Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Thirty-One Days and Legos
    Thirty-One Days and Legos
    Thirty-One Days and Legos
    Ebook82 pages1 hour

    Thirty-One Days and Legos

    By S.A. Stovall

    4.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A Ranger Station Haven Christmas Novella

    Park rangers  Carter and Owen Williams have decided to expand their family and adopt two brothers—boys they rescued a year before when they tried to escape the foster system and flee to Canada. After completing their parenting classes, Carter, a reserved man who enjoys the simple life, swears he’ll be the best father possible. His patience is tested, however, when one brother adopts a cat out of the snowy Voyageurs National Park and the other brother refuses to talk about what’s bothering him.

    Owen wants to make sure their first Christmas together is a special one, and he decides all of December should be a celebration. He has an activity planned for each of the thirty-one days, but none of them seem to go off without a hitch. The cat has fleas, the boys need to attend a court hearing, and Carter is more than a little overwhelmed.

    But Carter is 100 percent determined to make his new family work. He just has no idea how….

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamspinner Press
    Release dateDec 11, 2017
    ISBN9781640802650
    Thirty-One Days and Legos
    Author

    S.A. Stovall

    S.A. Stovall grew up in California’s central valley with a single mother and little brother. Despite no one in her family having a degree higher than a GED, she put herself through college (earning a BA in History), and then continued on to law school where she obtained her Juris Doctorate. As a child, Stovall’s favorite novel was Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. The adventure on a deserted island opened her mind to ideas and realities she had never given thought before—and it was the moment Stovall realized that storytelling (specifically fiction) became her passion. Anything that told a story, be it a movie, book, video game, or comic, she had to experience. Now as a professor and author, Stovall wants to add her voice to the myriad of stories in the world, and she hopes you enjoy. You can contact her at the following addresses: Twitter: @GameOverStation Email: s.adelle.s@gmail.com

    Read more from S.A. Stovall

    Related to Thirty-One Days and Legos

    Titles in the series (2)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    LGBTQIA+ Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      After “The End”

      Oct 10, 2022

      I walked down the road with a hunched back and a wet cigarette in my mouth—the fire had died a while back. My hands were tucked into the pockets of my jacket, and my hair fell over my face, limiting my sight. But I wasn’t really seeing where I was go

      10 min read

    • Article

      The Space Between Us

      Oct 9, 2019

      The Space Between Us
      8 min read

    • Article

      Kids & Angels

      Jun 25, 2019

      Kids & Angels
      4 min read

    • Article

      Happy Families

      Aug 5, 2021

      Happy Families
      7 min read

    • Article

      Chouette

      Nov 12, 2021

      Chouette
      16 min read

    • Article

      Me & Davey Waters

      Jan 15, 2023

      Me & Davey Waters
      4 min read

    • Article

      Robin Abcarian: Parenting A Child Again Is A Challenge, A Joy And A Lesson About Who Comes First

      May 2, 2019

      It's not very often that you get a chance to relive something as profound as parenting a young child, but quite out of the blue four months ago, a little girl I love came to live with me. She is a close relative, and the circumstances that brought he

      4 min read

    • Article

      Part 2 A BOY CALLED EVEREST

      Feb 1, 2022

      Part 2 A BOY CALLED EVEREST
      5 min read

    • Article

      Not Just For CHRISTMAS

      Nov 24, 2021

      Not Just For CHRISTMAS
      9 min read

    • Article

      Balancing Act: My Kids Are On Vacation Without Me. It's Lovely And Terrible

      Aug 28, 2018

      "I just read that whole thing start-to-finish," my husband marveled. It wasn't "Middlemarch." It was a Tribune column about the 1968 Democratic National Convention. But he read it, start-to-finish, on a Sunday morning, which is normally a whirlwind o

      3 min read

    • Article

      One Thing I Can’t Explain

      Jan 24, 2019

      One Thing I Can’t Explain
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Doll

      Apr 14, 2022

      The Doll
      5 min read

    • Article

      Holiday Angels

      Oct 27, 2023

      Holiday Angels
      5 min read

    • Article

      Cricket League

      Jan 1, 2021

      “Psst, I need to talk to you.” My best friend, looking super excited, is pulling me toward the nearest classroom. It’s empty, and she shuts the door. “This is really big. I made a time machine, and it can take our brains back in time if you know how

      7 min read

    • Article

      Summer Reads

      Dec 30, 2019

      Summer Reads
      7 min read

    • Article

      Cricket League

      Jan 1, 2019

      Lydia Rosenburg, age 10 Bellingham, WA The boy curled against the rundown brick wall, too weak to even sit up. The pain behind his eyelids had dulled to a throb, but now his world was nothing but darkness. How long ago had it happened? Day and night,

      7 min read

    • Article

      Little Gods

      Jan 8, 2020

      Little Gods
      8 min read

    • Article

      Shruti Swamy

      Jun 15, 2018

      Not the scent of the smoke, but the sight of it, not the sight itself, but the screen through which it altered the sunlight—she couldn’t articulate the change exactly, it’s just that the light seemed odd, like the acidic light of a nightmare. She had

      13 min read

    • Article

      I Confronted My School Bullies

      Jul 3, 2019

      I Confronted My School Bullies
      6 min read

    • Article

      Summer Beach Reads

      Jan 10, 2021

      Summer Beach Reads
      7 min read

    • Article

      Keeping A Low Profile

      Jun 30, 2020

      Keeping A Low Profile
      6 min read

    • Article

      Judgment Day

      Jan 1, 2024

      Judgment Day
      6 min read

    • Article

      Search and Destroy

      Oct 24, 2017

      My daughter has bugs living in her hair. It is my job to kill them. The post Search and Destroy appeared first on Guernica.

      7 min read

    • Article

      Prometheus Bound In ISS

      Dec 10, 2021

      The room I’m in lacks character. Oh, it’s full of characters, all right, but none of them are the prizes of this fine institution. But as a room, it fits the basic definition. There are four walls, a door, the standard issued government purchased des

      16 min read

    • Article

      Dispatches From the Trenches of Domestic Life

      Mar 2, 2018

      Six years ago my wife gave me a pair of house slippers. My first ever. A domestic present I thought signaled some new phase of my life. I thanked her. Tried them on. Plush fur lined the inside. I stood up to make a show of enjoying them. Then she han

      6 min read

    • Article

      WINNERS APRIL 2021 STORY CONTEST A New Beginning

      Sep 1, 2021

      Tyler Rich, age 10 Grand Junction, CO The cage door opened. As I gazed into the forest, the memories came rushing back. Fire. Everywhere. Amber spirals licking at my fur, scorching my pelt. No escape. Hands. Then, darkness. I shrank farther back into

      8 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Thirty-One Days and Legos

    4.5/5

    3 ratings1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Book 2: Thirty-One Days and Legos
      POV: person, character
      Star rating - ?????
      Length: 57 pages

      Damn! I didn't think Carter and Owen's story could get any better, but this one knocked it out the park (excuse the pun!). Not only did it have all the Christmas cheer and chaos of a real family, but it handled the issues of fostering, suicide and foster care with delicacy and respect.

      Carter was just as humbug as I hoped, while the boys really helped brighten up his life. Owen was a shining star of Christmas fun and perfectly balanced the chaos and snark of Carter's POV. They worked together as a couple, as a family, and as individuals, in a way that not all books ? especially of this length ? can manage.

      I loved every minute!

      ~

      Favourite Quote

      ?Owen loves Christmas to a disturbing degree. If Christmas were a person, Owen would have an affair with it, there's no doubt in my mind.?

      ??Are you being optimistic?? Owen turns around and faces me, his jovial mood returning in full force. ?Carter, I rely on you to tell me the harsh, jaded truth of the world. You can't go switching roles with me.??

      ~

      OVERALL

      Both books were a joy to read. Perfect for sitting in front of a fire, snow falling outside, a cup of hot chocolate in hand, while enjoying the peace and quiet of a Christmas month. I know the second story says it can be read as a standalone, but I had to say that you get the best sense of Christmas warmth by reading both, one after the other. You have to read them together to really understand Carter and the growth he went through, adjusting from Tiny Tim's arrival in his life to having a cat called Legos. You have to read it to believe it.

    Book preview

    Thirty-One Days and Legos - S.A. Stovall

    Table of Contents

    Blurb

    Dedication

    Author’s Note

    Text

    More from S.A. Stovall

    About the Author

    By S.A. Stovall

    Visit Dreamspinner Press

    Copyright

    Thirty-One Days and Legos

    By S.A. Stovall

    A Ranger Station Haven Christmas Novella

    Park rangers Carter and Owen Williams have decided to expand their family and adopt two brothers—boys they rescued a year before when they tried to escape the foster system and flee to Canada. After completing their parenting classes, Carter, a reserved man who enjoys the simple life, swears he’ll be the best father possible. His patience is tested, however, when one brother adopts a cat out of the snowy Voyageurs National Park and the other brother refuses to talk about what’s bothering him.

    Owen wants to make sure their first Christmas together is a special one, and he decides all of December should be a celebration. He has an activity planned for each of the thirty-one days, but none of them seem to go off without a hitch. The cat has fleas, the boys need to attend a court hearing, and Carter is more than a little overwhelmed.

    But Carter is 100 percent determined to make his new family work. He just has no idea how….

    To Gail, for whom the story was written.

    Author’s Note

    THIS STORY is a sequel to the short story Ranger Station Haven, but it is not required in order to understand the events of Thirty-One Days and Legos.

    THE LOCAL community college is the last place I want to be. It’s a shabby building built in the seventies with yellowing paint, dirty windows, and cracked cement. Everything about it, right down to the flicking streetlight out front, feels sad and pathetic.

    What’s that frown for? Owen asks as he steps out of the truck. Tonight is our last night. Aren’t you ecstatic?

    Whoopee, I drawl, twirling a finger around in the air.

    Oh, come on. Don’t be like that. This is exciting!

    As exciting as having a tooth pulled.

    Owen walks around our 2010 Ford pickup and pats me on the shoulder. I avoid making eye contact with him as I lock the vehicle and start toward the neglected building. The Minnesota night sky is clear and filled with stars. It’s a better sight than the building, that’s for sure. Nice weather for mid-October, but chilly. Makes me wish our classes took place outside. Then again, I wish almost everything took place outside—nature has a way of soothing even the most troubled of souls.

    "Tonight’s topic is sustainable parenting," Owen says. He shoves his hands into his jean pockets and offers me a smile.

    Yeah, just what I need, I reply, someone to tell me how to parent.

    We’ve never been parents before. It’s a reasonable requirement for adoption.

    They don’t make pregnant women take parenting classes, I say, restraining my irritation but failing to keep my volume low. Some sixteen-year-old can get knocked up and raise her kid however she wants, but two fully grown men with careers have to pass a whole host of parenting classes before they can adopt a kid? Bullshit.

    I slam the front door open and stomp across the tacky green tiles of the school. Owen follows close—stopping once to make sure the front door doesn’t swing back hard when it closes—and keeps his smile about him.

    Well, that sixteen-year-old won’t have the tools we do, he says. We’re going to learn about the first signs of burnout, the three layers of stress, and how a parent’s stress affects the whole family. Sounds like valuable information to me.

    He recites everything verbatim from the damn pamphlet the class offered. How many times did he read it? Too many.

    I huff as I round the hall corner, heading straight for our classroom. The dim fluorescent lights grate my eyes. I know how to manage my stress, thank you very much. And I know how to take care of a couple of kids. You watch ’em close, you take ’em to school, you discipline ’em when they get out of line, and you feed ’em.

    You realize we’re adopting human children and not dogs, right? Owen asks as he lifts an eyebrow. I’m gonna need you to say it, Carter.

    I know we’re not talking about dogs, I snap.

    But there can’t be that much difference between young kids and dogs. Right? What more could a kid need?

    As I reach the classroom door, Owen steps in front of me. He’s a big guy—thick with muscle and shaped like a barrel—and I’m no pushover, but I’m not getting past him if he makes a deal of it. I stare at him, his gray-blue eyes searching mine.

    Carter, he begins, his voice low and serious, this was your idea.

    I— For a moment I stop and take a breath. I remember.

    Are you regretting going through with this? We still have time to back out if you are. The kids aren’t going to be with us for a couple of months.

    I’m not regretting anything. This is what I want. I narrow my gaze. It’s what you want too, right?

    Of course.

    Then why are we talking about this again?

    Owen closes the distance between us and wraps his arms around my body in a gentle embrace. Flustered, I glance over my shoulder. There’s no one in the halls, but that doesn’t diminish the heat I feel welling

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1