WILD HORSE TALE$

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Wild Horse Tale$

A mini-romance.

Written by Allan Jon Kretzmar, JD

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UNEXPECTED ANGEL Heaven between her legs On a motorbike She enforces the karma Of the afterlife This lady has style She will redeem you with her smile With a toss of her hair She captures my gaze No need for words I understand her ways So in tune with the truth She will always find the proof Her leather boots have stiletto heels That have punctured their way into my heart The rings that she wears Are symbols that she plays a part She controls our destiny A new marauder for you and me I see her on the horizon She is coming for you To help you through the night A witness to everything that you do There is nothing that she does not know Look inside, are you friend or foe

----Chris Steven Young

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Santa Barbara, California 100 miles outside of Los Angeles (approximately) Jake was sitting on the sofa chewing on the top of a pencil, with a yellow pad and his computer tablet balanced precariously on his lap.

He was deep in thought when Zara Jane entered the room.

“Here!” she said, tossing a set of keys at him, “You drive!”

Jake had barely enough time to react, looking at her, then at the flying keys that were coming his way. He had to decide in that splitsecond which was more important – his head, or the computer. He decided to safeguard the computer tablet. So he held it safe, and the keys hit him on the head. Luckily for him, his baseball cap cushioned the blow.

“Damn, woman! That hurt! Watch what you are throwing! I have an expensive computer here! What’s gotten into you?”

She laughed hysterically, “You have to be faster than that if you want to keep up with me! Your computer tablet, or your life?”

“Your sense of humor is childish!” He lifted his orange baseball cap, and rubbed his head, “That really hurt!”

“You poor baby! C’mon, let’s go! It’s just your ego that’s bruised.”

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“Where are we going?”

“You’ll find out soon enough . . . we have a long drive.”

Jake placed the computer tablet gently onto the solid distressedwood coffee table, and rubbed the side of his head where the keys hit him. He replaced his baseball cap, thinking she owes me for this as he walked out into the sunlight.

In the driveway, Zara Jane was already sitting in the passenger seat of a cream-colored Bentley Continental GTC convertible. Jake whistled through his teeth. “Nice, Zara Jane, what happened? You robbed the bank?”

“No, the client we are going to see is worth billions and it wouldn’t look right if we showed up in just any old car. Besides, we have to look the part, if we are going to be ‘Paradise Paranormal Investigations,’ we can’t seem look like a couple of mid-level executives, or worse, salespeople. You get my drift I am sure.”

Jake settled into the driver’s seat made of luxurious caramelcolored leather, and ran his fingers along the solid wood paneling. “My word! This is really nice.”

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“It’s a 12-cylinder twin-carb 5998 cc engine which can do 0 – 60 miles per hour in 3.7 seconds! 200 miles per hour tops. C’mon, Cowboy, you can admire it on the way.”

“Way?” “Way! Take the freeway along the coast. It should be just gorgeous! That’s why I ordered the convertible model. Nice, huh?”

“Nice huh indeed. But who pays for all this?”

“The client does, sweetie! And out of his billing too, but that will come later. Right now I am just jazzed that we got our first assignment.”

The coastline was just as striking as Zara Jane had predicted it would be. With the top already down, and a hot breeze blowing, it was a spectacular drive. They passed rows and rows of green agricultural fields along the way. Jake pushed the accelerator down close to the floor, and the engine responded hungrily. The scenery and cars flashed by them.

“Easy there, Cowboy! You get the speeding ticket, you pay the speeding ticket.”

Jake ignored her comment and pushed the accelerator pedal until it hit the floor, the car responding again in seconds. “I can still feel where those keys hit me. I think I have a bump.”

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“Ooh, you want me to kiss it better?”

“Yes, but later. What’s the assignment?”

“You will see, the client said something about racehorses dying.

One or two found dead a month, then every week, then everyday now is seems. The guy is panicked.”

“Who is killing his horses?”

“Not just horses, racehorses! That’s our job to find out the ‘who’

and the ‘why,’ although I have a pretty good notion about what is going on here.”

“Tell me more.” Jake began to ease back on the throttle.

“No, I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag, or in this case the horse out of the stable, metaphorically speaking as it were.”

“But of course,” Jake leaned over and gave her a kiss on her cheek. The Bentley swerved into oncoming traffic, and Jake had to very quickly correct the wheel.

“Watch the road!”

“Yes, dear! Handles great! Great driver too, no?”

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She laughed at him. “What was the kiss for?”

“A reminder why I am so glad I met you.”

“Great! Ditto. Now keep your eyes on the road!” She chided him good-naturedly.

Jake was living permanently at the mansion now. He had moved his clothing and other personal effects into the main bedroom closet, and his desktop, printer, and files were set up in a makeshift office downstairs. The mansion was huge, and he felt like a teenager again.

He never thought living with a woman could be so much fun. Living with her proved to be easier than Jake imagined, and he was amazed at how effortless it was turning out to be. Waking up, making coffee, reading the paper, this “togetherness” thing just seemed to happen naturally. It was all new for him. In fact, for someone who had resisted intimacy for so long, this new arrangement made it seem organic, he thought, and he felt this must be like what being married couples feel like being with one another. I can do this now, Jake felt. He felt energized, each day with Zara Jane made him feel younger and more confident. Life was an adventure Jake thought before he met Zara Jane, but he had no idea of the depth and breadth that living together could add to his human experience. He was not sure what living with him added to her “Angel-world” and experiences in the human realm.

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He knew that her living and having a relationship with him was strictly taboo. Angels are supposed to be messengers, protectors and guides, and for her to choose a relationship with him must not have been an easy decision to make. He usually did not pry, but today he felt emboldened enough to ask more details.

“I know that you sacrificed a lot to let me live with you.”

She looked at him intently, with a puzzled look. “Whatever do you mean?”

“You know, the Angel thing . . .” he hinted at the subject, “this must not have been an easy decision to let me into your life and affairs.”

“Oh,” she smiled, “that, well, yes, it did take a bit of convincing of both myself, and the others. There was even discussion that I had ‘fallen’ and that I needed to be stripped of my powers? Can you imagine that?”

“No, but how did you convince them otherwise, my Angel-love?”

“Well, Human-love,” she smiled a half-smile, “I told them that I had to sleep with you!”

Jake almost lost control of the steering wheel. “You told them that? The higher ups? The powers that be?”

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“Not exactly in so many words, but I told them how could we Angels protect and guide people, if we never really had a chance to experience human emotions, like love. It was quite a testy meeting, I can tell you that! I mean I was told by the Angel Oversight Committee I would be banished if I lived with you, that I would have to give up immortality, and all of that. Can you imagine? It got quite heated.”

“I read on the Internet that Angels and Humans are really not supposed to live together, let alone sleep together. It is forbidden on both sides of the fence, as it were.”

“Yes, that is part of the creed. Like you see on police cars ‘to protect and serve;’ our motto is ‘to protect and guide,’ as it were.”

“So what swayed them?”

“You really don’t let a subject go, do you? No wonder you are a great trial lawyer.”

“I gave that up, remember?”

“Oh, I guess once a lawyer, always a lawyer! Yes, I remember now. Thanks for reminding me about your little emotional meltdown there.”

“Look those were the dark days of my soul. I was lost then.”

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“Hmmm. I am not convinced. I think you were fooling around.”

“God, no! That was not it. I did not know what to do with my life. I was in crisis, remember? I was beaten up, fired, and had no car, no money?”

“OK. OK, the violins are playing in the background now. Let’s stop beating that proverbial dead racehorse, shall we?” She patted his arm, “Anyway, I am glad that things worked out the way that they did between us. Otherwise you would have stayed an arrogant -asshole lawyer.”

“And you would have stayed an Angel, my love!”

“Yes,” she nodded, “but I finally got to keep my Angel powers, and you let your Bar card slide. Actually, I don’t think you lost the asshole side of your personality completely though!”

“Thanks. Nice compliment there. But that’s OK. I prefer writing. I can tell you that every single one of my lawyer friends, well, the ones who still talk to me, all tell me that they would give their right nut to be writing like me, instead of lawyering. But here I am, doing it!”

“And their left nut? What will they do with that?”

“Huh?” 12

“Never mind, it’s your analogy. Anyway, I told them that as part of my duties I match people in love, right, but how could I really do this without experiencing love for myself. I would just not be authentic doing something on one hand, but not knowing what I was doing on the other! Anyway, the Committee went away, discussed it, and after a few days, came back and said, ‘OK, go ahead, find some guy, fall in love, report back.’ So I did.”

“Report back? Or fall in love? Which came first, the chicken?

Or the egg?”

“It was fall in love first, then report back to us second.”

“Cool, can I read your reports?”

“Hell, no! Sorry, I meant, Heaven’s, no! Top Secret.”

“Top Secret? No way? Too intimate, possibly? Too personal, probably?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know! But don’t flatter yourself! I don’t want your Ego to get out of hand! It is all very dull writing -- emotionless -- this report writing. Don’t stress over it.”

“I know, thinking gets me into trouble. That’s why I left the Law. It was driving me crazy -- the mindset that the other guy is always the 13

enemy and always wrong -- and that you have to be a pit bull and always be biting somebody! Always on the attack, finding fault, drove me nuts.

Everything always negative, constant ‘what-if’s’ anticipating the worst.

No room for negotiation, no way to compromise and move forward.”

“Bad dog. Good lawyer?” She mused, and then pointed up ahead. “Oh look! There is a fresh fruit stand. Let’s stop and get something for the house.”

“The mansion you mean?” he corrected her. “You mean we can buy something that is not organic?”

“Silly boy, this is farm-grown, so it has to be organic! The words are synonymous.”

“Big word – ‘synonymous’ that is. I like it when you use big words on me.”

“There is the asshole side returning! The word means ‘the same as,’ you can look it up on your cellphone.”

“Thanks, I know what it means already.”

The cream-colored Bentley shuddered to a halt beside a group of cars off a dirt road by the fruit stand. As they pulled up in a cloud of dust, onlookers gawked and gaped.

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“I bet they think we are famous movie stars!”

“Nice analogy, but dream on. You’re no movie star, but the villain, maybe!”

“Ouch,” he said, pretending to pull a barb from his shirt, “that was very un-Angel-like. I thought you’re supposed to be always nice and encouraging.”

“Give me a break,” she opened her car door, “nice and encouraging within reason.”

They got out of the car and strolled towards the baskets of fresh fruit. A ruddy-faced man behind the counter reached over and immediately handed them two red figs, “Here,” he said, “I just washed and peeled them. My treat! You folks from around here?”

“No, not really.”

“Hollywood?”

“Not really either. We are headed up the coast.”

“Where to, if I might ask?”

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“Don’t know!” said Jake, pointing to Zara Jane who was lost among the tomatoes and avocado boxes, “You better ask the boss over there.”

The man looked at her, “Your wife is very beautiful.”

“Thanks, but she’s not my wife.”

“What are you waiting for?”

“What do you mean?”

“A girl that tall and beautiful won’t stay single for ever. She is just out of this world.”

“Yes she is! Literally! And keep your lascivious thoughts to yourself!” Jake was half-joking, but the “wife” comment had him stop and think.

“You thought we were married?”

“Yeah.”

“How so?”

“You guys just looked perfectly matched. I mean physically and mentally, and you just look like a ‘couple,’ if you know what I mean. I 16

see many people passing through here Mister, and you guys just look like the ‘picture-perfect-married-folk-couple,’ if ever I saw one, if you know what I mean. You just seem to compliment each other so well.”

“Yes, I gave her a compliment today after she threw the car keys at me that hit me on the head.”

The man laughed, “Lucky you survived! Hey, my name is Farmer Brown.”

“Of course it is.”

“No really it is, look!” he said, holding out a piece of official plastic. “Here's my driver’s license – see -- Ray Arthur Brown, the Third.”

“Jake Morrison, erstwhile attorney.”

“What kind of attorney you say you are?”

“Oh, never mind, it’s a private joke.”

They shook hands. His hands were knurled, calloused, knotted, and hard to the touch. Maybe he is a farmer after all, Jake thought.

“Let me ask you about the wife thing again, you meant it, right?

We like look married to you?”

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“Look, Mister, if it’s your girlfriend and you don’t want your wife to know, I can hold secrets. Not like we know each other or met before, right?”

“No, no, she is my girlfriend, just that marriage, well, it’s complicated between us. I don’t think her family will accept me.”

“I get it, she’s Catholic, and you’re Jewish?” he paused, waiting for a reaction. When he found none, he ventured another question, “She’s Muslim, and you’re Jewish, is that it?”

Jake started laughing. “Will you stop? She has a strict family code and they don’t like marrying their daughters off to foreigners.”

“You’re a foreigner? You sound American.”

“Look, Farmer Brown, I am American. I pledge allegiance and all that good stuff. They are the foreigners, visitors actually.” Jake waved with his hand, “Aw, forget it!”

“That’s five dollars,” Farmer Brown said to a customer taking their money. He had a huge roll, almost three inches thick, and he removed the rubber band. He placed the five-dollar bill on top, placed the rubber band back, and continued, “OK! Now where were we?

What’s the deal with her family, huh? Oh, I understand now, they are illegals – from which country?”

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Jake motioned with his hand for Farmer Brown to stop the questions. “Look, man! The inquisition is over!” He was getting irritated with the incessant questions. Famer Brown gave a look of mock surprise.

Zara Jane then walked over, and handed over bags of handpicked avocados, tomatoes, and white peaches.

“What you think, Jake?” She looked at him, holding up the fruitstand spoils.

“Awesome! By the way, this is Farmer Brown,” Jake introduced them, thankful for the interruption, “And this – this is Zara Jane.” She shook hands with the fruit-stand owner, noting his course hand gripping hers.

Her eyes were mesmerizing to Farmer Brown, especially when she lifted her white designer gold-rimmed aviator-sunglasses off her delicate nose with one hand, and looked at him pointedly while holding up the plastic bags with farm produce. “These are fresh?”

“So fresh and juicy, ma’am, you could almost say that you picked them yourself!” he said proudly. She laughed.

“Almost is right.” Jake muttered, and handed over a ten-dollar bill. Farmer Brown unwrapped his pile of bills, making sure to hand 19

two dollars in change back to Zara Jane, who handed them in turn back to Jake.

“Your husband here is quite a catch,” he pointed to Jake.

“Great!” she smiled, “But he’s definitely not my husband!”

Farmer Brown was caught off guard. He looked at Zara Jane, who pushed back her sunglasses on her nose, and then at Jake, who shrugged his shoulders and put his small gold-mirrored tortoise-shell sunglasses back on as well. “Modern relationships are just too complicated these days, man, just too complicated. Whatever you guys are into, is fine by me!”

Jake took the produce bags from Zara Jane, and waved goodbye.

Farmer Brown waved back. They walked back to the Bentley.

“Now how do we pop the trunk?” She took the keys from him, pressed the remote, and the trunk yawned open obediently.

“Nice,” Jake nodded in appreciation. She deposited the bags.

“Anyway, my turn!” she squealed with delight, and still holding the keys, walked over to the driver’s side.

“To drive?”

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“Yup. To drive!”

Jake shrugged his shoulders, and walked over to the passenger side, opened the door, and sat down in the comfortable leather bucket seats.

“Wow!” he ran his hand over the passenger side wood trim, and looked around. “I like being driven, you see more of the road this way! I could get used to this!”

“Dream on!” She said, as she floored the accelerator and the tires kicked up stones as they bounced back onto the highway. Jake scrambled to shut his door. She let out a delighted peal of delight.

“Angel coming through!” She yelled. Cars and scenery flashed by them again.

“Remember, whoever gets the speeding ticket, pays for the speeding ticket. Your rules, remember? You got your kicks, now please slow down.”

She got more speed from the machine, and then turned to him.

“So what was all that about?”

“What was what about? What ever do you mean?”

“You little shit, you know exactly what I mean! That stuff about ‘your husband being a catch’ and all. You put him up to something, I know you did!”

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“Whaaat? I swear to you I did not! You can read the deposition transcript. I did not say anything to him about marriage, I swear to you.

Now please, I ask you again, slow down, woman!”

Zara Jane continued her “Bentley-speeding-bullet” test-drive on the freeway to Santa Barbara for their client appointment. The blue waters of the sea sparkled in the sunlight, the air was hot, the day nice and sunny. It was a magical afternoon. A few yachts were languishing sedately, moored off the coast. The speeding cream-colored Bentley caught the attention of a few boaters who waved at them. Zara Jane lifted and waved her baseball cap back in acknowledgement.

Zara Jane could be just as unrelenting as Jake -- she the floored the accelerator -- and Jake fell back in his seat . “You lying little shit!”

Zara Jane suddenly turned to Jake. “I just know you said something to him, or he would not have come out with that marriage stuff. You primed the pump, metaphorically speaking, I am sure of it!”

“Hey, watch your language, and your speed! Of course not, no, I did not ‘put him up to anything’ per se, but I will tell you one thing.”

He said conspiratorially.

“What?” She asked inquisitively.

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“He thought we made a great, even perfect ‘married-couple’!

Said we complimented each other well. There, put that in your report if you like.”

“He said that? Well, great, I am glad, and I just might! I pick my men well. In every Century, even. I remember George Washington’s brother . . .”

“I thought I was your first ‘human love’! No, actually, I don’t want to know anymore!”

“Don’t be silly. He has been dead a few hundred years now. You have nothing to fear from a dead man. You are not in competition with him you know.”

“Can we change the subject please? It has taken a sudden and rather morbid turn.”

“Fine,” she said, lifting off her baseball cap, the wind immediately kicking her hair into a golden whirlpool spilling all about her. She gathered it and placed it into a more manageable ponytail.

When Jake realized what she was doing, he reached over and steadied the steering wheel for her.

“I got it!” She said, holding the steering wheel between her knees. “I do this all the time!” She slowed the vehicle to a more manageable speed as she perfected her pony-tailed hair arrangement.

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A truck driver peered at her lasciviously as he overtook them and drove past, looking down into their cabin, and at her cleavage. She looked up at him, and smiled. The driver honked the horn a few times.

Jake shook a fist at the truck driver passing them, throwing his bottle of water at the truck, and then turned to her. “Will you stop that?

Turning on a truck driver is not only dangerous, it is against California driving rules and regulations. I read that in the DMV handbook, and it was on my driver’s license final exam.”

“You failed that a few times too, if I remember.”

“No, that was my Bar exam.”

“No, I know about your Bar exam. I thought you failed your driver’s license exam as well, and had to retake that a few times too.”

“Who’s counting?”

“Ha ha,” she laughed aloud, spinning round to look at him.

Jake pretended to have a hurt look on his face, “I though Angels were supposed to be here to uplift people, give them hope, confidence, and help them reach their fullest potential?”

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She interrupted him. “Well, I am and we do! You took the driver’s license test and the Bar exam before you met me. If I knew you then, you would have passed both the first time!”

Zara Jane, satisfied, settled back in bucket seat for the long drive.

She had twisting her long blond ponytail through the hole at the back of the cap, and had secured her hair with a leather clasp, so with the hair wars over, she decided to catch up to the truck driver. Jake was consulting the piece of paper where she wrote the directions, when she now passed the truck driver and honked. “Will you stop that?” He feigned anger, and then looked at the map, “We are close to Santa Barbara now, and ahead of schedule, so why don’t we stop for lunch at Sam’s Café.”

“Sounds like a plan, I love their food. Genuine Italian. Just like my twelfth husband.”

“Stop! Be nice.”

“That’s my problem. I always am.”

They parked the car at a metered space in front of the restaurant, Jake dropped in a few quarters, and they stepped inside the airconditioned low-lit restaurant.

They had to allow a couple of minutes for their eyes to adjust to the lighting, and then slid into a window booth. Jake ordered a draft 25

beer, Zara Jane a mineral water with lots of ice and a twist of lime.

When their drinks arrived, they gave their lunch order, and settled back in the red leather booth.

“This is fun. I propose a toast!” Jake lifted his beer glass.

“OK. Shoot!” she raised her mineral water.

“To making a killing working together on future projects!”

“Hey, let’s get through this one, it will not be easy. But I won’t clink glasses to that. I just have water!”

“OK, superstitious, I get it. We can order you wine if you like?”

She shook her head. Jake loved the taste of a cold beer on a hot day, and for Zara Jane, the mineral water was refreshing. Lunch was a welcome break. Jake decided to test the subject again. “Farmer Brown saw us and thought we were married. I told him that I your family wouldn’t come to our wedding!”

Zara Jane was drinking a swig of mineral water when he said this.

She spat out the water in a spray, and shrieked with laughter. “You told him that?”

“Easy there, the water mist we can get outside! You got me drenched!”

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“That’s why I am with you,” she laughed hysterically; “I just love your sense of humor.”

“I hope there are some other facets to me that you like as much,” he said, winking.

“Nah, that’s it. Sense of humor. That’s definitely it!” She smiled, watching for his reaction, “Even wrote that in my last report to the Committee!”

“Well, two out of three isn’t bad, I guess!”

“What are the three?”

“Can’t tell you. We are in mixed company,” he whispered and pointed, “and there are kids in the next booth!”

“Aaah,” she nodded, “Understood. But the Farmer thought we made a good couple, right?”

“God, yes, told you. He thought we already married, that we made a great couple – that we complimented each other well – you know, all the good stuff!”

“We shall see. Working together is a leap of faith.”

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“Well,” he smiled, “that my dear you have in abundance, given your upbringing!”

“Very funny! Wouldn’t he be surprised if we told him the truth?

We can on the way back . . .”

“God no, he is insanely inquisitive enough already.”

“Perfect,” she flicked back her ponytail, “he may be a great guy contact to talk to about stuff later if we need to. I think he knows a lot about what is going on around here in them there hills. Maybe he has heard stuff about them there racehorses too?”

“Since when do you talk ‘Texan’?”

“This is not Texan, just Western.”

Their food arrived. They split a Greek salad and a grilled Swiss cheese and tomato sandwich, with plenty of sliced pickles.

“I don’t miss the law office,” he speared a Kalamata olive.

“The law office doesn’t miss you either. This is neat. We can hang out together.”

“Who wouldn’t want to do what I am doing. Hanging out with you all day long in the mansion? Just watching you.”

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“Watching me all day? I don’t need that. I have plenty of things to do. People to meet. Places to go. Things to accomplish. You can’t just hang out all day watching me. I will kick your butt out if you do.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I love what I am doing. Writing is great, but this paralegal stuff, I mean paranormal stuff, it just rocks!”

“Jake, this is not a ‘Pretty-boy Party!’ Great that you have good looks, but I am not going to sit around and watch you squander your God-given talents. You are a genius Jake, I told you that when I first met you at the law firm, you have some amazing talents and I am going to make damn sure you use in this lifetime, or I will kick your butt from here to eternity. We have to do something with those brains of yours!”

Just at that moment the server arrived, “I was going to ask if everything is all right? Sorry if I caught you at a bad time.” She placed a big bowl of fresh fruit between them, hurriedly dropped two spoons, and walked away quickly.

“I didn’t mean sitting around writing forever. But it is nice to redefine oneself. I always believed that when one door is closed, another is opened. The law door closed, so then the writing window opened for me.”

“You can redefine yourself all you want later on down the road, with all the doors and windows you wish for. Right now, you have to be 29

the ‘leader,’ especially with this client – he is very ‘old school,’ and no woman is going to get through to this guy. I could tell on the phone.

You will have to take charge and take command. Pretend he is opposing counsel! Grrrrrrr!” She gritted her teeth.

“Great!” he said, “By the way, you have some spinach on your front teeth!”

She grabbed a mirror from her large orange leather handbag, and peered into it, baring her teeth.

“I don’t see anything!”

“Well, made you growl too! ‘Grrrrr’ to you!”

She slapped his hand, and threw the mirror back into her purse.

“You are a child sometimes! You and your sense of humor!

Sometimes it’s a wonder we get along.”

“Must be something, huh? Well, you have nine lives. No, that’s a cat. You have what, one, but it never ends, right? Wow, what a concept.

I have one too.”

“I will end yours for you sooner than you expect if you don’t get your butt in gear and today is the day. Remember there was a song

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about new beginnings, or staring over, something like that. You know it?”

“No, but if I did, I am sure I was trying to forget it. Now that you reminded me, my brain will squirm in my head all day long trying to remember it. I will think of all the song lyrics that match that description!”

“Well, that’s your message for the day. You have shuffled around the house long enough! Let’s go solve a case and get us some funds into the business.”

“How much are we getting in fees?”

“Enough. More than enough believe me.”

Jake signed the lunch check, and they left the restaurant. The hot air immediately swirled around them as they stepped outside.

“The air conditioning was so nice.”

“So will be the air coming off the ocean. Let’s go!”

Zara Jane climbed back into the driver’s seat. She had done great with the directions, and Jake scribbled the names of vineyards they passed. One estate after another, vines lined in endlessly symmetrical rows creeping up the hillsides. Bunches of red and green grape clusters 31

were ripening gently, fed nutrients by the rich soil, while basking gently in the temperate sun’s rays.

“How, how pretty.” Jake lifted his sunglasses, “Vines can live more than a hundred years, you know?”

“So can humans if they don’t destroy the land, poison the oceans, and end up killing themselves.”

“Yes,” he nodded, “we humans have done a lousy job at preserving the environment.”

“Greed. All greed. Units of production. Efficiency that makes food no longer nutritious. Looks like food, but pumped with hormones and food coloring. Faux-food that can last on shelves for years, where the packaging is more nutritious than the contents.”

“Crazy, huh? If I were ‘King for a Day,’ I would change all this.

Put laws through Congress -- in my first day I would ban all plastic grocery bags and Styrofoam cups!”

“If you were King for a Day, we would be in for Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride! But I like the sentiment. I am afraid the process of degeneration in some cases is irreversible.”

A call came through on her cell, and she held the phone up to her ear and began talking.

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“Hi, Mr. Steiger.”

Jake looked at her and wagged his finger from the passenger seat, “That’s a big no-no. Nice fine you know! Speeding, and then this?

Don’t hold the phone to your ear! That’s a ticket!”

“Hold on, Brad, will ya?” she told the caller, and looked at Jake, “The remote earpiece stopped working.”

She then pressed a button on the phone converting it to speakerphone, pushing the phone where it peered out of her cleavage, and turned to Jake, “Happy now?”

Jake mumbled to her, “Well, that gives to ‘hands-free’ a whole new definition, I can tell you that much!”

Zara Jane ignored the comment, and said, “We are on the way, Mr. Steiger!”

A voice crackled out of her bosom. “Mildred and I will see you soon then. Drive safe!” She turned off the cellphone, and smiled, as the Bentley thundered down the long and winding road.

After a couple of miles, Jake looked down at the map, and yelled excitedly, pointing. “There’s his driveway, on the right!”

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Zara Jane swerved into the driveway, an oncoming car barely missed them.

“Thanks for the advance notice, Jake.” The sudden swerve caused Jake to lose his grip on the papers, which scattered in the wind.

“You’re welcome!” Zara Jane laughed. She was having fun driving this sleek monster, it sure beats driving a motorcycle, she thought.

They drove about a mile through the vineyard to finally reach the ranch house with its adjacent infinity pool. Their client Brad Steiger was waiting for them. A tall man, with a large belly and ruddy complexion, he watched as the cream-colored Bentley drew to a stop almost in front of his cowboy boots. He registered the make of the car, and cocked his eyebrows. Nice ride, he thought, they must be good.

Zara Jane leaned over and whispered in Jake’s ear, “Remember, it’s the ‘Jake Morrison Show!’ Knock him dead!” Jake and Zara Jane both got out of the car simultaneously, each slamming their door for effect. The gravel crunched under their boots.

“I am Jake Morrison, and may I introduce my assistant, Ms. Zara Jane,” he held out his hand.

Zara Jane shot him a look, “Partner!” She corrected him, and winked.

34

Brad walked over, shook Jake’s hand first, almost crushing it, then gently kissed Zara Jane’s hand. “Nice to make your acquaintances.

Welcome to my humble 100-acre abode!” He laughed heartily, waving them into the opulent ranch house.

“Drinks anyone?” His voice thundered.

“Sure. Bourbon if ya got it? Straight up.”

“I do, and for the little lady?” He shot a stare at Zara Jane.

“Mineral water, no ice, two slices of lime. If you can add a slice of lemon too, that would be great.”

Brad shook his head, “Whatever! I will go get it for ya’all.”

She looked at Jake sternly, “What’s with the booze? Don’t get shitfaced! We don’t need you to throw bottles at him!”

“I won’t, and I thought you forgave me for those dark days of my soul.”

“I’ll show you dark days . . .” she whispered.

Brad returned with a tray, “You folks come into the study. We can talk privately in there.”

35

He handed them their drinks in thick and heavy glass tumblers, and motioned for them to sit. They sank down into the two massive blood red tufted leather armchairs. Brad leaned back against the monstrously big and heavy wooden desk, and stood in front of them.

He was a towering bull of a man, his complexion matching the red leather.

“They have been a killin’ my horses. Not only mine. Other's too.

People board their horses here, and they have been a dyin’. This is costing me a fortune.” He had the bluest eyes that now flashed with anger. “My insurance company called me and told me they gonna cancel my policy because too many racehorses have died while being boarded here. I gotta get some help here, folks. That’s why I called ya’all.”

Jake looked over at Zara Jane for a clue as to what to do next.

She handed him a yellow envelope and his slim black leather binder from her large orange handbag. Jake took the items, and placed them on his lap. He waited.

“I am glad the little lady come prepared,” Brad said laughing.

Jake giggled as well, but was unsure what was funny. Himself, probably.

This was really the “Zara Jane Show,” he thought, and he was only along for the ride. He could not tell Brad this of course, but wondered how Brad even came to hire them.

36

Zara Jane nodded sweetly, but she was worried about Jake ordering bourbon so early in the afternoon. If he was playing a role, she hoped it was a good one. If her looks could kill, Jake thought, I would be as dead as one of “them there racehorses.” She just wanted him to know she was watching his every move.

Brad noticed her eyes flash yellow-brown at Jake. Strange, he thought, then focused on Jake.

Jake reached into his left jacket pocket, and very slowly extracted his black and silver pen. Not just any pen, a fountain pen with a double broad nib. He slowly rotated the pen so that the silver clasp was visible, and ever so slowly, rotated the pen so that it faced Brad.

It was an old trail lawyer’s trick of distraction, and it worked so well that even Zara Jane watched expectantly along with Brad to see what Jake would do next.

Jake was in no rush. He turned the pen around a couple of times, until the distinctive logo faced outwards, then he popped the top off, and ever so slowly placed the top over the barrel of the pen, baring it’s silver nib. He propped the yellow pad on his right knee when he crossed his right leg over the left. All that could be heard was the slow whirl of the massive ceiling fan above. Stuffed heads of deer looked lifelessly out from their mounts on the wood-paneled walls. Off to the side of the room was a large gun rack. A hunter, Jake thought.

37

“I am going to take a few notes while we talk, if you don’t mind.

Anyone object?”

Brad gulped down his bourbon. “Nope, none from me. Go ahead, my boy!” He poured another three fingers full into his glass from the whisky decanter.

Jake took a small swig of his bourbon and nearly choked. This was some strong stuff. I have to take smaller swigs, he thought, setting down the heavy whiskey glass hastily.

“OK, what happened?” Zara Jane asked as she crossed her legs, and looked at Jake, then Brad. She handed Jake a coaster, and Jake placed his glass on top of it on the heavily lacquered gnarled wood desk.

“This horse dyin’ stuff all started when we began construction on the new stable at the end of the property,” Brad’s voice boomed, “I will suggest you go up there later. I have a couple of horses saddled so you two can ride up there and take a look-see for yourselves. We have dinner plans afterwards for here at the ranch, and you can meet muh wife. You can try some of our new private label red reserve too. Lovely stuff. Vines are Chilean, you know, one hundred years old and still producing.” He looked quizzically at Zara Jane. “You OK to ride in that dress, little lady?”

38

“I have a change of clothing I brought along,” she smiled, “just in case.” She patted her large orange leather handbag.

Brad nodded appreciatively, continuing. “The story is simple.

After the construction began, the horses in my stable started to die.

First mine, then it was as if they targeted those that belonged to others who boarded here, in fact, these guys started a-killin’ the racehorses that didn’t belong to me! These are here for a hefty flat monthly fee. But I have to pay the insurance costs if they die through any kinda, what ya legal boys call it, negligence? Anyway, can you imagine? Damn those bastards!” His eyes flashed slate blue, as cold as granite. “I’m sorry, ma’am, did not mean to cuss, but these people are killin’ me, and my business. I have to pay out of my own pocket now. This will ruin me!

What ya’all need to get started?”

“Well, I am going to need some surveillance equipment. I can make out a list,” and Jake began writing on a fresh piece of yellow legal paper.

“Don’t worry. I don’t need the details, just spare no expense. Bill me, and do what needs to be done. Just get it done!”

“We also need the retainer check signed by you so we can deposit it.” Zara Jane interjected, smiling sweetly.

“Why, yes ma’am!” he patted his large waistcoat, then his stomach, “I guess we all have to eat! Why, doggone it, here it is!” He 39

said coyly, and opened his leather-bound checkbook. There were horses emblazoned on the front.

Jake handed Brad the black and silver fountain pen, and shot a glance at Zara Jane, who looked back at him, and gave him a momentary wink. He knew that she was having a ball.

Brad had trouble writing with the fountain pen when he held it incorrectly. Finally, in frustration he handed it to Jake, “I will use a proper ballpoint pen instead if you don’t mind.” He scribbled on the check, then handed it to Jake.

Jake glanced at the check and started counting the “zeros,” Zara Jane smiled her fabulous half-smile and before he could look at the check again, snatched it out of his grasp.

“For the client trust account!” she said, depositing the check into her handbag with a flourish, where it immediately disappeared from view.

“Thank you, client trust account it is. Retainer agreement, Ms. Jane?” Jake raised an eyebrow.

“Why, yes, we need that signed too.” Zara Jane said sweetly, handing Brad a thick envelope. He removed the document it contained, which he looked through briefly by furling the pages. “Yes, our Standard-32-page-Client- Retainer-Agreement.’”

40

“Yes,” she said with a sly smile, “our ‘Standard’ Client Retainer Agreement. Same one I emailed early this morning, Brad.”

“Oh, fine. Muh lawyer already read it. Said to go ahead and sign it, so I can now.” He clapped his hands. “Glad we cleared up all those legal preliminaries. I have been in meetings all morning yesterday with them insurance people and muh lawyer. That was explosive!”

Jake handed Brad his fountain pen again, but Brad shook his head, signing and dating the last page of the Agreement with his ballpoint pen.

Jake signed his name with a flourish of his fountain pen, and handed Zara Jane the fountain pen and the Agreement, which she in turn signed with a flourish as well. She then handed him back his fountain pen, which he slipped back into his jacket pocket, and she placed the Client Retainer Agreement back into its manila envelope, and back into the leather file folder.

Jake was not sure who was overplaying it more, she or he.

“We will get you a copy of the signature page. We best ride before the sun sets. Where is the stable you are building?”

“Straight ahead. Ride due north.” Brad indicated.

41

Jake struggling to free himself out of his red-leather tomb.

Finally, he huffed and puffed, and by holding onto the heavy chair arm, lifted himself up and out, “Wow,” he said, “these chairs aren’t easy to get out of!” Zara Jane scooted forward, and then fought her way out of her chair too. “I have to go change. If you will excuse me, Mr. Morrison, Ms. Jane.”

Brad looked at her appreciatively, then turned to them. “Your horses are outside, ride straight ahead and its over the first hill. You can’t miss it.”

Zara Jane returned with her white shirt, riding breeches, and boots. Brad looked at her approvingly. “I got some things to take care of. See ya’all later when you come back for dinner. We’re havin’ beef stew. You’ll love it. Build up an appetite, now will ya?”

“You ready to go ridin’, little lady?” Jake asked her as he gave her a gentle pat on her rump.

“Watch it. That’s sexual harassment!”

“Believe me, that’s not sexual harassment by any stretch of the imagination.”

Brad looked surprised, “How long ya’all been in business?”

42

Jake held up his hands, “It seems like a lifetime already, believe me! But you are in great hands. We will find the underlying cause of this, don’t you worry, Mr. Steiger. Our client base has been very satisfied with the caliber of our investigative work and consulting services.”

“We have great referrals as well,” Zara Jane interjected.

“Yes,” Jake suppressed a smile, “those we have too, in droves.”

They walked through the spacious house, noting the layout.

There were huge flat panel screens in the den, the family room, and the living room. Each blasted a different sports channel. A variety of people were slouched in chairs and sofas throughout the house. They did not look up as they walked by, and Brad did not introduce them. There were large windows everywhere, and the walls were filled with pictures of racehorses, beautifully photographed. Some frames we piled up on the floor leaning one another against the wall. “I had to take these down,” Brad pointed to the grouping apologetically, “those are the racehorses that died.”

“Wow, so many?” said Jake, “Understandably not good for business.”

“Terrible for business, are you kidding? This is killing me – in the wallet!” He patted his backside, and sneered.

43

“The wallet – understood – the wallet!” Jake said, repeating himself for effect. He wagged his pen, feeling an urge to poke Brad in either the wallet, or his big belly. He thrust forward with the pen, then caught the temptation, and placed the pen back safely in his left suitjacket pocket. Jake was tipsy, Zara Jane thought, and he had better not fall off his horse in front of their client.

Brad was wearing a white shirt, patched jeans, and scuffed cowboy boots. He was ready to ride. Zara Jane was dressed in a white shirt, blue jeans, with ankle-high scuffed cowgirl boots. Jake had ridden once before, but Zara Jane was perfectly comfortable riding. She leapt onto her saddle. Jake took three tries before he could place his foot into the stirrup, and mount his horse. They rode away from the house.

When they were out of earshot, she enquired. “Jake, see what I mean about him being ‘old school’?” Jake nodded. “This guy is more than ‘old school,’ he is ‘old money’ too. I guess he also did not start worrying until the racehorses he boarded for others were dying, and that must have cost him some serious cash. Still, I wonder who would do such a thing? Business rivals. Someone who really has it in for him?”

“No, nothing like that,” she imitated his taking out his fountain pen, “but what’s with the pen shtick?”

“Oh, that’s fun! God, that's fun! I would do that in the courtroom, at a particularly tense point in the proceedings. Maybe the 44

other side had made an objection, or I was doing a cross-examination.

Maybe they were finishing closing arguments. Anyway, they were doing whatever they were doing, and I have a yellow legal pad in front of me, pretending to be doing something. I want to write something down,” he laughed, “so I would take my pen out.” He imitated his hand actions.

“Ever so slowly, not even looking at it, as if it’s in slow motion. And someone in jury pool starts looking. I turn the pen towards them, and slowly unsheathe it.”

“Ooh baby, tell me more.”

“I pop the top off this sucker, and then slowly align the pen nib in my fingers, I glance up absentmindedly, I may be standing up, but most times I am seated at the table. One juror taps another, then another, pretty soon they are all staring at me like the freaking pen is alive! Like they never saw a fountain pen in their lives. Then opposing counsel, they end up doing the same thing, trying to see what the jurors are looking at! It was unreal. Opposing counsel would nine times out of ten stop what they were doing or saying – just watching the pen! Then the judge too. And I never even said a word!”

“Wow. What a manipulative guy I have on my hands!”

“And what a legal genius I have in my Angel! One who just happens to have legal skills to boot! What’s with the 32-page Retainer?

Shouldn’t you have given it to me to read first, don’t you think?”

45

“I am sure you already did! It was there on your desktop – in the standard boilerplate agreements folder. Just a quick cut and paste of the names. It said ‘Generic Retainer Agreement’ it said, I figured that would work? No?” “Yeah, that will work. Pretty good detective work there, on my computer no less. I may even marry you! We could open a law firm together.”

“Yeah, right! I bag the clients, you wrap them.”

“In pleading paper, of course.” He laughed at his own joke.

“But of course!” She smiled sweetly. “I wanted to surprise you with my resourcefulness!”

“That you did, little lady.”

Jake leaned across his horse to hers to kiss her, almost falling over, having to steady himself. Their horses were crawling slowly up the hill, the stables just below. She responded by blowing him a kiss, then they rode on. Back at the ranch house, Brad was watching them through binoculars.

“Holy shit!” Brad exclaimed to his wife, “He just tried to plant a kiss on his secretary!”

46

“That’s not his secretary, and seems like you did the same thing, except more than try, if I remember!” Mrs. Steiger said acerbically, and walked determinedly past Brad to set the place settings on the dinner table.

“God dammed, Mildred, that was thirty years ago!”

“She was no looker,” Mildred retorted, “not like this one. Well, times have changed in the secretary pool, I guess.”

Zara Jane and Jake surveyed the vineyard as the sun was slowly setting, as it cast a yellow-gold lantern of color that bathed the greenleaved vines with warmth. They were heavy with clusters of grapes, greens on the left, and reds on the right. As soon as the sun would set, the temperature would drop dramatically.

When they came upon the stable, they alighted from their steeds, and explored around the building, which still had the scaffolding erected. The building was half completed.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“Dunno yet, too early to tell.” She scratched in the sand.

Something caught her eye.

47

“Hey, hello,” said a voice, startling them, “I am Roberto. I work here. Another racehorse just got sick. It’s in the stable, it got sick just a few minutes ago. He fell down, you wanna look?”

They looked at each other, and then nodded. “Sure, show us.”

They hurried into the stall. A magnificent racehorse lay on the floor, thrashing feebly with one leg. Dying. Zara Jane held a hand to her face in horror, and a tear appeared. “This is terrible Jake, these poor, poor creatures.”

“Yes, I know, I know.” he said reassuringly, hugging her. She looked at him, and then bent down over the racehorse. She tried to pat it, and provide some small comfort. She was tactilely getting a sense impression of what was causing the animal such misery and distress.

She laid her hands along the horse’s body, and then looked up at Jake. “He has been poisoned, Jake, horrible stuff too. He doesn’t stand a chance.”

“How do you know?” Roberto asked.

“Trust me, I know. This stuff is powerful enough to kill a horse, look at the size of these beasts. And a racehorse on top of it. These are the best and the brightest, so to speak.”

48

“Well, maybe also the fastest and most expensive?” Jake volunteered.

Brad suddenly appeared at the entrance to the stable, and ran in.

“I just heard from Roberto, he just called me on muh cell. God dammed! This belonged to the Fitzgeralds. They gonna kill me.” He banged his fist on the stable wall, visibly upset. “Do whatever you have to do. This horse was insured for ten million! God dammed.”

Brad pounded the wall again. “Heck, I will double your salary if you can close this case in a week, two tops. Is that OK with ya’all? Two weeks from now? Double your fee!”

“We will do what we can,” Jake looked at Zara Jane and winked, “but Brad, can we get that fee doubling stuff in writing?”

Brad looked at him with surprise, “Dammit my boy, you don’t understand what’s goin’ on here! I don’t give a crap about the money I’m paying ya! Just stop this happening. Find out who is doing this to me, or I will kill them myself with my bare hands, I swear to you both I will!” He stormed out of the stable. Brad jumped back into his red Cadillac convertible and sped back to the house in a cloud of dust.

Zara Jane and Jake exchanged glances. Then they painstakingly examined the stable for a while, finally Roberto lost interest in them and disappeared. Finally, Jake and Zara Jane decided to leave when the sun was about to set. They rode their horses back to the house, 49

alighted, and a distrustful stable hand took the reins and led the horses away.

A matronly woman waved at them. “Hi, I am Mildred Steiger, Brad’s wife of thirty years. Nice to meet ya’all. The powder room is just through there,” she said, shaking hands, then pointing, “You can freshen up in there.”

“Luckily, I brought some powder with me,” Jake volunteered.

Mildred looked surprised.

“Oh, no, not that kind of powder! Gunpowder!” Zara Jane looked at Jake with some alarm.

“I heard about you high-priced lawyers,” Mildred countered.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Jake said smiling, “Our requirements are modest I am sure compared to your current urgent need for our consulting services.” They all laughed.

After a few pleasantries, and a delicious homemade beef-stew dinner cooked in a red-wine sauce, Zara Jane and Jake retreated to their waiting convertible. They put the top up for the ride back. After their goodbyes, they were on the road again. It was nighttime, and the ocean was a deep blue haze in the moonlight hue.

50

“How long do we still have this car for?”

“Since he doubled our ‘salary,’ a few more days I guess.”

“Great,” he rubbed his hands together, “not bad, Partner, you have surprised me today! I think a raise may be in order.”

“I will give you raise, all right.”

“Later, my doll, let’s get home first!” He smiled. “I also need to go shopping tomorrow.”

“Cool, Beverly Hills?”

“Not exactly. Downtown. I need to get some surveillance equipment from the spy store. Night-vision goggles, surveillance cameras, fun stuff like that.”

“They are not dumb. They will know you are a-coming, misterfountain-pen attorney.”

“That’s exactly what we want them to think!”

“Sh-plain to me.”

“Yesh, Mish Moneypenny,” he said, imitating Sean Connery playing 'James Bond,' “I shh-hall. I want to flush them out. They will 51

see me put up the equipment. I think they will know. It will worry them. Remember, as the bible says, ‘only the guilty fleeth.’”

Zara Jane smiled, “I feel the same way. I think ‘they’ will want to communicate. They killed his horses first. He kept building the stable.

Then they killed the racehorses belonging to clients. That really cost him money. But still he didn’t stop building.”

“Exactly! Now that client racehorses are dying, watch if his insurance company doesn’t deny him coverage. ‘Known dangerous conditions,’ and ‘Failure to take remedial measures,’ and-.”

She waved a hand in his face. “Okay, Legal Breath! You don’t need to do ‘closing arguments’ to convince me. I got it.” She yawned.

“This is one tired Angel you got here. I need to rest my wings. This has been one long day.” She maneuvered in her car seat to find a more comfortable position to fall asleep in.

Jake was just thrilled to be driving the Bentley. With its motor humming very quietly especially for its size, speed seemed natural in this vehicle. Like it was born to be driven, and fast too.

“This car handles beautifully. Man, if someone told me a year ago that I would be living in a mansion in them hills, driving a fucking Bentley down the coast, have my little woman beside me, and a fat check in my hands, wow, I would have them they were dreaming. Now look at me! Whoo-hoo! Who could ask for more?”

52

“What’s with the ‘little woman’ bullshit?” She shot him a look.

“But, hey, this is your reality, you’re living it. I bet your friends would be jealous.”

“Jealous? If they could see me now, they would spit nails, as they say! They were always jealous of me! What can I say, that’s just how they roll. When we broke up and I was crying, I hate to say it, my friends were happy. They loved commiserating with me.”

“Poor baby! Crocodile tears?”

“No, I was crying the real ones. It was horrible. They were happy when I was sad, yet could not be happy when I was glad. When we got back together.”

“That’s bad.”

“Well, enough with the rhyming. All I am saying is human nature is fucking weird. People to tolerate one’s success, but only to the level of their mediocrity. Then they could rip your head off from jealousy.”

“Well, those aren’t real friends. Besides, you are already so far ahead of the pack that they need binoculars to see you now, so what do you care?”

53

“Really? Cool! I hope they are long-range binoculars, and that their eyeballs blow up!”

“What do you think? Hang around me, kiddo, and you will see.

I will light a firecracker under your ass.”

“What if it ignites?”

“Then you will go faster to higher places, I guess.”

“Yes, and be found at the same time in many different places!”

They laughed. Jake reached over, and took her hand. She was leaning back, and her eyes were starting to close.

“Hey, move your seat back all the way. Stretch out. Sleep, pretty darlin’. I will get us home safe, I swear.”

The large and robust engine purred softly. It was built to ride like a dream. In a couple of hours, they would be home. There was a mix of ambient chill-out beats playing through the speaker system, playing softly in the background. Jake was happier than he had ever been. He cranked up the music.

This was their first assignment, and Jake was thinking and planning where he was going to position the camera. Then he thought about their check that just doubled, and whistled aloud.

54

He glanced over at his new “business partner,” I could get used to this, he thought. I just hope I make her happy. He was surprised at himself for thinking this. Never before when he was dating anyone, did he ever think what they could be thinking, and if they were happy with him. This was a departure.

“Are you happy with me?” he asked.

“Yeah, sometimes.” She opened an eye groggily, and whispered.

“What made you ask?”

“Just wondering. You would tell me if you were not happy with me, wouldn’t you?”

“I will kick your ass, you don’t have to worry about that. That will be your indicator!”

“Good, just checking.”

“That’s sweet. Next time we go up on the motorcycle. Yes!” She looked at him, pulled her baseball hat down, and closed her eyes.

Jake drove the rest of the way home in silence. She was soon asleep, and he was alone with his thoughts. He just realized he never asked a girl he was dating before if she was happy with him. Wow, he thought, what is happening to me? I must be getting soft.

55

The next couple of days were hectic. Jake purchased the surveillance equipment he needed, along with a digital recording device so that the infrared day and night images could be relayed, captured, stored, and viewed. Zara Jane was busy setting up stationary and business cards for “Paradise Paranormal Investigations,” while Jake completed the registration their company. They were joint shareholders with equal controlling interests, profit sharing, and a dual-signature bank expense account, along with the clients’ trust account.

Even Angels pay taxes, Jake thought.

They decided to celebrate the inauguration of their company with a dinner at a small seafront restaurant. Zara Jane decided to wear a slinky little black dress with high heels, and Jake dusted his tuxedo jacket which was a light-blend that was stylish and comfortable, which he wore a white shirt and a bow-tie, his signature patched jeans, and scuffed well-worn cowboy boots. He added the tiger-eye cufflinks that his father had given him to complete his Chairman-of-the Board ‘business look.’

They uncorked a bottle of the red wine Brad gave them a case of, and had it served in large glass tumblers. Jake ordered the grilled leg of lamb with garlic-mashed potatoes, Zara Jane the grilled salmon over an Italian mixed salad with honey-dipped walnuts, with a light raspberry-vinaigrette dressing.

56

At the end of the meal with their plates cleared, they lifted their glasses. “To all the paranormal investigations that we can handle!” Jake offered as the toast.

“To really helping people!” Zara Jane was about to clink, then added a thought. “To stopping the racehorse killing!”

“Clink!” They asked the server to snap their picture. Their child, Paradise Paranormal Investigations, Inc. was officially born, and the birth was celebrated in style. Their hope was their new “baby” would soon start paying them back -- in style!

They had their first case, they were contented. Their life together had a new flow to it now, far removed from the angst and fear that characterized their past relationship. It was “new and better,” and they appreciated each other so much more. Jake looked at Zara Jane, nodded appreciatively while he rubbed her bare almost-naked back.

“Please,” she said, “no PDA’s.”

“No Personal Digital Assistants? You want me to put my cell phone away?”

“No, silly,” she pulled away from him, “no Public Displays of Affection!”

“You are kidding, right?”

57

“No, I am not. It makes me feel uncomfortable. I love you, you know that, but when we are out in public, our relationship is different.

It’s just business, not personal, understood?”

“You’re worried who may see us?”

“No, I am worried who may see me! Being with you, I am doing something that is still very much frowned upon, even forbidden, in my community. Friends are one thing, but family is another.”

“You mean about you being an Angel and me being a human. I understand if they get jealous.”

“Sometimes your humor amuses you more than anyone else, but I don’t want to broadcast it all over town that I am seeing you, you know, as a ‘human’ as you say!” She gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

“Wow,” he asked, “what happened to that strict PDA policy?”

She rubbed her hand quickly through his hair, “It’s still in place, believe me. Try it again and you will find a fork in your hand – and I mean that! I may be all soft and loving, but don’t cross me or make me mad.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jake responded, and ruffled her hair, gently, “I am crazy about you, you know that.”

58

“I know that you are crazy. About me, well, that’s good too.

With this corporation, Jake, we are entering a completely new phase in our relationship as well. I am proud of you and who you are, and I want to say that there is no one that I would want to be a partner with more than you.”

Jake smiled, and become serious, “You know, I know that we can never marry, but if we could, I would have asked you to marry me.”

“Well, maybe in a past lifetimes we were married! How else to explain this connection between us.”

Jake looked over his left shoulder, then his right, then he looked at her, and holding his right first over his heart, whispered. “You are my partner! I mean that in every sense of the word. I have your back, naked though it might be, and will fight like a tiger if anything comes, or tries to come between us!”

Her yellow-brown cat-like eyes danced in the candlelight. She smiled slightly, lifting her fist over her heart.

“You are mine too! That is why I made the choice to be with you. It is not something that I would normally do. The Angel community was up in arms like I told you, and I may need to have my head read to have chosen you, but then here I am.” She patted her bosom with her fist, “Partner!”

59

Jake beamed, reached over, and held her hands in his.

Remembering her “PDA” comment, released them.

“I don’t mind us holding hands, briefly, just none of that backrubbing stuff!”

Jake and Zara laughed. They were able to find the yin and yang of their relationship, and repartee fueled their interaction. The time that they spent together at the law firm seemed a million years away.

They drained the last of the wine from the goblets. The next few days would prove interesting, to say the least.

Zara Jane returned the rented Bentley, and they drove up to the Santa Barbara ranch in her slate-blue-grey Maserati. It was a fun drive up the coast, and they stopped at the Farmer Brown’s produce stand.

Their new “friend” was not there that day, but they still bought two buckets of strawberries as a gift for Brad and Mildred.

When they got to the Steiger ranch, however, Brad was in a pisspoor mood. “Another racehorse died last night. This stallion had a twelve million dollar insurance policy on him!” He raged, his face becoming blood red. “They are trying to ruin me. I swear I will rip their heads off with my bare hands, I swear I will, and shove them-.” He stopped himself. “Just find them for me! I will even triple your fees.”

60

Zara Jane handed the strawberries to Mildred, and turned to Brad, “We will do what we can. We have the surveillance equipment to set up. Try to relax, Brad. This may take some time.”

Jake pulled his gear from the trunk, “I guess we better get started.” He lifted his black leather satchel over his shoulder.

“Before you drive Mildred’s Jeep over to the stable,” Brad said gruffly, “have some coffee with us first. Mildred just brewed a fresh pot, and even baked you some English scones, her grandmother’s recipe, with fresh clotted cream and apricot preserves.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Zara Jane said, looking at Jake, “speaking for him I am sure we can enjoy a cup with ya’all,” she imitated his slow Texas drawl.

They all laughed, but over coffee, the tension was palpable. Brad was on the hook for a lot of money, and the tension was making him nervous, angry, and frustrated.

After the ping-pong back and forth of some meaningless conversation, Zara Jane and Jake excused themselves, and drove to the stable in the Jeep. It saved a possible tire puncture with their Maserati.

At the stable, commotion reigned. The latest racehorse casualty was being dragged out, and ranch hands viewed Jake and Zara Jane with deep hostility.

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“You think it’s us, don’t you? I hope you believe it’s not us,” Roberto said, “just that the boss is going crazy. He suspects all of us.

We have all worked here an average of six years, we would never do anything to hurt the horses, Mister Brad, or Miss Mildred. They even allowed our families to move onto the ranch, not too many employers would do that, now would they?”

Zara Jane put a reassuring hand on Roberto’s arm, “This is not to put blame or suspicion on you, or your guys, believe me. Jake and I just want to find out who’s doing this – so that it can be stopped. The killing of these racehorses must be stopped. You understand that, Roberto, don’t you?”

Roberto nodded, and calmed down. There was something reassuring about her touch. She always had such an amazing way of really connecting with people, Jake thought, and as he watched her handle this explosive situation he left his love grow for her. He felt such overpowering emotion, that he wanted to run over and hug her, but knew he could not do so. One, the “PDA” discussion still reverberated in his mind, and two, they were working, not socializing.

Roberto looked at Zara Jane, then Jake. “OK, guys, enough venting.

What can we all do to help?”

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Jake asked for a hammer and nails. “Sorry, I forgot to get those,” he shrugged, “and a ladder. I can take the rest from here.” Roberto left to get the requested items.

“You don’t want Roberto to run up the ladder and place the cameras?”

Zara Jane asked.

“No! No. No. Definitely not!”

“You want to fall off the ladder and break your neck instead?”

“No also. But thanks for the faith in my abilities. That was like my mom used to tell me as a kid – don’t do karate as one neck chop would leave you paralyzed for life. If I played soccer then she said one kick and my leg would be broken. And when I wanted to take up horse riding she warned that one fall and I would end up paralyzed for life!”

“Wow, your mother really had great faith in your athletic abilities! I was right then about having Roberto help you with the ladder.”

“No, I don’t want any of them to know where I will place the camera. I don’t completely discount that this is an inside job, and they know more than they are letting on.”

Zara Jane laughed, “Good thing you have an Angel as you partner for paranormal investigations, or you would starve, matey! I told you this is not the work of a ranch hand!”

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Roberto returned, gave Jake the items, and then excused himself.

Jake with a “We shall see what we see!” set up the camera, giving himself a wide-angle view of the stable, and set up the recorder to digitally capture all movements in and out for days on end.

When he was done, he turned to Zara Jane, “You ready to head back?”

She picked up a long eagle feather in the stable, and slipped that into her large orange handbag.

“This is a sign,” she said.

“Sure it is.” He teased her.

Then, after their goodbyes to the Steigers, were back in the Maserati and headed home. They made good time.

“Time will tell who is doing this, on film no less.”

“What is doing this!” She corrected him.

“OK, we make a bet. Sushi on Sunset. I say it’s a disgruntled ranch hand.”

“Legal Breath! You will lose. It’s not a ‘disgruntled’ ranch hand,” she mocked him good-naturedly, “It’s an entity, just you watch!”

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Jake laughed. “Ooh! An entity!” He said mockingly. “You will see, you will be paying for sushi on your tab! I can scarcely wait.”

The next day, Zara Jane called Brad and asked him to halt construction while they awaited retrieving the digital footage, but he refused. But when three days later, perhaps inevitably, another racehorse was poisoned, he called her back. His stream of invective was frightening. Zara Jane had never heard such language, and she felt she had to hand the phone to Jake. She whispered, covering the mouthpiece. “I can’t handle this,” she said, “he won’t listen. He is swearing! And I think he’s drunk too.”

Jake put the phone on “mute.” “No worries. He is like a million screaming-idiot clients I have dealt with before. Watch, I put him on ‘mute,’ I will come back to the phone in a half-hour, and he will still be screaming bluebloody murder, like I never left. He is just learning a major power-strugglelesson, the hard way. Believe me, those lessons don’t come easy. He is used to always getting his way. This time, not!”

When Brad exhausted all the swear words he knew, Jake promised they would travel up to the Santa Barbara ranch to view the captured footage.

Jake and Zara Jane took another trip up to the Steiger ranch to retrieve their digital camera footage, this time on her motorcycle, which just happened to be an Indian Chief Blackhawk Motorcycle, in Thunder Black. Jake took the trip sitting in the sidecar, please that through Brad he learned a few more swear words to describe the rattling 100-mile journey.

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When they arrived, Jake immediately fed his surveillance camera through the flat-panel television in Brad’s study, and Zara Jane, Brad, and Mildred all huddled in front of the screen as they watched the footage from the past days.

The decisive moment had arrived.

They fast-forwarded a lot of uneventful footage, until finally a dark mysterious figure appeared date-stamped three nights before. It entered the stable after dusk, approached a racehorse, but stood maddeningly out of view.

The horse then collapsed, the figure retreated. The footage from the next morning showed the ranch hands discovering the dead racehorse, so they were clearly not complicit in this particular horse-killing act. Zara Jane breathed a sigh of relief, and looked at Jake, who winked at her.

They were sitting in the wood-paneled study, and Jake was pleased to share his digital-capture experiments and developments with Brad and Mildred. But since Zara Jane insisted that she and Jake drive the motorcycle for the ride, Jake had to move around delicately. He felt his skeletal structure had been rearranged. “God,” he told Brad and Mildred, “I thank my lucky stars you are not farther away. I don’t think my ass could handle a longer trip in the sidecar. Why did I let Zara Jane talk me into this side-car motorcycle ride?” Zara Jane had an un-angelic smile.

Brad just ignored Jake’s comment. “Play the footage back, Jake.” He turned to Zara Jane. “Who the hell is that figure in the stable?”

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Zara Jane picked her words carefully. “I don’t think that figure is alive, not now at least. He is the spirit, and I need to talk to him.” She pointed to the figure in the footage.

“You say he is dead but you can talk to him? Whose nuts around here?

Look what I paid ya’all!”

“Told you this paranormal stuff can be crazy – welcome to my world, Brad.”

“You gonna talk to him too, Jake? Let me, but with my shotgun!”

Zara Jane turned angrily to Brad, “You can’t kill him. He’s already been dead a long time too. I will find out more, tonight I hope. You may have to stop construction.”

“Never!” Brad exploded when he heard her plan, “Not in a month of Sundays!” He screamed at her.

Jake looked at Zara Jane, and shrugged his shoulders. Brad demanded to look at the footage again, and Mildred shook her head in horror. Jake was having trouble sitting, and standing. He felt that every bone in his body had been shaken free of its joints sitting in that sidecar for more than 100 miles.

Zara Jane pulled out the long feather she found in the stable, and turned to Brad, Mildred and Jake. “See! I know he’s ready to talk to me now, 67

I am sure of it. We will stay overnight. Do you guys have sleeping bags for us?

Jake and I are going to sleep in the stable tonight. It’s a full moon. This should be interesting.”

Jake groaned, “First the motorcycle, then sleeping in a stable? What happened to Hotels? Motels even?”

No one seemed to care what Jake had to say.

Later that night, Zara Jane’s Angel instincts were well honed. After midnight, the shadowy figure returned. It entered the stable, and prodded Zara Jane from her sleep.

“Oh my God, Zara Jane!” Jake reacted with shock and horror, “Watch out! I have a weapon!” Jake screamed, and reached into his weathered blackleather satchel. “I have a 45!”

“Easy, Jake, relax! Don’t do anything foolish, put that away! You can’t kill him anyway! Anyway I have been waiting for this.” She stood up, and holding her hands up to show they were visibly empty, she approached the shadowy figure, who mumbled something. To Jake, it was unintelligible.

Not only was Zara Jane unafraid, she actually understood the dialect, and conversed back. After a few minutes of “conversing,” the brown shadowy figure crouched in font of her, and surrendered his stone blade bound with a leather handle. She handed back to Jake carefully. “Easy! Be very careful, this is poisoned and if a small drop gets into your bloodstream you will die! We 68

should analyze the compound they are using.” The figure then retreated, and then disappeared from view.

“Jake,” the words came out of her like a torrent, “this is an ancient burial ground for his people. He is, or was, their Chief. The stable construction is literally tearing up their resting ground – the ancient cemetery they are buried in. He and his people are being displaced, and as you can imagine are very angry for being so disturbed from their eternal slumber. Brad and Mildred have to listen Jake! He told me he was killing the racehorses just to get Brad to stop building -- just as I suspected. I told him we would intercede on his behalf! The stable building must not only be stopped, the whole structure must be moved away.”

Jake shuddered. It seemed very cold in the stable suddenly. “Wow, good luck telling Brad that! He won’t take the news well.” He shook his head.

“I must say I never thought we would be dealing with ghouls and ghosts.”

She punched him good-naturedly on the shoulder, and laughed.

“Welcome to Paradise Paranormal Investigations, with the emphasis on the

paranormal, partner! You are the Chairman, remember, so enjoy!”

“Yes, Madame President!”

Next morning, over coffee, three cups in fact, Brad finally stopped screaming and hollering. It took Zara Jane to finally place her hand on his arm and Mildred to place her hand on Brad’s shoulder, before he stopped

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yelling. It was an oddly poignant moment, Jake thought, and he wished he could have recorded it on his camera for posterity.

“What we found out is that this is an old Indian burial ground,” Zara Zane and Jake reiterated to Brad and Mildred, “and you can’t kill the person or thing that is causing the horses to die. The horses are dying only as a message to get you to stop and move the building, one you apparently choose to ignore time and time again!”

Brad’s face got redder, but he held his tongue. “OK, I will be ruined if this continues, what the hell am I to do?”

“You move the stable building completely, smooth over the soil, plant new grass over it, and leave that section completely alone. And if you do this,” her eyes flashed like brilliant yellow-brown diamonds, “the killing of the racehorses will stop. For your sake, and theirs, Brad, you have to listen! You have to follow my instructions, our instructions,” she looked at Jake, who nodded, “to the letter. No deviations. There are no short-cuts this time.”

Brad was visibly angry. No one thwarted him in his plans, ever, at least not until now. Slowly reason crept in over emotion, and with Zara Jane’s convincing and Mildred’s intervention, Brad finally relented. By noon, Brad called the contractors and gave them detailed instructions. He followed Zara Jane’s exact parameters. By three in the afternoon, the unfinished stable was being demolished. The four watched as the scaffolding was being removed, and the building teardown was being undertaken. Brad gave instruction for the stable to be re-erected in another part of their huge estate.

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Brad handed Jake another check, “Here ya’all! Payment in full! I take it that things are now smoothed over with them Indians from this point forwards? No more racehorses will die?”

“No more dead racehorses,” she smiled, plucking the check from Jake’s grasp, “you have my word on this, and the Chief’s too. Your problems here have been solved.” She cautioned. “You must leave that one acre alone, and undisturbed, for as long as you own the ranch, you agree?” Brad nodded reluctantly. “In addition, you write this into your will, I don’t mean to be morbid, but that acre needs to remain untouched from this day forwards, forever. Do we have a deal?” She held out a delicately manicured hand to Brad.

Brad looked like a child whose toy had been taken away from him.

Finally, he smiled. “Yes ma’am! Thank you for everything!” He boomed, ignored her outstretched hand, and crushed Zara Jane in a bear hug. She was surprised as the air was expelled out of her lungs by the intensity of his grip.

Then he finally released her, and shook hands with Jake, crushing his fingers in a nutcracker grasp. Brad had been clearly pleased at the resolution of his case by the two paranormal investigators.

Zara Jane gently hugged Mildred, and Jake timidly shook her hand, then they walked back to the motorcycle. Jake suddenly held Zara Jane in a bear hug, imitating Brad. “Well done, Partner! Case number one for Paradise Paranormal Investigations is successfully completed. If he can hug you, so can I! PDA’s or no PDA’s.”

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She pulled away from his grasp, “Easy there! What am I going to do with you?”

“Take me to cocktail parties, I am very good with small talk. By the way, what do we do with all this cash we just earned?” Jake remembered the checks, with all the zeroes.

“Jake, we will be able to really make a big difference with the money,” she had a serious tone in her voice, “we are going to make a lot, a lot, a lot of money doing what we are doing, and you need to be comfortable with it. You are going to make a lot more money than you ever did in the law, and we will be able to influence a whole lot more people and situations together. We are really going to need to give much thought to the causes that we are going to support with the money we make, I am serious, Jake.”

“I know,” he said, “That this is important to you, and you have my commitment that I will give this a lot of thought.”

She put her arms around his neck, and gave him a peck on the lips.

“You can do better than that!” he said, “We can do this together! How fun!

We can play King and Queen, but for more than a day!”

Jake put his arms around her waist, holding her close.

She laughed, “PDA’s are OK when no one is watching us.”

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Jake kissed her. She responded passionately. Then she pretended to swoon in his arms, dropping her arms to her side. “Why, you even made me forget my PDA rule!”

Mildred was watching Brad watching Zara Jane and Jake through the binoculars, “They are definitely sleeping together. In fact, I am now sure of it!”

“Will you give it a break Brad? It’s none of your business!”

When they walked back to the Indian motorbike, a single pink feather rested on the seat, a thin leather string attached to it.

“Ah, how sweet! He remembered us! Cool. I have an idea.” Zara Jane picked up the feather, threading it into her hair while peering into the rearmirror. “Sorry, Jake, pink is not your color. He left it for me anyway. You like?’ She turned to him, showing off the pink feather now threaded into her golden locks.

“I like!”

“It’s for good luck! Ready for the ride back?” She poked him in the ribs, then leaned forward, shook her mane of blonde hair, put on her black helmet and gloves, then placed her gold-rimmed aviator sunglasses delicately on her nose.

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Jake put on his yellow-mirrored tortoise-shelled sunglasses, adjusted his black helmet, clambered into the sidecar, and sat down gently.

He placed his black leather satchel safely on his lap.

He looked up at Zara Jane. “OK then. Onward, my Angel, to our next adventure!”

The Indian Roadmaster growled into life, its tires spewing dust and gravel as they drove ahead. As they pulled forward, a dark figure stirred in the bushes, and waved. Zara Jane caught both the movement, and its significance, and waved a delicately manicured gloved hand back.

“How sweet!”

“Who ya waving at?” Jake yelled up at her.

“The guy. The big Chief.”

“The big Chief guy from the stable?”

“Yes, he liked us. We did well by him. He came to see us off.”

The motorcycle roared down the open road, which stretched out ahead.

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She smiled a massive grin. “I promise I will be gentle.” She giggled, tapping his helmeted head with her glove. “I will avoid all the big potholes, I swear I will.”

“Yeah,” Jake muttered, “Funny for you! I know my ass is going to regret every mile of this bike ride all over again.”

“Hold on, sweetie! I see a pothole up ahead!” She swerved the motorcycle maddeningly. “Watch out for road kill! Especially the possums!”

She looked down at Jake in the sidecar, a look of sheer panic on his face. He was bobbing and bouncing in the sidecar like a marionette puppet.

She laughed hysterically.

“What’s wrong with you?” Jake growled, looking up at her. “Why can’t we drive in the Bentley convertible like normal people?”

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Allan Jon Kretzmar Š2011. All rights reserved.

All characters in this mini-book are fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons living or dead, is coincidental. No part of this mini-book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a newspaper, magazine or journal.

First printing.

Poetry by Chris Steven Young.

Images by Kane!

Follow further adventures at www.unexpectedANGEL.com.

Check out the other Mini-books in the series.

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Forbidden/unexpected Angel The Series: Luck, Love . . . and a Twist of Fate!

Other book titles

1. unexpected Angel The novella. A modern-urban love story with a supernatural twist. Angels show up in our lives when we least expect them. Jake Morrison is a bright, young and ambitious attorney hell-bent on achieving his vision of success.

But his vision is about to become a nightmare. Zara Jane is a real-live Angel, sent from Heaven above to guide Jake through these pivotal changes in Jake’s life. She ends up working at Jake’s firm and dating him, so that she can watch over him. They fall in love. But Jake rejects the message and her love and his life spirals out of control. As an Angel Zara Jane imparts wisdom and insight for his life and world, and expresses her insight on the road that lies ahead, not only for Jake, but also for humankind as a whole. When Jake takes her words to heart his life goes through a metamorphosis, and he finds himself living his life in a manner that he could not have dreamed of before.

KINDLE: unexpected ANGEL. Luck, love . . . and a Twist of Fate!

(Forbidden/unexpected ANGEL) | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EET3M8 NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/unexpected-ANGEL/Allan-JonKretzmar/e/2940013028821

2. CUPID’S ARROWS A mini-romance mythological fable, where Zara Jane, Angel, creates a love connection between Mahmoud and Genevieve-Marie at the Palace of Versailles. This is part of her job as an Angel, and one of the more satisfying of her tasks. She takes special care and attention in the pursuit of these activities, and explains in a hilarious interchange with the Love Cherubs the state of affairs connected with helping humans find True Love. This caper involves a tinge of Cupid’s Love Potion #5, 2 cherubs, one Angel, and 2 Cupid’s arrows. KINDLE: Cupid's Arrows (Forbiddem/unexpected ANGEL) | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EDIC1W NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Cupids-Arrows/Allan-JonKretzmar/e/2940013095267

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3. WILD HORSE TALE$ A mini-paranormal-action adventure set in Santa Barbara, California. Zara Jane, Angel, and Jake Morrison, erstwhile-lawyer, form Paradise Paranormal Investigations, Inc. This is the first case for their fledgling company, and they are called in to solve the mystery of racehorses that are dying, almost daily.

What they uncover are some unexpected twists and turns. KINDLE: WILD HORSE TALE$ (Forbidden/unexpected ANGEL) | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EDICY4 NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/WILD-HORSE-TALE/AllanJon-Kretzmar/e/2940013109575

4. WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD A mini-paranormal-action adventure, that takes Zara Jane, Angel, and Jake Morrison, erstwhile-lawyer, on their second caper under their company, Paradise Paranormal Investigations, Inc., on a worldwide dash to stop the Holy Grail and the Golden Calf falling into the wrong hands, in this case, Gustavo, who is not your ordinary villain. He is a fallen Angel himself, with superpowers too. The CIA and the US government call in the two sleuths to provide investigative help. KINDLE: Where Angels Fear To Tread (Forbidden/unexpected ANGEL) | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EGQYJG NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/WHERE-ANGELS-FEAR-TOTREAD/Allan-Jon-Kretzmar/e/2940013122901

5. set the world on fire! (CONTINUATION OF “WHERE ANGEL’S FEAR TO TREAD!”) A mini-paranormal-action adventure, that takes Zara Jane, Angel, and Jake Morrison, erstwhile-lawyer, continue on their second caper under their company, Paradise Paranormal Investigations, Inc., on a worldwide dash to stop Gustavo in his tracks. Subject matter includes the Holy Grail, the Golden Calf, and the Knights Templar. KINDLE: Set The World On Fire!

(Forbidden/unexpected ANGEL) | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EDKPE4 6. ying-yang love

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A mini-romance. Vickie Ying lives in New York, Christian Yang lives in Hong Kong. They are worlds apart, yes each night respectively in their dreams they connect on a deep soul level that is turning their lives upside down. Their dreams are becoming an obsession, and when they dream they begin to see the other with increasing clarity. The chemistry and tension builds as they wonder if they will ever meet in person. Enter an Angel (Zara Jane) who tries to guide them both, but her message is not immediately recognized or followed.

Ying-Yang Love (Forbidden/unexpected ANGEL) | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EDMEBG NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Ying-Yang-Love/Allan-JonKretzmar/e/2940013122598

7. ONLY LOVE MATTERS: INTERCEPTION A sweet mini-romance. Katherine Potter lives in London, for years entombed waiting for her husband to return after his military mission failed.

She is invited by her nephew Drew to Hawaii. Enter an Angel that intercedes on behalf of Frederick, her husband to save her life, and allow her the chance to find love again. KINDLE: Only Love Matters (Forbidden/unexpected ANGEL) | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EDNF28 NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/ONLY-LOVEMATTERS/Allan-Jon-Kretzmar/e/2940013122734

8. what yA gonna do when the angel comes?

A mini-travel-adventure-romance. Jake Morrison, erstwhile lawyer, is convinced by his friend Dr. Robert Powell to try regression analysis to isolate when and where he and Zara Jane, Angel, really met to better explain their attraction. As the regression continues, Jake discovers that the answers come not only from this lifetime, but to ones that took place well hidden in the past. Jake unlocks the doors to open up new vistas of adventure, and understanding. KINDLE: WHAT YA GONNA DO WHEN THE ANGEL COMES? (Forbidden/unexpected ANGEL) | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EOTKOE NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/WHAT-YA-GONNA-DOWHEN-THE-ANGELS-COMES/Allan-Jon-Kretzmar/e/2940013122864

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9. WHEN ANGELS COME HOME TO ROOST (Continuation of “What ya gonna do when the angel comes?”

A mini-travel-adventure-romance. A continuation of the regression analysis that Jake is undergoing with his friend, Dr. Robert Powell. Jake finds himself married in this past life to Zara Jane, when a violent storm blows their spice ship off course. Will they survive, and what secrets will be revealed?

Stranded on an as-yet-uncharted island they meet Hoppy, a genie, who promises them a way out, with a surprising twist.

10. DEVIL’S ADVOCATE (Continuation of “WHEN ANGELS COME HOME TO ROOST”) A mini-travel-adventure-romance. A continuation of the regression analysis that Jake is undergoing with his friend, Dr. Robert Powell. Jake finds himself married in this past life to Zara Jane, still stranded on an as-yet-uncharted island with Hoppy, the genie who has promised them a way off the island.

But is this really what Jake wants? Find out the surprising twist as Jake’s mind plays the devil’s advocate.

KINDLE: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HB9URG NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/DEVILS-ADVOCATE/AllanJon-Kretzmar/e/2940013134041

11. ROBBER BARON (PART ONE) Jake is encouraged by his friend Baron to take up the practice of law again and head up the Loss Mitigation Department at the mighty Trust Bank, headquartered in San Francisco. Jake feels that his name and reputation are about to be misused to further some dark motive that he as yet is unaware of, and he has his misgivings.

John Wiley is an attorney representing sympathetic clients as the battle-lines start to get drawn in this modern-day “David and Goliath” zero-sum contest. Jake trusts that whatever the motive behind Baron’s offer, it will somehow be revealed in time to him before damage can be done. Jake realizes this is all a puzzle -- this interplay between light and dark forces -- and that he would need almost a clairvoyant’s skill to separate them in time.

KINDLE: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005IDOYQK NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/ROBBER-BARON/Allan-JonKretzmar/e/2940013032323

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12. FORBIDDEN ANGEL: THE POETRY COLLECTION Modern-urban poems.

BLOG: http://ForbiddenAngelGirlz.blogspot.com KINDLE: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HILH16 NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/FORBIDDEN-ANGEL/Allan-JonKretzmar/e/2940012990969

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LovEntwined The Series: Finders, Keepers, Losers, Weepers Other book titles 13. THE KINGMAKER An undocumented historical mini-romance fable set in 15th Century Great Britain. The throne of King Henry is about to be passed on to one of his three sons, but war with France looms. Enter Princess Isabella, an armor-clad messenger, who meets Prince Richard, and guides him in the greatest adventure of his life. THE KINGMAKER (ENTWINED lovENTWINED) | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EDNGAO 14. GOING IN FOR THE KILL (CONTINUATION OF “THE KINGMAKER” PART ONE) A 15th Century mini-action-romance adventure fable, where Leopold, the French naval commander, seeks revenge and kidnaps Princess Isabella. Now King, Richard faces dark days as he struggles with the loss of his Queen, and decides to extract revenge of his own with unanticipated consequences.

KINDLE: GOING IN FOR THE KILL! Part Deux of THE KINGMAKER (ENTWINED lovENTWINED) | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EDNICK NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/GOING-IN-THE-THE-KILLPart-Deux-of-THE-KINGMAKER/Allan-Jon-Kretzmar/e/2940013109568

15. THE WORLD’S YOUR OYSTER A mini-romance set in Italy. Francesca is a filmmaker and the daughter of a famed director who decides to enter her short film at the Venice Biennial.

Enter an Angel who encourages Justin to enter his paintings in the Biennial Art Festival. The bait has been set, and they are destined to meet. KINDLE: THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER! (ENTWINED lovENTWINED) | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EDNL3Q NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Worlds-Your-Oyster/AllanJon-Kretzmar/e/2940013094802

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16. MOMMY’S GONE! A bitter mini-romance. Brad and Mara have been married for fifteen years and have two children, Jamie and Mark. A poignant tale that explores keeping love alive in a marriage that goes through dramatic changes. Mara serves in the Navy, and completes a tour of duty in Iraq. Then Afghanistan follows. . . A story as current as our headlines.

KINDLE: MOMMY'S GONE! (ENTWINED lovENTWINED) | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EDNM76 NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/MOMMYS-GONE/Allan-JonKretzmar/e/2940013109537

17. FOLLOW THE FIRE! (alternative ending to mommy’s gone!)

A bitter-sweet mini-romance. Brad and Mara have been married for fifteen years and have two children, Jamie and Mark. A poignant tale that explores keeping love alive in a marriage that goes through dramatic changes. Mara serves in the Navy, and completes a tour of duty in Iraq. Then Afghanistan follows. . . A story as current as our headlines. This story is the alternative ending to “Mommy’s Gone!) KINDLE: Follow The Fire! (Alternative ending to "Mommy's Gone!) (ENTWINED lovENTWINED) | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EDNM62 NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/FOLLOW-THE-FIREAlternate-ending-to-Mommys-Gone/Allan-Jon-Kretzmar/e/2940013109544

18. (LOVE) ON THE WINGS OF ANGELS A mini-romance. Mary and Pete are destined to find each other, but their ability to meet gets stalled. Enter an eagle that brings about their chance meeting, that in that instant changes both of their lives from that point forward forever. Luck, love, and a twist of fate. KINDLE: (LOVE) ON THE WINGS OF EAGLES! (ENTWINED lovENTWINED) | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EDNOGA NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/BookAllan-JonKretzmar/e/2940013094963

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19. WHEN LIGHTENING STRIKES TWICE! A mini-romance set in Mumbai, India. Ramish is a lawyer who is travelling on a train and is struck by lightening. In that instant the most beautiful woman in the world, his world, gets revealed to him. Ghita Raj is a Bollywood film star, wondering if she will ever find true love. She seeks answers from her astrologer and palmist, Mister Choksy, who tells her that a chance meeting with a man may be soon. Very soon. KINDLE: WHEN LIGHTENING STRIKES TWICE! (ENTWINED lovENTWINED) | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EE61Q4 NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/WHEN-LIGHTENINGSTRIKES-TWICE/Allan-Jon-Kretzmar/e/2940013109476

20. COWgirl KATE A mini-romance. Kate is a student in Texas who receives an unexplained and untraceable email and text message on her cellphone to make sure she goes to her grandmother’s funeral. She is told that she needs to make sure she attends, for there is a fated meeting that has to take place there. Kate is given control of the family cattle ranch after her grandmother’s passage, but the email and text message concern affairs of the heart. KINDLE: COWGIRL KATE! (ENTWINED lovENTWINED) | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EE621S NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/COWGILR-KATE/Allan-JonKretzmar/e/2940013109438

21. HOLY LAND: BLOOD BROTHERS A mini-romance set in the Holy Land. A metaphorical bridge is being built between Rami, an Israeli soldier, and Ghita, a beautiful young Palestinian girl. They begin to steal moments together, knowing that on both sides such encounters are forbidden. The story moves with dynamic intensity to its conclusion as Rami and Ghita struggle to find freedom to live and love. As topical as today’s headlines. KINDLE: HOLY LAND: BLOOD BROTHERS! (ENTWINED lovENTWINED) | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EDQGB0 NOOK: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Holy-Land/Allan-JonKretzmar/e/2940013109513

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