Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue's Blog, page 84

The Catnip Conundrum

When a mysterious woman named Emily Haines approaches Gertie and Edna Simmons, claiming that the stray cat that they have been taking care of is hers, the couple decides to give the woman back her feline companion, but afterwards, Edna begins to suspect that Emily isn’t the woman that they originally thought that she was. In an attempt to find out the true identity of the new resident of Sanders, Edna and Gertie go undercover and find out that this woman might not only be a catnapper but a murderer. As the couple attempts to collect enough evidence to turn Emily in, one question remains. Will they be able to get the information that they need without losing their lives?

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Sleeping on Couches

After breaking up with her long-term girlfriend, Jai decides to take a break from life and work on a friend of the family’s farm. While learning to appreciate herself and the things that she loves again, Jai meets one of the farm help, Sam. She and Sam grow close quickly, but Jai soon finds out that Sam is hiding dark secrets about her past. Will Jai figure out who this woman really is before she falls in love with her, or will it be too late?

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The Midwestern Series

The Flood Between Us

When a flood hits Grant’s Landing, Jack is one of the first to respond by bringing her construction company to the town to rebuild houses. The town is suffering from lack of supplies, lack of business, and lack of housing, so members of the town are required to call in further assistance. Jill, a member of Hope’s Integrity, decides to drive supplies to the small town, meeting the bruiting Jack who both challenges and excites her. The two women grow into each other’s worlds despite the great differences that they have, but when conflicts from their pasts come to light, will they be able to stick together, or will the floods of differences that they have sweep them apart?

The Heart of the Rodeo

Blake Young is one of the best bull riders that Melville has seen in years. When she ends up falling off a bull during one of the biggest competitions of her career, she is placed in the hands of an in-home doctor, Dr. Jane Steibold and one of her worst fears, not being able to take care of herself. Blake and Jane clash at first, but as Blake gets used to the restrictions of her new lifestyle, she begins to realize that having Jane in her life might be just what she needed all along.

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Book Bits: “A Bit of A Pickle” Chapter Eight

Thank you for joining me for Book Bits. In this episode, we will begin to read the book “A Bit of a Pickle” by Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue. This is the second book in the Simmons Series.

Enjoy!

A BIT OF A PICKLE

WRITTEN BY NICOLE HIGGINBOTHAM-HOGUE

COPYRIGHTED BY NICOLE HIGGINBOTHAM-HOGUE

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

Chapter Eight

“How’s the coffee, Fredrick?” Edna asked as the man took his first sip.

“Very satisfying,” Fredrick smiled. “Thank you for making it for me. Hopefully, it will give me the boost that I need.” 

“I sure hope so,” Edna smiled back, knowing that the man was going to be in for a big surprise within the next hour. “Anyhow, now that you are here, I suppose I should probably go to the store to pick up more groceries. We didn’t know that you would be approved for time off so soon, so I’m afraid that we weren’t exactly prepared.” 

“Do you want me to go to the store?” Gertie inquired, a pleading look on her face. 

Edna knew that Gertie didn’t want to be left alone with the man. The other woman didn’t like uncomfortable situations, and she certainly didn’t like con artists. “No, dear,” Edna said, winking at her wife. “You never remember to pick up the right items. It would be better if I went so that I could make a quick trip out of it.” 

“Fine,” Gertie sighed, a defeated look on her face. “But please make it a quick trip. I’m sure that your brother came here to converse with you, and I certainly don’t want to bore him with my lack of conversational topics.”

“I’ll be quick,” Edna replied. “Now, don’t you worry.” With that, Edna headed to the door, grabbing her jacket on the way out and went to the car. She knew that she needed to come up with a plan to get rid of Fredrick, and she needed to do it quick. Edna started the car and drove it to the gas station, parking in the front of the convenience store. It was time to contract some help in her plan, and she knew that both Jesse and Theodore would be more than happy to comply. 

“Hello, Mrs. Simmons,” Jesse said as soon as she walked through the doors. “How’s it going today?”

“Well, Jesse, it’s not going very well, I’m afraid, and I came here to see if you would help me with a little situation that I am having,” Edna confessed.

“Sure thing,” Jesse replied. “What’s going on?”

Edna looked around the gas station, noticing that the only other person inside was Theodore and called him to the front. She began to tell both men the story of how she met Fredrick and how she eventually found out that he was a con artist. “I’m trying to make him leave town,” Edna said. “Who knows how long he has been tracking my wife and I? I just want to make sure that this man stays out of my life, and I think it best to make it his choice to do so.” 

“I see,” Jesse commented. “Why not just call him out though? Wouldn’t that be much simpler?”

“Not for a thief,” Theodore replied. “They have a way of manipulating people, and if the focus was brought on him, I’m sure he would find some sort of way to get sympathy out of the town residents. Also, even if he was called out, it doesn’t mean that he would stop harassing Edna and Gertie. It might just make him more inclined to do so.”

“Well, what do we do about that?” Jesse inquired, a worried look on his face.

“I told you,” Edna commented. “We need to make him leave town on his own accord.”

“Right,” Theodore said. “If we can make this town an uncomfortable place for him, then he might just leave on his own. Then, there is a better assurance that he will never come back.” 

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Edna said. “And that’s why I need your help.” 

“I’m in,” Theodore replied. “Jesse?”

“Me too,” the young man said. 

“Good,” Edna said. “Now, I’ve already gone through with the first phase of my plan. I slipped Fredrick a fiber supplement in his coffee. I’m going to go to the store and get a couple of things to make it so he doesn’t want to use our bathroom. He will be forced to go into town to find a bathroom, and one of the first places that he will see is this gas station. That’s where you come in, Jesse. I need you to close the bathrooms when he comes.”

“Okay,” Jesse replied. “I can do that.”

“What about me, Mrs. Simmons?” Theodore asked. “I want to help. There’s nothing worse than a con artist that targets older women.”

“I’m going to let that comment slide, Theodore,” Edna said. “I don’t necessarily categorize myself as an ‘older’ woman.”

“My apologies,” Theodore blushed. “But I really do want to help.”

“Good,” Edna said. “I have something for you to do as well as long as Jesse is okay with you leaving the station to help me.”

“Sure,” Jesse replied. “I don’t care. I understand the importance of the situation.”

“I appreciate it,” Edna said to the young man. “Now, Theodore…”

“Yes,” Theodore responded. 

“I only have one other bedroom in my house, and I am sure that Fredrick will try to stay there,” Edna told him. “If Fredrick doesn’t leave my house after finding out that I don’t have a working toilet, I will need you to come to my house and pretend to be a construction worker so that I can tell the man that the bedroom is under renovation. I am already nervous about having him in my house, but I would be more uncomfortable having him stay the night. We don’t know this man, and we don’t know what he is capable of.” 

“Sounds good to me,” Theodore replied. “But where is the man now? You said that he had come into town. You didn’t leave him alone with Gertie, did you?”

“I did,” Edna said. “But don’t worry about Gertie. She has a way about her, and if the man tries anything, she has plenty of ways to protect herself.” Edna smiled as she remembered the hollow pipe by the front door and the knife that Gertie had stuff down the side of her chair. Her wife watched so many police shows that the woman had gotten paranoid and stuffed self-defense mechanisms all around their house, and though Edna had once thought that she had lost her mind, now Edna was thankful. 

“Okay,” Theodore said, looking at Edna closely. “When do you want me to come over?”

“Give it about two hours,” Edna said. “I’ll only need you if he decides to stay despite my failing toilet issues.”

“Then, I’ll be on stand-by,” Theodore smiled. “Just call if you need me to come.” 

“I will,” Edna replied. “I appreciate your help, gentlemen. Now, I have to go. I have one more thing to do before I go home.” 

“See you, Mrs. Simmons,” the men called in unison, and Edna waved back at them as she walked out the door. 

About the Author

Growing up in a small town, Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue spent a majority of her time reading and writing, so when she was granted the opportunity to write full-time, she didn’t have to think twice.  Since beginning her writing career, she has managed to pen several lesbian romances, while adding a little action and adventure to spice things up. As a newly graduated MBA student, she plans to use her recently discovered free time to craft the art that she loves. For more information on Nicole’s new releases or to find out what she has been working on, sign-up for her newsletter at higginbothampublications.com.

Also by Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue

Jems and Jamz

Don’t Tell Me Twice

A Second Chance

To the Beat of Their Own Drum

Finding a Voice

A Fan to Remember

Aspiring Affection

A Stepping Stone

The Jems and Jamz Series: Books 1-2

The Jems and Jamz Series: Books 3-4

The Jems and Jamz Series: Books 5-7

The Jems and Jamz Series Boxset

Simmons Series

A Brief Debacle

A Bit of a Pickle

The Catnip Conundrum

The Simmons Series: Books 1-2

The Avery Detective Series

Sentiment to the Heart

Heart’s Content

Complicated Heart

Thank you for joining me for this episode of Book Bits. I look forward to seeing you next time.

A Second Chance

After Olive’s fallout with Jems and Jamz, she relocates to a small town and begins a new life. Upon taking a job at a café and forfeiting her fame, she meets River, the owner of Riverside Cafe and a local musician. Though the two don’t always see eye to eye, they find common ground in their music, and just as their relationship begins to grow, Olive is offered another chance to live a life of fame and luxury. Olive is left facing a hard decision. Should she follow her dreams of fame and fortune, or should she allow herself to love again? What should she do with her second chance?

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The Avery Detective Trilogy

Sentiment to the Heart

When Kay Walker’s grandfather loses a treasure near and dear to his heart, she hires Parker, a detective, to help her locate the person that stole it. Kay and Parker are complete opposites, and though they don’t get along, the two decide to stick together to complete the case. But when they go on the search for the thief and end up facing a gruesome number of perils, will the two end up finding that they have more in common than they thought?

Trusting Heart

When Parker Avery takes Olivia Nelson’s case, it sends her, Kay, and Iris to Nelspruit in search of a missing watch, but as they soon find out the watch is more than a sentimental possession. It is an efficient device used to disarm large safes and assist in burglaries, and Olivia Nelson isn’t the only one after it. The Avery Detective Agency finds themselves in conflict with a local group of criminals that want the watch just as much as they do, and in the midst of chaos, they are at risk of more than just losing a case.

Heart’s Content

When Parker Avery asks Iris Falloney to assist on a murder case in Kansas, she is ecstatic, but upon meeting Cam Harris, a local police detective working on the same case, personalities clash. Will sparks fly as they resolve their subtle differences to get through the case?

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Don’t Tell Me Twice

When Buck Miller, the lead singer of Jems and Jamz loses her girlfriend, Olive and lead guitarist to a rival band, her life takes a drastic turn. Just when everything seems like it is too much to handle, her band manager hires a new woman, Ziggy Johnson, to take Olive’s place. Ziggy is charming and challenges Buck with her overall talent, creating tension between the two. Buck does her best to get along with the other woman, but when the Ziggy threatens her spot on vocals, tempers flare.

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The Heart of the Rodeo

Blake Young is one of the best bull riders that Melville has seen in years. When she ends up falling off a bull during one of the biggest competitions of her career, she is placed in the hands of an in-home doctor, Dr. Jane Steibold and one of her worst fears, not being able to take care of herself. Blake and Jane clash at first, but as Blake gets used to the restrictions of her new lifestyle, she begins to realize that having Jane in her life might be just what she needed all along.

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FLASH US AUDIOBOOK GIVEAWAY

US Redemption Link: http://audible.com/acx-promo

FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE

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Sawyer Johnson has spent her entire life in the same small town with the same people, and she has always imagined a life beyond the bright lights of the town. Autumn Thompson, her best friend is completely satisfied with their simple lifestyle and can’t imagine anything coming in between them. However, when Sawyer decides to go on a trip out of town in order to meet her celebrity crush, Autumn insists on going with her. Will Sawyer find happiness in a lifestyle framed around fame and fortune, or will Autumn finally convince her that the life that they had together was worth more than she thought?

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Beyond the Lights

Sawyer Johnson has spent her entire life in the same small town with the same people, and she has always imagined a life beyond the bright lights of the town. Autumn Thompson, her best friend is completely satisfied with their simple lifestyle and can’t imagine anything coming in between them. However, when Sawyer decides to go on a trip out of town in order to meet her celebrity crush, Autumn insists on going with her. Will Sawyer find happiness in a lifestyle framed around fame and fortune, or will Autumn finally convince her that the life that they had together was worth more than she thought?

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