A Book of Short Stories: Californians and Other Cowboys
Table of Contents
Two Birds of Paradise
General Chains
The Iraqi Woman
Iraqi Deserter
The Rancheros
Fog in Berkeley
The Death of Ali
The Call to Duty
The Dog Don't Hunt
Highway Cowboy
Stay Frosty
Samples of the Stories Below:
Short Story: The Iraqi Woman
They call her the Bedouin, a young Iraqi woman locked up alone in a house. Her wealthy husband made an exception to local customs by allowing her to remain alive after the Bedouin kidnapped her. 
From his rooftop lookout, Lutter watches her bathe every afternoon. Francois Lutter is working his network in the war torn Iraq, trading in contraband, weapons, unloading cash from convoys, drug traffick.... With his binoculars, he watches for the convoys and admires the young woman bathing and the tattoos the Bedouin gave her. He just has to talk with her even though that may cost him his life.
The Iraqi Woman
From his rooftop lookout, Lutter watches her bathe every afternoon. Francois Lutter is working his network in the war torn Iraq, trading in contraband, weapons, unloading cash from convoys, drug traffick.... With his binoculars, he watches for the convoys and admires the young woman bathing and the tattoos the Bedouin gave her. He just has to talk with her even though that may cost him his life.
The Iraqi Woman
Short Story: The Iraqi Deserter
Lieutenant Ken Wilson, US Marine Recon unit, thought that 
training Iraqis to be soldiers would be an easy job, a way to relax a little after many highly stressful combat missions. He quickly learns that the Iraqis he trains have their own ideas about democracy and justice.
The Iraqi Deserter
Short Story: At the Los Angeles Hilton
Todd's wife left him after he lost a leg and returned from Iraq. He meets someone at the Los Angeles Hilton who has a lot in common with him. She knows how to ease his worries and make the time fly.
Short Story: The Rancheros
A vivacious woman in her prime, Kate married a much older man, Kali, who, with his brothers, happens to own one of the largest ranches in Kleberg County, Texas. After the first few months of a feverish marriage, Kate's husband neglects her in favor of a variety of lady friends at his condo in Houston.
Rumor circulates around the Kingsville beauty salon that maybe Marta's older husband did not die by accident. When Kate's maid has to move away, she posts an employment offer for a maid at the beauty salon and interviews only one person for the job: Marta. She probably has all the skills Kate needs to take care of business.After her wedding with a man she knew hardly further than his pocket book, Kate learns how his first wife died out in a field of cactus and fire. Kate wises up after the honeymoon. She hires Marta, a Mexican housekeeper to help out with the ranch house. In town, Marta had a reputation, not for keeping her house clean, but for getting rid of a wayward husband. It’s the qualification that interests Kate the most. The two women become best of friends, especially after Kate’s husband passes away.
Kate has no family and only a modest inheritance from her husband’s will. She and Marta decide that leaving Texas for California is their best move, especially after the Texas police begin questioning the deaths of two husbands associated with Marta.
They pack up and head west to California.
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