The Steamy Trunk

/ roughwighting

open trunk, secrets, mystery, romanceEven Janine is surprised when the trunk’s contents move with a big thump, but then she supposes that too many of them were placed rather haphazardly.  After all,  she practically threw them in, racing to her first destination. (see What’s in the Trunk).

The smoke has dissipated. The policeman looks as baffled as a man working on a 1,000 piece puzzle. A puzzle in the shape of books – dozens of books – piled together as if they’ve been kidnapped, or as if they have some nefarious reason for hiding in the trunk of Janine’s car.

“What’s this?” he asks, as stupefied as Colombo in the beginning of a good TV mystery.books, reading, mystery, romance

“Books,” Janine answers, trying not to look smug.

The hefty man reaches over to pick one up – they’re all paperbacks – but then he backs off as if afraid they’ll sting.

“Don’t worry, they don’t bite,” Janine says, trying to be gentle with the clueless man. “Are you a reader?”

“A what?” He peers at the woman as if she’s just asked him if he’s a pervert or, perhaps, a thief.

“A R E A D E R. Do you read? Books? Newspapers? Magazines?”

“Don’t have time,” he growls. Pulling his shoulders back and sucking in his stomach, the large cop bends down and picks up a book, then drops it like a hot potato. “What the hell is this?”

romance, suspense, pageturners“Romantic suspense,” Janine replies with sanguinity.

By the expression in his eyes, she can tell that the cop thinks she’s just said something really dirty.

“I promise, my contents in the trunk here are not contraband nor illegal nor dangerous.”

“Then why’d you refuse to open the trunk?” the man asks, examining his hand for burn marks.

“Because I figured the material would scare you.”

“What do you expect? You lied about what was in the trunk. Besides, smoke was leaking out.”

“Not smoke,” Janine explains. “Steam.”

The cop’s face is so perplexed that Janine can’t stifle the laugh that erupts from her belly. “These books are a bit steamy. Not x-rated, for sure, but for some readers, novels that include R O M A N C E and L O V E are scary, scorching, and sometimes sizzling. Obviously those elements scare you.”

The man’s eyes turn misty. His face crumbles in front of Janine, but then he visibly puts himself together and returns to cop mode.

“Where are you taking these …. books?”

Janine blushes, embarrassed. He notices and puffs out his chest a bit. Now he’s got her!

“To the local bookstores. My car’s in the shop, but my writing partner – we write together and even promote each other’s works – she let me borrow her car. I’m going to all the bookstores in a 30-mile radius to ask them to sell my books.”

“Huh.” The police officer takes off his hat and scratches the top of his head. “I didn’t think authors had to sell. They just write. Someone else does all the rest.”

“Sadly, that’s not true anymore,” Janine informs him.

She hands him a copy of the book on the top of her pile. The Right Wrong Man, wondering if, perhaps, he’s more alright than he first appeared. “Would you like to take a copy with you?” she asks, as shy as a girl on her first date.

The man breathes in deeply, accepts the gift, and answers, “Not only that, I’ll follow you to the bookstore. The right tire of your friend’s car might be losing air. We’ll stop and fix it, and maybe you can tell me more about your books over a cup of steamy . . . tea.”

The end (although, of course, a story lives on and on into  forevermore). 

steamy story, romance, blogAND THE WINNER IS….
     This is a tough decision. The guesses went from dragons to salamanders, from aliens to harvested organs. I decided to select the “steamiest” answer, so the winner is Liesbet @ Roaming About who guessed “Something is cooking in a pressure cooker or slow cooker, hooked into a 12V outlet for power. This way, dinner will be ready by the time Janine gets home.” You can’t get much steamier than a pressure cooker!  romantic suspense, novel
     I’m also selecting a winner for the most humorous answer; again, not an easy choice. The second winner of a free copy of Twin Desires (e-back or paperback) is Molly Stevens – Shallow Reflections. (Runner-up is Hugh’s Views and News.)
     Many thanks to  all for playing my guessing game – you are ALL blogging winners in my mind.

123 thoughts on “The Steamy Trunk”

    • As always, I was as surprised as my readers when I found out from Janine where that trunk steam was coming from. My guess is that Janine is going to convince the cop that reading is a lot of fun. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • I swear to you I did not plan on making this story a ‘promotion.’ And in truth, after I wrote the first part (What’s in the Trunk?) I had no idea what was in there. But gosh I had fun when I figured out it was page-turning books. 🙂 Many thanks, Marian, for joining in the fun.

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  13. AHA! Just as I suspected! You apparently DID NOT GET my follow-up note! Oh, well, I’ve been put upon all my life by spiteful people! My bountiful talent again goes unappreciated and unnoticed! Oh, well, onward and upward! (A whisper as he closes his laptop: “Why am I always belittled by the ‘little people’!!! Oh, such is life on this pitiless orb! ♥♥

    Liked by 2 people

  15. Thanks for the fun and clever story Pamela. A perfect way to start my day with a little humor and romance! Maybe this could be a new cult of folks who hide in the dark and bite others spreading the reading virus! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Pam, I was going to write “Nicely done,” in the comments as I finished the story. And, it is – of course – nicely done: the writing and incorporating your book into the narrative and the struggles of modern-day writers.

    Then, I saw my name. Huh? Wow! Awesome! I rarely ever win anything. April must be my lucky month. Thank you so much for selecting me. It is an utter surprise!

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Since I have already read Twin Desires, I must congratulate the winners for having won this prized book.
    Well done Pam! The beginning of the story concealed the outcome very well and that proves what a fantastic writer you are. Well-done!

    Liked by 1 person

    • I am blushing with your praise, Balroop, and thank you effusively for your comments. In truth, when I wrote the first part (What’s in the Trunk?) I had NO IDEA what was in it. I was going with “alien” but somehow the pile of books appeared in my rather strange mind, and the pen took off. 🙂

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  23. HEY! I take offense to the line “The policeman looks as baffled as a man working on a 1,000 piece puzzle.” Are you suggesting that men are too dumb to work on puzzles? I am a consummate puzzler and 1,000 pieces is child’s play! For SHAME, Pam!

    Liked by 1 person

    • No, no, no, no. You misunderstand, my puzzling friend. It just happens in this story that the copy is a man, thus he’s “as baffled as a man working on a 1,000 piece puzzle.” I have all sorts of appreciation for ANYONE who can work on a jigsaw puzzle for more than 5 minutes without tearing his or her hair out. My 7-year-old grandson shows me up frequently by completing a 500-piece puzzle before I’ve found the corner piece. 😉

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    • Many thanks, Patricia. And it really is in the perspective of the reader, what’s “steamy” and what’s lukewarm. I hope to always bring some page-turning heat to my readers. ❤

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  44. Congrat to the winners! 😀

    Love the conclusion to your story! 😀 If only all non-readers were so easily converted to books. His initial response had me smiling and wish it was just so: “I didn’t think authors had to sell. They just write. ”

    Happy Easter, Pam … wishing you a lovely long weekend. Xx

    Liked by 1 person

  45. This made my day!! You have such a brilliant, twisted mind to come up with this and I loved every word. Then Nancy came up with throwing the book at the cop and I went over the edge. I decided to buy the book since I knew I couldn’t guess this but I’m sure it will be worth it. 🙂

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