St. Joseph Real Estate Magic

Jayne is the longest running Sales Person of the Month for her real estate agency aided in part by her administrative assistant and niece Juliette, but life has become a little rote, and maybe has hit a plateau. Where do you go from top sales person of the month—maybe to top broker in the city, then the state, in the tri-state area? Then what? Pursue the famous other interests as so many who have burned out on their careers do? It definitely wasn't to meet a man with whom she had nothing in common except that his 'boss' was dating her stupid niece. If Jayne had planned her life, she would have met the 'boss' and Juliette would have met Johnny the wounded warrior who was more like a walking and talking teddy bear than her dream man. Her life has turned backwards, inside out, or has tossed her head over heels in surprise.

Betty grew up in the mountains. She was old enough to choose to go walk about through them if she wanted to which is what she tried to explain to the woman on horseback who refused to let her make her own way across to the game trails that would lead down the mountain. It wasn't the first setback she had had, those had mostly concerned the lack of food and, of course, water, and planning her walk about a little early in the summer. She had her knapsack, her backpacker's guitar, her water bottles and her determination not to go back to the place where she had grown up. She would be okay as soon as she filled the water bottles, at least for the little while it would take to reach the Appalachian Trail which was her goal. Mario saved her from another of the woman's lectures, but he was just as stubborn about letting her continue her walk about. Oh, there was a promise to help speed her on her journey, after several weeks of rest, but if she was ever to make it to the Trail she needed to go now, before the big fat lust devil that was cramped in her soul jumped out and ensnared Mario. He pointed the motorcycle in the direction of the resort that sat on the funnel of people trails and roads that led down the mountain. She put her arms around him for balance. She was lost.