Kicking Off the Party

Now that the holiday weekend is almost over, such as it was (no extra day off at the day-job, so basically a regular weekend here), it's time to kick off the real party: it's my birthday month!

I'm still debating what kind of birthday cake for this year...cheesecake, chocolate cake, red velvet, something else? And I'll figure out dinner when we get closer, but the one thing I am thinking about now is a Facebook party. I enjoy hanging out with everyone to party, and I hope you'll join us. I'll have the details up later on my Facebook page.

This weekend was younger son's birthday dinner, so right now, I'm happy to have leftovers and not have to cook, which means more writing time. Haha! Also the not-cooking thing is good, since it hit 96 degrees here again. For the next week, at least, it looks like the 100+ degree temps are out of here. I think we started Tuesday at 102, Wednesday 104, Thursday 106, hit 107 on Friday, then 104 again yesterday. That's quite enough of that B.S. Though now we've got thunderstorms in the forecast almost every day this week, and I could do without those, too, though we need the rain. It could show up without it's damaging and noisy friends, however. And I suppose I should try to find a rain poncho in case I need it for the Rick Springfield concert this week. Haha.

Before I deal with that and get some more writing done, I have a snippet for you this week from Light the Way Home.

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            Lucie didn’t argue when Nate refused her help with the dishes. Her insides still quivered from the realization that he was attracted to her.

            “I’ll see you in the mornin’, Lucie!” Hayden shouted, hopping on one foot.

            She smiled as she put her sweater on. “Yes, you will.” They’d already decided Hayden would join her after breakfast so Nate could cram in a few hours of work before he headed to the hospital to see his dad–and try to get his mother to come home rather than sleep on the less-than-ideal pull-out chair-bed in his dad’s hospital room again.

            She wasn’t sure that was a battle he would win, but she understood his concern.

            Hayden gave her a quick hug and then ran back to his book in the living room.

            “I really do appreciate this, Lucie,” Nate said from where he stood at the sink.

            “It’s nothing, Nate,” she said lightly. “Keeps me from having to spend endless hours on job search sites and getting more depressed than I already am.” She kept her head down as she buttoned her sweater up to her chin.

            “It isn’t nothing to me.”

            His firm, quiet tone snared her attention, and her mouth went dry. The shadows in his brown eyes made her curl her fingers around the edges of her sweater to keep from reaching out.

            “I’m not accustomed to asking for help.” He cleared his throat. “I appreciate it.”

            She swallowed. “It’s no problem,” she whispered. Dammit–hot, attracted to her, and vulnerable. Shit, that was trouble. She took a slow breath. “I’ll see you in the morning then.” She inched toward the door.

            A hint of awareness darkened his eyes, but he stayed where he was. “Good night, Lucie.”

            She took two more steps, clearing the doorway to the mud room, and a little relief sank into her belly. Until she heard footsteps behind her.

            Within reach of the back door, she whirled. He stood at the open doorway of the kitchen, undisguised desire in his eyes this time. Her heart skipped a beat, and she felt a quick rush of excitement that she tried to squash as he stepped into the mud room. She held her breath as he took another step. One more. Until he stood a foot away, and her breath rushed out.

            He studied her face for a long moment, and she wondered what he saw, what he was looking for. Impulsively, she moved closer to him, noting the way his eyes rounded, and she stretched up to brush a kiss on his mouth, lingered for a second, then stepped back.

            “Good night, Nate,” she whispered, reaching behind her for the doorknob.

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Has the summer heat landed with a vengeance where you are, too? The only good thing about it right now is my tomatoes are liking it. I have a bunch ripening at the moment, which means I'm going to have lots of good tomatoes for my salads soon. The fresh fruits and veggies are the best thing about summer, for me at least. Well, and birthday cake. Haha.

Are you all finding time to read this week? I'd love to hear about it, and I hope you'll keep an eye on the Facebook page for party details!

Until next week, happy reading!