October Fest: A Murder-by-Month Mystery (21 page)

“I’ve given up on men,” I managed to choke out. “I’m going to be single forever.”

“Get off that egg,” Mrs. Berns said. “You don’t have the stones for it. You know you want him.”

She was right. I offered him a timid smile. His grin grew. He pushed off the door and sauntered down the steps toward me. He was sexy-on-a-stick, open and loving, and I wanted those lean hips against mine until I screamed out for more.

I heard Mrs. Berns shift in the car and chuckle. “I think tonight’s going to be a night to remember.”

“I’m scared,” I said, as Johnny neared.

She grabbed my hand and said just loud enough for me to hear, “It’s tough sometimes, Mira James, but when life squeezes you, you gotta trust your own juice.”

“Yeah,” I said, stepping forward and into Johnny’s arms. “I just might try that.”

About the Author

Jess Lourey spent her formative years in Paynesville, Minnesota, a small town not unlike the Murder-by-Month series’ Battle Lake. She teaches English and sociology full time at a two-year college. When not raising her wonderful kids, teaching, or writing, you can find her gardening and navigating the niceties and meanities of small-town life. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, the Loft, and Lake Superior Writers.