Sunday Snippet: Transference

Man. Whatever alignment the planets are in has been wrecking things in my house lately. After the washing machine saga, our coffeemaker took a crap. It's less than a year old. Seriously … not the norm. But the good news is a new washer and coffeemaker should arrive sometime this week barring any other global server outages.

Had a super busy work week. Finished the holiday manuscript and received a mystery and a romance for copy edit. Picked back up with a novella I've been working on with an author for a while now and enjoying getting back into the groove of the book. Also had an author reach out about a new twist on a previous project. Really fun week!

I didn't get a lot of screentime this week, but I watched a few shows. I'm in a weird place with viewing. I want to watch stuff, but my brain isn't settled on exactly what. Kind of want to binge something with a lot of seasons for a while to see if that will reset the needle.

I loved the episode of My Life Is Murder. Actually really twisty with an interesting outcome. Once again, Madison shined. I love that character.

Caught another Best in Paradise. This one featured the farewell to Martha, which ended up being so funny and sad at the same time. Excellent episode.

Watched another Death in Paradise with the introduction of the new DS. Not completely sure if I like her or not. Stay tuned.

Started an episode of Elementary but struggled to stay focused so I'll finish it up this week.

And that's pretty much it for the life update. Tonight's post is from Transference, a novella that explores what might have been in a different way.

Here's the miniblurb:

Leslie Karr is packing her meager belongings to move out of her college apartment and finds a letter from Granger Unger explaining why their night of shared grief over the loss of his brother can't go anywhere. After three years, Leslie still wonders if he may have been wrong and decides to test the waters by looking him up before she leaves town.

And a snippety peek…

Leslie tamped down on the burst of nervous energy coursing through her. "This is a cute cape cod." She loved the house and she definitely loved Granger inviting her.

Granger angled his head toward her. "It's obviously a work in progress. Haven't had the time I need to really make any big changes." He held up the mayonnaise and arched his brows.

She gave a nod. "Yep. Still the only thing I like on sandwiches." Thad used to tease her because he'd been a mustard man all the way.

The thought tugged a little hard. The entire reason she'd wanted to see Granger … to address the past and possible start over for the future. At least as friends if nothing more.

Granger carried two plates to the table and went back to grab two glasses of water then sat perpendicular to her. "Mayo on both sides, right?" He picked his sandwich up and took a large bite.

 Leslie grinned, touched he'd remembered. "Absolutely." She bit into the roast beef and cheddar and had a flashback to the kiss they shared after her fight with Thad.

Granger had been eating roast beef when she'd stopped at his apartment off campus, wrecked after the nasty fight with Thad. Granger took one look at her tear-streaked face and dragged her inside. Over sandwiches, she unloaded. About the issues between her and his brother. About loving him but wondering if that would be enough to see them through the rough patches. As usual, Granger listened until she stopped talking then offered to drive her back to the dorm. He'd always been easy to confide in and she appreciated how he didn't judge or take sides even when it involved his brother.

Probably why she initiated the kiss before they left Granger's apartment. A wild, crazy impulse. A safe play because she trusted Granger. And even then … even though she loved Thad with her whole heart, she'd been drawn to Granger.

And the embrace rocked her foundation. So different from Thad. By the end of the lip-lock, Granger's hands had threaded through her hair and hers found their way to cup his cheeks. But they didn't want this. To become a cliché by hurting the one person they each cared so much for.

By silent agreement, they left the apartment and Granger drove her home. Thankfully, he didn't make small talk or become awkward when they saw each other again. But something had shifted between them. An awareness of what they could have been.

And when Thad died? Her instinct had her turning to Granger. He'd been a rock during the month that followed … and she had hope they might … well, become more.

Then he wrote the letter and left.

Granger set his sandwich aside. "You're thinking about the letter, aren't you?" He let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry. I should've had the guts to talk face-to-face with you." He met and held her gaze.

Leslie shook her head. "Actually, I was remembering the kiss, then losing Thad, and then the letter." Her lips quirked. "Might as well roll all the way back to the beginning of when things got weird." A flurry of relief hit her because she needed to hash this out with Granger.

He settled back in his chair and put his palms on the table. "If we're going down memory lane, I have to stroll a little further." His eyes closed. "I started falling for you way before you kissed me. That's why I didn't bring it up or mention it afterward." He blinked and focused on her. "Then Thad died and my feelings for you got really tangled up with my grief over him." His fingers flexed on the smooth surface of the table. "Would've been easy to take advantage of losing him and I didn't want to be that guy. Not with my brother's girl." He looked away then back to her again. "The letter was a dick move and I really am sorry."

Leslie swallowed her shock over Granger's admission of falling for her, needing to both savor the idea and sit with it for a moment.

But she quickly absolved him over leaving the letter. "It's okay. Time and distance gave me a lot of perspective. And you're not wrong about how easy it would've been to shift what I felt for Thad over to you." Now she had a confession to make. "But it wouldn't have just been a transference. Things changed for me a little after I kissed you." When his eyes widened, she quickly continued. "I didn't love Thad less, but you took up space in my head. And I sometimes wondered, you know, what if?" A weight lifted from her heart. "I had no idea you were wondering the same thing. But you made the right call by leaving. It made me put my head down and focus on finishing my degree. And I'm not sure I would have done as well as I did if you were there as a reminder of Thad." She truly understood that now. "But … finding your letter? Hit a little sideways and I really wanted to at least see you and maybe … I don't know…" She trailed off because she sounded completely off the rails.

Granger's lips twisted in a wry grin. "Start fresh? I mean we can't forget our history or our connection to Thad, but we can forge ahead, right?" His voice turned hopeful.

Leslie nodded. "I'd like that."

I'm happy with how this one is going. Sibling rivalry is a favorite of mine, even if the sibling is no longer in the picture.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin