Sunday Snippet: Gut Punch Feeling

Whew! Busy week, which I love. My youngest kidlet got engaged last weekend and we've been riding that wave of excitement this week.

Finished up one work project and got another new one. It's a mystery and I love those! Also plugging along with an ongoing LitRPG manuscript that's also a sci-fi/fantasy mash-up. I love the series!

Had an okay week of television viewing. I didn't get through as much as I thought I would but I'm cool with that.

I finished up the episode of Peak Practice and enjoyed it. I've got two episodes left and I'm bracing for impact because I know what's coming.

Caught the second part of Silent Witness and I'm happy to say I figured out the real culprit. It took some really twisty turns and I'm pretty sure there might have been a dangling plot thread but, honestly, a great episode.

Enjoyed another episode of Death in Paradise. I'm almost finished with the first season, and it's been terrific seeing the series in chronological order. Can't wait to start the next season.

Continued my rewatch of Battlestar Galactica with "Epiphanies." I'd forgotten how much this episode set up for the following seasons. And I'm always blown away by how incredibly good James Callis is in the role of Baltar.

I also caught another episode of Fantasy Island. Really enjoyed this one. I'm very, very cautiously optimistic with the Javier and Elena storyline. I'm going to be so disappointed if it ends up being trashed for the sake of angst.

And that's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Gut-Punch Feeling, a novella that reunites a couple and puts them up against some stacked odds not in their favor.

Here's the miniblurb:

Evie Roth, a soldier explorer, keeps her promises. But when a sinister plot threatens those she loves, especially Parr Romanoff, she'll break a vow she made long ago … to herself.

And a sneaky peek…

Evie Roth closed her rucksack and hefted it over her shoulder. "What did you expect, Parr? We're graduating. It's time to go our separate ways." She tilted her head to one side. "How did you think we'd manage once we got our assignments?"

Parr Romanoff folded his arms over his chest. "The same way everyone else in the military does it."

Evie snorted. "Ah, right. I get to follow you around from base to base without a second thought to what I want from my career." She shook her head. "I don't think so. I have a plan and I'm sticking to it." Unlike her mother, who could've made rank if she hadn't succumbed to Evan Roth's charms and then mustered out to crawl into a bottle of liquor.

Parr sighed. "No one's saying you have to follow me, Evie. We can do what's best for each of our careers." He started moving toward her.

Evie held up a hand. "Uh-uh. Stay right where you are." It wouldn't take much to sway her into sticking around.

Continuing to have the best sex ever tempted her far more than she'd ever admit.

Parr stopped, planting his hands on his hips. "See … you know we're good together. You're afraid to commit."

Damn right. Parr didn't fit into her five-year plan to move up the ranks and find her niche. If either lived that long. With a looming war, no guarantees were handed out.

And he didn't have to be difficult. "No, we've got a war to fight and being in a relationship takes a backseat to everything else." She turned and started for the door again. "Better to end things now, focus on what needs doing, and remember good times."

And there were a lot of great memories she'd stored away. Most of them involving steaming up sheets, furniture, and sometimes any available flat surface. A shiver of awareness tried to rear its head. Evie tamped it down along with any regrets. She had to stay on task.

Parr called out before she exited the room. "I'll see you around, Evie. It's a small universe when there's a war brewing. Our paths will cross again."

She didn't acknowledge his statement, walking out and not looking back. They probably would bump into each other, but time and distance for a while would change their perspective. She refused to let anything stand in her way.

Not even love.

Evie is going to find out she should never bet against love, especially when there's a war brewing.

 

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

ML Skye