The Austin Job (26 page)

“What?” She sat up rubbing her own. “I do not.”

“I could have sworn I saw something.” He shrugged as she rolled her eyes.

“Is that any way for Texas’ first hatless governor to behave?”

“Whoa there, Miss Lickter. First things first.”

“What? You’re going to buy a hat?”

He hoisted her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her narrow waist. “Never.”

“Not even for me?” She gasped.

He kissed the back of her head. “First we have to get married. I don’t want anyone thinking you married me for my office.”

“Hmmm. I forget, have you proposed to me?”

He feigned offense. “I most certainly have. How could you forget? We were breaking and entering. You had a gun belt on and everything.”

“Oh really? Funny, I recall the moment, but I don’t recall ever hearing a proposal.” She turned sideways on his lap and cocked her head.

“You know, I think you’re right. Miss Daisy Lickter, would you fill my wretched life with incomparable joy by being my constant partner, devoted wife and passionate lover?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Knocking him onto his back, she hovered over him for an instant before taking his lips softly in hers.

After several minutes, including a bout of tickling her cheek with his lashes and a jaunt down to her neck, he came up for breath. “Was that a yes?” And they redoubled the effort.

END

Greetings from Author David Mark Brown

I hope you’ve enjoyed
The Austin Job
, #18 of the
Lost DMB Files
. I can barely express the joy I’ve had in writing these pulpy tales of intrigue and adventure. Reimagining the past as well as pushing literary convention to the brink of collapse have both been grand fun, and I will continue to do so with more lost files to come.

I’m also looking forward to the first of a new series of books entitled simply
The DMB Files
. These stories will take place in the same alternate history of
The Austin Job
and the rest of the lost files, but they will focus on the near future. A future in which professor Jim “Buck” Buckner stumbles upon the fact that the
Lost DMB Files
are actually based on true events.

David Mark Brown, it turns out, was actually a bold journalist disguising his
Exposé
on the mysterious “benefactors” behind the founding of The Democratic Republic of Texicas as pulp fiction.

Anywho,
The DMB Files
will follow Buckner’s efforts, along with David Mark Brown, IV and his Truth in History Society as they galavant across a globe and a near future similar to our own. But in their world, petroleum has yet to be tapped as a fuel or energy source. A neurotoxin has ravaged every geographical region in which hearty entrepreneurs have endeavored to harness the full potential of oil. Coincidence? You can’t seriously think so, now can you?

The truth behind the future turns out to be hidden in the past—a forgot past, recorded by the lost files. With nothing more than his wits and the obscure writings of David Mark Brown, professor Buckner will attempt to redeem the past and save the future.
 

But honestly, anyone could put the pieces together, if they’re willing to look…

May the truth set you free.
 

If you’ve liked what you’ve read so far stop by my website,
The Green Porch
, and join the revolution by signing up for my e-mail updates. More refreshing than a mint julep, or your money back.

You could also join your regional chapter of the
Truth in History Society
.

Above all, enjoy the show!

Author Bio for David Mark Brown

Raised in Central Texas, David Mark Brown learned to ride horses at a young age. Then learned to hate them after a disastrous attempt to impress a girlfriend. He was five.

Turning instead to a life of poetry and prose he eventually migrated north to the University of Montana (the Berkeley of the Rockies) and became the
 
Redneck
Granola
.

Falling in love a chainsaw wielding mountain woman forced him to reconsider his chosen career path--Hemingway on a sailboat. Instead he illuminated the path of life to college students as a spiritual guide for over a dozen years while his wife (now a pharmacist) squirreled away enough acorns for David to embrace the sultry world of commercial fiction.

After legally snatching a little Vietnamese boy and creating another son via more natural means, the happy family settled in Idaho. David still rides horses, but only in black and never for fun.

Connect with me online:

Twitter:
RedneckGranola

Facebook:
RedneckGranola

Website:
The Green Porch.com
;
Truthinhistorysociety.com

The Austin Job

by

David Mark Brown

*****

A novel of the Lost DMB Files

Electronic Edition Copyright ©2011 by
 

All rights reserved as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the publisher.

StoneGate Ink 2008

StoneGate Ink

Nampa ID 83686

www.StoneGateInk.com

First Hardcover Edition: December 2011

First Paperback Edition: December 2011

First E-Book Edition December 2011

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to a real person, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Brown, David Mark, 1974-

The Austin Job: a novel of the Lost DMB Files / by David Mark Brown. -1
^st
ed. p.cm.

Cover design by Erin Mehlos

Published in the United States of America