Sunday Snippet: On an Even Keel

I got slammed with a nasty cold and definitely feel it this week. Completely derailed my daily relaxation stress reducer posts. I'll hopefully catch back up next week or start over again for the new year.

Finished up several work-related projects and added a few to my calendar. Hoping to start the new year off with a full slate to stay busy.

Not a bad week of television, even with the icky cold making me super tired and exhausted.

Watched another episode of My Life Is Murder and enjoyed it. I'm still trying to get used to the New Zealand locale with the second season. Still a fun show.

Caught the second half of Agatha Raisin. Feel very badly for James, who kind of seems like the odd man out of the group. Loved how this one played out.

Started a new two-part Silent Witness and not sure on the new pathologist. He's not bad, I guess. Clearly, it's time to shake things up for Jack, which probably means things won't go well when his brother gets out of prison.

Enjoyed another Death in Paradise, which is one I didn't remember. I'm getting into the Humphrey episodes I missed on the first watch.

Watched another episode of Elementary and quite liked the dynamic. I'm very interested in getting into more of what happened with Joan's medical career. Sherlock is definitely true to form and I'm getting into this version.

Caught another episode of The Batman. I think I have one or two more episodes of the first season then a bit of a shift to the second one.

Enjoyed another episode of Classic Rugrats. For some reason, I think I might have missed a season or at least some episodes. I'll do a run through after I finish up the sixth season.

Continued with The Secret Life of Amy Benson. I'm intrigued by how the season is unfolding and I'm kind of interested in where things are going to go.

Finished out the week with an episode of VIP. Some familiar early aughts faces in this one. Also a fun episode.

That's pretty much it on the life update this week. Tonight's post is from On an Even Keel, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the miniblurb:

Security expert Goldie Swartz is presumed dead after a building explodes and she leaves behind a tangled past filled with burned bridges and messy relationships with those she loves. Ryne Kingston witnesses Goldie going down and realizes a little too late he'd give everything he has to have her back in his life. When Goldie returns, battered and busted up but very alive, she and Ryne finally acknowledge they need each other to stay on an even keel.

And a snippety peek…

Goldie stayed in the shadows. "Nothing like getting a ringside seat to the show." The Kingston men actually communicating with each other—about her—would be a big draw for anyone selling tickets.

Norm held his son's gaze. "No one thought she survived, son. You're not gonna find answers in that footage." He got up and exited the viewing room but left the lights off.

Ryne restarted the camera footage, a combination of CCTV, drone, and body camera films, to watch the building explode again.

Why is he torturing himself? He'd made the right call. She would've made the same one. Get everyone else out, make sure they were safe, and mourn the dead.

Which should've been her.

Except she survived … through the universe's grace and three kind souls who'd pulled her into their makeshift escape route.

Goldie emerged from her spot in the corner and angled in to sit beside Ryne, trying to see the event through his eyes. He spared her a quick glance then focused back on the screen. She watched the spliced material, strangely dispassionate about the playback. She didn't die … obviously … but could literally feel each internal flinch Ryne had when he viewed the footage over and over again, rewinding, hitting play, then repeating the process until he didn't wince or grimace anymore.

Her hand covered his and Ryne, not even looking at her, draped his arm around her. She leaned in, resting her head on his shoulder. They didn't speak. They didn't really have to. She got it. She remembered how it felt to think Ryne died two years ago after he'd been ambushed on a mission. She'd stay as long as she had to, until Ryne wanted to finally shut the recording off.

Her heart hurt to hear the note of pain and desperation in his voice when he screamed her name during the explosion. She never heard anything as raw and agonizing, especially when he quietly answered one of the hostages when they asked about her. "She's gone. Goldie didn't make it … she didn't make it out." His voice, gravelly and hoarse, spoke to her on a primal, gut level.

How long had she wanted to know what he really felt for her? With none of the past rearing its head to get in the way. With nothing interfering and no one offering their unsolicited advice.

She had the knowledge now. Right there on the screen. His true emotion in unedited form.

At the end of the current run through, Ryne didn't restart the footage.

Instead, he laced their fingers together. "It's good to have you home." He didn't speak above a whisper, but his words filled the silence.

Goldie's lips turned upward. "It's good to be back." She squeezed Ryne's hand, and the room went dark.

Neither made a move to leave. They would sit in peace and enjoy the quiet. They'd have to talk, at some point, about everything. But not yet. Because, right now, with those simple words, they cleaned the slate and hit the reset button.

And she finally had a course she wanted to follow.

This story is in the very beginning stages, and I'm excited to see where it goes.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading.

Skylin