I’m a terrible blogger with my sporadic posts and whatnot. Sorry. I’ve been working hard on editing THE LEGEND OF JACKSON MURPHY, so it’s ready for publication sometime in June, working, preparing a paranormal series to publish under my alter ego in the fall, and I’ve been doing other shit, like packing, cleaning and losing my fucking mind. Those are just excuses so you’ll all feel bad for me. Is it working?

Fine. I was reading through “Jack” and keep coming across passages I want to share with everyone because I’m so impressed with myself. Yes, I can be that writer. So I thought why not share a sneak peek of the book that was the most fun to write? Seriously, I still have fun with this story, even editing it is fun. Weird, eh?

So here you go, a sneak peek at THE LEGEND OF JACKSON MURPHY. Enjoy…

After settling the kids in their rooms, Jenny went to bed. Good old Jenny always did excel at avoiding her problems. She knew he suspected something and tried the ignoring routine hoping he would forget. Jack wouldn’t let the lying bitch off that easily. He showered and joined her in their room after looking for boxers in his nearly empty drawer. Laundry, it’s a wife’s job in Jack’s world. Jenny, apparently, didn’t get the memo.

He stepped into shorts that he hadn’t worn since the eighties; the elastic had stretched and the blue cotton faded to a dull grey. Fuck. He’d have to get a maid. Or a new wife.

Jenny lay on her side, her back to him while she feigned sleep.

He wasn’t buying it. “No Late Show tonight?”

She heaved a loud sigh and rolled over, a pained expression on her face. “I’m too tired to watch TV. If you’re going to, can you watch it somewhere else? I can’t sleep with the noise.”

“I’m not watching anything. I wanted to talk.”

“About what?”

“Us.”

She opened her eyes and stared as he pulled back the covers. “Jack, can’t it wait until morning?” she groaned when he climbed into bed and turned the lamp back on. “Really, I’m too tired for this right now.”

“That’s too bad Jenny, because I really want to discuss this and get it resolved.”

“Get what resolved? Are we having a fight?”

“We sure aren’t getting along. I just need to clear a few things up, start fresh.”

“Say whatever it is you need to say so I can go to sleep.” She sat up with another loud sigh, and then arranged the covers with exaggerated care.

Jack waited for her to finish with her annoying little performance.

“Well?” she asked.

He was overwhelmed by the urge to knock the sarcasm right out of her. Jenny acted as if she would bestow a favor by allowing him to discuss anything. Well let’s see how cocky she was when he finished. “Do you want out?”

“Out of what?”

“Don’t play dumb with me. You know what I’m asking.”

“Why would I want out? You’ve given me everything I want. You’re a perfect husband and father. You tell me so every fucking day, so how could I possibly want out?”

“I tell you because you don’t seem to appreciate what I do for you guys. It’s always about what I don’t do and what I should do. A little gratitude goes a long way, you know?”

“Gratitude? Seriously? I should be thankful that you leave me alone with three kids every day? I should be happy that you never come home at a decent time like other husbands, so I have to make shit up so the kids don’t think you hate them?”
“You don’t tell them anything good about me. Allie told me the other day that you said I never come home because they irritate me. You told her I never wanted any of them. Maybe I should give her the number of the doctor who was going to suck her out of your fucking belly. He’d be able to straighten out who wanted her and who didn’t.”

“We only planned on two children. Remember? We should be saving for a trip around the world right now, or something else that didn’t involve soccer and dance class. But no, instead I’m raising another child. The other two are nearly out of the house and Allie will be here for years yet. When do I get a life?”

“That’s my fault? I don’t think so Jen. This one is all you. You didn’t take your pills; you didn’t like the extra weight they made you gain. What did you think would happen when you stopped taking them?”

“You should have used protection. I think you wanted to tie me down to you.”

Jack glared, unable to believe her words. What a piece of work. Did she actually believe he wanted to keep her? He’d happily let her go as long as she just left. He was not about to pay her off. “Anytime you want to go, just say the word and I’ll pack your shit.”

“And the kids? Who has to take the kids?” She raised an eyebrow, arms crossed over her chest.

“Don’t you want them?”

“Because I’m their mother? Why can’t you take them?”

“This is exactly why I can’t stand you. You’re the most selfish bitch I’ve ever met. How can you not want your children?”

“I’ve been raising them on my own for fourteen years. It’s someone else’s turn now.”

“You won’t get a dime, you know. Leave if you want, but I’m not giving you a cent of my money.”

Her face reddened and she scrambled to sit straighter. She tried to speak, but no words came out. Then her eyes narrowed and she made the snorting sound that betrayed her temper hung by a thread. “I am entitled to half, and I will have it. You won’t get rid of me that easily, you miserable fuck. I have earned every last cent for being married to an asshole like you.”

“Really? So because you spread your legs whenever I begged and managed to have a few kids, I should pay you? I wasn’t aware you were a whore, but it seems appropriate.”

The slap echoed in the room.

Jack barely flinched, smiling as she gathered up the blankets and stumbled out of bed.

“We’re through Jack, and you will pay for everything,” her voice trembled. “But let’s be clear on one thing; I will not take the kids, but I will take everything else from you. Just watch me, asshole.”

Jenny stormed out. Jack leaned back on the bed. She wouldn’t get one red cent. He earned it, not her. If he had to give half of his money, half of his half of his business, and half of the house, he would have to start over again, and he’d worked too hard to allow some greedy little whore to have it all.

He needed a plan. Divorce wasn’t an option. That much she’d confirmed. She wouldn’t leave quietly and he wasn’t about to sit like an idiot while she cleaned him out. So, what was left?

He also had a little problem named Ray. Fuck. Jack had more than a little problem. If Jenny was sleeping with that pathetic shit, the two might team up and Ray knew almost to a cent what Jack had stashed away. Ray could really fuck him. But would he? Was he in love with her? The image of Ray brushing Jenny’s cheek flashed through Jack’s mind. He closed his eyes. Yeah, the idiot was definitely in love.

Maybe he could convince Ray that Jenny was using him. Yeah and maybe he’d meet the fucking Queen at Wal-Mart.

Jack’s thoughts went back to his lunch with Harvey. The law stated Jenny was entitled to half. Even if she got a quarter or a tenth, it was still too much in Jack’s mind. She’d done nothing for fifteen years and even if it killed him, she’d get nothing in return.

But if she wasn’t around to steal his money… He rubbed his chin. Yes, Jenny would be worth much more to him dead. That’s all there was to it. It seemed like a rather drastic conclusion earlier, but really, there was no other option. He couldn’t divorce her. She just said she’d take everything. And Jenny would. She’d hang around until she sucked him dry. Jack had given her reason enough to run screaming from him for years. Lord, how he’d tried.

Jack hated to think he could be capable of murder, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Then a thought hit him like a runaway train: What if Jenny realized the potential windfall his death would bring?