The End…for now!
If you enjoyed Daniel’s story in
The Wayne Brothers: Book I
watch for Carter’s story in
The Wayne Brothers: Book II
Also by
Ursula Gorman
Old Acquaintances
Old Acquaintances
by Ursula Gorman
Two years after her mom's death, Rissa is finally ready to get on with her life. But someone else has different plans for her... Rissa Neil is confronted with an unknown enemy who turns her life into a living nightmare. She tries to convince herself that everything happening around her feelings of being watched, strange phone calls when she's away is just coincidence, but she can't fool herself for long. Finally, when two Old Acquaintances of hers are murdered, she turns to her best friend, Matt, for help. But who can she rely on when he suddenly jumps to the top of the suspect list? With only a few leads to go on and nowhere to run, Rissa wants to use herself for bait, but the police want to put her in protective custody. While they butt heads, things heat up as the body count rises and the suspect list dwindles. Detective Stone, a respected detective who lives up to his name, is soon assigned the case, but will he be able to solve the murders of Rissa's Old Acquaintances before the killer decides its time to end the game and destroy Rissa for good?
Old Acquaintances
Available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and at http://ursulagorman.tripod.com
Enjoy an Excerpt from
Old Acquaintances
Once again, Rissa Neil was the only one left to lock up. It was of her own doing. Her small boutique—her dream since she’d been little—had been showing a steady incline thanks to the extra hours she’d put into it since her mom’s death two years earlier. Her personal life, on the other hand, had shown a steady decline for the same reason. She really didn’t miss dating, but she’d neglected friendships, and it showed. Only one true friend had stuck by her since her mom’s death.
Matt Johns understood, having lost his parents in a skiing accident when he was eighteen. He’d had trouble adjusting with being an adult orphan. His parents had been rich, and a lot of people came out of the woodwork to offer him help and guidance. That is, until they found out that he couldn’t touch the money until he graduated college or turned twentyfive, whichever came first.
Rissa and her mom had taken Matt under their wings during that difficult first year of his parents’ accident. They asked for nothing; they only wanted to be there for him. During that year he was at their house a lot for support, advice, home-cooked meals, and things he missed being able to do with his parents.
He and Rissa had become very close during that time, a bond that went beyond friendship and became the one relationship they both treasured beyond any other.
Rissa stopped walking when she heard a noise. It was late, and the parking lot was dark. The only light was from a meager streetlight too far away to be of any help. Rissa stood still, listening to the night. She wasn’t sure what had caught her attention, only that there had been a noise that didn’t belong.
Rissa started walking, wishing she’d parked closer to the store. There it was again. She started walking faster while trying to find her keys, realizing how vulnerable she was. This was a shopping district, and no one was out at this time of night. She thought she heard footsteps coming from the bushes that edged the parking lot. She took off running to her car as a dark figure stepped out of the bushes.
In her haste to unlock her car door, she dropped her purse. She carried one of those big purses men always teased women about, and for good reason—she carried everything but the kitchen sink in it. The contents of her purse scattered all over the pavement and under her car. She tried to grab as much as she could while constantly looking over her shoulder toward the area she thought the noise had come from. Leaving her keys hanging in the lock, she used both hands to frantically shove her brush and her wallet, along with her makeup bag and the novel she had been reading, back into her bag. She wasn’t concerned about some of the smaller stuff she saw laying around. The parking lot was so dark she wasn’t sure she would be able to find it all anyway. She was more worried about whatever had made the sounds she heard. Figuring she was pressing her luck, she left everything else on the ground, got in her car, and locked the door.
As she pulled out of the lot, she made sure her headlights shone on the area where she had seen the shadow—nothing. “Stupid imagination,” Rissa said with a forced laugh, but she knew she hadn’t imagined it.
As she pulled out, a shadow emerged from the bushes, walked to where Rissa had been parked, and picked something up that had fallen underneath the car.
"Matt, I'm fine. I told you, it was my imagination.” Rissa regretted the impulse to call Matt. She had been trying to convince him she was okay when she wasn’t even convinced herself.
“Rissa, honey, you don’t get worked up over nothing. When are you going to start leaving at a decent time?” This was Matt’s favorite topic; he was trying to get her back into the world again. It seemed to be working, since she’d agreed to go to a concert with him. Granted, it wasn’t anything crazy, but even the college symphony was better than nothing. Rissa knew that the symphony wasn’t going to find her too many dates, but they weren’t going strictly for her; it was for Laura. Laura was Matt’s girlfriend of just over a year, and that was a record since Matt’s girlfriends didn’t usually last very long. Laura was the assistant conductor of the Jameson College Symphony. While being conductor held great respect and honor; being assistant didn’t.
“I can come over,” Matt said.
“I’m okay, really.”
Matt sighed, making Rissa smile. “Fine, have it your way.”
“Good night, Matt. Love you.”
“Love you too, brat!”
The Morning sun on Rissa's face was an unwelcome reminder that she forgot to pull the blinds when she went to bed. In the daylight, last night’s scare seemed surreal. Rissa could almost forget it happened—almost. As was her morning routine, she started the coffee maker then went to take her shower. By the time she added conditioner to her hair she’d almost convinced herself that last night hadn’t happened.
“Why would anyone stand in the dark and watch me? I saw them; they had to know that.” Rissa let out a frustrated growl. “It had to be a homeless person. I probably scared him as much as he scared me.”
Rissa was still going over last night’s events when she walked into the kitchen ten minutes later, her hair wrapped in a towel and a big fluffy robe on to help ward off the chill of a late September morning. As she was taking her first sip of coffee the phone rang, making her jump, sloshing coffee over her hand. “Ahhh!” Rissa yelled, sticking her hand under cold water. Keeping her hand under the water, she reached over with her other hand and grabbed the phone.
“Hello,” she growled into the phone.
“Good morning, sunshine,” Matt chirped. “I was calling to see how you are doing. Did the demons leave with the night?”
“Yeah, sorry, the phone startled me and I spilled my coffee. I’m feeling better this morning.”
Matt laughed. “Sounds like it!” Changing subjects, Matt said, “I’ve got an errand to run; want to go?”
“Where? Are you cancelling tonight?” She almost wished he were. She needed more sleep and hoped to go to bed early.
“I have to go check on the country house. There was a report of a possible break in. I don’t think it’s anything, but I have to be sure. And no, I’m not cancelling tonight. We should be back no later than two.”
When Matt’s parents died, everything went to Matt, and that included their house in the country. It was huge and sat on eighteen acres with a driveway that looked two miles long. You could see anyone coming long before they ever got there. Matt rarely went out there, but he couldn’t bring himself to sell it.
“Want to go? The fresh air might do you good.”
“Sounds good. A relaxing car ride is jus
t what I need,” answered Rissa.
“Great, be there in thirty minutes; don’t keep me waiting.” Matt hung up before Rissa could reply.
“Big buffoon,” she muttered affectionately.
Matt was right; the ride to and from the country house was relaxing. The crisp fall air blowing in the open windows felt wonderful. Rissa had worn a lightweight sweater in anticipation of a long country drive with the windows down, and she was glad she had. It wouldn’t be long until the leaves fell from the trees, but for now they were a beautiful cacophony of riotous colors. The leaves had turned colors earlier this season due to lower than normal temperatures, but Rissa loved this time of year and welcomed the change. While the drive was unnecessary since apparently there was no break-in, Rissa was glad for the relaxing drive.
“The country air agrees with you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have color in your cheeks and you’re relaxed. When I picked you up this morning you were pale and tense. You didn’t sleep well, did you?”
“No, I guess I didn’t. Too much adrenaline. But I do feel much better.”
“The concert won’t get over until pretty late; why don’t you come home with me afterward? You can get a good night’s sleep.”
“Why, Matt, are you making a pass at me?” Rissa said, with a shocked expression.
“Oh, shut up!” Matt spat out.
After a beat of silence they both started laughing.
“Oh, Matt, I do love you! I promise I’m all right. I have to work in the morning, and as soon as you drop me off tonight, I’m hitting the hay. Saturdays are busy days, and I can’t be late since Tina won’t be in.”
“Let me know if you change your mind.” Matt looked at Rissa. “By the way, I love you too!”
About the Author
Author Ursula Gorman has lived in the Missouri Ozarks for the last 28 years. She is married to her husband of fifteen years, Tim. They have two children, whom they adore.
Ursula is a fulltime Human Resource Supervisor at a Missouri based home care agency. She has been an avid reader all her life, starting with Encyclopedia Brown books, graduating to Nancy Drew, then to Stephen King and finally finding her niche with mystery/romance books. She has several authors she reads loyally and snaps up any new book that comes out by them.
After years of reading and having ideas bouncing around in her head of what would make a good story, she decided to start writing them down. One of the stories took hold and has become her debut novel, Old Acquaintances.
Old Acquaintances is a fast paced, high energy story that pulls the reader in and takes them on a great ride starting from the first page.
Ursula's second book, The Best of Us, is the first in a series about three brothers. This one is centered around the middle brother, Daniel. This book was published by TreasureLine Publishing. The Best of Us pulls at your emotions, but is still packed full of mystery and suspense.
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http://ursulagorman.tripod.com/
Cover Design/eBook Format: Linda Boulanger
http://www.TellTaleBookCovers.weebly.com
Published by: TreasureLine Publishing
http://www.treasurelinepublishing.com/index.html
Also available in Paperback
Ursula’s Website:
http://ursulagorman.tripod.com/
TreasureLineBooks: http://www.treasurelinepublishing.com/index.html
The Best of Us Page 14
