Tara Manderino

Today I continue Teaser Tuesday withanother excerpt from False Notes, the first in The President's Orders series.Simon is a Secret Service Agent in1874, and Kirsten is one person he suspectsis involved with the counterfeiting case.

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    He didn't say anything on the short walk, but she was aware of his tension.    Fortunately, there were very few people about. When the sheriff came down the street, she considered calling out to him, but Simon’s voice rumbled in her ear as if he had known her very thought. "Don't even consider it." He nodded to the sheriff and continued.

            Once at the store, he went around the back. She wondered if she should be frightened, but didn't have time to consider it. Reaching out one fist, he thumped on the door and it was opened immediately by Luke. "Nice of you to knock,” he wryly greeted Simon. “What brings you here?"

            Simon pushed Kirsten toward a kitchen chair. He could have been a little gentler; she scowled at him, but doubted that he noticed. He seemed to be concentrating on Luke.

            "I think I need some answers,and I have a feeling Miss Kirsten can help me."

            "Why should I?" She intended to sound firm, but was afraid it sounded more petulant, especially when Simon just gave her his slow smile in response. She blinked once, trying to refocus her thoughts. She wished he wouldn't do that.

            Luke cleared his throat. "Coffee?"

            Simon gave a brief nod. BeforeKirsten could answer, her stomach gave an embarrassingly loud rumble.

            "I take it that's a yes,"Luke said as he set about gathering mugs and reaching for the pot on the stove.

            Kirsten nodded without looking at him. "Please."

            Once Luke served the coffee, he joined them at the table. "So, why are we all here?"

            "I'd like to know that myself," Kirsten said.

Today I continue Teaser Tuesday with another excerpt from False Notes, the first in The President's Orders series. Simon is a Secret Service Agent in1874, and Kirsten is one person he suspects is involved with the counterfeiting case.

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            "I really don't know what to do,Simon."

            He was definitely in trouble. Heloved the way she said his name. This was not good. He was having a lot more sympathy for Luke.

            "I told you about my uncle last night, a little, anyway."

            He nodded, encouraging her to continue.

         "Today he told me  it would only be a matter of time and everything would be fine."

            "What does that mean?" He tried to keep the exasperation out of his voice. So far, she had alluded to her uncle, but really had nothing to say that could link him to the present case except that he was a partner with Weldon. That could be for the ranch only. He planned to wire Washington’s data bureau and see what they could find out.

            Kirsten scoffed. "I'm notexactly sure, but I am worried. There is no love lost between my uncle and myself, and I'm afraid for when he won't need me any longer, and more and moreI feel that could be at any time.” She clasped her hands together and twisted them in her lap, looking down at her intertwined fingers instead of at Simon.

            "Then why stay with him? Surely there is somewhere else you can go. I'm sure Doc would take you in if you needed a place." He said the words evenly in spite of the wrench to his gut as he did so.

            "I wouldn't endanger him." She looked down at her hands, then up again, but she still wouldn't meet hisgaze. "Please, Simon, when you leave, will you take me with you?"

            Ina heartbeat. "What do you mean?"

            "Oh!" She blushed and raised her hands to her face, giving a little laugh. "That didn't come out right. I mean, I know you travel on the railroad, and I wondered if you could let me ride with you to another town."

            His heart settled back into itsnormal rhythm. He stepped to the side of her, and stretched his hand out to rest on the wall, supporting his weight as he looked down at the top of her head. "You can buy a ticket at the station any time."

Today I continue Teaser Tuesday with another excerpt from False Notes, the first in The President's Orders series. Simon is a Secret Service Agent in 1874, and Kirsten is one person he suspects is involved with the counterfeiting case.

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He wondered if Kirsten would make anappearance tonight, or if he should start scouting around. Taking out hispocket watch, he held it to the small bit of light coming from the grange. It was past the time they had agreed to meet, but not unduly so. He walked as far as the hotel, and then leaned against the building, waiting for her to arrive,when the sheriff came by on his rounds. Simon gave him a nod, but the man insisted on coming up to speak with him.

        "Saw you come from the grange. Is the music too loud for you?"

        Chuckling,Simon answered, "No, it’s very good, in fact. I'm just waiting for someone." Extending his hand, he introduced himself. "Going about your nightly rounds, I see. It must make the citizens feel very safe."

        "I try my best. These are wonderful folks around here."

        Simon looked around the small town street. "My friend, Mr. Hayden, has the mercantile down the street a bit. He has no complaints." Where was Kirsten?

        "Fine man, there. Well, I'll be on my way." He held his finger to his hat in a careless salute and sauntered off.

        "Is he gone?" Her whispered voice carried on the breeze.

        Simon didn't turn around. "Are you hiding from the sheriff too?"

        "No."Her voice sounded a bit closer now. "We just don't get on all that well."

    This time, Simon did turn and watch as she stepped from the shadows. Even in the dim light he could see she really was a lovely woman, even more so than he  remembered. He extended his arm. "Shall we join the others at the grange?" She hung back and he let his arm fall to his side. "I see that is not a good idea."

        "No, it's not. Do you suppose we could just go somewhere and talk?"

        Talk was good. You learned a lot of things that way, the easy way. "Back to Doc's?"

        "No,he has patients tonight. Could we just go somewhere? Behind the hotel, the livery? I don't care, just somewhere where no one will hear me."

        Definitely interesting. "My room?"

        "No, people will see me go in. Could you meet me in front of the bookstore? We could be looking there and no one will be surprised."

        He shifted his gaze from hers and looked down the street to see where the store was. Nodding, he watched her skitter away. There was simply no other word for it. She hadn't looked as frightened as she had nervous. That was puzzling.After all, this was the same girl he had caught climbing out a window at a bordello and challenging Jack Weldon.

        "Is there a reason for all this subterfuge?" he asked in a teasing voice when they met in front of the store.

        "Yes,"she said, then shook her head. "No. I really don't know. And I don't even know why I'm telling you except that you have an honest face, and you did already ask me to meet with you."

        He tried not to let the word “honest” rankle. He had honor, but honesty was not exactly what he would say was entailed in his line of work.

Each Tuesday, I will have an excerpt from one of my novels here.

Since I am currently in edits for the third in the President’sOrders series, I figure I’ll start with an excerpt from the first in the series, False Notes.

False Notes

© Tara Manderino, 2010. All rights reserved.

Blurb:

In late summer 1874, Simon Barr, one of the premiere agentsof the newly evolving US Secret Service, arrives in Hobart, Oklahoma Territory,to meet his partner, Luke Hayden, and begin investigating a large scalecounterfeiting operation. Shortly after arriving, Simon meets the lovelyKirsten Bentzer, only to learn she has ties to his two chief suspects. Hisattraction to Kirsten catches him off guard and wars with his sense of duty.Surely, she can’t be innocent, no matter how much he wishes it were so.

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Excerpt:

   In the semi-darkness, Simon couldn’t makeout the figures, but there seemed to be plenty of action behind the saloondoors. He stood on alert, straining to hear the words. Deciding he would haveto move closer, he stayed in the shadows of the buildings, and steadily madehis way to the voices. No matter how interesting the youth or how much hewanted to pursue that mystery, he couldn’t lose sight of why he was in town—tocheck on Gregory Weldon and follow the trail of counterfeit money that seemedto surface in Hobart.

“Told you before, you whelp, nomatter how much money you bring to the table, it’s not going to be enough. Now,scat.”

“I need that information, Mr.Weldon.”

Simon’s brows snapped together.He knew that husky voice. Great, they were tangled together, the youth and hisnumber one suspect. The youth’s bravado made Simon break out in a sweat. He, oras he strongly suspected, she, was no match for the man confronting her.Weldon’s voice, if that’s who was speaking, was deep and rough, sounding as ifit belonged to a much older man. 

“I told you I would pay anythingfor it.” Now Simon’s ears pricked up for an entirely different reason. Thosewere the words of a desperate person. Perhaps they really were tied together!That’s what he was here to find out. He pushed away any preconceived notion hemight have had that the youth was innocent. He knew that neither age nor genderwould have anything to do with a person’s acts.

Not a full moment later, therewas a scuffle, and then the youth was practically thrust through the saloondoors.  He stumbled, but before he couldrecover his balance, Simon came up behind him from the shadows and covered hismouth, grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him around the side of the building.The youth struggled to gain foothold on the walk.

Definitely a female,Simon thought, grinning to himself. No self respecting boy would fight thatway. He locked one of his arms around both of hers, just below her elbows tostill her. She still tried to kick him, but with his feet braced wide, she hada difficult time finding a target. “Hold still,” he whispered into her ear whenit was close enough. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

She slowed her thrashing butstill struggled against him. When he made no untoward move, she stilled,looking at him warily from the corner of her eye. He could hardly blame her for that.

“I overheard you out there, and I have some questions.” He spoke softly so that his voice wouldn’t carry.  She pulled against him, but he held her easily. “It sounds as if you’re in trouble. Are you?” When she made noresponse, he gave her a little shake. “Are you?”

Finally, she shrugged her shoulders.

He bit back a grin. Stubborn thing. “Perhaps we can help each other out.”

She stiffened in his arms, then started to thrash about, nearly slipping through his hands. He tightened his grip and brought her back hard against his chest. “Just listen before you make any decision.” There was no response. “Will you do that much?”

At least he got a very reluctantnod that time.

“Fine. Now, I’m going to remove my hand, but I expect you not to scream. Got it?” Again, a hesitant nod. “Now you can lead me somewhere where we can talk.”

Slowly, he removed his hand andshe looked at him warily, but she didn’t scream.

“How do you know I won’t lead you somewhere you can be killed?” her voice whispered in the dark.

Simon lowered his hands. There was always that possibility. “I trust you,” he said. “All I want is to talk,and from something you said, I think you can help me. We can help each other,” he amended at her cautious look.

He hadn’t been an operative forthis many years and not learned to be aware of his surroundings, yet there didn’t appear to be anything out of the ordinary as she led him down the alley he had pulled them into. Still, he had one hand close to the gun in his belt.

Available in paper or ebook at Amazon.com (http://amzn.to/pF0Xp0), Barnes & Noble (http://bit.ly/ooYd2K) and Whimsical Publications (http://bit.ly/q5Uy9Y)

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Good luck, and hope you've enjoyed the booty so far.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

From Heart Quest, Book 2 of President's Orders series set in the U.S. historical west.

 On a nationwide hunt for a missing jewel, Secret Service Agent LukeHayden, discovers the woman from his past may be suspect. Heart Quest continues to follow Simon and Luke as they work a new assignment, this one in the Denver,Colorado area.

She had been sure there were nice men out there, then met Luke Hayden, the new shopkeeper in town, and had proof. He seemed to see her for who she truly was; saw behind the role she had been forced to take for a time. If she was truthful, she knew he was the main reason she wanted to go back west. He would have to decide when she got to Denver withAnnabelle, if she would return to Boston or move back to Hobart. It wasn’t much further down the track, not when she would have gone so far. She had been gone for over a month now; he probably hadn’t even noticed.

Heart Quest  is available in ebook and print at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords,

 Be sure to check out the other Six Sentence Sunday Authors here!

From Heart Quest, Book 2 of President's Orders series set in the U.S. historical west.

On a nationwide hunt for a missing jewel, Secret Service Agent Luke Hayden,discovers the woman from his past may be suspect. Heart Quest continues to follow Simon and Luke as they work a new assignment, this one in the Denver, Colorado area.

    Her hand gliding along the wooden banister, Maj pushed thoughts of Hobart and her life there from her mind. That was in the past, this was now. Making her way back west would not be an easy task, but she planned to do it – someday. If she went back, she would have to deal with Luke. She nearly lost her footing on the last stair remembering how it had hurt to leave him. Ignoring the tug on her heart, she lifted her chin and crossed the hall.

Heart Quest  is available in ebook and print at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords,

Be sure to check out the other Six Sentence Sunday Authors here!

From False Notes,  Book 1 of President's Orders series, set inthe U.S. historical west.

"I don't have to answer to you."

        Simon gave her a tight smile. There could only be two likely candidates in his mind—her uncle or Weldon. "No, you don't, but you may wish you had."

        Her eyes widened and he could practically smell the fear on her, but she lifted her chin defiantly. Surely she didn’t think he would harm her?

False Notes is available in ebook and print at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Whimsical Publications.

  Make sure to visit the other Six Sentence Sunday authors here!

Six more from my historical western, False Notes. Simon is a Secret Service Agent in Book 1 of the President's Orders series.

      "I asked a question."

        "I don't remember agreeing to answer." Her voice was muffled as she fussed with her clothing.

        As it was, she was under no obligation to answer him. "You know, perhaps I could help you, if it was something illegal." He hoped to God he really hadn't meant those words that came out of his mouth.

False Notes is availbable in ebook and print at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Whimsical Publications.

Make sure to visit the other Six Sentence Sunday authors here!

Six more sentences from False Notes,  Book 1 of President's Orders series, set inthe U.S. historical west.

        He did let her see that it was him; he had no desire to frighten her to death, hejust wanted answers.

        And a whole lot more, he thought to himself, but he kept those thoughts at bay. This was not the time, although the  way things were going, there may never be time. There was genuine regret in  that thought as he let his calloused hands linger over her lips and jaw."Just open the door," he whispered in her ear. “I'm not going to hurtyou."

FalseNotes is availbable in ebook and print at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and WhimsicalPublications.

Be sure to visit the other Six Sentence Sunday authors.