Cold Waters (Normal, Alabama #1)

by Debbie Herbert

Tired in the way that an emotional day drains your energy quicker than digging ditches.

If I kept my mind focused on executing those three tasks, I could function until I was safely home and the anxiety pills had had time to cast their calming enchantment.

I ached for the blank void of sleep, but I had responsibilities—a new and unwelcome burden.

But interpreting other people’s emotions placed me on dangerous ground.

My counselors and psychiatrist had deemed me capable of functioning in the real world, but I couldn’t help my own self-doubts. They pecked away at my core in a constant drumbeat of anxiety.

I much preferred the gentle, fading light of evening with its promise of sleep and oblivion around the corner.

But groggy and grumpy I could handle. A sleepless night questioning my sanity—and my basic human decency—was far, far worse.