A Thanksgiving Dilemma (Excerpt Only) - BWWM Romance

Prologue

Karen appreciated that her sister said nothing about the obvious boxes of baby stuff, but she didn't appreciate the look of abject pity as she hauled them into her younger sibling's large home.

For the most part, Karen lived minimally, so moving into Tamara's place required just one trip in a regular sedan. She hadn't needed a U-haul at all.

She could've cut down on the number of trips from her car to Tamara's house by shedding the baby items before the move. She simply hadn't been able to bring herself to get rid of anything—not even the baby magazines.

At least Tamara had enough empathy not to mention all the deadweight so far; besides, they weren't exactly short on space—Tamara's new house was a three-bedroom split-level, way more than a single, childless woman needed.

"Looks like you're all set!" Tamara said as they brought the last of Karen's belongings inside. "As I said before, you can stay as long as you need to. I'm glad to have you here while I'm gone, but don't feel like you need to leave right away when I return—it's not like I don't have the room to hold you," she said, gesturing at the generous space.

Karen smiled at the echo of her thoughts and at her sister's kindness. She was glad things had worked out so she could be here for Tamara in this way—house-sitting for her while she was away—but not so thrilled with how things had worked out to bring her to this point.

Still, here she was, living rent-free by herself in a large, nearly empty house for two months while she worked out the next phase of her life.

Although her bank accounts could cover her for two years of not working, she wasn't the type who enjoyed sitting back and doing nothing.

She'd once met a woman who'd said she'd be quite happy to watch TV and lounge by pools all day if money was no longer an issue, and Karen knew a lot of people must feel that way, but she couldn't imagine it; the boredom would kill her.

It's not like she had it like that anyway. Maybe if the hundreds of thousands she'd squirreled away was hundreds of millions instead, she'd see things differently and do as her sister was doing for a time—hopping from place to place, staying in nice accommodations, getting pampered, trying new food. But wouldn't that get old after doing it for years, or even one year?

Either way, Karen had a desire to learn new things, to occupy her time with something that felt worthy. To make a difference in some way.

Anything to keep her mind off all the things she'd lost.