"Be careful, Mom. What did you trip over?" Frankie’s eyes scanned the spot where Selma had tripped. "Looks like a broken branch," she said, bending down to pick it up to move it out of the way to prevent someone else from tripping. Her eye caught sight of something that looked like a boot lying in the snow. She moved to the back of the tree and squatted down to get a better look. She brushed the snow off the boot and discovered that it was a dark brown work style boot. As she continued brushing off the snow, she stopped suddenly. A chill ran up her spine. The boot was attached to a body. She immediately thought someone had suffered a heart attack while tree hunting. Surely if it were busy at the lot no one may have noticed especially since they had moved further down the lot beyond the usual assortment of trees.
Saturday, July 29, 2023
Saturday, July 22, 2023
Saturday's Excerpt – Partners: The Other Woman
"Hello. Is Jo here?" the stranger asked, shaking snow from her unbuttoned long sleek black coat as she glanced disapprovingly around the office.
Frankie eyed the woman skeptically. She’d never heard anyone call Johanna ‘Jo’ before. Johanna hated to be called Jo, so she assumed the woman might be looking for someone else. "Do you mean Johanna Obrien?"
The blonde tossed her hair impatiently. "Of course. Who else would I mean? Is she here?" she snapped as her eyes drifted to the door leading to the storage area. "It’s urgent!"
"No. I’m sorry. She’s on vacation for the next two weeks. Maybe I can help you."
"I need to talk to Jo immediately. This doesn’t concern anyone else and I don’t care to discuss it with anyone other than Jo."
"If you’d like to stop back in a couple of weeks we’ll be happy to talk to you." Frankie moved to her desk, grabbed a business card and walked back to the woman. "You can call the office to set up an appointment."
"No. That won’t do," she replied irritably. "Give me a number where I can reach Jo immediately. I’m sure she has a cell phone. I can’t wait until she returns in a couple of weeks!"
Frankie’s jaw twitched as she fought to keep her temper under control. She kept her voice level as she looked at the woman. "If you call this number the call will be forwarded to her home phone. If it’s as urgent as you say, then I’m sure she’ll call you back immediately."
The blonde’s eyes narrowed. "I’m sure she won’t mind if you give me her private number. In fact, I can assure you that she’ll probably be pleased to see me." Her eyes swept distastefully over Frankie as they moved from Frankie’s red blouse, black leather jacket, tight black jeans and finally to her two-inch heeled bootclad feet before she raised them level to Frankie’s eyes again.
Saturday, July 15, 2023
Excerpt – Partners: The Wrong Corpse
Johanna leaned back in her soft leather chair and frowned at Frankie. "I don’t like him. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s something off about him."
Frankie laughed. "You’ve read my mind. Great minds think alike."
"Ah, that’s why we work so well together." She glanced at the notes she’d taken. "So, any ideas? Or were you tuning him out? You seemed to be daydreaming."
"I can’t help myself when you’re dressed the way you are today. All I have to do is look at your legs and…well you know."
Johanna threw her head back and laughed. "I never dreamed I’d ever find someone who still turned me on as much as the day we first met."
Frankie grinned. "That’s what I was daydreaming about. It was torture waiting and hoping that you’d want me as much as I did you when we first met. I knew the first time we made love that I’d never get enough of you."
"That goes double for me, baby. So, where do you want to start with the Cassandra McHenry case?"
Saturday, July 8, 2023
Saturday's Excerpt – The Three Of Us
Caroline ran her hands through Lily’s beautiful dark brown hair. "I can’t wait until my mom finally meets you," she whispered. "She’s going to love you. But no one will ever love you as much as I do."
Lily propped herself up on an elbow. "I hope she at least likes me," she said with a wide smile. "So…" she said, running a fingertip under Caroline’s chin. "What did you tell your mother about me?"
"Not too much. I want her to meet you in person and see for herself that you’re as wonderful as I’ve said. And you know, I do think you’re wonderful," Caroline said, reaching her arms around Lily and drawing her closer. "I did tell her how kind and sweet you are to me. And that we’re getting married."
Lily’s eyes widened. "I wish I could have met her on one of her visits. She must think it odd that we’re getting married and she hasn’t even met me."
Saturday, July 1, 2023
Saturday's Excerpt – Heart's Desire
"Not a star in the sky tonight," Emma said. "And no street lights, or neon signs, City girl," she teased. "That’s why I left the car lights on…just until we get inside of the cabin." She shivered. "It’s getting chilly."
"Okay, let’s get inside and turn up the thermostat," Vanessa said. "Then I have something else on my mind."
"A one track mind. But I love it," Emma said giving Vanessa’s arm a squeeze. "Mr. Parker said there’s electricity and running water, but the only heat will be from the fireplace. He did assure me that there should be more than enough wood to last us through the weekend." She guided Vanessa up the steps to the cabin’s wide-open porch. She inhaled deeply. "It’s so refreshing." She stood for a minute staring out into the dark as she filled her lungs with the pure air. "Too bad it wasn’t warmer. It would be nice to sit out here on the porch."
Vanessa grinned. "I guess you weren’t kidding when you said we’d be in the middle of nowhere."
"Having second thoughts?" Emma’s eyes narrowed.
"Not on your life!" She spread her arms wide. "I feel so free. All the problems of the world seem so far away and unimportant."
Emma gave Vanessa’s arm another squeeze. "Good, because this is definitely total isolation. No one will disturb us." She shivered. "Let’s get inside now and light a fire." She unlocked the door and pushed it open. "Wait a second. Let me find the light switch." She felt around the wall and when her hand encountered it, she flicked it on. It was a low watt bulb, but cast a soft glow over the room. She frowned. It was a clean cabin, but very crude, with sparse furnishings. She steeled herself for Vanessa’s reaction as she held the door wide for Vanessa to pass through.