Sunday Snippet: Severing Ties

Another crazy week. This time on more of a personal front, which isn't all that unusual. I don't normally get slowed down though and I did this week. We got to see almost totality for the eclipse and that was actually a lot of fun. Our streetlights came on at three in the afternoon on an otherwise sunny day. Seriously. Lots of fun.

Had a fairly decent week of viewing and caught up on most of my regular schedule. I've pared it down a little and kind of hope to get back into a full rotation sometime soon. If I'm paying for streaming services, I should be using them, right?

Ended up catching two episodes of The Batman. I'd completely forgotten the original sidekick storyline with Prank for the Joker. Ended up enjoying that one. Also kind of loved the "Thunder" episode. That one I did remember.

Watched two episodes of Classic Rugrats. I must have missed a big portion of the seventh season because I don't remember any of the vignettes. Kind of nice to have new-to-me material to watch.

Enjoyed an episode of My Life Is Murder. I think I have one more left before bonus material. Going to miss this one. I thoroughly enjoyed the series.

Caught the holiday episode of Madame Blanc Mysteries. Enjoyed it. Looking forward to diving into the new season.

Started a new two-part Silent Witness. Loved seeing Jack's niece again. Looking forward to finishing this episode.

Said good-bye to Humphrey on Death in Paradise. Really liked the way his run ended. I'm excited to start Beyond Paradise in the near future.

Watched another episode of Elementary. I'm almost through the first season and I'm very much enjoying this show.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Severing Ties, a novella where the characters discover cutting ties isn't as easy as they want it to be.

Here's the miniblurb:

Lucky Block and Booker Severn provide all the crazy antics their small town can take. But when they finally sever ties, the community pulls out all the stops to show the couple they belong together.

And a snippety peek…

"Well, hello, Booker. Fancy meeting you here."

Booker paused by the frozen food and rolled his eyes. Tansy Blaylock never did her grocery shopping in store. He'd seen her in the pickup slots more than once.

And she happened to the third female who accidently on purpose bumped into him this afternoon.

Booker lifted his chin. "Tansy. What brings you inside the store today?" As if he couldn't guess.

The breakup with Lucky a week ago.

Tansy blinked and stumbled over her response. "Oh, well, I … uh, thought I'd pick out some steaks." She shrugged. "You know you can't leave choosing a great cut of meat to the employees. That's something you kind of have to do for yourself." A sidestep hid her cart from his view, which, no doubt, held exactly zero steaks.

In fact, he didn't see anything inside.

Booker arched his brows. "You're aware this is the frozen food aisle, right?" He sounded testy, but he'd planned to make this a quick trip.

Tansy's gaze darted back and forth before landing on one of the freezer doors. "Er, right. Thought I'd grab some of these first." She yanked on the handle and snagged a bag of garlic knots. "They're terrific with steak." Her head tilted to one side. "I could show you. Maybe you could swing by tonight and we can grill the steaks and catch up." Tossing the bag into the otherwise empty cart, she gave him a hopeful look.

Booker shook his head. "I'm not interested, Tansy. But thanks for the offer." He held his basket up. "I'm headed for the checkout now then settling in to watch some Twitch streams." He retrieved a box of lasagna and lifted his hand.

Tansy frowned. "You know you're better off without her, right? Lucky can't make up her mind, which she proved by walking away from you." Grabbing the item she just put in the cart, Tansy threw it back inside the freezer. "Enjoy your night, Booker." She turned and walked away, leaving the cart behind.

Booker sighed and made his way to the self-checkout. He could've been less blunt. Tansy didn't know he'd been asked out by two other women. But her rude remark about Lucky—completely uncalled for—got Booker thinking a little.

Maybe he'd been too rough on Lucky. After all, he had the hometown advantage. She'd come for college, earning a full-ride scholarship to the local university. And she'd stayed after falling in love with the area. In the ten years since, she'd had exactly two visits from her parents on separate occasions, and they only sporadically reached out when the mood struck. Or they needed something. He understood her feeling of abandonment. But, dammit, she could trust him a little, couldn't she. Hadn't he proven he'd stick around?

But did you actually? He might be tied to this town in a physical sense and would never leave. But that's not the problem, dumbass. Lucky knows all that. You showed zero support for her concerns. Like wanting to make a place for herself and stand on her own. She needed to prove her worth, even if only to herself.

He could've given her the time and space she asked for.

Instead, he'd thrown down a gauntlet and demanded she make a choice.

In public.

With a slew of witnesses.

Tansy Blaylock couldn't be more wrong. "I'm not better off without Lucky. She's better off without me…"

I'm so happy with how this scene came together. Booker needed a wake-up call and Tansy did a nice job of delivering one.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin