Sunday Snippet: Surf's Up

August is shaping up to be the busiest month I've had in a long time. Between running around with my daughter and new projects landing in my inbox, I need about five more hours in each day.

Very limited television viewing this week. I ended up not starting the playlist listen while working. Too many interruptions.

I did watch a marathon of Aurora Teagarden Mysteries. Also caught some Peter Gunn episodes.

Other than that, the manuscript evaluations I've been working on took precedence. It's easier to review and assess when it's quiet and I don't have something else trying to pull my attention away from the material.

On a very happy note, I finished up a manuscript I've been writing for a long, long time. It's the follow up to Shyler: Finding Home, a Furlough 99 novella. The story ended up being more involved than I thought it would be and it turned out so much better than I'd hoped. Look for it soon!

That's pretty much it for television this week. I really want to get back to Krypton and finish up Riverdale and Arrow. Hopefully this week.

Tonight's post is from Surf's Up, a novella that started with a writing community scene prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Marla Siff and Farley Osbourne protect a wealthy businessman as part of his entourage. People assume tech geek Farley is the muscle, but Marla is the combat-trained protective detail. When a threat looms, they retreat to the private shores of their client's own island and Marla and Farley fight their attraction to keep their boss safe.

And a snippety peek…

The small twin-engine taxied to a halt and Farley did a quick sweep of the island via the security cameras. "All clear." He grabbed his gear and stuck close to his employer when he exited the plane.

Marla brought up the rear, keeping Lane between her and Farley. The pilot didn't disembark, immediately driving down to refuel and take off again. The trio walked the short distance to the waiting Land Rover, painted to Lane's specifications in bright red and crisp white, the colors of Pennylane Enterprises.

Climbing inside the vehicle, Farley did another scan with cameras and motioned for the driver to move out. Keeping his eyes glued to the tablet during the brief ride to Lane's manor house, Farley pulled up the feeds for the interior of the main dwelling, the pool house, and the duplex Farley shared with Marla when in residence.

Marla tsked. "Always with your nose buried in tech." She popped open a compartment and withdrew a bottle of water.

Farley didn't glance up. "Yeah, yeah. You do your thing and I'll do mine." He sent a quick look toward Lane. "House is clear. Want me to bump the air conditioning up a little? Inside temperature is seventy-five degrees." Lane usually liked his interior space at close to arctic levels.

Lane hand-waved the question. "Nah. Leave it." He opened an app on his phone and Farley bit back a laugh when the thermostat took a nosedive.

Marla shoulder-checked Farley. "You gonna ask me?" She batted her eyelashes.

Farley smirked. "Nope. The duplex is at a perfect seventy-two degrees." The exact climate he and Marla preferred.

She flashed a smile. "You take such good care of me." She made a show of swooning in her seat.

Lane made a gagging sound. "Geez, get a room, you two." He rolled his eyes.

Farley slid into fantasy mode for a few moments, picturing Marla sashaying into his bedroom with nary a stitch on. He shared accommodations with Marla on a regular basis and they had yet to cross any lines. But, somehow, on the island where they had separate entrances and exits to a shared house, the idea of getting a room became sexier. And, okay, his brain worked in weird ways but he'd always put it down to the fact the when they shared a hotel suite or an apartment, they bumped into each other all the time. In the duplex, his imagination ran wild, wondering what Marla got up to.

Lane intruded into Farley's fantasy. "I wanna learn how to surf."

Farley blinked. "Do what now?" Body surf? Boogie board? Surely Lane didn't mean on an actual longboard or regular surfboard.

Lane gave a snort. "You know… surf. Hang ten." He flung an arm out. "I own a damned island, not to mention a sporting goods company. Shouldn't I know how to do island things?" He shook his head as if Farley asked a stupid question.

And, okay, maybe a little on the mark, but, hell, Lane pulled the idea out of his ass.

Marla gave a growling sigh. "Who's coming and how long do we have to vet them?" She grabbed her bag and fished out her phone.

Lane smiled. "Jacobi Jannsen will be here in the morning. And he's famous among the surfing world so you don't need to vet him."

Farley barely got in a two-and-a-half count before Marla unsheathed her claws.

She leaned forward. "Excuse me? We vet everyone who comes to one of your private residences." True fact. "What if Jannsen has money problems and he's collecting a big payoff to drown you in the ocean." Her tone clearly stated she might consider doing the drowning.

Farley already had Jannsen's bank records open and started an in-depth background check.

Lane shook off her concern. "As your counterpart can no doubt tell you, Jacobi is flush with cash at the moment." He settled back on the seat and pinned Marla with his gaze. "I'm not a complete moron, Marla. Jannsen just signed a lucrative endorsement deal with Pennylane Sports." He reached for the door handle when the Land Rover pulled to a stop in front of the manor house. "He agreed to teach me when we finalized the contract yesterday."

Marla climbed out behind Lane but shot Farley a questioning glance. He confirmed Lane's details with a nod before getting out.

Her shoulders slumped. "Fine. But you're not going out alone with him. I don't care how many dotted lines he signed on." She brushed past Lane to check and unlock the front entry.

Lane gave her a wide grin. "I figured as much. That's why you two are going to learn with me."

Farley choked down a laugh and braced for the inevitable explosion.

So far, writing Farley and Marla and their interactions with Lane has been a complete joy. I love these characters!

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin