Hello, September.
Here's hoping you're not as maniacal as August. I'd love for the weather to
make up its mind and hold for a while. I don't imagine that will actually
happen.
Had a lovely day
off to travel to the Hocking Hills area to meet up with my cousins on my mom's
side of the family. We're hoping to make it an annual event. I couldn't take
the whole weekend, but it was so much fun to spend time with them. Bonus points
for being close enough to my daughter's location for grad school that I could
take some of the things she forgot.
Still insanely busy
with work and I'm happy for the new projects coming my way. Also kind of
thrilled they're all a bit different so it's not the same thing for each
manuscript.
Had an okay week of
viewing. I got to watch a few things when I needed a break from wall-to-wall
words. Sometimes it's nice to have a minivacation to reset my brain.
Caught an episode
of The Batman and enjoyed it. It's a two-parter so I'm hoping to watch
the second half this week.
Enjoyed an episode
of Classic Rugrats. I don't really remember this one, but the later
seasons of the show weren't watched quite as many times as the earlier ones.
Got an episode of My
Life Is Murder watched and loved it. Again, Madison really stole the show.
And the wink-wink-nod to Xena at the end was fun and awesome.
Started an episode
of Signora Volpe and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens when Sylvia's
undercover assignment is discovered.
That's pretty much
it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Under the Influence,
a South of the Border novella.
Here's the
miniblurb:
When her father dies, Lilith Jans inherits a piece of
hotly sought after property in Mexico. She also unknowingly takes on an unpaid
debt, which puts her life in danger. Hayden Knoxville makes her an offer she
wants to refuse but can't—sell to him and he'll deal with the men coming to
collect payment.
And a snippety peek…
Hayden Knoxville entered the cantina
and spotted his friends right away.
Lars stood up and waved Hayden
over. "Knoxville, how was the trip down?" He settled back down at the
table and motioned for the server to bring another beer.
Hayden grunted. "Not bad. Been
a while since I've crossed the border." At least into Mexico.
Vail lifted his chin. "How
long has it been? Three years now?"
Hayden gave a nod. "There
about. Heard you two have been busy." The scuttlebutt proved interesting,
and he wondered how accurate the information could be.
He only picked up bits and pieces
from a friend of a friend who had some kind of pull with covert operations. His
former colleagues got out of the business and settled with—from the sound of
things—two incredible women. When the trio video conferenced about Hayden
making the trip down to Mexico, they didn't waste any time on small talk. But
both men seemed … less haunted.
Hayden wanted what they had. And he
might have the means to make it happen.
Lars kicked his chair back on two
legs. "Decide anything on the problem we talked about?" Right to the
issue at hand, a very Lars move.
Hayden took a long swallow of the
beer the server placed in front of him before answering. "I'm willing to
help but … instead of working short-term, why not consider long-term?"
He'd given the situation a lot of thought and had what he hoped would be a
perfect solution.
Lars arched a brow. "What do
you have in mind?"
Hayden rolled a shoulder.
"I'll buy her out. If she sells to me, half her headache is gone."
And he had the means to make a sizeable offer.
Vail frowned. "What if she
doesn't want to sell?"
Hayden snorted. "She'd be
stupid not to. I absorb her old man's debts, meaning I deal with any potential
fallout or blow back." And maybe take down one last asshole before closing
the book on this chapter of his life.
Lars planted his forearms on the
table. "Why? I mean, do you have some strange hankering to move your life
down here?"
Hayden pondered how to answer.
"Move anywhere, actually. I'm tired of chasing the next job." And
pushing his luck.
Vail picked up the thread of
conversation. "Does this have anything to do with getting shot last
year?"
Hayden sighed. "Hell, I don't
know. I always figured gunshot wounds and wicked-looking scars from a knife
blade were part of the fun." Right up until the injuries started
outweighing the positive aspects of the job.
Lars grimaced. "Sure … until
they're not." He rubbed at his side, no doubt remembering his last close
call.
Hayden grunted. "Exactly. I've
been doing this long enough to know I've got a few good years left before age
and wear and tear take too much of a toll. I wanna get out before I'm too tired
or injured to do so." And starting over with a couple of friends
nearby had merit.
Vail huffed out a breath. "Or
too dead."
Hayden cocked his head. "That,
too. Besides, when you two dropped out, it became a wake-up call." He
fixed his gaze on his friends. "Got any regrets?"
Both answered in unison.
"No."
Hayden gave a nod. "Didn't
think so. I've got a tidy sum saved up and it's kind of nice to think about not
living out of a jump bag and crawling in and out hot spots all the time." He
spoke several languages, knew his way around boats and bars … why not put his acquired
knowledge to work as more than a hired gun?
Lars spread his hands out.
"Look, Vail and I have a good reason not to live the life anymore."
Hayden lifted his chin. "Yeah,
two super-hot women to keep you in line."
Vail huffed out a breath and finished
his beer. "You don't have anyone. You'll be tying yourself to business you
may not even like. What are you going to do if you get bored?"
Hayden gazed out the window,
soaking in the landscape. "Easy, I'll go surfing, or diving, or hiking
somewhere." He drained his mug and set it on the table. "I've got this
round." He got up to pay the tab … but overheard his friends' commentary.
Vail rocked back on the chair.
"Guess he's got it all figured out."
Lars gave a nod. "Yep. Until
something—or someone—throws him a curve."
Hayden didn't blame them for their
doubts. But he had a skill set they didn't know about. "I'm damned good at
shifting on the fly." He could totally do this.
This is a fun
series and I'm enjoying bringing previous characters back to help the new ones.
That's it for this
week. Happy reading!
Skylin
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