It's Teaser Tuesday!!! Let's take a look at something you won't get to read in the Sample for "Could've Been Something."
Could've Been Something is my collection of short stories that I released last week. Have you had the chance to download it or the sample yet?
Here is something you definitely won't find in the sample. This comes from the longer short story, "One Hell of a Best Seller." (You'll find this excerpt on pages 273-276)
**********
Gia got ready for her date. This date’s name was Rob, and he was a firefighter. She figured Mason would probably have some words about that. “Dating a pinup boy?” she was sure he’d say. As she drove to Heston, she felt kind-of guilty for not at least texting Mason to see how he was doing. She did feel nervous about this. She felt frightened, unsure, and rather excited about the potential of this date. Rob had seemed like a great guy. They texted mostly, but then talked twice on the phone last night.
She arrived in Heston at the restaurant. She was shown to her seat and given water and some bread with butter. Then she waited. After fifteen minutes, the waiter stopped by to take her order. She hesitated and looked at the phone. No message whatsoever. She frowned. Had he shown up, seen her, and then just left because he didn’t like what he saw? After twenty minutes, she did just go ahead and order, then began to scribble her thoughts and feelings down in her notebook. She ate a silent dinner, feeling rejected and lesser of a person. All sorts of things went through her mind. She even sent Rob a message, asking him where he was and had she got the day wrong? She looked back at their conversation. Nope. They both confirmed the day, time, and place several times. When she finished, she looked at her phone again.
Nothing.
Alright. Her date stood her up.
That was a first.
She paid for her dinner and then began the journey back to Veil Falls. Her mind was already developing a story, so she picked up her phone, put it on speaker, and dialed Lexi’s number.
“OK,” Lexi’s voice came. “The date must’ve been a real disaster if you’re calling me this early. Or did it go so well that you’re headed back to his place to research?”
“He stood me up,” Gia frowned.
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry.”
“It gave me time to think,” Gia frowned. “And the food at that restaurant is rather good. I’d go back there for dinner.”
“You still got material for the book then?”
“Yeah, it wasn’t such a huge disaster,” Gia agreed. “Please tell me you didn’t tell Mason. This was a big fat nothing.”
“No, I haven’t seen or heard from him today,” Lexi replied. “I did text him, but he never responded. I hope he’s ok. I haven’t seen him since Monday.”
“He told me he needed time to himself. I’ll see him tomorrow.”
“I hate it when he goes dark like this,” Lexi frowned. “And as far as you go, I want to hear every last detail of this asshole who stood you up, so stop by the bar on the way home. Tell me more.”
“OK, see you in a few. I’m going to go home first and change, feed my cows. I’m too fancy for the bar,” Gia told Lexi as she frowned. “You know, Lex, being stood up is detrimental to a girl’s confidence. I really hate it.”
“Aw, go home, put on some sexy outfit then come into the bar. Maybe a tall, dark, and handsome stranger will blow into town, and call you ‘little lady’ with a husky, cowboy accented voice.”
“See you in an hour or two, Lex,” Gia grinned and hung up. Snow was now blowing down in a sudden storm. Great. Just what she needed. Halfway back, in a full snowstorm, her wheel tugged right, and the tires began thumping as if they were flat. She swore at her luck, pulled over safely to the side of the road. With her flashers on, she got out to check the tire. She frowned and muttered when she realized she had two flat tires on the passenger side. What the hell had she hit? Then a snow flurry circled around her, and a chill went down her spine.
What if her tires had been tampered with?
She quickly looked around. “Damn it,” she swore then climbed back into the warmth of the cab, locked her doors, reached over for the hoof pick from her ranch bucket and looked around behind her. Not one vehicle could be seen. She brought out her phone, knowing there was no way she could get herself out of this predicament. “Of course, I’d have no service,” she muttered. She rubbed her hands together and considered her options. No phone service. At least she still had a full tank of gas, so she’d warm herself in increments of so many minutes to keep warm. Someone always happened by, and someone would pull over to help. Whoever was on duty from the department would creep down this road at some point, too.
She started her truck, turned the heater up and sat there. She brought out a notebook and began writing about her predicament, imagining all that could happen to her. This would be a good start to an Ash Cooper novel, she thought.
After an hour, only two cars had blown by her in the snow, both heading toward Heston. Neither hit their taillights. Maybe they’d call it into the Sheriff’s Office, she hoped. But thirty more minutes passed. She was about to get disgruntled, thinking of someone finding her frozen body in a buried truck only when the snowplow hit it when she saw some red and blue lights pulling in behind her. Her heart jumped with joy. Maybe it was Mason looking for her.
A bundled-up man in a law enforcement snow jacket and beanie with the state trooper patch knocked on her window....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Liked this teaser? There’s more. Find out what happens next and head over to Amazon or Barnesandnoble.com to pre-order the book! It’s available as an eBook, a paperback, and in hard cover!!
Comments
Post a Comment