Sunday Snippet: Just Skip Dessert

Happy Easter to those who celebrate. Happy regular Sunday to those who don't. After three days of lovely temperatures, we're back to mid-forties and chilly. I'll take the cooler weather because the warm-up seemed to bring the ticks out. Pulled three of them off my spouse yesterday. That's usually a May through October problem.

Got to enjoy a wonderful Friday with my daughter at an art walk. She's a project manager for a county arts council and knows many of the artists. So much fun!

Had a busy work week. Finished up a copy edit and proofread for one of the publishers I edit for. Also finished a proofread for a memoir. Continued work on two other proofreads. I have a developmental edit to start this week and hopefully another copy edit.

Ended up with an okay viewing week. I got through most of the shows I watch. I ended up skipping two because I didn't feel well and couldn't concentrate on more than one thing at a time. I did get some cleaning and decluttering done when I needed a break from work projects.

Started off with My Life Is Murder and quite enjoyed the mystery. I love Alexa and Madison's friendship, especially when Madison pushes Alexa out of her comfort zone.

Caught another Foyle's War and ended the eighth season. Loved Sam's good news and kind of felt sorry for Miss Pierce. There are several behind the scenes episodes that I hope to watch this week.

Watched another Return to Paradise and I'm almost finished with the first season. Not sure when the second will be available to me, but I'll look forward to it.

Also enjoyed another episode of Poirot. A holiday episode with a truly distasteful antagonist that thankfully didn't last long. I loved Poirot coming to Japp's rescue once the singing started. If you know, you know.

Elementary ended up being very good. I'm kind of interested to see where Joan's story goes with Shin. Also enjoyed Sherlock's chess match with Shin.

I binge-watched some Brokenwood Mysteries. The new season starts this week and I'll dive into it as soon as I finish up My Life Is Murder.

That's it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Just Skip Dessert, a novella that puts one of the characters in a tricky situation and gives the other character a chance to lend a helping hand.

Here's the miniblurb:

Wanda Craig and Dewey Pearson are the two newest teachers at Cheltenson Academy, a private school, and they hit it off right away. When a family emergency calls Wanda away right before the end of semester dinner for the new academic advisors, Dewey gets to deal with an inappropriate advance from the headmaster's wife. When Wanda returns, she takes steps to give Dewey a better experience.

And a snippety peek…

Dewey's new boss stopped in front of a brick bungalow where a woman with wavy blond hair sashayed back and forth from one side of the porch to the other.

Chalmers frowned. "Ellyn, what are you doing here?" His gaze narrowed on the woman.

Ellyn waved a hand. "Chalmers, dear, I'm here to welcome the newest additions to our exalted ranks, of course." She smiled sweetly at Chalmers. "Please do the introductions."

Chalmers made a grumbling sound. "This is Ellyn, my wife." He stepped up onto the porch and withdrew a key from his pocket. "Ellyn, this is Dewey Pearson and Wanda Craig." He unlocked the door and pushed it open.

Ellyn barely spared a glance for Wanda, acknowledging her with a brief lift of eyebrows.

For Dewey, she tucked her hand around his arm after giving him a slow once-over. "It's so lovely to meet you. Let's go in for a quick tour, shall we?" She didn't wait for an answer, guiding Dewey into the bungalow.

Chalmers made a grumbling sound again. "Yes, yes. By all means, show them around." He retrieved another key and held it out for Wanda. "You're right next door." He pointed to the quaint stone cottage on the right side.

Wanda murmured her thanks. "Much appreciated." She trailed behind Dewey and Ellyn.

Chalmers stepped inside. "Ellyn, don't be long. We want to give Pearson and Craig time to get settled." He met Dewey's gaze. "Report to my office at eight a.m. and I'll go over your responsibilities." Glancing toward Wanda, he lifted his chin. "I'll meet you directly after lunch and we'll get you sorted over at the theater." He gave Ellyn a brief look.

She waved her free hand. "Go on, dear. I know how busy you are the week before classes start. I'll see you at dinner." Turning away from her husband, she led Dewey further into the house.

Dewey grew increasingly annoyed at the way Ellyn wouldn't let go of his arm while she showed the main points of the bungalow. She also blithely ignored Wanda, which irritated Dewey, especially when Ellyn continued to flirt outrageously with him. Dewey worked to bring Wanda into the conversation and remind Ellyn the other woman existed.

He asked about the layout of the houses even though they were the same on the information sheets. "Wanda, any questions about your cottage?"

She smirked a little and got a good swipe or two in with a polite innocence that counted as … anything but innocent. "Oh no. None at all. Mrs. Grove is doing a lovely job with the grand tour." Keeping things formal by calling Ellyn Mrs. Grove earned Wanda a sharp glance.

Dewey's lips twitched, but he remained silent.

Wanda got another jab in when they finished the walkthrough. "Mrs. Grove, your husband has been so welcoming and kind. It's remarkable how both of you are working in tandem to make us feel like part of the family."

Ellyn's nostrils flared, but she gave Wanda a tight smile.

Wanda shot one last missile across the bow. "And I think your husband is going to be a great boss."

Dewey admired the way his newest coworker rather put Ellyn Chalmers in her place without being catty or bitchy about it. Frankly, he wanted to applaud the new theater director's ad-libbing, show-stealing moxie. They'd reached the front door again and Ellyn visibly stewed at Wanda's gentle reminders about Ellyn's marital status.

However … since she had no reason to continue holding on to Dewey, she inclined her head and stepped toward the door. "Yes, well, it's wonderful to have you." She met Dewey's gaze. "We always host a dinner party for our new educators." She flicked her attention to Wanda. "Chalmers will let you know the date and time, but it'll be soon." With another tight smile, she exited Dewey's new residence.

Dewey waited until the door firmly closed behind her before he turned to Wanda. "Uh, wow." He had no other words.

Wanda laughed. "Yeah, she's not subtle, is she?"

Dewey chuckled. "Not one bit. But you were amazing."

I'm in the beginning stages of this one but it's so much fun to write!

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Just Skip Dessert

Finally have a little bit of spring weather, which is a nice change from the cold and dreary yuck of last week. Taking the doggos out won't be as much of a chore and they like it when the temperatures are mild.

Super, super busy work week. I dropped a quick copy edit in for a healthcare workbook and managed to get the revisions reviewed and back to the author in record time. Might have a few tweaks left, but otherwise that project is in the books.

Also completed a clean copy return for a romance novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. I've been lucky enough to edit the whole series and I'm excited for more!

Finished up a full copy edit on a novel and have the file ready for author review. I'll be forwarding it later today and I'm excited to finish book one so we can jump into book two. This is a fun series to work on.

Also finished up a manuscript evaluation for a new adult novel and I can't wait to work on this series with the author. I love the concept and the characters are messy and fun, which is what I like in the new adult genre.

All those projects didn't leave a lot of time for television this week, which I'm actually okay with. When projects are fun and interesting, I fall right into work mode and enjoy what I do so much!

I did finish up The Mandalorian. This episode ended up being terrific. Ahsoka's introduction and her interaction with Grogu topped my favorite moments. Having the Mandalorian and Jedi working together also made things interesting. I love this show.

I started the next episode of Only Murders in the Building but didn't get to finish. I'll probably watch the rest later tonight.

Also missed my weekly rewatch of Battlestar Galactica. We're doing a double-header for the last two episodes of season one and I didn't have the chunk of time needed to do that this week. Bummer.

My daughter also finished up this semester of college and came home this weekend. She'll be here about a month before heading off to Michigan for a paid internship in a summer stock theater. So excited for her!

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Just Skip Dessert, a sexy short that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Wanda Craig and Dewey Pearson are the two newest teachers at Cheltenson Academy, a private school, and they hit it off right away. When a family emergency calls Wanda away right before the end of semester dinner for the new academic advisors, Dewey gets to deal with an inappropriate advance from the headmaster's wife. When Wanda returns, she takes steps to give Dewey a better experience.

And a snippety peek…

"Welcome to Cheltenson, Ms. Craig and Mr. Pearson. It's wonderful to have two new educators to bring new insight and ideas to our institution." Headmaster Chalmers Grove ushered Wanda into his office first, then waved the other new recruit inside.

Wanda slid her gaze toward the other newb, Dewey Pearson. His six-foot-plus height and lean, chiseled frame would keep most comments about the name behind closed lips. Or maybe not. She had to get used to the idea they weren't in a public-school setting and repercussions could be different here.

Dewey lifted his chin in greeting. "Ms. Craig. You're heading up the drama program?" Interest, instead of derision, filled his tone.

Which made her happy because she almost expected the latter, especially since she'd received bored disinterest from her mom and brother when she'd graduated with honors in both of her majors—theater and media production. Both decided she'd be living at home for the rest of her natural life because what kind of job could she get with a theater degree? Part of the reason she'd accepted the position at Cheltenson had been to break away from the mold they put her in because living accommodations came with the job.

She smiled. "Yes. And you're taking over for the librarian?" The females of the school would be spending a lot of time in the stacks.

Dewey gave a nod. "I am. With a name like mine, I fit right in." His lips turned upward in a grin.

Headmaster Grove laughed. "You'll both be quite at home here. We go out of our way to make our new educators feel welcome." He moved around his desk and pulled out two hefty envelopes. "I have your residence assignments here. You'll be neighbors in the woodland quad." Handing over the packets, he moved back to the front of his desk. "We'll walk over now so you can get settled in. Classes start next week." He headed for the door.

Wanda blinked and shook her head. Grove continued talking, nattering on about the welcome brunch scheduled for the next day. Wanda slid her gaze toward her new colleague.

Dewey shrugged and sent her another smile. "After you." He caught up and fell into step beside her.

Following Grove through the main campus oval, she glanced at the map on her information packet. A group of eight bungalows formed a square around a small courtyard not far from the archery range. The layout of the bungalow showed an open concept living-dining-kitchen area with a tiny study and half bath were tucked into one corner of the back of the house along with a bedroom and full bath on the other side. All in all, more space than she'd ever had to herself.

Dewey nudged her shoulder. "We're going this way." He pointed down a narrow walking path edged with greenery on either side.

Wanda winced in embarrassment, adjusting her direction. "Thanks. Got caught up in the…" She waved the envelope.

Dewey flashed another grin. "Understandable. And I think Headmaster Grove forgets we've never been here and don't have the lay of the land yet." He nodded toward the still rambling man.

Wanda chuckled. "Quite right." She paused when they came to the arched brick entryway to the bungalows. "Wow."

Dewey huffed out a breath. "Um, yeah. This is … well, amazing." He followed Grove when the man took a right and started down the stone sidewalk but glanced over his shoulder to meet her gaze.

Wanda held it a moment longer than necessary, silently asking the question, can you believe this?

Dewey lifted his chin and smirked a little in answer. Kind of a, oh, we're going to like it here thing.

Wanda strolled along behind Dewey, admiring the view. Yep. She definitely liked everything about Cheltenson so far.

This story is in the beginning stages and I'm excited to see where things go.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin