Sunday Snippet: Just One Moment

I can't believe October is almost over. We have our fall weather in full swing though and that makes me happy. Made two batches of potato soup over the weekend because we had rain and chilly temperatures. Perfect for this time of year.

Had a busy work week with one difficult but fun project and another in the final stages. Also got a lot of writing completed. I finished up the two manuscripts from last week and I'm doing final read throughs before sending off to beta readers. I'm so excited!

Had another light week of watching television. I go through phases were I'm either need to focus on other things and can't have background noise or I'm not quite in the mood to watch anything.

I did get another episode of Only Murders in the Building watched and I'm enjoying season three. It's a little jarring to not have the trio as tight as they have been, but I like the different dynamics playing out.

Watched another episode of The Batman and loved it. I remember this one from my original watch and it's fun when Alfred has to save Bruce's butt to keep his secret safe.

Also caught another episode of Classic Rugrats. Both had good moments with Dil and I'd forgotten how cute some of the episodes were after he came along.

Enjoyed another episode of VIP and liked having some Nikki backstory. I can't remember if we get anything for Quick and Kay or not.

Caught a double-header of Battlestar Galactica with "Exodus" parts one and two. I can honestly say there's not a wasted moment in the almost two hours of viewing. These two episodes are premium … even the parts I hate that feature Sam and Leoben, my two least favorite characters.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Just One Moment, a bonus story currently featuring the characters from the Capital City Seasons series. The title is going to change, but I haven't made that alteration yet.

Here's the miniblurb:

A life-threatening situation and a couple in love. Just one moment to say everything that needs to be said.

And a sneaky peek…

The squawk and echoing chirp of two phones had Chris Renfer slapping at the nightstand beside the bed.

Melanie Pramble reached over him. "Both phones. That's weird." She retrieved her phone and dropped his beside the pillow.

Chris swiped over the screen. "Renfer." The fuzziness of sleep left him when Angus Murphy's low growl issued a terse greeting.

Melanie's conversation drifted across the bed. "Yes, Margo. I'm sure he's on with Angus now. Yes, I'll ask him." She angled toward Chris. "Can you put it on speaker?"

Chris tapped the screen. "Sir, you've got Melanie and me now." A slow swirl of adrenaline filled his veins.

Angus cut directly to the chase. "This storm has the city under siege between flooding and fire." He exhaled slowly. "Ben and Jess are on their way in. I need your group and the rest of Ben's team. The whole damned bunch." The muffled sound of him speaking to Margo came through. "To save time, Margo's going to call Roberts in. We're asking Roz to be on standby."

A streak of lightning outside lit up the room. Melanie had clothes set out for him and she hastily stuffed her legs into a pair of canvas cargo pants.

Chris gave a nod. "Yeah, that's good. We'll be in as soon as we can get there." Thunder rolled and the sky lit up again.

Angus ended the call and Jim slid from the bed, dragging his shirt from the top of the pile Melanie set out. He yanked it over his head while walking to the window. A torrent of rain slashed against the pane and an eerie glow flickered to the east. Must be the fire.

Melanie put her hair up in a topknot. "It's ugly out there, isn't it?" She grabbed two oilskin coats from the closet.

Chris grunted. "Gonna be a bitch to get down to HQ." Of all the nights to leave his vehicle at the station.

Melanie shrugged. "We could go underground … if it's not flooded." She put another set of clothes into a go bag and started packing one for him.

Chris finished dressing and stuffed his feet into his boots. "Thanks. You didn't have to do this." But he appreciated her forethought.

Because he had no doubt they'd need the extra clothes before this crisis ended.

Melanie leaned closer to the window. "Instead of going underground, we should take the skywalk. I can already tell the tunnels will be flooded." Her lips twisted in a grimace. "I can't even see the building across the street."

Chris nodded. "Skywalk it is." He zipped his bag and grabbed hers.

Melanie draped the oilskin slickers over her arm. "At least we have access from here. I don't think I'd want to try and cross any of the roads right now."

They exited the apartment and headed up to the top floor skywalk entrance. Their trek between buildings took on a surreal atmosphere with the lightning flashing and thunder booming the entire way to HQ.

I'm having fun with this one. It started out as something very simple and took on a life of its own, hence the title change. I have another couple I'm going to feature in the new version of Just One Moment…

 

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

ML Skye