Sunday Snippet: Automatic Failure

Holy jeezits. Arrow blew my mind this week. My twitter feed was full of a bunch of not so great comments, but I loved, loved, loved everything about fourteen. And episode fifteen is supposed to be filled with even more bad-assery. And Bitten just keeps getting better and better. I seriously can't wait each week for the next episode. My fingers, and all other appendages, are crossed for a second season. Also read about the Flash pilot being filmed. Currently, that's the show I'm most looking forward to for next season.

I've also been enjoying seeing Jamie Bamber on my screen in The Smoke. He's so good at roles he can sink his teeth into, and playing Kev definitely gives him room to flex his acting chops. J

Tonight's post is from Automatic Failure, a novella with lots of family drama, something of a personal favorite writing kink for me.

Here's the tagline:

Piper Kemp, a flight instructor,  steps aside to avoid letting her personal feelings influence a decision about whether to pass one of her students. But when he crashes and almost loses his life, Knox Petruci steps up to defend Piper and opens a can of worms because her student happens to be his brother.

And a sneaky peek…

Ken whirled around and faced his oldest son. "You betrayed our family by taking up with the woman who ruined your brother's career."

Knox bit back an angry retort—they never worked on his dad. "Really? I see things a tad differently, Dad." He met the older Petruci's gaze. "Piper saved Abel's career. And probably his life. So what if he doesn't fly planes?"
Ken made a strangled choking sound. "Petrucis for four generations have flown, that's what."

Nice. "Gee, thanks, Dad." Knox made the fifth, so his father's argument made a moot point.

Apparently Knox didn't rate.

Ken waved a hand between them. "You know what I mean."

Knox shook his head. "No, Dad, I don't. Abel is a damned fine officer." He turned away and paced. "Hell, he's got a thing for cryptology. How many codes did he crack in his first six months?"

Ken snorted. "You're missing the point, Knox." He sank down into the leather wingback chair.

Knox moved to stand in front of the fire. "No, I'm not. You can't blame Abel for being incompetent. That would hit too close to home, so you lay the responsibility at Piper's feet." Knox sighed. "She risked her career and did the right thing by taking herself out of the equation, but you won't cut her any slack." He shoved his hands in his pockets, clenching his fists. "Instead, you’re pissed Abel didn't cut it as a pilot, even when he's got a shot at the admiralty because he's extraordinarily good at what he does." Knox angled his head and pinned Ken with his gaze. "I guess having only one son qualify as a pilot isn't quite good enough." He glanced away again, gazing into the fire.

Several long moments passed before Ken cleared his throat. "Look, Knox…" His voice trailed off.

Knox closed his eyes, willing his dad to continue. When a full minute went by, Knox's shoulders slumped and he admitted defeat. He removed his hands from his pockets and smoothed the creases from his uniform pants, giving the elder Petruci more than enough time to finish his thought.

Exhaling slowly, Knox turned on his heel and strode toward the foyer. He shouldn't have hoped his dad might actually open up.

Ken rose, following behind Know. "Son, wait. You don't have to leave. At least stick around to see your mother when she gets back."

Knox paused with his hand on the door. "I don't think so, Dad. I'll call her tomorrow before I ship back out." He glanced back over his shoulder. "Piper and I have dinner plans."

The way his dad's mouth thinned to a slash across his face gave Knox all he needed to walk out and not look back.

I always love exploring the relationship between parents and offspring, especially when it interferes with the hero and heroine in some way. J

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flip.

ML Skye