Sunday Snippet: Ties Don't Bind

As someone with family and friends who have served or are serving in the military, I'd like to thank all of our service members for their courage, sacrifices, and efforts. Thank you.

It's been a rough week with two difficult manuscripts and the end of daylight savings. Seriously, I've been all out of sorts and my internal clock hasn't caught up yet. LOL

I didn't get a lot of television in this week—see above for why—but I did stay current on usual shows. The Last Ship killed off another of my faves, which means I'm trying to prepare for a high body count in the finale. A box of tissues and alcohol might be involved. Just saying.

Arrow kicked some butt. I'm kind of liking the flash forward stuff, especially because the flashbacks are a thing of the past for the most part. I'll give kudos to Stephen, Emily, and Katie because I think they're doing some stellar work. The rest of the cast is on point also. Riverdale's Midnight Club episode rocked. The more batshit this show gets the more I seem to enjoy it. And it's definitely over the top.

Legends of Tomorrow keeps delivering great episodes. I'm always excited to see who's going to interact with whom. The constantly changing dynamic of the cast is so much fun.

I did catch an episode of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and, honestly, I love this show. It's going to go down as one of my favorite viewing experiences. I also caught an episode of Classic Who and finished up an episode of Midsomer Murders.

That's it on the television front. Tonight's post is from Ties Don't Bind, a sexy short that will hopefully feature in a new magazine that might launch early next year. Fingers crossed.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Gemma Neal, a soldier, shares a past with Tripp Macintosh and wants to reconnect with her former friend and lover. But when Tripp gets elected to a parliament position, trading fatigues for a suit and tie, she's not sure how to proceed… a foreign concept for the take-charge lieutenant.

And a sneaky peek…

Gemma Neal entered Tripp Macintosh's quarters, her mind noting the difference between her ship and his. Privacy ranked as the biggest bonus, but she'd trade it for being able to see him more often. She missed him. More than she thought she would.

"Flying escort is something we used to do together."

Now she flew for him as a newly elected member of parliament.

She never thought he'd leave the unit… or her. Not that she didn't deserve it. She'd told him it would be the only way they'd ever be together. And when he'd left? She'd said she wouldn't be with a man who'd mustered out.

"Geez, I'm such a bitch sometimes."

Of course, Tripp left anyway. He wouldn't be led by his dick.

And damned if she didn't respect the hell out of him for that reason.

Her fingers trailed over the personal belongings he'd taken with him. The items on proud display invoked memories. "Wow, it's like wading through the past." Each piece represented a stage his life. And hers.

They'd spent so many years together.

The honors cords hanging from his mirror—their graduation from the military academy.

The wings sitting on his bureau—the nightmare of flight qualifications and getting their first posts.

A patch from each ship and base, many the same as her collection, took her on a stroll down memory lane of their building friendship and random hookups.

"Man… we had some seriously good times."

She came to a framed photo and picked it up. "Oh, Tripp." Her breath caught in her throat.

The image captured them together, her sitting in a cockpit with Tripp on the ladder, their gazes locked in a shared moment of intimacy. They were always on the same wavelength when it came to flying. Their wires got crossed when it came to the personal stuff.

Okay, mostly hers did. Tripp never waffled back and forth.

She moved on to the desk where his new life spread out in the form of files, notes from the delegation sessions, and his formal representative sash. She'd listened to his rebuttals today. Everything he said made so much sense. As much as she hated to admit it, he belonged in government.

But being there meant leaving her behind.

She shook her head. "No, dumbass, trying to bed him while drunk—after you kicked him aside—is why you're not high on his list right now." Stupid move when she truly wanted to reconnect with him.

She took a chance coming aboard, hoping to get a few minutes with him. Her instinct to turn and leave got trumped by her need to see him. Maybe find a way to forge a new, different relationship.

She snorted. "Right. Because I'm so good with change." But for Tripp, for a potential future, she'd sure as hell put her grown-up panties on.

Oh, Gemma, it's hard to face the past and the future at the same time. LOL I love this little story so much.

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

ML Skye