( fresh chamomile with hearts -Depositphotos )
It’s Mother’s Day here in the U.S, meant to celebrate all of the moms in our lives. For some right now, today is harder than usual, when we can’t be with our kids or our families. But we’re together in spirit, and will be together in real time again one of these days, after this wretched virus has been knocked back and it’s less dangerous to everyone for us to gather again.
I hope if you’re a mom that you had a lovely Mother’s Day and got to connect with your family one way or another.
We had a quiet day, which is nice, but I’m gearing up for about a month and a half of crazy-busy at the day-job again, so a little down-time now is a really good thing. A couple weeks into the crazy, I’ll be thrilled to get a few minutes of actual quiet and calm.
Before I go try to get in some reading time, I have a little story snippet for you, this week from Hunting Medusa.
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“I think I have a plan.”
Her heart thudded harder. “A plan?” For the amulet, or her?
“Yes. My cousin will only be delayed a day or so at most before he comes back.”
Her lungs worked a little faster.
“How well do you know your mountain?”
“Like the back of my hand.” Which was why she would have been able to hide from him two days ago without any problem, had her body cooperated.
“Is there somewhere we can go he won’t be able to track us?”
“We?”
“You’re going nowhere without me, Andrea.”
That was a problem. “There are a few places.” Including her cave behind the waterfall. But she didn’t think taking the Harvester there was really in her best interest.
“Somewhere protected?”
“Yes.” The cave definitely qualified.
He sat up, braced himself on one hand beside her shoulder. “How long will it take to get there from here?”
“Hiking?” She considered for a moment. If she took him the roundabout way, she could wear him out and lose him. Maybe. “A day.”
He inhaled deeply, and she imagined him pondering the idea. When he exhaled, he touched her temple, just brushing the edge of the sleep mask. “Are you safe now?”
She nodded, wishing just for a second that it wasn’t true.
His strong fingers eased the mask up and off, and she rubbed her eyes, blinking against the bright morning light. He helped her to an upright position. “We need supplies if this location will take us a day to hike to.”
Andi gave him a long stare, panic making her pulse race. What if she couldn’t lose him in the woods? “I have some things in the basement,” she said at last. “Water and food.” Also true.
He nodded, gaze fixed on hers, and she realized she must be a mess. Self-consciously, she lifted one hand to smooth down her hair. A hint of a smile touched one corner of his mouth, making her blush. “Why don’t you shower, and I’ll start a list. We should head out tomorrow at first light.”
Andi looked away and eased out of bed. She gathered clean clothes from her dresser and headed for the bathroom. Behind her, the Harvester still sat in bed, his bare chest visible over blankets that had fallen to his waist. She wondered if he was naked under her covers.
She shouldn’t care.
The bathroom had been straightened up again, she realized as she stripped off her sweats. Her vibrator was nowhere in sight, clean towels hung on the bar, and her hot water bottle lay empty on the sink.
How very thoughtful.
Her mouth twisted and she climbed into the shower, then slid the door shut harder than she needed to. When the water came on, she made it hotter than it needed to be too, to distract herself from how nice he was being. “Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly,” she muttered, soaping up her hands before sliding them along her arms, her torso.
The Harvester could be as nice as he wanted, as sexy as he wanted. But she wouldn’t forget why he was here.
She lifted her face into the spray, then turned so her head was soaked next.
Either she would escape him in her woods, or die trying.
Not much as far as plans went, but it was all she had at the moment.
After her shower, she didn’t protest the cuff he put on her to keep her in the bedroom while he got his own shower, which was considerably quicker than hers had been. And he’d left her his list to look at while she waited.
Water. Check.
Food. Check.
Camping supplies. She chewed on her lower lip for a few seconds. In the cave she had more than enough, but she didn’t really intend for him to get there with her. Perhaps he had some of his own in the backpack downstairs. But the pack wasn’t that big. No, he didn’t have those supplies.
“What are you thinking?” He stepped into the room, his inky hair gleaming blue-black and wet as he dragged his fingers through it.
She forced her gaze away from his hair and back to the pad on her knees. “I’m thinking it’s going to be a long trek.”
“You’re up to it, right?” Concern darkened his green eyes.
“I’ll be fine.” She’d get to her cave if she had to crawl there.
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I am hoping to have this book back out in the world later this year, followed by the other two stories in the trilogy. In fact, I have a stack of pages from the second book, Protecting Medusa, on my desk right now, waiting for me to continue working on revisions. I think I may work on that for a while before I pick up my book to do some relaxation reading before I call it a day, early tonight.
And if you’re looking for a quick, light read while you’re safely at home, Light the Way Home is available at all your favorite booksellers.
I hope you all have a great week!