Family Counsel (The Samuel Collins Series Book 2) (27 page)

“That’s it!” Earl confirmed. “That’s the house I’m thinkin’ a gettin’.”

Everyone responded enthusiastically, but no one more so than
Oliver.  He ran over and pulled on my pant leg. “Destiny’s going to move in
that house!” he shouted.

 I looked down at my kid.  He had chocolate all over his face.
“Probably shouldn’t eat any more of that fudge,” I warned him, and Mrs. Howard
gave me a toothy grin.

“Can we put a doggy door in the fence?” Oliver asked, and when
I laughed out loud, he gave Maddie a try.  “Can we put a doggy door in the
fence?  Please, Mom!”

“We’ll see,” Maddie said. 

Now there’s a good evasive answer.  Why couldn’t I have come up
with that?

We hung out at the fence for a while, then headed back towards
civilization. Earl was carrying Destiny on his shoulders, and his smile was
matched only by hers.

“You’re going to put in an offer, right?” I asked hopefully. 
Now that I had a good neighbor lined up, it would suck to have some undesirable
swoop in and steal the house underneath his nose.

“I think I will,” Earl said, nodding his head.

“Excellent.  Just be prepared to be accosted by neighbors the
minute you move in,” I warned. 

“Okay.  Thanks.”

Later that night, after our friends and neighbors had left us
in peace, I was back in my wife’s arms, surrounded by three kids and three cats
in our bed that easily accommodated a family of five. I contemplated how lucky I
was.  The boys and cats were asleep and Morgan was in my arms, trying to stick
her finger up my nose.  The first story on the news was about the courthouse
drama.

“Here it is,” Maddie said, turning up the volume.

The anchor introduced the story with a picture of me, lying on
top of Mendoza, then the camera cut to a reporter standing under an umbrella on
the courthouse steps.  But just as the reporter was opening her mouth to speak,
the anchor interrupted, “
This just in
,” and the camera was back in the
newsroom. “
We’ve just received word of a new development in this sensational
courthouse drama! Rafael Mendoza, the man who was shot by police on the
courthouse steps this afternoon, has reportedly disappeared from his hospital
room without a trace
.”

Want more?

Check out
Advice of Counsel
,
a lighthearted and entertaining Mystery Romance and
Back on Solid Ground
,
a fast paced Action Romance novel.

ADVICE OF COUNSEL

(Book 1 of the Samuel
Collins Series)

by Debra Trueman

Young attorney Samuel Collins moves to the tranquil community
of Hollywood Park, Texas, wanting nothing more than to be left alone by his
nosy neighbors.  But between the 4-year-old kid from next door and the
80-year-old widow from across the street, he quickly finds himself drowning in
neighborhood hospitality. In no time, Samuel is representing neighbors on all
sides in various legal matters, but when two of his neighbors hire him to
revise their will to include one Landra Krally as a beneficiary, Sam smells a
rat.  He calls on his investigator friend, Niki Lautrec, to check her out, but
when Samuel ends up dating the subject of his investigation, things get
increasingly complicated. Samuel’s life, or death, may depend on the very
neighbors he had hoped to ignore. 

Available on Amazon
in paperback: 
http://amzn.com/1479376558

and on Kindle:
http://amzn.com/B00937920K

and through your local bookstore.

www.debratrueman.com

BACK ON SOLID GROUND

by
Debra Trueman

Bad-boy Niki Lautrec and his cohorts get more than they
bargained for after agreeing to kidnap the stunning and fiery redhead, Stacy
Trent. The stage is set when the men take Stacy hostage during a bank robbery
in Texas and fly her to a private island to await her delivery to their client.
Her captors quickly realize that their work is cut out for them in trying to
keep up with their hostage while trying not to become completely captivated by
her.  As the handoff of their hostage looms closer, the undeniable pull between
Niki and Stacy intensifies, and Niki must reassess his rejection of a psychic’s
prophesy that the two are soul mates.

Available on Amazon
in paperback:  http://amzn.com/1484041410

and on Kindle:  http://amzn.com/B00C7W5HEI

and through your
local bookstore.

www.debratrueman.com

Acknowledgements

A big thank you to my husband, Phillip Trueman, for his
invaluable input in the editing process of this book; to Richard Rowland and
Alex Rowland for letting me pick their respective brains on medical questions
relating to this book; to Holly Hagy and Susan Synek Nix for their constructive
criticism of the manuscript and fabulous ideas on edits; to my trusty Editor, Faye
Makarsky; to Olga Burger for the cover design; and to my father, Frank S.
Manitzas, who passed away just weeks before this work was published, for
teaching me the art of how to turn a phrase.