Here we are, getting prepared to jump head first into 2015. The promise of new beginnings has an allure that few of us can resist. For many of us, the last few years have held too much pain and many sorrows. There is always the dream that maybe…just maybe…dreams do come true. A new year beckons. Possibly, this will be the year we have waited for.
Fortune Brawling: The Story of Dallas Fortune . (The Fortune Series Story 2.) is set to be released in March 2015. Best selling author Jennifer Theriot has contributed to the novelette and introduces us to Dallas Fortune’s BFF, musician Jodie Marie Jennings from Ft. Worth, Texas. You will also meet a new character named Tom Vanderfleet who recalls a quote from a guitar man long ago…Love wears a white Stetson. Here’s an excerpt from Fortune Brawling, where we meet Tom Vanderfleet.
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THE BARTENDER
The cell phone rang at the exact time the email had stated. Nervously, I punched accept and answered.
“Hello?”
“Hello, please hold the line for Mr. Jordan Simmons.” With a click I was placed into a world of elevator music, wondering if this would be a good call or a bad call. Dallas won’t accept any calls from me or answer my emails. If I could talk to her, we could get this all going the right way. We don’t need lawyers or receptionists or elevator music. All we need is to see each other one more time. I will let her know the truth and we can have a real chance at happiness. If she will just give me that one chance I can explain everything.
A man’s voice brought me to reality. “This is Jordan Simmons calling you from Nashville, Tennessee. Our call will be recorded, as part of the legal procedure we are pursuing. In order to keep our discussion brief, please only answer the question you are asked. Do you understand?”
“Yessir.”
“Your full legal name please?”
Thomas Garrett Vanderfleet IV”
“Address?”
“238 Lookout Lane, Sand Mountain, Alabama 35951.”
“Occupation?”
“Currrently unemployed but…”
Please, only answer the question you are asked, Mr. Vanderfleet. Understood?”
“Yessir, I do.”
“Where you at Bud’s, located at 13786 Ringgold Road, Trenton Georgia 30752 on the night of March 31 of this year?”
“Yessir, I was there.”
“Did you meet a female by the name of Dallas Fortune?”
“Meet her? I married her!”
“Mr. Vanderfleet, may I call you Tom?”
“Yessir.”
“We’re going to follow a logical process of questioning here. Got it Tom? I ask the question you in turn will answer the question and nothing more. Do I make myself clear? Do you understand?”
“Got it, Mr. Simmons. I’m just all emotional like over this.”
“A completely human emotion, Tom. You’ve had a bit of excitement in a short amount of time. I’m here to help you get it all unraveled so that you can get on with your life.”
“What if I don’t want to get on with my life? At least not without her.”
A pen tapped on the table, with the tapping mirroring my heartbeat. After a pause, Jordan Simmons said, “Look Tom, Dallas is something else and one helluva woman, but I assure you, man-to-man, there is not a force on the planet that will make a woman stay with a man once she’s made up her mind to go. Now, I know that from personal experience. Once they’re ready to go, there is no way on earth to make them stay. This is off the record, by the way. No amount of money, flowers or gifts will do it. I know. Hell, I’ll be working til I’m eighty years old. I’ve got two ex-wives, three kids, a 28 year old girlfriend, well actually two 28 year old girlfriends, and I will never make any of these women happy. Look what Liz Taylor did to Richard Burton. He gave her the biggest diamond in the world. Didn’t work. She keeps the diamond. They’ve got what we want. If you get in too deep, you get addicted not only to IT, but to her. Those smart ones work on a man just like heroin or whiskey. You can’t get over IT and you can never get enough of IT. Sounds as if Dallas gave you a big dose of IT. Maybe more IT than you have ever had. Probably the best IT you have ever had. But, I guarantee you, once they decide they are over you, it’s done, it’s over, it’s like Rover and it’s dead all over. Now, can we get on with this? I ain’t got all day.”
“All right Mr. Simmons. You’re a little high strung, but I get your drift. Let’s get on with the questions.”
“To recap; you were at Bud’s on Friday night, March 31, earlier this year. While you were at Bud’s you met a female named Dallas Fortune. You can call me Jordan, if you’d like.”
“Yessir, I did. Thank you Jordan.”
“If you will Tom, please state what type of establishment Bud’s is.”
“Bud’s is what we call here a honky tonk. It has music, alcohol and Bud’s has the best fried boloney sandwiches in the Chattanooga area. On Tuesday’s and Thursday’s there’s dollar beer night from 6:00 to 8:00pm. Wednesday is Ladies Night. All women get in free.”
“Sounds like my kinda place, Tom. Now, tell me what you believe happened that night.”
(C) 2015 Ra Jones Publishing
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Here’s the international link to Fortune Calling, The Story of Dallas Fortune.
This short story is currently available for only 99c so get a copy today. It’s been the #1 Historical Fiction short story on Amazon and ranked at #8 Cultural Heritage in 2014. (Thank you for that!)
Listen to the playlist here.
Rumor has it that I’ve written a song which will be recorded by a very talented musician from Texas.
More on that at a later date.
May light and love ride into your life and carry you away in the new year. Today, I wish you all a safe, happy and prosperous 2015. May you see many dreams manifest throughout the year.
For now, please click on the following links to meet some of my friends. You will find romance, smokin’ hot love stories and a few happily-ever-afters. These writers have all helped make 2014 much brighter for me. They will entertain you and take you to new places.
xo
