paige knows that Witches should never get mixed up with mortals it’s usually a dangerous affair. Witches have to keep their powers hidden to keep them safe from humans or worse their mortal enemy; witch hunters. Paige's life is turned upside down when a powerful family secret surfaces, challenging her fate. Will their connection withstand these revelations, or will the truth keep them apart? When a witch hunter attacks her sacred garden Paige soon finds out her mother and father have been keeping a secret society of witches from her. With the help of her ancestors Paige will uncover the truth about the witch hunters and a secret realm of magic.

I gave out my special rat poison for free, trying to fix the complex's rat problem. And my neighbor Brenda turned right around and reported me. She demanded I pay out of pocket to have the rats disposed of humanely. I looked around at the neighbors. "I know a place that'll do it at cost," I said. "Extermination plus sanitizing runs about thirty grand. Split it across every unit and that's maybe twenty bucks a household—" Brenda cut me off before I could finish. "Nora, honey, you're the one who decided to trap those rats." "Why should everyone else foot the bill for that?" "And come on, it's a few hundred rats. You really need that kind of money?" "We're all neighbors here. Don't go shaking us down." I looked up at the neighbors, every one of them dodging my eyes. I couldn't help but smile. Fine. They all just want a free ride. Just don't come crying to me later.

Life isn't all roses, but it's also not all thorns; it's what you make it and the result of some decisions and steps you take along the way. Thorns & Roses is a coming-of-age story about Leila Adams, a high school student who experiences true friendship, terror, first love, abuse, betrayal and heartbreak while trying to find herself. Verbally abused constantly by her father, her self-esteem plummets drastically and she consequently puts up with a toxic relationship with her crush, Ackleth, and makes some poor decisions about her future. With the help of her best friend, Ella, she is able to fight her demons, dump her toxic boyfriend, get her self-esteem back on track and find true love again.