Sunday Snippet: Fail Me Now

The end of June came a lot quicker than I expected. This month flew by, and I'm not sure I got as much accomplished as I hoped to.

The weather is still fairly mild for June but the heat index for the upcoming week makes me want to weep. It's going to be so, so hot.

Continued to have a busy work week. Several new potential projects are waiting in the wings and I'm excited about them. One is a fiction project with a really intriguing concept. Two others are memoir life-story projects. I've been working on quite a few of those and they're a nice change of pace. I continued working on the developmental edit, pulling a few more files into the master document. Also finished up a copy edit and started a new one.

Had a less than stellar viewing week. I felt a little bit off all week and couldn't focus on viewing new stuff. I did several binge marathons of early seasons of Death in Paradise for background noise. I also got a considerable amount of writing done because the sages were banging on the door in my brain.

I did watch another behind the scenes bonus episode of Foyle's War. This one showed a day in the life of an episode. Some great interviews with the cast and crew.

Also caught another episode of Tales from Irish Castles. This one explored tower houses and it seems like there are a bunch of them dotting the landscape. Really love getting an inside look at some of these castles.

Started an episode of Silent Witness and made it about halfway through. The subject matter is really tough to view and, honestly, hits a little hard. I don't know who is writing the show at the moment but, man, they're dead-on with the stuff that makes people flinch.

That's it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Fail Me Now, a novella that explores how a couple finds their way into a relationship that balances work and life.

Here's the miniblurb:

Tate Emerson has no desire to fly fighters—he's worked too hard to get out from under his father's thumb. But when enemy forces attack, Indi Best comes calling with a special invitation from the elder Emerson—join the fight or get left behind. Tate hatches a plan to do his part but not have to take orders from his father.

And a sneaky peek…

Indi pushed away from the bulkhead to pace and forth a little. Waiting on Tate to finish up with the quartermaster to get his billet assignment for permanent quarters gave her too much time to think about the past couple of days. She hadn't considered how being in close proximity to him on the regular would affect her.

She fanned her face. "Whew. Dangerous man." She still thought about their first meeting when sparks zapped around.

I'm attracted to him. Which, duh. And, yeah, probably a bad thing.

But she might risk her heart to see if he proved as good as her gut thought he would.

Changing direction, she walked to the end of the corridor and bumped into Teague coming around the corner.

His lips briefly curved upward, and he grasped her elbow to steady her.

Indi winced on the inside. "Uh, hello. What're you doing here?" As if she didn't already know.

Teague glanced down the hallway. "I'm on my way to see Tate." Determination filled his gaze. "Forty-eight hours is long enough."

Indi attempted to keep her voice neutral. "Sir, I don't think it's a good idea." What could she do to dissuade him?

Tate arrived and let her off the hook. "What's not a good idea?" He lifted his chin. "Hello, Commander." Closed off—eyes hooded and not open to much or giving anything away.

Teague had a visible reaction. His face softened and his shoulders relaxed. He swallowed and schooled his features.

His head tilted forward slightly. "Hello, son."

Indi noted Tate's use of rank and Teague's nonuse, putting things on a personal level. She wished the elder Emerson had waited a little longer to force a confrontation. But he opened the door between them, maybe to test the waters to see how things would go between them.

Tate set the tone. "I'm here, old man. That's all you get." He hoisted his pristine rucksack over his shoulder. "I'm leaving a good life behind and want to make the best of this situation. For once, back off and let me do it."

The elder Emerson grunted. "I already agreed to your terms. Just wanted to see you and welcome you aboard."

Tate snorted. "Do you do that with all new recruits?" His eyes held a challenge in them.

Indi stepped in. "Actually, he does. Usually within the first twenty-four hours." She gave him a pointed look, a silent warning to stop being a dick.

After all, his dad waited two full days before seeking Tate out.

Tate, reluctantly impressed, lifted his chin. "Consider me welcomed." He glanced toward Indi. "I've got my assignment and requisite new-guy supplies. We good to head for quarters now?"

Indi nodded. "Sure. Let's get you settled." She looked toward Teague. "By your leave, Sir." When he gave a nod, she started down the corridor.

Tate inclined his head. "Commander." He fell into step beside Indi.

All in all, not a bad scene. Could have gone worse. She hoped the civility between the two men would last.  

I've very excited about how this is coming together. Indi and Tate are a fun couple to write.

 

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

ML Skye