Sunday Snippet: Read Between the Lines

So … I can't believe it's already August. I'm kind of not ready for the summer to be waning down and fall to gear up. Because once fall hits, the holidays are around the corner and I'm not quite ready for that yet. LOL

Had a decent week of watching television again. I finished up the last two episodes of Ms. Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries. They were set around the holidays but the Christmas one only hinted about the season. The finale took place on New Year's Eve and I loved it. LOVED IT!! Even Percy the Putz didn't annoy me overmuch. And Peregrine and James are kind of back on track and that makes me very happy. I'm very much looking forward to a third series and crossing my fingers that it happens.

Caught both episodes of Silent Witness's season twelve opener. I should have remembered these but I didn't. Enjoyed the cases and look forward to more. Twelve is a little longer than usual so there's that, too.

Finished up season seventeen of Classic Who and started season eighteen. I'd forgotten Four got a different scarf but rediscovered that fact in the first arc of eighteen. I like the first one the best.

Watched two more episodes of UFO Witness. These episodes feel a little staged but they're interesting. I'll finish out and see where it ends up.

Started season three of The Muppet Show and got four episodes watched. The guest stars were Rita Coolidge and Kris Kristofferson, Leo Sayer, Roy Clark, and Gilda Radner. I like the small changes to the opening and the show set-up. Looking forward to more.

Began a new documentary series with McCartney 3, 2, 1. I watched two episodes and loved both of them. I'm excited to see the rest because it's not focused only on the Beatles. It looks like we'll see a full scope of McCartney's music.

Caught two more Peak Practice episodes. So far, season four is pretty solid. I'll look forward to seeing the rest of the season.

Was able to catch two more Master Class lessons with LeVar Burton. He spoke about authentic storytelling and connecting with your audience. I got some good information from both lessons. I also enjoy listening to him speak; he's very eloquent without being stuffy.

Ended up watching two episodes of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. I thoroughly loved the Doctor Cerebus episode and I'm going to keep all the scenarios in mind for later seasons. I have a feeling several easter eggs were dropped in that one. Not as much of a fan of the dark wedding episode. I absolutely loathe Blackwood and I'm hoping it's not going to become a case where my dislike of him ruins the show like it did with Hiram and Riverdale. I literally can't watch any scene he's in without hating it.

Watched two episodes of The Brokenwood Mysteries. Finished up the first season and started the second. Nice to see and learn a little more about Breen. This show is just quirky enough to really hold my interest. I got annoyed with one of the detectives in the finale, but I'll reserve judgment because I love her otherwise.

Caught the second episode of Star Trek: Discovery. It went in a direction I totally didn't expect but I'm down for being surprised. So far, I'm enjoying the show and look forward to a redemption arc for Michael.

Finished up season one of Chicago Med and truly enjoyed the finale. Colin Donnell continues to be amazing to watch. I loved him in Arrow and really enjoy him in Med. The opening episode of season two is very entertaining.

Loved Passionflix's season two episode of Driven. I'm thrilled there are two more eps to watch and another season to follow.

Last but not least, I got another episode of New Rugrats watched and I have to admit I love the new version. Definitely not the same as the classic version but the updates are spot on and fun to watch.

That's pretty much it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Read Between the Lines, a novella where a letter sparks a romance between the characters.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Lexa Bode finds a letter Kers Jarvis wrote to his father at the tender age of seven. Her heart breaks for the handsome firefighter. The missive covers so much, but the young Kers leaves a lot unsaid, things his old man wouldn't see, but Lexa does—she can't miss it, she considers subtext her second language.

And a snippety peek…

Kers Jarvis sat outside Station Four drumming his fingers on the steering wheel of his car. "Will he see me today or tell his admin he's too busy?" A toss-up either way but probably the latter.

The whole making an effort with his dad had been the last thing Kers promised his mom. Why Carrie Maxwell thought her ex-husband would fall in with that idea, Kers truly didn't know. But she'd been obsessed in her final days, extracting the reluctant vow from her son.

Kers sighed. "Barely fifty and not yet done with life." Then again, she'd lived as she wanted to.

She raised Kers, enjoyed her teaching career, and stayed single until her passing from cancer. Her biggest regret had been an affair—the reason she and his dad split right before Kers's fifth birthday—not long before Kers came along. The long-standing distance between father and son stemmed from Kent thinking someone else fathered Kers. His dad all but abandoned him and Kers never understood why until his mom came clean when Kers hit high school.

A DNA test proved Kent to be Kers's father but, by then, his dad couldn't reconcile being so wrong. He tried for a while, but by the time Kers hit ten, Kent pretty much sent a card with cash at birthdays and Christmas. For the longest time, Kers would've traded those for time with the old man, especially after he joined the fire department.

Not that being in the same profession had made much of a difference.

Kers got out of his car and headed toward the station. With his mom gone, he didn't know why he bothered. She'd never know if the men didn't find some common ground.

Pulling the door open, he muttered. "A promise is a promise."

He nodded a greeting to anyone he passed on the way to his dad's office. Entered the space and frowned. His dad's admin didn't sit behind the desk like she usually did. But the door to the inner office stood open so Kers walked over and rapped on the jamb.

Kent glanced up, looking less than thrilled at the interruption. "Kers. Why are you here?"

Kers bit back a sigh. Happy to see you too, Dad.

Kent cleared his throat. "Did you need something?" He shuffled three files on his desk.

Kers shook his head. "No, Dad. I dropped by to see if you wanted to grab some dinner or maybe take in a ball game this week." They used to go to day games on Kent's off-shift days.

Kent blustered. "Don't really have time for baseball anymore, Kers. And I've been added to the committee reviewing the bids for a new smoke house so dinner's out." He motioned to the folders littering the surface in front of him. "I should get back to it."

Kers grunted. "Right. No problem. Thanks for the time, chief." He pushed away from the jamb and closed the door. "Asshole."

A brief gasp drew his attention and he glanced up to kind his dad's admin staring, wide-eyed. Kers didn't like the kick of guilt worming its way inside him. But he'd be damned if he apologized.

Lexa's mouth thinned for a moment before she gave him an overly bright smile and made her way to his side. "I realize he's your dad but we've got committee members dropping in all the time. If they hear you call the chief an asshole, it's not going to do much for your career." She kept her voice even and pitched low.

He opened his mouth to respond, but he didn't get a chance.

She held up her hand. "Before you tell me it's none of my business, I know it's not. But taking a big step back and maybe looking at him from a regular-person lens might give you a little perspective."

Kers frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" What the hell is a regular-person lens?

Lexa gave him a level stare. "He's the battalion chief of the second busiest house in the city and got roped into this review process because the esteemed deputy commissioner claimed he couldn't manage double duty." To her credit, she lowered her voice again when talking about DC Gray while she directed him back out into the hallway.

Kers arched a brow. "So I shouldn't take the chief's surly mood personally."

She lifted a shoulder and paused inside the doorway. "No one else around here is, but you do what you need to." She turned and reentered the office, closing the door behind her.

Kers huffed out a laugh. "I think that's the nicest way anyone has ever handed me my ass."

He strolled out of the station and back to his car.

After sliding behind the wheel, he chuckled. "I like the way she rolls." And he'd take her advice and not get all pissed off at his dad.

I really like where this story is headed and how Lexa and Kers end up falling for each other.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Read Between the Lines

It's been a busy, busy week. I've got a new long-term project in a new to me genre and I’m excited to get started. Also finished up a couple of copy editing projects that were fun to work on.

About normal television viewing. I finished up the rewatch of Roswell, New Mexico. I'm serious when I say this show is kind of consuming me right now. Also caught the newest episode and it's everything I expected as to the reveal of the fourth alien but it also surpassed my expectations in so many ways. I don't know if there's going to be a triangle with Michael, Maria, and Alex but I actually like where things are right now. I'm not a huge fan of triangles but this has potential to be really interesting.

Caught another episode of Underbelly: Razor and really liked where things went. Wally leaving Kate came at just the right time and I'm interested to see how she fares without him. I'm also excited to see where Tillie and Nellie end up. Probably not in the best circumstances.

Watched two more episodes of Peter Gunn. This is such a great show for inspiration when I want to write something with a flair of noir. It's moody and stylish and the mix of grim and dark with humor is excellent.

Caught an episode of Strike Back and my heart goes out to Wyatt. At the same time, I'm totally down with Coltrane going rogue. It's such a section twenty thing to do. And the responses from the team? Perfect. I'm kind of hoping Katrina sees used-to-be Pavel as the evil force he is and switches allegiance again. We'll see what happens.

Watched another episode of Chicago Fire and loved how the group came together for Foster. Doctor Asshat definitely got the message. At least I hope he did.

Iron Fist had a great episode. I love watching Ward try to navigate through emotions. Joy, I'm not so sure about. I can't quite decide if I understand and sympathize where she's coming from or if I want to write her off the way I've written Trish off in Jessica Jones.

Caught an episode of Classic Roswell and Alex and Liz broke my heart all over again. I did love, love, love the way they took Topolski down though.

Watched an episode Murdoch Mysteries. The reporter lady drives me nuts but I loved how she handled getting William and Julie to recognize how much George contributed to their book. The murder case also entertained.

Caught the second episode of The Murders and I really like the partnership between Nolan and Kate. I want to know more about both characters.

I started Ms. Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries and I'm excited to see how this show stacks up to Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

That's pretty much it for TV this week. Tonight's post is from Read Between the Lines, a novella that started with a two-word prompt of "dear sir".

Here's the mini-blurb:

Lexa Bode finds a letter Kers Jarvis wrote to his father at the tender age of seven. Her heart breaks for the handsome firefighter. The missive covers so much, but the young Kers leaves a lot unsaid, things his old man wouldn't see, but Lexa does—she can't miss it, she considers subtext her second language.

And a snippety peek…

Lexa Bode riffled through the bottom drawer of Chief Kent Jarvis's desk. "That stupid form has to be somewhere in this desk." She hauled the gigantic OSHA binder from the drawer and flipped to the back pages, hoping to find the elusive compliance document.

A rumpled white envelope caught her attention. Slipping it from between two sheets of paper, she glanced at the front. A child's handwriting graced the surface in carefully written print. Precise and pristinely legible, the letter had been addressed to Captain Kent Jarvis and the return address showed as his son Kers.

Lexa sat down at Kent's desk, her better sense warring with the intense desire to read whatever the envelope held. "What the hell? I'm dying of curiosity." Retrieving the letter, she scanned the contents, reading all about a day in the life of a ten-year-old Kers.

Her lips quirked even as her heart broke a little at the "Dear sir" beginning. A stoic little Kers… writing formal words to his father. She tucked the letter into her pocket and went back to her desk with the unwieldy binder.

After finding and uploading the stupid form, she hesitated before putting the letter back. "One more time." She read it again and experienced the same feeling as the first time… humor mixed with sadness at how much Kers covered up. "Chief Jarvis wouldn't get it. What Kers was trying to say." He'd see a little boy trying to be a big man… but Lexa spoke subtext.

Hell, she practically grew up with it as a second language. Every time her dad came back from deployment and needed "space" to get his head back on straight. She'd become an expert at reading between the lines and hearing what didn't get said.

After working with Kent and listening to his proud and glowing praise of his Kers, Lexa had no doubt the elder Jarvis loved his son with fierce fatherly love. But something painful existed between the two men. Kent often put Kers off when he called and Lexa couldn’t figure out why.

She snorted. "Not that it's any of my business." Her heart went out to each man though.

Tucking the letter back into the binder, she returned it to the drawer in Kent's desk. Just in time too… the chief entered the office with steam practically rolling out of his ears.

Lexa quirked a brow. "You ran into the deputy commissioner, didn't you?"

I honestly love this story. Fire chiefs are near and dear to my heart; my dad retired as one.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Read Between the Lines

Ugh. It's been a long week with terrific and terrible happenings. In the spirit of the upcoming holiday, I'm choosing to focus on the terrific. I'm the proud owner of a new to me car! Very excited to have an extra vehicle. Yay!

Television didn't disappoint again this week. I only half-watched The Walking Dead, mainly because I had several deadlines I needed to meet. I'll be front and center tonight for The Librarians, one of my favorite escapist shows.

Gotham upped the stakes again and I'm truly interested in where things go from here. I love the interaction between Cobblepot and Nygma. Seriously, I would probably watch a spin-off show of just them. LOL

The Flash laid some groundwork for the showdown with the Alchemist. Looking forward to the crossover episodes starting on Monday.

Arrow had a great episode. Loved the gestures of friendship and the twisty betrayal at the end. Kind of leaning toward knowing who the vigilante is, but excited for the reveal… eventually.

Legends of Tomorrow is doing an awesome job of making the hiccups and ripples count. I like not really knowing for sure how much they're affecting their futures by messing about in the past. Fun times.

I got a late start to MacGyver's episode and need to catch up on the beginning, but another enjoyable way to spend the thirty minutes I did get to see.

Still need to watch this week's episode of Murdoch Mysteries, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching the previous week's offering. It's nice to know more about Miss James.

Putting together my holiday show binge watch list. Starting Friday, the holiday tunes and television screen will be filled with merry-making fare. LOL

Tonight's post is from Read Between the Lines, a novella that got its start with the two-word prompt of "Dear sir".

Here's the mini-blurb:

Lexa Bode finds a letter Kers Jarvis wrote to his father at the tender age of seven. Her heart breaks for the handsome firefighter. The missive covers so much, but the young Kers leaves a lot unsaid, things his old man wouldn't see, but Lexa does—she can't miss it, she considers subtext her second language.

And a snippety peek…

Kers paced the residential area of the station house. He'd invited his father's assistant to dinner. What the hell?

But why not? He liked Lexa. The day she handed him his ass—in her sweet Lexa way—about taking a step back and looking at his dad through a regular person's eyes struck home. And stayed with Kers. He appreciated the insight.

She cleared her throat. "I'm ready." Her purse draped casually over her shoulder. "Are you sure about dinner?" She tilted her head to the side.

Kers flashed a smile. "Absolutely. There's a great burger place in the brewery district. Kind of a hole in the wall joint, but really terrific food." He quirked a brow, not sure what kind of fare she liked.

A wide smile crossed her face. "I could really go for a double with fries." She pushed the door open and stepped out into the humid air.

Kers followed and nodded toward his car. "I'm over here. Unless you want to drive and follow me?" His gaze scanned the parking lot, but he didn't see her car. "Wait, where're you parked?"

Lexa lifted a shoulder. "I carpooled today. Gotta pick my vehicle up from the garage in the morning." She paused. "You don't mind giving me a lift home, do you?" Her hand hovered over the door latch.

Kers chuckled. "Not at all." He opened the door for her. "What's up with your car?" He ducked around to the driver's side and slid behind the wheel.

Lexa frowned. "Recall on something to do with the drive train. The cost is covered but, man, it's a pain in the butt to not have a vehicle." She fastened her seat belt and turned toward him. "All the loaner cars were already claimed and I didn't want to wait to have the work done."

Kers started the engine. "How long have they had it?" He pulled out of the parking lot and turned the air conditioning on.

Lexa snorted. "Almost a week. They called around lunchtime today and said I can pick it up in the morning."

Kers slid a quick glance her way. "Do you need a ride to the dealership?" He stopped at a red light and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

Lexa smiled. "Thanks, but your dad has pickup duty tomorrow. He's been kind of great, making sure I have a way to and from work." She settled back into the seat. "Apparently, I'm not the only one with administrative skills."

Kers let his lips curve but bit back his tongue to keep from saying the first thing that popped into his head. Since when does my dad go out of his way to make life easier for anyone?

Lexa made small talk the rest of the drive, leaving his dad out of the conversation. Kers appreciated the effort. Having a little insight from her about his dad's surly moods helped with the here and now, but the past took a little longer to get through.

Pulling up beside the diner, he turned off the engine, putting his parental issues aside. "Ready for the best burger in town?" He popped the door and met her outside the car.

Lexa inhaled deeply. "Mmm. Smells like heaven." She waved toward the entrance with a flourish. "Lead the way, please."

He laughed and made a show of ushering her into the restaurant. Her eyes went wide when she took in the retro vibe of the interior and she made a beeline for a corner booth for two. Kers ambled along behind her, a sense of rightness settling over him.

Deciding to invite her to dinner might rate as one of his best moves in a long time.

Such a promising start to a possible relationship. But the elder Jarvis might stick his unwanted nose into the middle of things.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Read Between the Lines

Wow. Orphan Black makes me so happy. The complete insanity of the plots never fails to entertain. I can actually say same the same about Arrow. I have no clue where they're going to end up going, but I'm definitely sticking along for the ride. The Flash is also upping its game. I'm looking forward to seeing how this season ends.

My catch-up viewing of Teen Wolf continues. I'm about finished with season two and apparently the truly crazy cakes stuff hasn't even happened yet. Can't wait to see what season three has in store.

Tonight's post is from Read Between the Lines, a sexy short where my characters bond after a brief flirtation.

Here's the tagline:

Lexa Bode finds a letter Kers Jarvis wrote to his father at the tender age of seven. Her heart breaks for the handsome firefighter. The missive covers so much, but the young Kers leaves a lot unsaid, things his old man wouldn't see, but Lexa does—she can't miss it, she considers subtext her second language.

And a snippety peek…

Lexa glanced up when a knock sounded on the door jamb. Kers propped a shoulder against the surface and sent her a sexy smile.

She folded the letter and tucked it into her pocket. "Hey, how are you?" A guilty flush crept up her spine. "What's up?"

Kers nodded toward the empty desk. "Is he in today?"

Lexa shook her head. "Yes, but no. He's on station, but out on a training exercise." She grabbed a pad of sticky notes. "Want to leave him a message?"

Kers snorted. "Nah. Why waste the paper? It'll just end up in the trash can and he'll pretend he didn't see it." He straightened. "I'll catch up with him the next time I'm off when he's on." He started to turn, but paused. "Do you have plans for dinner?" He glanced toward the clock. "I can stick around for if you'd like grab something to eat."

She thought about the letter burning a hole in her pocket. "Yeah, give me five? I can scoot out of here a little early." Her lips twitched. "Considering I had everything done by two PM, I don't think he'll mind." When Kent left the station house, she always finished up early, mainly because he couldn't interrupt every five minutes.

Kers gave her a knowing smirk. "I'll be in the common area. Take your time." He backed out of the doorway and strolled down the hall.

Lexa quickly took the letter from her pocket and dashed over to Kent's desk where she stashed it back under the OSHA files in his bottom drawer. Still feeling a little guilty for reading the missive, she sat quietly for a moment. Going to dinner with Kers might shed some light on his relationship with his dad. Not really any of her business, but she'd grown fond of Kent and the powerful attraction she had for his son compelled her to dig for answers.

Hopefully she wouldn't bury herself in the process.

I'm kind of enjoying this duo. Lexa lands in a tricky spot and it's been fun watching her squirm.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin