Day Three

Day Three
Day three has pasted us now and I am feeling tired. My body is tight and sore, like I’ve been in the war and lived through it. And perhaps I have; only it’s a word war.  My starting word count yesterday was just over 10,000 words, which is impressive for two days. Yesterday, however, I managed to end on 15,305, which means I added an additional 5206 words to my manuscript. Happy writing indeed.
And a tease:

Travis McCoy stood in front of the large window that overlooked the front yard. With one hand pressed against the cool glass and the other nestled in his curly, chocolate-brown hair, he sighed. Today, he would be leaving Clarendon, Texas and heading back to Miami, Florida and he wasn’t sure he’d be strong enough to handle it. When Travis made the decision to return to his hometown after receiving an invitation to celebrate homecoming, he hadn’t realized that in the process, he’d find himself again. The journey home hadn’t been an easy one to make, but it’d been the best decision he’d ever made. Coming home gave him the family he’d been missing, a second chance to heal his broken heart, and the opportunity to reconnect with the person who’d taught him what it meant to be a man. A smile slipped over Travis’ lips. When his father picked him up from the airport, Travis had anticipated spending the majority of his time in Clarendon dodging questions on where his life was headed or if he was ever going to grow up and become a man. Instead, he’d finally lowered the walls he’d built around himself ever since the death of his mother Loralie and allowed himself to see Russ McCoy a lot clearer. Where Travis had always seen a cold-hearted man who had put himself before his family, in reality Russ was a broken soul who’d struggled with losing the love of his life. “He’s gonna be late if you don’t hurry,” came the softest, sweetest voice he’d ever heard. Laughing to himself, Travis looked over his shoulder, finding Penelope Stone standing in the doorway to their bedroom. She had her arms folded in front of her and a sparkle in her dark, sensual mocha-brown eyes. Her long, silky blond hair framed her face, and the pure, natural beauty that rolled off of her took Travis’ breath away. She was exquisite.“Are you okay?” Penelope asked when he didn’t speak to her. “I’m fine,” Travis groused, trying to convince himself as much as her. Today, he wouldn’t just be leaving Texas for Florida, but he’d be leaving his family, too. He kept telling himself that it was only for a week, maybe two — just long enough to pack up his stuff and make the final move back to her and Max. But with each passing breath, he found the thought of missing even one moment with his family excruciating. He’d just gotten a second chance at a life with them and now, he had to say goodbye. “I don’t believe you.” Penelope smiled and crossed the room, slipping her arms around his waist. “We don’t want you to leave either, but you can’t put this off any longer. It’s time to go back, Travis, so that you can really be here.”“Yeah, I know, but I don’t want to,” Travis grumbled, aware of how he sounded like a two-year-old who had been told it was time to go to bed. “I’m gonna miss you, baby.”“And I’ll miss you,” she whispered. “You’re coming home to us, Travis. And when you do, we can be a real family.”“We already are one,” he murmured, bringing his hand up to her face. Lowering his lips down onto hers, Travis kissed her. They moved slowly, neither of them wanting to rush this moment. Right now, this was all they had to get them through the challenge ahead.