A Good Week for Reading

Starting today, it would be a wonderful week to just stay home with a nice stack of books and a good supply of tea and cocoa. It's not cold outside here today, but the wind has been howling since early this morning. I'm only venturing outside for the cats. Tomorrow will be worse because the temps are dropping, and the wind is staying. Unfortunately, I can't stay home to read all week, so I hope some of you can do it instead.

I'm still ticking off my weekend chores list right now, with four more things waiting, and then I think I might get in a little reading time that doesn't involve revisions this evening. Whoops, five more things. I just looked at the planner beside my keyboard and realized I didn't update my laptop yet so it's ready for monthly writing group later this week, but that one doesn't really require much effort, so maybe I won't count it. It's now booted up and updating as we speak. Haha.

I have a snippet for you this week from Light the Way Home.

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            Lucie had been on Mac’s Light Island for almost three weeks, but the view from the back door of her temporary home still took her breath away. Right now, she realized she’d been standing there staring, slack-jawed, at the sunlight glinting off the grey-blue ocean waves for a good five minutes. Shaking her head, she pulled the door shut and stepped down onto the sidewalk, feeling in her purse for her car keys.

            She closed her fingers on the fob as a giggle reached her ears. She turned to the white picket fence that bordered the property next door as a big multi-colored ball sailed over it, toward her. “Oh!” She caught it before it hit her in the face, then started across the grass, balancing the ball on her hand.

            Another giggle sounded as she neared the fence, so she adjusted her direction a tiny bit and came to a stop looking directly down onto a tousled blond head.

            “I think you lost something,” she said.

            The little boy’s face tipped up quickly, his blue eyes wide with surprise–as if he couldn’t believe she’d found him already.

            Lucie grinned and held the ball higher.

            He smiled as he got to his feet, brushing off his jeans-clad knees.

            From seeing him playing outside several times already, she’d guessed he might be four, but now at close range, she scaled that back to three.

            “Hi, I’m Hayden,” he said, holding out his right hand.

            It was her turn to be surprised. She shook his hand, bemused. “Hi, Hayden, I’m Lucie.” Not too many three-year-olds had such good manners. Aside from the ball toss at her face, that is. “Nice to meet you.”

            He glanced up at his ball. “Me an’ my dad are your neighbors.”

            “I see that.” She noted he hadn’t mentioned his mom. “Who were you playing with?” She gave the ball a little bounce.

            “Maybe you wanna play with me.” Guileless blue eyes locked on her face.

            Ah. She squelched the pang in her chest. “I wish I could, but I’m on my way to town. Maybe we can play another time?” she added when his grin vanished.

            “Like this afternoon?”

            “Hayden!”

            The deep voice got her attention–and the boy’s–just before a tall, sandy-haired man rounded the back corner of the next-door house.

            Lucie’s mouth went dry. Wowza!

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If I want any chance at some reading later, I have to finish this to-do list. Does it look like a stay-home-and-cozy-up-with-a-book week in your area, too? What will you be reading? I'd love to hear about it!

Until next week, happy reading!