Sunday Snippet: A Rustic Affair

As usual, the weather in Ohio is all over the map. A balmy fifty degrees one day and single digits the next. It's crazy.

I'm working my way through my binge watch of Hawaii Five-0. I'm currently in season 4 at the halfway mark. I'm rather happy with the continuity to this point. When shows play with their history and / or rewrite it, I get a little cranky. (I'm looking at you NCIS: LA)

Need to catch up on The Librarians and Teen Wolf. Definitely looking forward to the return of my regular shows later this month.

Tonight's post is from A Rustic Affair, a novella with a bit of a twist, featuring two heroes who are finally ready to retire but struggle with how to do it.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Necia Sands and Falcon Seaver, two mercenaries for hire who finally retire from the life, try to settle down. Being opposites draws them together, but it also makes them clash over simple things—like finding the right place to live.

And a snippety peek…

Necia grimaced. "Nah, I'm actually sick of traveling. I'm ready to put down roots and stay in one place." She tilted her head to one side. "I think the longest I've spent in one location is four months." Her gaze met his. "That's when I met you."

Falcon's lips twisted in a half-smile. "When I shanghaied your wet work job for the company, you mean?" She'd been so pissed she almost shot him.

Twice.

She quirked an eyebrow. "I got my man in the end. You were the bonus payout."

Falcon didn't remind her it had taken two failed attempts on his life before she came around to that way of thinking. He needed information her target had and his intervention put her reputation on the line. Necia considered Falcon collateral damage… until his boss called her handler and she backed off.

Necia moved to stand toe-to-toe with him. "Yeah, yeah, I didn't think so at the time." Her hands grasped his hips. "But it didn't take me long to come around." She tilted her chin up and brushed her lips over his jaw.

Falcon wrapped his arms around her. "Only about two weeks or so." Fourteen days of playing cat and mouse while he extracted the intel he needed before letting her finish her job.

Necia cracked a smile. "A fun two weeks. I spent most of that time plotting ways to kill you, you know."

Falcon chuckled. "Then of course you enjoyed it." He walked her backward toward the front door. "Think of this place as another opportunity to plan my demise." Twisting the knob, he pushed the heavy oak inward and nudged her into the small foyer.

Necia sucked in a breath. "Um, yeah. You said it needed work." She shot him a sideways glance. "Not a complete reno." Moving forward into the sitting room, her gaze scanned the dusty interior.

He followed her line of sight, taking in the rickety steps to the second floor, the narrow hall leading to the kitchen. A den and bathroom lined the space. She'd probably flip at the upstairs. Two bedrooms, another bath, and an open area that might make a nice office space.

Not that they'd need an office. They were retired. No more work for hire.

Necia angled her head around and pinned him with her gaze. "Let's do it. Call the owner."

His mouth dropped open. "Seriously?" He actually thought she'd put up more of a fuss.

Necia grinned. "Yeah, seriously." She grabbed his hand and dragged him through the kitchen to the back door. "Listen… you can hear the waves crash from here." Pulling the curtain aside, she gazed out the window. "Add a porch out here and we can sit outside and probably feel the salt water spray off the ocean."

Falcon moved up, planting his hands on her hips. "Sounds pretty terrific."

Necia leaned her head against his shoulder. "Yeah, it does… Once we completely gut the place and start over." Her wide smirk suggested his next several months would be incredibly busy.

Falcon wouldn't have it any other way.

I think this is going to be a fun one to finish up. It's challenging to write conflict between two characters when they're working to avoid it.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin