Back Before Dawn

It's a struggle to find a soulmate.

Every day I paste a smile on my face, get my kids out the door to school, take care of my clients eight hours a day, and pray that my commissions cover the bills. During the last thirteen years, I married and divorced two disappointing men. The divorces were terrible. I'm partly to blame for the failed marriages, but the bulk of it was their fault. I promise.

I'm still in touch with my first husband out of necessity since he's the father of my kids, but it's a train wreck since we can't stand each other.

I love my kids with all my heart, but I'm tired of raising them alone.

Late at night, after they are asleep, I log onto my three favorite dating apps and dream that the next swipe could change my life. The attention I receive online makes me forget that I'm a frantic single mom with the weight of the world on my shoulders. Most nights, I run out to meet a match if they sound promising, but many of these guys are tragically dysfunctional in person, and one of them even started stalking me. I had to file a protective order. My friends tell me that my life is spinning out of control, but I know my soulmate is out there.

I just have to find him.

Don't judge me.

I'm always back before dawn.

Kerry Peresta is the author of the popular Olivia Callahan Suspense series and Back Before Dawn, standalone suspense. Additional writing credits include a popular newspaper and e-zine humor column, "The Lighter Side," the short story "The Day the Migraine Died," published in Rock, Roll, and Ruin: A Triangle Sisters in Crime Anthology, articles published in Local Life Magazine, The Bluffton Breeze, Lady Lowcountry, and Island Events Magazine. She is past chapter president of the Maryland Writers' Association and a current member and presenter of the Pat Conroy Literary Center; a member of Hilton Head Island Writers' Network, South Carolina Writers Association, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Kerry is the mother of four adult children, and spent thirty years in advertising as an account manager, creative director, copywriter, and editor. When she's not writing, you'll find her working out, riding her bike, or enjoying the beach and Lowcountry marshes of Hilton Head. Kerry and her husband moved to Hilton Head Island, SC in 2015.