Sunday Snippet: XO on the Warpath

It's the weekend oftrying to keep my doggos from losing their minds. I love fireworks, don't getme wrong, but I feel for all the pets out there that freak out over them.

I continued with thegreat cleanout stuff this week. Honestly, I did more organizing than cleaningbut being organized helps make cleaning and clearing a little easier.

I'm finally at a manageablelevel of projects. I have a few odds and ends to finish on a couple of them butthey're with the authors or the designer and I'm waiting in the wings to reviewrevisions.

Had another decentviewing week. Having a lighter workload does help. And I'm not as scattered onthe attention span side of things.

Started out with MissFisher's Murder Mysteries. I'm finding new things in the episodes, which isone of the reasons I love to rewatch a series I've seen before.

Watched another episodeof Art Detectives and I'm enjoying this show. I'm very interested in thebackstory of Mack's dad. I'm also hoping for more backstory with his partner.

Caught anotherepisode of Death in Paradise. Good to see the commissioner's daughteragain. The mystery also ended up being intriguing.

Enjoyed anotherepisode of Poirot. Very fun to not have a big murder to solve and seehow Poirot uses his skill to ferret out what's going on.

Watched anotherepisode of Elementary and, wow, season three ended on a big downer. I'mstill trying to decide if Sherlock ended up relapsing or if he's just horriblydistraught from Oscar's machinations. Oscar needs to die in a fire. Justsaying.

Caught anotherepisode of Batman Beyond and it's one I remembered. Loved the spin on anurban legend that had a grain of truth in it.

Started a new to meseries with The Lower Decks. Enjoyed the first episode and ended upbeing happy I clocked the relationship between the captain and the know-it-allcrew member. I'll enjoy watching more of this one.

Ended the week on anepisode of Peak Practice. A lot going on in this one. And the tragicleap Will's patient made kind of surprised me. Kerry finding out the truthabout her parentage kind of bummed me out, but I'm also seriously irritated byher parents being such ninnies about the whole thing. Definitely feel bad forSam.

That's pretty much itfor the life update this week. Tonight's post is from XO on the Warpath,a novella about a couple who have to survive a series of mistakes that set oneof them off.

Here's the miniblurb:

Garrick Mellark, executive officer of the Methone,is on the warpath. His crew is bucking orders and he's not going to deal withit anymore. Shay Vamper gets elected to soothe the snarly XO into his usualjovial self, which shouldn't be hard considering she's his current flame.

And a sneaky peek…

Garrick left the ship commander'squarters after briefing him on Garrick's zero tolerance policy. "Can't sayhe's thrilled with me right now." He didn't often cross swords with hissuperior officer, but he didn't mince words today.Moving down the corridor to hisquarters, he undogged the hatch … and found Shay pacing back and forth inside.Heaving a sigh, he shut the door."I can't right now, Shay." He crossed to his duty locker and yanked thelatch.Shay paused with a hand on her hip."Can't what? Talk? Listen? Or hear what I have to say?" Crossing herarms over her chest, she arched her brows.Garrick closed his eyes. "Allof the above. I'm done talking. I just listened to Warff disagree with mystrategy, and you're not going to say anything I'm ready to hear yet." Hisfingers undid the buttons on his shirt, and he shrugged out of it.Shay flicked her tongue against herteeth. "So, you're still pissed off and cranky. Got it." She turnedto exit his quarters.Garrick shook his head. "Don'tgo. Please." He moved and wrapped his arms around her. "Stay with me."His lingering anger drained but exhaustion filled him. "My head hasn'tstopped spinning and I'm terrible company, but I'm not mad at you. I'm reallynot."Shay turned and rested her foreheadagainst his. "When was the last time you got at least three or four hoursof sleep?"He huffed out a breath. "Idon't know. A week ago?" More like a month.She nudged him toward his berth."I think you're off by about ninety days, Garrick." Patting themattress, she waited until he got stretched out then slid in beside him.Had it really been three monthssince he'd had a full eight hours of sleep or even half that? He shuffledthrough his memory. Damn. Pretty much.Biting back a yawn, he sighed."Geez. I need a vacation." He tucked on arm behind his head andwrapped the other one around Shay.She chuckled. "Don't we all?But you … definitely need it the most." She lifted the cover of hisshelving unit and set an alarm. "Get some rest. I'll run interference ifanyone comes looking for you." Putting her head on his shoulder, sheburrowed closer to his side.Garrick didn't respond. His eyesdrifted shut and sleep claimed him.

This story is a funexploration of how reaching a breaking point can lead to good and not so goodthings.

 

That's it for thisweek. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye