"Betty & Howard's Excellent Adventure" by J.J. DiBenedetto (Novelette)

Genre:  Romance

Type of Short Story:  Novelette

Summary:  A Christmas gift for fans of the Dream Series...

Just in time for the holidays - spend your vacation with Betty and Howard Barnes as they go on a "dream" European trip.

You'll see a whole new side to two of the unsung heroes of the Dream Series in this fun and lighthearted romantic adventure...

Excerpt:

At that point, Howard wanted to go back to the hotel and take a
nap, but the cathedral was right there. I said, “Who knows how late
the tours run?” and I started to head up the steps. He was behind me,
maybe fifty feet, and that’s the only reason that what happened next
happened the way it did. If he’d been next to me, he wouldn’t have
seen anything, and he wouldn’t have been in a position to – sorry, I’m
getting ahead of myself.


Anyway, I was about halfway up the steps, and Howard was
behind me. All of a sudden, right ahead of me, a young man started
shouting, pointing at me, or past me, I couldn’t really tell. It wasn’t
Spanish – I couldn’t tell what language it was. I looked up at him. I
couldn’t help it – that’s what you do when someone shouts at you. It’s
automatic. So while I was looking at him, and kind of startled, I didn’t
notice his accomplice. I had no idea anything was going on until a
leather strap fell off my shoulder and onto the stone steps.
At the same moment, I heard Howard yelling, “You stop right
there!”


I had no idea what had happened. You’ve already figured it
out, I’m sure, but in the confusion of the moment, I wasn’t thinking
clearly. I looked down at the leather strap, wondering where it came
from. It was the same color as my purse, and it hit me. It was my
purse. The shouting was a distraction, so the second man could cut the
strap and run off with it. By the time I understood that, Howard was
already chasing after the thief. I swear to you, Kat, I have never in my
life seen him run that fast. Not even when he was twenty-one and he
actually was running regularly.


I followed along, as quickly as I could. I had to be careful on
the steps – all I needed was to trip and break my ankle. By the time I
got down to the street, the thief was almost out of sight, and Howard
was right behind him. Closing on him, even. People were stopping
and staring – I suppose a mad chase down the street isn’t something
they see every day.



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