Ohio is back to
being contrary with its weather. Super cold days in the teens followed by a warmup
of midfifties. My sinuses hate this kind of back and forth.
Had a fairly busy
work week with a new project landing in my inbox. It's one of my favorite
authors to edit and proofread for. Also spent a lot of time pulling my tax
stuff together. I realized last week I hadn't filed for 2023 yet. Better late
than never.
Not a bad week of
viewing. I didn't make a full round of my usual slate of shows, but I got most
of the way through. Again, my sleep schedule is playing havoc with my brain.
Watched another episode
of Mr and Mrs Murder and thoroughly enjoyed it. A lot of familiar faces
in this one, which is always fun.
Caught another episode
of London Kills and I'm kind of excited about Rob and Vivienne teaming
up to investigate David. Of course, there's more to the story and I can't wait
to find out what's really going on.
Enjoyed another
episode of Death in Paradise. I'd seen most of this one but it's nice to
follow the whole story from beginning to end instead of catching bits and
pieces all the time.
Finished up season
twenty-seven of Silent Witness. Gotta say, I really enjoyed the finale.
Jack proposing to Nikki made my heart happy. And I'm interested to see what
happens with Jack's place. Maybe Kara and Velvy will stay there.
Watched another
episode of Elementary and enjoyed it. Still not a Mycroft fan even if he
had extenuating reasons for being an ass. I am kind of glad Sherlock isn't
going to throw his brother under the bus. At least I don't think he is. The
next episode should reveal what will happen.
And that's it for
the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Wind It Up, a novella
that features a past and present dilemma for the main character.
Here's the miniblurb:
Garner Mason enlists in the military and leaves Rae
Manilow behind—breaking her heart. Rae meets Sheriff Felix Reynolds and falls
hard, settling down with him in his mountain cabin. When Garner rolls into town
intent on making amends with Rae, she's trapped between two men she deeply
loves and can't see a way out of her predicament.
And a snippety peek…
Felix sat at the bar in Maguire's
Saloon, nursing a beer.
The door whooshed open and, didn't
it figure, Rae's ex strolled in. Garner made a quick scan of the interior—something
Felix recognized from his military training—then ambled up to the bar and
ordered a draft. The bartender pulled a mug from the shelf, filled it, and set
it in front of Garner. Felix observed, trying to decide whether to confront the
other man or stay on the sidelines.
Confrontation won.
He swiveled around on the stool and
cleared his throat.
Garner glanced toward Felix and recognition
flared in Garner's gaze. His fingers tightened on the mug, but otherwise, his
face remained neutral. Felix took that as a good sign.
He nodded toward a table in the
corner. "Got a minute?" He didn't wait for a response, sliding off
the stool and heading for the alcove.
Mason would follow or not. Instinct
said the other man would face Felix. Rae's recollections of their time together
hinted at a strong streak of honor in Garner. Sure enough, booted footsteps
sounded on the polished floor behind Felix.
Felix settled atop one of the
chairs. Garner took the opposite one and both set their mugs on the surface at
the same time. Garner slouched down, angling his legs to one side and crossed
his ankles.
Felix took a moment to assess the
other man. Rae loved him. She always would. And Felix loved her. His
conversation with Penelope replayed in his mind. Love is what we make of it.
It can be narrow and clearly expressed or expansive and hard to define. She'd
nailed the issue on the head.
Garner met Felix's gaze. "Your
minute is half gone. Say your piece." He took a long swallow of his beer.
Felix didn't mince words.
"What are your intentions? You planning to pull Rae back into a
relationship?" He arched his brow. "Or just stopping in for a quick
screw? If so, think again. A fast pit stop won't work here. She's a hell of a
woman and deserves better." And she'd probably be pissed if she could hear
him now.
Garner straightened up and crossed
his ankle over his knee. "You mean with someone like you?" His lip
curled but his tone lacked heat.
Felix grunted. "Like with whoever
she wants. If that's you, I can step aside." He wouldn't like it or make
it easy, but he'd get out of the way if he had to.
Garner snorted. "As if."
Felix leaned in. "Rae and I have
a lot of discussions where your name pops up. I can live with that." He
loved her pure heart. "But don't make promises you can't keep. If you're
not going to stick around, don't stir shit up." Or leave her in tiny
pieces.
Garner clenched his fist. "I can't
stick around. But I love her, man. I always have. Coming back here … facing my
past … I needed to do that. And I still love her. Always will." His
shoulders slumped and he heaved a sigh.
Felix leaned back. "But you
won't stay." Would he really wreck Rae again?
Garner gave a swift back and forth
of his head. "I can't. I know it's not fair. But I'm special forces and
damn good at my job. I made a promise to my CO to stay in. He's the closest
thing I've had to an actual dad." He exhaled slowly. "I won't let him
down. Not after he pulled me up straight and gave me a purpose."
Felix lifted his chin. "Yeah,
I get it." He waited a moment. "So, how do you see this playing out?
Because a quick romp for old time's sake will only hurt Rae."
Garner sighed. "Yeah. I
know." He took a long sip of his bear. "I don't know, man. This was a
terrible idea. Probably be better all around if I get the hell out of town and
finish my leave somewhere else."
Felix shook his head. "Don't
even think about it unless she asks you to. You don't get to decide what's best
for her." Hell, I don't get to make that choice either. Even if that's
what I'm doing right now.
Garner arched a brow. "If she
decides I'm best for her? You willing to walk away?"
Felix gave a terse nod. "I
love her enough to get out of the way." He shot Garner a look.
"I also love her enough to stay."
Garner blew out a harsh breath.
"Harsh. But point made." He scooted back. "Look, I've been as
honest as I can. I've got thirty days leave. I'll be around that long. Rae can
contact me if she wants." He got up to leave.
Felix stopped him. "I'm going
home to her now and I'll be telling her we talked." Then brace for impact
because she'd be unhappy.
Garner shrugged, a smirk playing
across his mouth. "Can't stop you, and I've been gone a long time, but not
long enough to forget she won't be happy about our discussion."
Felix snorted. "No, she won't
be." And damned if he didn't like Garner a hell of a lot—even with that
blast of honesty.
I love this story
so much. It's so much fun writing a throuple.
That's it for this
week. Happy reading!
Skylin
