April 16

Welcome to my 2010 Summer Reading Trail Page.  I hope you enjoy these summer ‘shorts’.  Be sure to check out all the  Summer Reading Trail  excerpts from some incredible author friends of mine. You can find the trailhead page here: 2010 Summer Reading Trail

Thanks to Voirey Linger and A.J. O’Donovan for putting this together!

Summer Read July – Hello Again

Lucius was already loosening the collar of his jacket as the doors to his quarters slid open. He was looking forward to a quiet night, a night to indulge in his own down time in the wake of several official visits to Starbase Xalia he’d had to oversee the last few weeks. Nikolai’s transmission had come in this morning with the opening move in their long distance chess game and he had pondered several possible moves as administrative chores had occupied his day. He had a feeling it was going to come down to his queen’s knight. Nik was a sly one and this would take some plotting before he committed. Tonight was the perfect night.
Once inside, the uniform jacket was put away as was his habit, leaving him in his black uniform pants and black short sleeved undershirt. He stood surveying the sitting room and his gaze fell on the Dendrobium aphyllum in the corner. It had perked up considerably with the increase in light and he nodded with satisfaction. He made a mental note to add that to the logs for that particular variety just as soon as he had a -
The beep of his computer terminal cut off the thought and making his way over he sat down and opened it. A soft groan came as he saw the incoming message’s sender, then hit the button.
“Marianna.”
“Lucius.” Her familiar face looked back at him, her hair still the same mahogany shade it had been when they were married. When had his gotten so white? “You are looking well, black compliments you.”
His expression now was bemused. “You used to think it made me look far too stern.”
“That was before your hair was so white. The contrast now is striking, certainly.”
Now if that wasn’t a back-handed compliment…. “What can I do for you? You are not in the habit of calling so late just to butter me up. At least not in the last fifteen years anyway.”
Her mouth tightened for an instant at the subtle prod. “I heard that Aia was on the station last week. How is she?”
So there it was. News travelled fast apparently, and Marianna was curious. It was exceedingly rare that Lucius’ name was associated with anyone’s in any sort of romantic sense and while Aia was nothing romantic whatsoever, it had raised curiosity.
“Well enough.” His tone was noncommittal. “She was here for some negotiations.”
Marianna’s smile was sly now. “Oh, is that what they are calling it these days?”
“Diplomatic negotiations.” His patience was beginning to wear thin and his gaze fell on the chessboard with longing.
“You always were very diplomatic about that sort of thing as I recall.”
“That’s enough. Why did you call?” He made his tone deliberately relaxed.
“It’s Li’s birthday tomorrow.”
He immediately looked at the date in the corner of the view screen. Damn it. How had it slipped up on him so fast? His hand moved to his chest, rubbing at a now-familiar ache that sprung up every time Li’s name was mentioned, an ache that had taken up residence the day of his son’s death several months ago. No, that was wrong. It was murder pure and simple.
“So it is.”
She was silent for a moment, much to his surprise, and when she finally spoke, her tone had softened for the first time since the funeral. “I am so sorry Lucius. I know how hard this is for you.”
And she did, something he was grateful for. They had their differences, so many of them even since they parted, but she was the one person who had understood how close he and their eldest had been, knew how proud Lucius had been of Li – and how devastated when Li’s shuttle had disintegrated as it left the starbase after his last visit.
“Marianna -“ His voice was husky now.
“It’s fine,” she interrupted him. “I know. I suppose I just wanted to…touch base with you, make sure you are alright.”
“I…yes, I am thank you.” He managed to regain his composure. “I will be around tomorrow if you need me and want to call. We have a conference starting the day after, so tomorrow will be the calm before the storm. Take care Marianna.” He was suddenly in a hurry to end this call.
“You too.” And just like that she was gone.
He sat staring off at nothing, relief washing over him. Here, in his haven, it was easier to face it, without Marianna’s eyes on him, without the risk of her reading him and knowing he was investigating the incident. His preliminary findings were pointing in a direction he could not discuss with her anyway, so better that it did not come up at all.
He sighed and rubbed his eyes. Briefly he debated calling Aia, knowing she would still be up, but gave it a pass. He did, however, have an old friend to call who would be most interested in his findings, and a trip to plan. The terminal beeped once more, interrupting his thoughts, and he noted with some surprise that it was Marcus. He must have known Lucius was thinking of him. Still, in the wake of the conversation with Marianna, now was not the time. He’d call him back first thing in the morning.
For now he had a Sicilian Defense to counter.

Summer Read June 2010 – Distant Thunder

Jake stood  at the window, looking out, but the flat, brown scrub that stretched for miles went unseen. He was lost in thoughts of what he still considered home – mountains,  the river, the ranch. Jackson.  The man who was his only surviving family, even if the tie was not blood, and his closest friend.  Jackson  had spent the past  6 months doing his level best to talk Jake into coming home. Yes, it still felt like home, even with the Carol Ann situation. What do you say when your childhood sweetheart drops you and marries a man who’s like a brother to you?
In this case, Jake had said little. He had simply packed up and started driving south. South had ultimately  become  the south Texas border. He had gone as far as he could and still speak English, he thought. As it turned out,  English was debatable here and he had learned Spanish via a crash course, submersion method.  These days he found he even thought in Spanish and the only time he spoke English was with Gabe. It lent a certain familiarity to their interactions, and despite Jake’s steadfast  denial, a sense of intimacy that came from being able to talk freely and have little of it understood by those around them. Those times of  relaxing, having a beer and talking till the wee hours had come on slowly at first, but over the past two years had evolved into a nightly ritual. Now, it was something essential, needed and craved by both of them – so much that the times one was away left the other  lonely and restless. The homecomings were always comforting, though neither of them addressed it directly. A smile, a clap on the shoulder, and avoidance of any emotional words was the general rule as the beers were popped open and raised in a toast.
Thoughts of Gabe pricked at him and he closed his eyes, taking in a slow breath. It was all far too complicated. Jake wanted to go home, it was where he belonged. He’d  find some way to work around having Carol Ann so close and if he was honest, it really did not hurt anymore. It would be awkward but he could deal with that. Mostly he missed the ranch and Jackson’s friendship and familiar places.  The real issue, however, was leaving Gabe behind.  Given his momentary  leaning towards being honest with himself, he had to admit that is exactly what he was doing. He was leaving a man.
He was never really sure when things had changed between them. One moment they were friends,  sharing a beer after a long day.  The next, there was something hovering over them, something very real and  compelling and  not at all natural between two men, according to Jake. It had kept him awake many nights as he tried to reason it out but there was no making sense of it. It was simply there, though neither had ever openly acknowledged it. Jake was not blind and he had  noticed the need in Gabe’s  eyes no matter how much Gabe tried to hide it. He had also noted, with  no small amount of unease, how often that look had set his heart tripping in his chest and made him want to reach over and touch  his friend. He never had and Gabe had never pushed.
Jake just was not ready for it, and  going home seemed best all around. In time, Gabe would  find the right one  to make him happy and  would no longer have to face night after night of uncertainty and denial. Jake also hoped that the distance would put an end to  feelings he was not able to  accept in himself.  Even so, leaving was hard and he intended to go now, quietly, while Gabe was in town. It was easier this way and allow him to avoid the pain he knew he would cause.  His bag was packed and  waiting by the door.  He had to stop lingering and thinking of Gabe.   It was time to –
“You’re leaving.”
The words caught him off guard. Jake  didn’t want to turn around,  didn’t want to see the surprise and hurt that were so very clear in Gabe’s voice.  All he wanted was for the hammering in his chest to stop. It  refused and only became worse, making it hard to breathe.
“I have to.”
“No, you don’t. We can –”
“Gabe, please.  I don’t understand this, but  whatever it is, I am not ready for it. I …I can’t. I wanted to be gone  before you got back, to avoid…this. I wanted to just slip away and  get out of your  way so you could go find whatever it is that you need, whoever it is.” He stopped and ran his hand through his hair with  a sigh.
“Yeah?  Well too fucking late for that, isn’t it?” There was anger in his voice as he crossed the room.
Jake steeled himself for what was coming but was no match for the fire that shot through him as Gabe took hold of his shoulders and turned him around. It was impossible to breathe as he looked up and met Gabe’s eyes. “I am not what you need.” The expression in those eyes squeezed his chest far too tight.  He didn’t sound convincing, even to himself. Why had he taken so long packing? He could have been miles away now, free.
“I don’t give a damn what you think I need. I know what I want.” Gabe’s hands tightened on his shoulders as he leaned in closer. “And  you can’t tell me that you don’t see it, don’t feel it.”
“That’s why I have to go.” It was no more than a hoarse whisper. ” I just…” He fell silent as he reached up, resting his hands against Gabe’s chest. Whether it was the desire to touch Gabe, or hold him back, he wasn’t sure, but the feel of  the man beneath his  hands was too much. Everything they had sidestepped, all the emotions  whirling around them for so long were laid bare. There was no way to avoid it now.
“You’re afraid. Of me, of yourself too. Afraid  of letting yourself feel in the wake of Carol Ann. Especially with a man.”
Jake finally managed to breathe as he pulled away from Gabe. “I’m sorry, I just…I’m sorry.”
He  was backing away, moving towards the door.  Gabe reached up to rub his eyes, and when he spoke, his  voice was rough.
“Me too, Irish.  Maybe not now, but soon.  This isn’t over and you know that. Take some time, think about it…about us. I’ll give you that but I refuse to  let us go for long. I don’t think you can either.”
Without another word, Jake grabbed his bag and stepped through the door. Two steps later he was running for  the truck, knowing Gabe was right.

May 2010 Summer Read – Greasepaint

Snow drifted down in the dusky twilight, adding to the deep layer already blanketing a street devoid of pedestrians. It was the time of night when it was not light but not quite dark, the time when shadows held sway, making it difficult to see anything very clearly. Gaius was counting on that as he waited in the alley across and just down from the Leaf & Bean coffee shop. A glance to his watch told him it was just about time for her arrival. Calla was nothing if not a creature of habit. He shook down the orange and green plaid sleeve and right on time, Calla rounded the corner, moving towards the door of the coffee shop.

His sudden smile stretched the oversized, luridly painted-on lips. A shiver of anticipation tickled his spine and prickled across his skin. So close. Tonight he would actually speak to her, perhaps touch her if he was lucky. It was only the first step but it was the most important. He had to be careful not to frighten her. Calla. Just the thought of her had his heart racing, tripping over in his chest so it was difficult to breathe. His fingers tingled with the need to feel the warmth of her skin against his own. He missed her late night musings, the intimacy of hearing her voice when she thought no one was listening. He had always been listening, hanging on her every word, spoken for him alone, as he saw it. A sudden surge of desire washed over him and he closed his eyes, leaning back against the rough stone wall. Not yet! Tonight was his own little test.  For himself, and for her too. With a deep breath to calm himself he stepped out into the street. It was time.
Calla made her way toward the Leaf & Bean in a funk. Her birthday was tomorrow and Hudson had called to say he had to go out of town on business. He couldn’t take her out as he had planned and so it looked like an evening with just her computer for company. She knew she had overreacted. The hurt in his voice had made that clear enough. It was silly and not at all like her, but his business travel always seemed to come at inconvenient times. She had hung up on him and now felt horrible about it. Two voicemails later, he had not called back. Probably packing, otherwise he would’ve called by now. Right? To take her mind off things, she decided to go see Dixie for caffeine and comfort.  Dixie’s humor, and her double fudge brownies, were the perfect remedy for this blue mood.
As she rounded the corner, a figure appeared before stepped out of the alley and stopped directly in her path. A clown?  This time of night? In all this snow? He wore a suit of blinding orange and green plaid, purple hair, the usual nose and painted face, and a giant yellow bow tie with flashy red lights. She seemed to recall that the circus was in town, as she’d seen some of them handing out tickets at the mall this morning. This one, however, was blocking her path.
“May I help you?”
The clown said nothing at all as he looked down at her. His eyes were a startling shade of light blue and held hers for a bit longer than was comfortable. Dread pricked at her, whispering at the back of her neck. Get a grip, Calla.
“Look, I really–”
He waved his hands before her, cutting her off, and produced a rose out of thin air. With a courtly bow, he presented it to her, kissed her hand, then slipped off down the alley. It took a moment for Calla to recover. What should have been an amusing display was, in fact, a little too weird for her. With a shake of her head, she stepped into the coffee shop. It was that odd time between the after work crowd and the late-nighters and the place was empty. Dixie was visible through the window to the kitchen and looked up with a smile.
“I’ll be right out honey.”
Calla gave a desultory wave. “Take your time Dixie.” As she lifted the plastic dome covering the stack of brownies, she noted a smear of red greasepaint across the back of her hand. The unease rose in her again, but she shrugged it off.
“Figures.”
“What’s that Calla?” Dixie appeared and set a cup of coffee before her, watching as she scrubbed at the back of her hand.
“Nothing, Dix, just some clown makeup.”
“I’d ask why, but I don’t want to know. Where’s Hudson?”
“He’s packing for a business trip, and likely mad at me. Our plans for my birthday are cancelled and I was less than gracious about it.”
Dixie shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry, he won’t hold it against you. I bet even now he’s got his phone in hand, just wondering what to say.”
“I doubt that. He –” Again her words were cut off as her phone beeped. She pulled it out and saw, with more than a little surprise, that it was a text from Hudson.
Trip delayed. Birthday on. Since I’m packed, how about the Bahamas for the weekend?
She smiled as she sent the reply. Maybe.
His reply was immediate. What do you want, a 21 gun salute?
She laughed out loud as she tapped out her answer. Yes.
Her phone beeped one last time. Done. Meet me at Dixie’s.
She looked up at Dixie now. “All settled. What are you, psychic?”
Dixie merely smiled. “Maybe.”
“Yeah, right.”
Calla reached for her coffee and her gaze fell on the rose. Lifting it, she offered it to Dixie.
“Here, for you.”
“Now that’s sweet. Where’d you get it?”
“A clown out in the street just appeared and gave it to me.”
Dixie shivered. “That explains the greasepaint on your hand. I hate clowns.”

Calla shuddered. “Me, too, Dix. Me too.”