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Barbara Ellen Brink

Barbara's Thin Line Between Truth & Fiction

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We the people, unite!

July 6, 2021 By Barbara 1 Comment

photo by Brett Sayles from Pexels

*There may very well be biased opinions below. Read at your own risk. Also, if humor, sarcasm, or patriotism offend you, you may want to skip this one.

Here we are halfway through 2021 and the world has not yet come to an end. Many people have prognosticated doom and gloom over the past couple of years and although there have been hard times, the world is still spinning on its axis.

Some people suspect the year 2020 was either a government conspiracy or an insane mind game played on us all by the Illuminate. But just to be on the safe side, I was vaccinated, on the off-chance the Chinese pinpointed my family DNA for destruction. After all, Suttons are very competitive, and in a world of underachievers and mommy’s basement dwellers, a little motivation may be all we need to beat back socialism and win the gold!

This past week we celebrated Independence Day and thankfully there were no “alien” attacks from space. But space is the least likely threat to America’s existence. The most dangerous attack being perpetrated on “we the people” is intended to subvert our entire way of life. Sadly, these are attacks from within and much harder to stop. You can’t just nuke’em. After all, they are fellow citizens. Although, President Biden recently insinuated that weapons of mass destruction would be a fair response to opposing viewpoints.

It seems that every single day another inch of freedom is taken from us. Little things, sometimes so small that most people seem not to notice. Especially if you still haven’t come out of your house since the “stay home, stay safe” mandate. The ability to disagree without fear of retribution on your personal life and business. The freedom to point out the flaws in their arguments when the gurus of the now popular “Social Justice” religion or “End of the World because it’s Hot this Summer” religion accuse America of being the catalyst for everything bad on the planet. The freedom to support the police because you want them to be available when bad things happen. The freedom to watch the news of your choice, support the politician of your choice, read online articles of your choice, and share your views without being monitored, coerced, threatened, banned, called a terrorist, and/or cancelled.

When I was in grade school, we learned about the evils of communism in countries like China and Russia. The ripping away of rights, burning down of churches, banning books and information, arrest, imprisonment, and murder of their own people for any and all disobedience to the regime. Now they teach children that the worst problems in the world were all birthed in America. We apparently invented slavery, racism, hatred, and global warming. Who knew? In the thousands of years before America was around, the world was at peace.

You can see what’s happening more clearly if you stop assuming either political party is always right or that they have your best interest at heart. Open your eyes.

Is it okay to ban books that disagree with whoever is in charge of the nuthouse rhetoric at the moment? It’s happening. Is it okay to destroy a woman’s lifelong business to get back at her for standing up at a school board meeting and disagreeing with the agenda to indoctrinate children instead of educate them? It’s happening. Is it okay to bash, bully, and ultimately silence people on social media for having an opinion that is not your own? It’s happening. Is it okay for a man to lose his job because someone accused him of being a racist, without proof to back it up? It’s happening. Is it okay for violent men to be placed in women’s prison’s, boys competing against girls in school sports, and children being experimented on because “feelings” override facts and science? It’s happening. Does any of this sound strikingly similar to a history lesson on Nazi Germany’s reign of terror?

Hey, I’m no expert on how communism seeps into society. I just know what history used to say before they rewrote it. It starts with the splintering of a nation; wedges of hate and accusation dividing people by religion, skin color, rich and poor, or anything else, until there is no nation left to fight for. When you’re so focused on SELF, you don’t care what happens to your neighbors and fellow citizens when their rights are taken away.

When did politics become so overwhelming, all-consuming, ridiculously important, and divisive that we can’t simply live our lives the way we have always done, worshipping our God, working our jobs, caring for our children, and loving our neighbors without some overpaid, self-absorbed, narcissists shouting across a cable news desk that we’re not doing it right? Newscasters, politicians, and social media billionaires are not experts on how we the people should live our lives, what we should believe, or what we should think.

This is America. We are a country of diverse peoples, beliefs, and opinions, but we are ONE NATION. Let’s stop listening to the manipulating megalomaniacs on both sides and start acting like fellow Americans again!

Thanks for stopping by!

Barbara

Barbara is the author of The Fredrickson Winery Novels,
the Double Barrel Mysteries, the Second Chances series, and more. She lives in Minnesota because she can’t afford Hawaii.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Down with Spring cleaning! Up with Spring reading!

May 4, 2021 By Barbara Leave a Comment

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

You obviously know that spring is here. At least in some places. It’s printed in black and white on the calendar, for heaven’s sake! But in Minnesota, random snowflakes fall one minute and the sun peaks out the next. We get a bright sunny 80 degree day, and the next day gray clouds hang heavy overhead and temperatures dip back down to the edge of frostbite. So, you may be like me… having a hard time accepting facts over feelings.

Birds chirp and prepare their nests. Trees bud and begin to bloom. The grass grows longer and greener. But I can’t see past the clouds, the doomsayers on the news, and the goosebumps on my arms because I dressed for spring to walk the dog, and instead, got the backend of winter.

To celebrate spring, even if it is acting a bit shy and hard-to-get, I wanted to get you thinking about your spring reading list by telling you a little about my Double Barrel Mysteries series! {hint. hint} The first five books are available at all online bookstores and will bring you up-to-date on the goings-on in Port Scuttlebutt while you wait for the next addition to Blake and Shelby’s adventures.

ROADKILL (book one), despite its title, is full of mystery, romance, humor, and nail-biting suspense. Blake and Shelby Gunner are a young married couple thinking about buying a Bed & Breakfast in Blake’s hometown of Port Scuttlebutt when they get caught up in a cold case, the unsolved hit-and-run of a beloved local business woman.

With six previous years as a homicide detective in Minneapolis, Blake is fully qualified for the task. Shelby’s natural inquisitive mind and her dinner theatre acting chops make her more than perfect for the part of acting like an investigator. And so, together they are the hottest private investigation team in the Upper Peninsula!

Each book is a separate mystery/murder to be solved, but you will want to read them in order as the characters grow and learn and meet new people (persons of interest) in the quirky little port on Lake Superior.

If you’ve already read any of my Double Barrel books (or any other books in my list), please take a moment to leave a simple review at the online store where it was purchased. I would truly appreciate it. It helps my books to be seen more readily by other readers. The internet is a vast ocean and the little fish tend to get lost in the dark depths without a little help from their friends:)

Find all my books by clicking the bookstore link on this page. It will take you to your preferred store.

Thanks for stopping and have a beautiful spring!

Barbara

Barbara is the author of The Fredrickson Winery Novels,
the Double Barrel Mysteries, the Second Chances series, and more. She lives in Minnesota because she can’t afford Hawaii.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Barbara Ellen Brink, Double Barrrel Mysteries, spring reading, TBRL

Friends, enemies, and second chances

January 28, 2021 By Barbara Leave a Comment

Image by Jess Bailey from Pixabay

It’s almost Valentine’s and everyone needs a good book to read with their chocolate hearts. So, I’ve put the last book in the Second Chances series on sale for the sweet price of 99¢ thru V Day.

Purchase Trial by Fire here

Trial by Fire has something for every Inspirational suspense lover. Hunky FBI men, a handsome, protective boyfriend, a couple of girlfriends who tend to get themselves in trouble, exciting suspense and danger, and an evil enemy who seeks revenge at any cost. All you have to do is supply the chocolate to nibble on while reading.

If you haven’t read the first two books in the series, Running Home and Alias Raven Black, I suggest starting there first.

Purchase Running Home here
Purchase Alias Raven Black here

If you’ve read any of my books, I would truly appreciate it if you would leave a short review at the store where it was purchased. That would be awesomely helpful. Indie authors need word-of-mouth sharing more than most and that is the best way to spread the news to encourage others to try my books.

Willow recommends and gives 4 paws up for the Second Chances series!

I hope you have a lovely Valentine’s Day with or without chocolate, but always with books!

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think, what you’re reading right now, or just to say hello! Thanks for stopping!

Barbara is the author of The Fredrickson Winery Novels, the Double Barrel Mysteries, the Second Chances series, and more. She lives in Minnesota because she can’t afford Hawaii.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Barbara Ellen Brink, inspirational suspense, Love of fiction, romantic suspense, sale, Valentine's Day

Life and death and the Port in between

January 9, 2021 By Barbara Leave a Comment

A Man Can Die but Once is the newest release in my Double Barrel Mysteries series. After three years, local P.I.s Blake and Shelby Gunner have settled into small town life like cream cheese on a toasted bagel. Shelby is ready to give birth to their first child any second now and the biggest homicide case Port Scuttlebutt has ever known has been unceremoniously dropped into their lap. This murder hits way too close to home.

Tiny Port Scuttlebutt has had more than its fair share of murders and mysteries. Set on the banks of Lake Superior, this quiet little port is brimming with quirky characters, secrets, and the potential for many, many more stories.

If you haven’t read any of them yet, I suggest you start with the first, Roadkill. Blake and Shelby Gunner are a young married couple from Minneapolis who move back to Blake’s hometown in the Upper Peninsula after a serious shooting injury puts him on indefinite desk duty.

But once a detective, always a detective. Blake can’t just let a local hit-and-run go unexplained. He needs to find answers for himself and the town. Shelby is all in. She’s a dinner theatre actress who speaks Shakespeare as a second language and loves the challenge of playing Blake’s partner and acting like an investigator. But even with closure in their first case, the Gunners decide to stay in Port Scuttlebutt and open their own P.I. office. Hence the name, Double Barrel Investigations.

Each book is a separate case and mystery, but along the way you learn more about Blake and Shelby, their friends, the townsfolk, and the secrets that have been the bedrock of Port Scuttlebutt for far too long.

If you like a good mystery but don’t particularly care for rough language or graphically depicted sex, violence, or murder scenes, the Double Barrel Mysteries are the books for you. There is always an intriguing and suspenseful mystery/murder, tasteful/sweet romance, and a touch of humor.

So, hop on the mystery bandwagon and pick up a copy today! Here is my author page at Draft2Digital where you can find links to all online stores.

Leave a comment and let me know which Double Barrel Mystery you’ve enjoyed the most so far! And if you haven’t yet, please leave a short review at the online store you shop from. That helps independent authors like myself be found by other readers. Thanks much!

Barbara

Happy Reading!

Barbara is the author of The Fredrickson Winery Novels, the Double Barrel Mysteries, the Second Chances series, and more. She lives in Minnesota because she can’t afford Hawaii.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Barbara Ellen Brink, cozy mystery, Double Barrel Mysteries, new release

Thankful I’m not a turkey

November 24, 2020 By Barbara 1 Comment

Image by 631372 from Pixabay

Turkeys, in my opinion, are one of the ugliest birds around. I mean, what in the world? Just look at the poor thing. It looks like it has some kind of cancer growing all over its head and face. Sure, it has a beautiful tail span and amazing ability to stop traffic with a hiss and a gobble, but… You have to admit, the creature would make a remarkable addition to any list of Star Wars aliens.

Despite being ugly and the number one choice of hunters for Thanksgiving Day dinner, the Turkey has become a symbol of American history. The wild turkey, native to America, or Meleagris Gallepavo as some of us turkey experts like to call them, were running free in the woods, eating up bugs and other tidbits, sleeping in trees, and losing feathers as they went for many years before someone thought to lock them up in pens and force-feed them until they were nice and plump for our discerning palates.

When I was a child in grade school, we learned about the first Thanksgiving. The pilgrims and Native Americans sharing food and information, being neighborly and thankful for everything God had supplied them with in this blessed and abundant country. I’m pretty sure they didn’t have running water, electric ovens, dish washers, or televisions, but they made do with what they had and were very grateful.

They shared the work, the food, and the after-dinner entertainment.

I don’t know if there are still public schools that talk about the importance of thankfulness or if they just dwell on indoctrinating children in the art of navel gazing, but Americans do have a lot to be thankful for. Regardless of our recent bout of divisive rhetoric in the news, rioting in the streets, and shortage of neighborly love these days, God has blessed this country with an abundance of good things.

There’s a rumor that Ben Franklin called Thomas Jefferson a “Tom Turkey” when Franklin opposed the idea of declaring the turkey as our nation’s national bird. I always liked to read about Ben Franklin and was quite impressed by his total lack of common sense when he decided to fly a key on a kite during a lightning storm. But I have to admit, the Eagle is a much more regal bird for our nation’s icon. Sorry, turkeys.

My son enjoying his drumstick

Around 90% of homes (over 45 million) in the U.S. eat turkey for Thanksgiving Day celebrations. That’s a lot of drumsticks to go around.

Whether you are a turkey lover or not, I hope you will remember that the very name of this holiday explains what it’s all about. Giving Thanks.

I’m thankful for all of you. To show my appreciation for your continued readership, I am giving away Christmas in Port Scuttlebutt thru the end of November. You can pick up your copy at any online bookstore. Just click here> Christmas in Port Scuttlebutt

Also, don’t forget that A Man Can Die but Once is available December 1st! PreOrder your copy now and be the first to read the new Double Barrel Mystery.

*Leave a comment and share one of the traditions, foods, or activities you and your family enjoy at Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Barbara is the author of The Fredrickson Winery Novels, the Double Barrel Mysteries, the Second Chances series, and more. She lives in Minnesota because she can’t afford Hawaii.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ChristmasInPortScuttlebutt, gratitude, thanksgiving

A mysterious light at the end of the 2020 tunnel!

November 11, 2020 By Barbara 1 Comment

Image by Kristendawn from Pixabay

My newest Double Barrel mystery is hitting the cyber shelves December 1st! I just wanted to share my joyous news, along with an excerpt to get your mystery-loving brains engaged.

I started writing this over a year ago and set it aside, but when I seriously went back to the story this past August, the plot and characters morphed into something quite different than my initial thought process. Sometimes fictional people have a mind of their own and you just can’t make them conform to your plans.

Available Dec 1, 2020! PreOrder now!

If you’ve enjoyed Blake and Shelby’s stories in the Double Barrel mystery series so far, then I know you will love A Man Can Die but Once. As usual, I start off with the murder, so it will come as no surprise to you all if you read the first page that the mayor’s shenanigans are finally coming to an end.

I hope you enjoy this excerpt and be sure to go to your favorite ebook store and PreOrder A MAN CAN DIE BUT ONCE. You won’t be charged until December 1st when it automatically downloads onto your reader device. As simple as that. A fun mystery just in time for Christmas lockdowns! (Sorry, couldn’t help myself)

~PROLOGUE~

Leaning over the body of the mayor, he pressed two fingers to the man’s thick neck, searching for the carotid pulse. Faint but still detectable. Suddenly, he felt the man grip the ragged edge of his untucked shirt and tug him closer as though trying to say something. Eyes wide and staring, the mayor’s blue lips moved faintly, but only a mewling whimper sounded from the depths of his chest. Instinctively, he jerked away from the moist breath of vomit and death that accosted him, and the mayor’s white-knuckle grip was broken. The mayor fell back, pulling his arm in close to his body and appeared to curl around his pain, then he exhaled one last time and was gone.

Slowly, he straightened, standing tall over the mayor’s body, his stance relaxed. Purposefully at ease. Closing his eyes, he allowed his adrenaline-laced heartbeat to slow and his breathing return to normal. No matter how many times he’d watched men die, he still felt a weight of darkness envelope his soul. A feeling he had to fight with every breath in his body. Exactly sixty seconds later, he opened his eyes and stared down on the ashen-faced man crumpled at his feet.

Everyone talked about this man. Locals either hated him or despised him. Some thought he was a necessary evil. A nasty, pushy politician could get things done for the town that nice people could not. But he’d never run across anyone who loved and respected him.

The great Farley Jones. The man who would be king… or at least, mayor of Port Scuttlebutt. He used people. Connived. Pressured. Even blackmailed them into doing his dirty work or going along with him in some unsavory deal or another. He’d heard the tales, but until recently, he’d never had the opportunity to see the man at work in person.

He had no real stake in the welfare of Port Scuttlebutt. Didn’t care whether Farley Jones ran things like a Detroit gangster or was more of a Saint Francis of Assisi, communing with birds and saving pine trees.

Farley’s mistake today was purely subjective.

The Mayor of Port Scuttlebutt had made a choice. He chose poorly. He never should have tried to hurt a woman on a mission. Like PETA zealots who write meat is murder on a butcher’s shop, to save-the-trees groups who chain themselves to bulldozers, or nuts who release thousands of minks from farms to starve to death or be eaten by foxes, people on a mission were the scariest people in the world to deal with logically. To them, the end always justified the means. Even if it didn’t turn out quite the way they planned. Much like war.

Stepping back, he carefully looked over the scene, imprinting it on his memory for possible future posterity.

Blood seeped from a wound on the back of the mayor’s head, glistening wet and dark. The fancy overcoat and loose-legged suit pants did nothing to hide the effects of a man accustomed to overindulgence and lack of exercise; a thickened waistline, fleshy jowls and neck, and overall poor muscle tone. He rested on his side where he’d fallen, one arm beneath him, the other extended across the floor, pudgy sausage fingers splayed out like a fan as though trying to grasp the baseball bat that lay just out of his reach.

Bending, he picked up the bat, twirling it in his gloved hands. There was a splotch of blood on one side. He wiped it clean on the leg of his black sweatpants, admired the scrawled signature, and then carefully placed it back on display above the fireplace with the other baseball memorabilia.

A piece of paper peeked out the pocket of the dead man’s overcoat. He squatted beside him and slipped it out, pressing it open flat on the knotty pine floor. A to-do list. He smirked. Apparently, the man’s mama was every bit in charge of the world and everyone in it as the rumor mill suggested. Even her son, the mayor, had to submit to her authority.

He started to rise, but the last item on the list caught his eye. He read the words and expelled the breath of a laugh. Not surprising, all the errands had been crossed off except this one. A smile stretched across his face and he rifled through the man’s pockets for a pen. Finding one, he leaned over the paper. There. Farley’s last day was complete.

Kill Farley

CHAPTER ONE

One week earlier:

Fanny Arnold kept to the most well-worn deer tracks. She knew the woods in this area like the age spots on the back of her hand, but an early spring snow had crusted the ground again and made for slippery trail walking. She moved slower than usual, planting her stick with each step. The temperature was slightly above freezing this morning and a pleasant change from the sub-zero winter they’d recently endured. She’d felt the cold settle deep in her bones this year and didn’t know how many more winters she could survive. Being outdoors with nature and the animals she loved was what kept her going. Without that ability she would dry up and wither away. Pressing her chin deep into the collar of her coat like a turtle hiding from the world, she moved along, slow and sure.

A twig snapped to her left and she glanced up, eyes narrowing beneath the brim of her knit hat. Expecting to see the small herd of deer that often congregated in this quiet, shielded nook of the woods, she was surprised there were only two. A doe and her spotted fawn. She glanced around. Where were the others?

A rifle shot rang out startling Fanny and the deer. The doe bolted and the fawn quickly followed, disappearing into the thick of the woods. Fanny watched them go, dread settling in her gut. Poachers.

She’d had run-ins with their like before. No-good creatures, intent on destroying wildlife just to impress their buddies. They always ran in packs, like rats, and often were so drunk they couldn’t shoot straight. They ended up maiming rather than killing, which was so much worse. The poor deer would wander off and die alone in agony. Someone had to do something about it! If the DNR weren’t up to the task, then she would handle them her way. Her grip tightened on her walking stick.

She turned up the hill and climbed to the top. Pulling a pair of compact binoculars from her pocket, she scanned the little valley and wooded area beyond. There! On the edge of the woods two figures crouched beside a carcass. One of them was already busy field dressing the poor thing. By the time she hiked to the spot, they’d be done and making their getaway. She’d better get a move on.

Out of breath and panting by the time she reached the patch of blood-soaked ground, Fanny set her lips firmly together and tried not to cry. At least it hadn’t suffered. If they’d taken it with them to butcher, then they weren’t just out for sport. There was some comfort in that.

The trail they’d left behind was easy to follow, and she started after them. It was illegal to shoot a deer out of season. She would get their names or license plate and report them to the authorities as soon as possible. But first, she had to catch up to them. She soon spotted white puffs of chimney smoke wafting above the treetops and suddenly realized where the hunters were heading. Martha Reynold’s place.

The old cabin sat deep in the woods with only rough, dirt-track access from the main road. Martha often went weeks without venturing out to town. When she did, she and her son Lanky would bundle up and take their ancient Honda ATV. Lanky had been born with down-syndrome and he was the sweetest young man. It wasn’t her place to say, but Fanny thought he was capable of far more than his circumstances allowed. Sadly, Martha kept him secluded from the world out of fear that folks would treat him poorly. Fanny had made a point to stop in now and then, checking up on the two of them, and Martha was always friendly enough in her own way. The woman wasn’t accustomed to visitors, but she always offered a hot cup of coffee and a sit-down out on the front porch. Other than herself, she supposed few people even knew where Martha lived.

Fanny wouldn’t be surprised if Martha was desperate enough to shoot squirrels or rabbits so that her son could have fresh meat during the long winter, but to poach a deer out of season? That didn’t sit right with what she knew about the woman. Martha was a law-abiding citizen who just wanted to be left alone to live her life in peace. Poaching would bring trouble down on her head and that would be the last thing she’d want. Her son’s welfare was her biggest concern. She’d told Fanny as much last year when the boy had a rough bout of pneumonia. Her husband had died four years earlier, leaving them to survive on social security and the little bit of income she made making and selling crafts locally.

Voices filtered through the trees. One loud and brash, the other a soft mumble. She pushed aside a branch and peered into the clearing. The deer carcass was wrapped in a tarp and draped across a rickety picnic table in the middle of the yard. A fire crackled and flamed from a rock-rimmed pit nearby. Lanky poked at the fire with a stick, stirring the embers to a blaze.

“Get over here and help me with this!” the taller man yelled, unwrapping the deer in preparation to skin and butcher it. He picked up a long knife from the table and turned around enough that Fanny caught a good look at his profile. Late twenties or early thirties, tall, scraggly brown hair beneath a dark cap. A bushy beard grew thick and red below a Romanesque nose. She didn’t recognize him from Port Scuttlebutt. He glanced her way and she quickly drew back.

“Lanky! I said get over here,” the man bellowed again.

Fanny cringed, fearful for the young man she knew as a sweet soul. Who was this fellow yelling orders and where was Martha? She pressed her back to the trunk of the fir and slowly slid down to sit on the hard needle-covered ground. A shiver ran through her and she wrapped her arms around her middle for warmth. What now? She’d never desired the encumbrance of a cell phone out in nature, but at this moment she wished she’d actually opened Blake’s gift and brought it along.

“Miss Fanny,” a quiet voice whispered through the low-hanging limbs near her ear. “Are you playing hide and seek?”

Fanny looked up into guileless hazel eyes and realized she’d been quietly counting aloud. It was something she did whenever she needed to make a difficult decision. Usually it helped her think through a problem and come up with a clear solution. This time it had obviously made the problem much worse.

A rifle barrel poked through the branch above Lanky’s left shoulder and an angry voice demanded, “Get out here where I can see who I’m shooting!”

Lanky helped Fanny stand and took her hand to lead her into the clearing. “Miss Fanny is my friend, Sam,” he said firmly. “She comes to visit me and Mama sometimes.”

The man lowered the gun, brown eyes still narrow with suspicion. “Since when do you two have friends?”

“Since Miss Fanny started coming,” he said with all seriousness.

“Huh. Too bad she don’t have a friend with a car who could take her to the doctor instead of a nosey old biddy with a stick.”

Fanny felt the man’s dark gaze sweep over her dismissively. When he crouched down to pet Jet, Lanky’s old hound dog, she looked him over quickly. He was very tall, but not thin. Solidly built. His khaki jacket hung open revealing a black t-shirt stretched over a broad, muscular chest. On the right side of the shirt was a gold emblem. An eagle perched on a globe of the world with an anchor struck through it. She recognized that emblem. It was a symbol of the United States Marines.

“Mama don’t like doctors,” Lanky said. He scratched at a knee sticking through worn jeans. “She used up all the medicine she made last year, and the flowers don’t grow back until summer.”

“She’s still using her herb brews instead of seeing a real doctor?” The man kicked at a rock sticking up out of the ground with the toe of a black combat boot, his mouth stretched so tight it nearly disappeared in the growth of beard. He looked up, sudden recognition in his eyes and pointed a finger in Fanny’s direction. “Wait a minute. You’re that healer woman, aren’t you? I remember you from when I was a boy. You used to take care of hurt animals, right? Arnold. That’s it,” he said as though he’d just given her the name. “You’re Fanny Arnold.

Fanny nodded, shooting a worried glance toward the house. Where was Martha? And why was he talking about her as though she was his… “Sam? Sammy Reynolds? Martha told me you joined the Marines and never looked back. She sure missed you. I bet she’s mighty glad to have you home.”

He scoffed. “Home? This was never a home. This was just the hole where my old man decided to dump us when he went on his sales trips.”

“Where is Martha?” Fanny asked, glancing again at the quiet façade of the cabin.

“She’s sick in bed.” He shifted the rifle to his shoulder. “Hey, could you take a look at her? She’s been running a fever and says her belly hurts.”

“I’m not a people doctor,” she said, nervously. She was already getting guff from Farley Jones for taking in strays and wildlife that needed her. He’d sent her legal looking letters with his official stamp from the office of the mayor, accusing her of running a pet hospital without a license or credentials. They were long and wordy, but the gist was that she should shut down now or face prosecution. The last one insinuated that her activities could be defined as mental illness.

Lanky moved to take her hand, tugging her toward the front porch. “Come on, Miss Fanny. You can make Mama better. I know you can.”

She went along, feeling like she didn’t really have a choice. Besides, she was worried about her friend. She glanced back at the big man and saw his grim expression relax with relief. He moved to the deer carcass and resumed his work. ~~

*Please leave a comment and tell me what you think about the excerpt or about your complete and utter surprise that I have finally finished a new novel, or which part of the turkey you enjoy at Thanksgiving, or how much you hate lockdowns. I don’t care. I just love getting comments.

Barbara

Barbara is the author of The Fredrickson Winery Novels, the Double Barrel Mysteries, the Second Chances series, and more. She lives in Minnesota because she can’t afford Hawaii.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: A man can die but once, Barbara Ellen Brink, Double Barrel Mysteries, excerpt, preorder

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Split Sense

Split Sense

When a senator and pharmaceutical giant partner to experiment with a new drug on pregnant women, they tap into a world they never knew existed – the supernatural touching the natural – and it will cost the innocent more than they know. Grace Awards Winner!

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