Phone Tag
A Novel
by
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Juggling her packages, Melanie headed back to the parking lot. Twenty minutes went by. There were just a few cars left in the lot, and still no sign of Matt. She was hot and tired. Her feet hurt and her back ached. She dropped everything in the dust in the middle of the nearly-deserted farmers’ market. The clock tower said 7:15. Melanie reached for her cell phone and dialed Matt’s number. She was distracted by a ruckus in the parking lot where an argument between two men accelerated to a scuffle, then into a full-fledged fistfight. A short scruffy man landed a punch to the chin of his opponent, who pulled a knife and came after him shouting obscenities and calling “Come back here you chicken bastard.” The short man turned and ran through the parking lot, straight toward Melanie. The other man caught up with him and stabbed him on the arm, drawing blood. The two men raced through the market and slammed into Melanie hitting her cell phone out of her hand and knocking her down. She landed on her knees in the dust, shocked and angry at this new bit of bad luck. Melanie looked for her cell phone, but it was nowhere in sight. Two bystanders said they’d seen the phone fly out of her hand and land in one of the trashcans. She saw the tip of her phone sticking out of one of the cans. When she went to pick it up, her hand dipped into something wet and slimy. She pulled her cell phone out of a paper bowl full of stinky fish chowder. The phone had cracked in the fall. The soup clogged the speaker and Melanie knew it was a gonner. A tear started, followed by a deluge. She put her briefcase on the ground and sat down on it. As she looked in her purse for a tissue, a tall shadow moved over her from behind, then stopped in front of her, blocking what was left of the day’s sun. Melanie looked up and saw a man in a cowboy hat looking down at her. He was wearing a blue denim shirt, jeans and western pointy-toed boots. The man took off his hat and brought it to his chest. Bowing courteously he said “Howdy Ma’am. Are you Melanie Parks?”
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About the Book
A year ago, Melanie Parks split up with her boyfriend, Matt Walters, out of concern that his drinking problem would ruin any kind of future they might have. But now that Matt has called her and asked to meet, she’s giddy with excitement hoping he finally has put his troubled past behind him and they can be together. But Matt doesn’t show up. Instead, Matt’s friend, handsome cowboy Dwayne Hathaway, arrives with bad news. Matt isn’t coming. Even worse, Dwayne tells Melanie all about Matt’s past: he’s a widower with two children, something Melanie knew nothing about. Distraught over Matt’s betrayal, Melanie agrees to go with Dwayne to his ranch to nurse her broken heart. Sparks soon ignite between Dwayne and Melanie, and she finds herself falling head over heels for the handsome cowboy. After a relaxing retreat, she returns home to find that her apartment has been broken into. Fearful that Matt may be behind the crimes, Melanie rushes back to the ranch and to Dwayne’s loving arms, where she tries to make sense of it all. But Melanie is about to learn that not everything is as it seems, and danger lurks where one least expects it …
About the Author
Evie Lehrer has written several novels and short stories. She is working on a sequel to Phone Tag and has almost finished Boy! Do I Need a Vacation, a humorous book about the adventures her family experienced each summer. Besides writing, Evie enjoys singing, playing the piano, and working in her garden in San Ramon, California.