The following is an Alternative Viewpoint Story © based on Man Trouble, book two in The War This Side of Heaven, a mystery/romance trilogy and ongoing series. This depiction fits into the storyline and is written from a viewpoint different to the original story and does not appear in the book. This Alternative Viewpoint Story adds another dimension to the original book for the reader’s pleasure. Man Trouble will be released in the spring of 2013.



Albuquerque, New Mexico, November, 1968:



David Conrad just could not sleep. Looking at the clock on the dresser with naked eyes, he could barely read the green illuminated dial. The position of the hands said that it was just shy of midnight.



“Have I lost my mind?” he whispered to himself.



The answer was yes.



As tired and relaxed as he was he should have drifted right off into dreamland; but his thoughts were running non-stop and on the same track they’d been on all evening. It was impossible to quiet his mind, so rather than lie awake all night, he decided it was best to simply address the problem and work things through.



Getting out of bed, he put on glasses, briefs and trousers then went to the bathroom and splashed a little water on his face. He then went into the living room, found the light switch, fixed himself a drink at the bar, and settled down on the couch. Taking a sip of the straight bourbon he’d poured, he watched the last of the glowing embers in the little fire place until his thoughts obscured their existence.



The problem was that David Conrad was in love. It was evident by the soaring, euphoric highs and the desperate, doubtful and depressing lows. The object of his affections had even invaded his dreams, and like now, was keeping him awake at night. He’d been in love before, but it was so long ago that he’d forgotten what it was like and it frightened him. Suddenly he was quite vulnerable. It also made him feel insecure, and he wasn’t used to that at all. With his looks, money and ability to turn on the charm, he could make book down to the minute on how long it would take to get a woman into bed. The funny part was, he hadn’t realized just what a bore it had become until that feisty, hard headed and beautiful stack of cupcakes walked into his life. But with her, hopping into the sack wasn’t even a part of the equation. It couldn’t be. It was wrong for too many reasons.

And that brought him to another thing that scared him. It seemed he no longer had control over his feelings. His hardened heart and level head should have kept him from getting so firmly attached in the first place, and they had at the start, but then they gradually deserted him. In the beginning the excitement came and went, which was easy to handle; but it wasn’t long before the hardness in his heart began to break up like ice on a river, starting with a crack and then coming apart bit by bit until the water beneath flowed and raged all it wanted to. But now he was glad for the strong current that was carrying him away. It made him feel alive, taking him back to things he hadn’t felt since childhood or his teen years.



It was because Janette West wasn’t quite like any woman he’d ever known. With her style, grace and beauty she knocked him flat the second he laid eyes on her–then she silently laughed and threw egg on his face by letting him know she was only a student. His head hadn’t really been on straight since, while at first he worked to protect himself from her and eventually was overcome by the charm of her as it unfolded to him in their daily encounters. And now there wasn’t a thing about her that didn’t excite him. Even when it seemed she purposefully teased and tormented him by being so attractive yet out of reach, he discovered that playing the fool for her was the sweetest, most glorious agony he’d ever felt. Mostly it was because he knew she loved him. Maybe she hadn’t quite fallen in love with him yet, but she loved him, and there was no doubt about that. He could feel it when he was with her–and when he wasn’t. But more than this, she seemed so beautifully matched to him with all that they had in common that it was scary. All the things he loved the most, she loved, too. And she was also thoughtful, caring and generous to others. Yes, his little Janette had everything he wanted in a woman and so much more: class, brains, talent, beauty, wit, and more courage than the Marines. Just the thought of her made him happy enough to laugh, to dance and do things he’d long forgotten about. Things like starting a family of his own. And he never dreamed anybody could make him think even once of going back into show business, but to his amazement it had actually crossed his mind just the other day–and all because of her: a wonderfully talented teenaged girl who was more woman and just as mature as anything he’d ever seen in a skirt. She had all but short circuited his common sense and now he had finally lost all resistance. He was up that proverbial creek and wasn’t interested in finding the paddle. David Conrad, sophisticated playboy masquerading as a school teacher, was more than delighted to be a corny, slap happy fool one more time in his life.



If I could just figure out how to work this. . . .



While Janette had a strong personality like some of the women that he had favored, hers had a dimension of chutzpah that he’d never encountered. She was the prettiest, most feminine tomboy and adventurer he could have ever imagined. But beneath that tough exterior, she was a warmhearted and tender young woman who only needed the right man to make her settle down and stop chasing adventure. He wanted to be that man. He was going to be that man. He had to be that man or die of despair from losing her. He was happiest when near her, and somehow he felt it was the same for her, even though she always kept a safe distance. Even that was a funny sort of turn on. He was tickled pink by the way she resisted his charm, even though it was obvious that she was just as big a sucker for it as all the rest. It was so novel that it filled him with delight as it challenged him to bring her to the place of accepting his affection.



Yes. At last he decided to just give up and give in. What choice did he have? Besides, he wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was she. He was already a lost cause nearly a month ago, pursuing her without even taking thought. Now it was time to work some serious romance into their friendship. David had already done a number of things to tickle her fancy and keep them constantly together. He just needed more ideas to keep it going, intensifying her interest in him until she was hooked completely. It felt good to have such a challenge, even though her resistance seemed brick hard at times and his confidence had been shaken a time or two. But now he had something he didn’t have before: commitment and determination. He was finally facing the fact that he was a goner; for as that evening had proven, he’d finally reached that stage where all he could think about was her–and there was no going back. As zany and foolish as it seemed, he knew it was the right thing for him. Maybe not for somebody else, but for him it was tailor made. And now what was he to do about it? How could he win her?



To say that the situation called for special handling was an understatement. For a man of his age and ability, it seemed the stupidest thing in the world to have fallen in love with one of his high school students, and as the thought began to nag him, he quickly dismissed it. It didn’t help him. This was a situation where the usual rules didn’t seem to apply. After all, Janette West was no ordinary teenaged girl. Already she’d proven to be too wise to get carried away by tender feelings or sexual desire. But even so, she did have feelings for him. Real feelings and not just a sappy school girl infatuation. She wasn’t afraid to be frank and tell him things she thought or felt about him; she was impressed by his good qualities, not just his looks, and showed no awkwardness in letting him know. That gave him hope. She also found him physically attractive, but being a smart girl, she was also a proper girl and knew just where to draw the line. It was now up to him to figure out how to get across it. The usual come-ons wouldn’t win her. That included the words “I love you”even though he might mean them. Often uttered without sincerity by so many men, including him, he was sure he would have to prove it first before he could say it to her.



No, this hard headed little thing was going to be a real tough nut to crack. She was no dope. She didn’t believe in school girl crushes on older men, having told him so when they were dealing with her classmate Helen Bombardner being jealous of all the attention he gave Janette.



What to do . . . what to do. . . .



Whatever he did, anything too physical was out. There was plenty of opportunity for that at her voice and piano lessons, but as much as he wanted to drag her off the piano bench and make music of a different kind, he was certain that a move even close to that would send her running in the other direction. Just what she thought or had heard about his romantic prowess, she couldn’t think too highly of him in that department, especially thanks to his keeping company with the likes of Vicky Marshall, a well dressed tramp if he ever saw one. So it was certain that Janette already had him pegged for some kind of a scoundrel in his dealings with women, making it even more important to go slow. She had to understand that his attraction to her had to do with a lot more than sex. Sex he could get any day of the week, but this girl was special. Extra special. Sure, it would take some doing, but if he was careful and thoughtful enough, he could bring down that wall of resistance she suddenly decided to throw up in his face after it looked like she was all but inviting him to move in on her. That little tease!



He thought again about dragging Janette off the piano bench and dwelt on it for a moment. But it wasn’t constructive, so he turned it off.



“What should I do? God! I want her,” he said, half to himself, half to God.



Oh, and what about that angle? He continued in thought. What if God doesn’t want me to have her? Or what if she expects to marry some sort of--Jewish Bill Graham or something? David sighed and smiled at that one, then he laughed out loud. Only God could come up with a trick like this, so he must be real. But it was okay, because he knew getting a little religion was good for him. How much he could take, he wasn’t sure, but he would give it a try. It was something he had always needed and for a long time friends had tried to herd him in a heavenly direction, but now it had been given to him in a special novelty instead of the usual straight laced delivery from square’s ville. Yep, there’s only one way to fix the God problem, he thought. I’ve got to change my ways–and fast.



As he sat trying to develop his plan of courtship, the last of the embers died behind the smoky glass screen on the hearth. Moments later soft footsteps came up from behind him completely unnoticed.



“David, what are you doing up? Can’t you sleep?” Lisa Overton, the lovely brunette who had been his date for the evening had come to bring David back to bed.



“Oh. Hi, Lisa. Did I wake you?”



“No, I just woke up and saw that you weren’t there; then I saw the light on. Is something the matter?”



“It’s just that I’ve got a lot on my mind, and for the life of me I can’t seem to turn it off in my head.”



“I thought you were a little distracted this evening.” Lisa had slipped on a long pink nightgown with a matching robe trimmed in lace, a New York model he’d bought for her. She touched him on the shoulder before coming around and cuddling up next to him. Slipping her arm through his, she said, “Anything I can help with?”



“Well–yes, in a manner of speaking. You see, I’ve–I’ve made a decision.”



“A decision to do what?”



“To, uh–to clean up my act. To–turn over a new leaf.”



“Oh? In what way?”



“In every way I can think of.”