Another Lonely Night...

It's a #writerwednesday and the first one since January!!! I don't know about you, but I've missed these days. I have been blessed to release two books this year. The first one was the final book in The House of BeJeweled series, BeJeweled: Standing Strong, and the next was the first book in a duology, A Woman's Design: Afflictions. 

My plan is to release at least two more this year, one of which will be a romance book, a first for me. If you haven't had a chance to read A Woman's Design: Afflictions, yet, here's an opportunity to check it out. Read on...

A Woman's Design: Afflictions
​Excerpt...

 
I threw off my old flannel robe over the jeans and t-shirt I wore underneath and tossed it on my bed. I grabbed my slides from underneath my bed, my keys from my dresser, and my purse, and ran down the stairs.

​I set the alarm on our home and jumped into my Camry. Easing out of the driveway, I took a left, heading towards the highway, which I believed my husband would have taken. After about five minutes, I quickly caught up with him and had to slow down so he wouldn’t spot me. We drove onto the highway and traveled for almost half an hour until we reached downtown. I kept a safe distance, knowing he hadn’t spotted me. He was on his cell phone for the entire ride, and it was dark outside.

Eric eased into the parking lot of Candy Stripes. It was the wildest known strip club in the city. Men were already pouring out of their cars into the red brick building. I drove slowly past and turned around down the street in a dark alleyway. I was a little scared, because it wasn’t the best neighborhood. I drove past again, and this time saw my brothers-in-law, Stephen and Marc, getting out of Stephen’s car. They headed inside the club next. I looked at the marquee over the club and noticed the special headliner of the night was a dancer named Taffy. Really? How trifling this all was. I pulled into a parking space across the street and set up for a stakeout.

I sat with my music turned down low and continued to watch the club. A loud rattling scared the heck out of me and caused me to jump and bump my head on the steering wheel. I wiped my hand down the side of my face and realized I had been asleep, and slob was coming out of my mouth. I was disgusted and grabbed a wipe from the open console between the two front seats and cleaned my face off. Then I looked up, and to my horror, saw that it was a police officer.

Rolling my car window down, I looked up at him with a smile on my face. “Yes, officer?”

“License and registration, please.”

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked, fearing I had broken some law I was ignorant of.

He continued to stare at me, and filled with trepidation, I reached into the glove compartment and pulled out my registration and insurance card. Next, I reached into my purse and grabbed my license. Handing it over to him, I stole a peek around him and looked into the parking lot. The lot was still full of cars, and Eric and his brothers hadn’t left yet.

Taking a quick look at the clock, I realized I had been dozing for almost an hour. It was a few minutes after midnight.

“I’ll be back in just a moment. Do not get out of the car, Ms. Caldwell,” he stated, after looking at my license. After straightening up his big, bulky frame, he strode back to his car, and I watched him in the rear view mirror. He was gone for what seemed like fifteen minutes before he returned. Throughout that time, I prayed that Eric wouldn’t come out of the club. I could still see his car parked in the lot as well as his brother’s.

Finally, the officer strode back to my vehicle and handed my paperwork back to me. “Why are you parked outside of this club, Ms. Caldwell?”

“I was…I was…doing some light surveillance work,” I stated. There wasn’t any law against that, was there?

“Who are you doing surveillance work on and for?” he asked, with a confused look on his face.

“Well, um, I, well, see…today my husband told me that he was going out with his brothers. And they were at my house, too. They all said they were coming down here. But then I thought maybe my husband wasn’t, because he said the same thing a few years ago. But then I learned that he was having an affair. So, when he started acting strange again lately, I began to think maybe he wasn’t coming down here. So, I decided to—”

The officer held his hand up, stemming my flow of words. “Ma’am, that’s enough. I really don’t need to hear anymore.” He no longer held a stern expression on his face, but a slight smirk, which also lit up his dark brown eyes. He chuckled just a little before continuing his statement, “Mrs. Caldwell, trust me, you aren’t the first one to do this. But as I tell the others, you can’t park out here.

There’s a clear no parking sign there,” he said, pointing to a sign just ahead of my car. “You can park on the side street over there,” he said, gesturing with his hand. “But this is a really dangerous neighborhood. And just like I tell the dancers, you shouldn’t be out in this area without an escort,” he explained, lifting his eyebrows at me. “I won’t give you a ticket this time, just a warning. Why don’t you head on home, Mrs. Caldwell?” the officer suggested. “I’m sure your husband will be home soon enough.”

I felt like a chastised child, but I caught the hint and thanked him for the warning. I started up my car and planned to go to the side street he had pointed out. But he followed me as I went around the block and rather than doing a loop, I hopped back onto the highway and headed home. 

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