Here's an unedited excerpt of "Raising Shawna" for you all to enjoy:



Shane waved at the last neighbor to leave his house after the party and closed the door behind him. He sighed exhaustedly and walked into the kitchen to help Stephen and Natalie clean up and froze at the sight of them locked in a passionate embrace. Covering his mouth to stifle the chuckle that threatened to erupt, he backed out of the room slowly and walked towards the living room. What he saw there froze him in his tracks. Shawna stood on a chair looking at a picture of his brother, Shawn. Her arms were folded across her chest and her head was tilted to the side as she studied the photo and Shane trembled. Her pose was extremely reminiscent of Shawn’s pose whenever he was thinking of something very important. Even the way her lips were pursed reminded him of his twin. He didn’t move, merely stood in the entrance to the living room and watched her as she looked at the photo. It was almost as if she were having a silent conversation with Shawn as she nodded her head every so often. Should he be concerned? Should he say something to Natalie or call Khaty and see if perhaps Shawna had done the same thing at the shelter? What if she needed to see someone? Like a therapist or psychologist?
He must have stood there thinking to himself for too long because before he knew it, Shawna stood before him, tugging on the bottom of his shirt. He looked down at her and gave her a wobbly smile. His mind whirled with what he should do. Then he realized that he was just overreacting. So what if Shawna reminded him of his brother Shawn. And so what if she looked at his picture nodding her head. Maybe she thought she was looking at a picture of Shane. Though he and Shawn only favored each other in the face, the picture was only of Shawn’s face. He had to stop freaking out over everything or he would be one of those overbearing parents that wanted to keep their children in a plastic bubble just to keep them away from all of the dangers of the world. Although what kind of bubble would he need to prevent anyone from seriously hurting his child?
“Shane?” Shawna’s soft voice penetrated his introspective fog and he blinked at her a few times before smiling wide at her.
“Yes, honey?” he responded as he crouched in front of her.
Shawna quirked an eyebrow at him as if she wasn’t sure of his easy question. Shawn used to quirk his eyebrow at me too. Shane gave himself a mental shake and focused on Shawna’s face.
“Can I watch tv?” she asked him.
Shane looked at the clock and saw that it was eight o’clock. Shaking his head he gave her a sad smile. He and Natalie had spoken in length about bedtimes and staying firm on rules. He wanted to tell Shawna she could stay up as late as she wanted and do anything she wanted to do, but he knew, without having to consult with Natalie, that would be bad parenting.
“No, honey. Sorry. It’s time for bed,” he told her. She glanced over at the blank television screen and back at him.
“Awe you suwe?” she asked him.
Shane laughed. “Yes, I’m sure, puddin’. Now let’s get you ready for bed, huh?” he said before rising and holding out a hand for her to take. Her small hand slid into his larger one and Shane found himself turning to his right as if he were going to slide his other hand into some other man’s hand and was surprised to find no one there next to him. He needed to go on a date, or get laid, one or the other, because this was getting ridiculous.