A FIRM PLACE TO STAND
by
LORI ALTEBAUMER
Genre: Christian / Romantic Suspense
Independently published
Date of Publication: January 25, 2020
Independently published
Date of Publication: January 25, 2020
Number of Pages: 321
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A FIRM PLACE TO STAND
Excerpt,
Part Two
CHAPTER ONE
The correct protocol
for abandoning a flaming vehicle had never been considered. Uncertain, she
watched as the last of her net worth nosedived toward negative oblivion.
The car meant more to her than an entry
on her list of assets. The Falcon knew her comings and goings and didn't judge.
It just waited in the parking lot for her to return—good days and bad days.
Always there, always the same. Always keeping her secrets. Friends like that
were hard to come by.
She didn't want to be here to watch it
become another of her victims—or explode. She took a step back.
Running her fingers through her wind-whipped
hair, compliments of driving with the windows down, she lifted the tangled mane
from her skin. The warm night air brushed against her neck, turning the damp
skin into gooseflesh.
Maybe she did need to find a farmhouse
with a phone. She couldn't spend the night out here alone—especially if she
wasn't alone.
She picked up her backpack and spun to
meet the glow of headlights punching through the night a quarter mile up the
road. Relief lasted no longer than the moment of surprise. If there had been
anywhere to go, she would have stepped aside from the beam that grabbed for
her. At five feet, three inches, Maribel’s best defense wasn’t intimidation,
but showing fear wasn't going to be her ally either. She tucked a sweat
dampened curl behind her ear, then crossed her arms, trying to recall why she
hadn't bought a gun for protection when she first felt watched.
Oh yeah, fear she'd accidentally shoot
someone who didn't need shooting—such as herself.
That she spent too much time scanning
police reports for news stories and evenings alone binge-watching true crime
shows until the wee hours of morning didn't help. It was the heroism and
self-sacrifice, not the wickedness, that inspired her. But it proved to be an
unhealthy habit currently feeding her sense of helplessness and paranoia.
The truck picked up speed, hurrying
toward her flaming vehicle. Braking hard against asphalt still hot enough to
cook Spam, it slid to a stop several yards away. The smell of rubber tires
added another layer of acrid stench to the smoky air.
The headlights blurred Maribel's vision,
but not enough to hide the bulk of a man who got out. He reached behind the
seat of the extended cab truck and pulled out something she couldn't see.
He would help her,
right?
Nothing to fear.
She drew her shoulders back, inching her
spine up to its height of maximum menace.
Striding toward the flames, the man
popped the pin on a fire extinguisher and sprayed the engine. He gave Maribel a
quick glance but kept his attention on the area under the hood, then searched
the grass for stray embers. Satisfied the fire was out, he shifted his full
regard to her.
"You okay?" His sandpaper
voice rasped across the night between them.
She swatted at a blood-sucking mosquito
and nodded, unwilling to extend the scepter of friendship simply because he
carried a fire extinguisher in his truck.
The world was a wicked
place. However . . .
"I'm good. Thanks."
His untucked faded denim work shirt
stretched tight over the expansion of a waist that wasn't as young as it used
to be. Gray hair, silvery in the light, stuck out from beneath his straw cowboy
hat. Mid to upper sixties she'd guess, although his deeply lined and tanned
face made it hard to tell. Long hours of hard work in the bipolar Texas weather
had that effect. But his right hip concerned her most, where the sharp angled
bulge beneath his denim shirt divulged the holstered gun strapped to his side.
"You all alone?" His voice
scratched the night again.
Maribel ran a dry tongue over drier lips
and nodded.
A life-long Texan, Lori lives in a small community not far from the rugged West Texas landscape she loves to write about. The mother of now-grown twins, she has learned that the secret to survival is a well-developed sense of humor and an active prayer life. After years spent working in the insurance business, Lori now uses her time to educate, inspire, encourage, and entertain through the written word.
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THREE WINNERS
1ST PRIZE: Signed Copy of A Firm Place to Stand
+ $25 Gift Card to the Texas Indie Bookstore of Choice
2ND PRIZE: Signed Copy of A Firm Place to Stand
3RD PRIZE: eBook of A Firm Place to Stand APRIL 30-MAY 10, 2020
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