Just in time for the Winter Solstice Saturday, we had snow all day on Friday. It didn't amount to a lot, just enough to mostly cover the grass, maybe an inch and a half when we cleared off my car to pick up a grocery order Friday evening, but the timing was good. When I look out my window now, though, the backyard is mostly cleared since it faces south, so despite the sub-freezing temps, the sun is still melting it away. The north-facing front yard will hold onto the snow a bit longer, probably until mid-week when the temps are in the 40s again. If you visit my Facebook page regularly, you saw what's in the front yard last night when I posted a pic of the annual Santa Visit our local fire station does, parading Santa (and the Grinch this year) through area neighborhoods. They started doing that in 2020 when we were all tucked into our houses, and they've continued it every year since.
The cold makes me want to stay inside and curl up with some hot tea or cocoa and a stack of good books to read like in the photo above. But I still have three days of day-job in the coming week, around the holiday, and family dinner on Wednesday, so I'm doing prep work this weekend so on Wednesday I'm in the kitchen all day while hubby and the boys are having a nice visit, just like at Thanksgiving. Haha. I may get to sneak in some reading time after New Year's Eve, though, because I have a couple days off at the end of that week before I start a new day-job--though I need to do a little shopping for the day-job: no more jeans and t-shirts like I've been doing the past four and a half years while working from home, I'll be in an office again, so I need to make myself presentable. I think most of my shopping I can do online, except for the shoes. I'm not a big fan of buying shoes I haven't tried on, I have a couple local stores I'm going to hit before I resort to one of the websites I've bookmarked for comfy (not ugly) shoes. (I still miss a pair of clogs I had almost 20 years ago from Hush Puppies that I wore for years of retail work, until the soles were trashed, the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned, and of course they don't make them anymore, but the website I have to look at has some similar.) I'm crossing my fingers, but that's for next week.
Before I get back to dinner prep, I have a snippet for you this week from Protecting Medusa.
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When he emerged from the guest room, his hair was towel-dried, though still damp, making the blond look darker. He wore a soft black t-shirt over faded jeans. She jerked her gaze to his face in time to see that grin disappear.
She narrowed her eyes, but kept her mouth shut and dished up breakfast.
He waited until she had eggs in her mouth before he spoke. “What work do you have going right now?”
She forced down the eggs and chased them with a quick swallow of juice. “I’m nearly done with a big site, then I have a few smaller ones waiting. Regular maintenance on others.”
“You can work on them away from home, right?”
She glared at him. “I’m not leaving.”
He raised one dark blond eyebrow. “I don’t remember asking you.”
She set her fork down. “Just because I made a mistake and slept with you does not give you permission to make my decisions. Also, you are no longer in the military, and not my commanding officer. And, FYI, I will not be sleeping with you again.”
He laughed. “Not much sleeping going on, the way I remember it.”
Heat scorched her face, and Philomena growled, curling her fingers into fists on the table. “I am not looking for a relationship, and even if I were, you wouldn’t be at the top of my wish list.” Good Gods, no.
Ryder took a drink, though she couldn’t understand how, with that miserable grin still spread over his face. “You, Mena, are afraid to be in a relationship with a man stronger than you are.”
She blinked at him, her heart pounding faster. “What?” How could a man she’d managed to avoid for so long know so much about the way her brain worked?
“I’ve seen your ‘dates’. Bunch of pansies, without a spine in the whole lot. You pick men who won’t argue when you decide you’re done with them.” He lifted his fork. “It’s a tactic I’m immune to.” He scooped up more eggs.
Her mouth was dry, but she refused to lift her glass and let him know he’d hit the mark with his assessment of her. “How long have you been spying on me?” she asked instead.
He shook his head, swallowing his eggs. “Just trying to make sure you were safe. Can’t have you bringing danger home to Jason.”
That was low, and she shot him a fierce glare. “I have never dated anyone who was a danger to Jason,” she ground out.
“I know.” His grin remained smug, and she wanted to smack it off his face. “You’ve never dated anyone who was a threat to your remaining single either.”
She shoved away from the table, her chair screeching with the sudden movement. “My dating is none of your business.” She jolted to her feet and spun away.
“You haven’t dated anyone who would present any sort of challenge to you,” he continued from behind her when she walked the few steps to the sink. “Is it because you’re really that afraid, or because you were just waiting for the right man to come along?”
She shook her head, anger and fear clogging her throat, and gripped the edge of the sink so hard her knuckles turned white. There was no ‘right man’ for her. Not for the Medusa.
Behind her, his chair scraped over the floor. “I’m not a spineless wonder like any of those guys,” he said, his booted footsteps drawing nearer. “And I’ve been waiting a very long time, so I’m not going away quietly.”
Philomena shut her eyes.
His big hands settled on her shoulders. “But I promise I’ll never hurt you, Mena,” he whispered, too close to her ear.
She jabbed her elbow into his ribs, hard, surprising him into releasing her. She slid away along the counter. “But I might hurt you.” She patted the hilt of her dagger through her skirt as she faced him. “You know I’m armed, right?”
He rubbed his side where she’d elbowed him, still grinning. “Bring it, baby.”
Her jaw dropped, and he laughed. Suddenly, his smile vanished.
“Get down.”
“What?” She frowned.
He pushed her to a crouch, then moved through the doorway of the guest room, grabbing his gun from the open bag on the bed.
Her heart jumped into her throat at the sight of it.
“We have company,” he breathed, peering through the narrow space she’d made when she parted the living room curtains earlier to let some morning light in.
She fumbled her skirt out of her way and unsheathed her dagger, wrapping her fingers tight around the hilt. It felt good against her palm, but her hand shook. Two days in a row was a little much.
“Hang onto that.” He stepped to the alarm panel and shut the system off, then eased out the back door, his posture cautious.
Philomena shut her eyes. Oh Gods, don’t let the Harvester hurt him. She’d never forgive herself if something happened to him because of her. Jason would be heartbroken. She opened her eyes and took a quick breath. She couldn’t be sitting here in the middle of the floor if Ryder didn’t walk back in. She crawled behind the door, where she could see through the crack between door and frame.
And waited.
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Are you going to get some reading time in this week, cozied up with a hot beverage and hotter book? Or will you be doing holiday prep and day-job all week? I'd love to hear.
Until next week, happy reading, and if you celebrate, Happy Christmas.
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