Book Birthday - Ruby Dawn Releases Today!

Today is the official release day for the second book in my Shades of Hope series! Ruby Dawn is a story very close to my heart and I 'm so excited that it comes out today!


I had such a great time last year on the Purple Knot Book Tour and I can't wait to get out there and hang out with fellow lovers of romance. I made some great friends during that time and it was such a blessing to meet you all.


I will be out and about in a little bit and will share the details as soon as I can.


For now, I'd love to share a blurb and excerpt...

Ruby Dawn, Book Two - Shades of Hope series

Dr. Ruby McKinney understands the plight of runaways in her city; she used to be one of them. Tom, Ruby’s friend and protector in juvenile detention, disappeared after a tragedy. Now a DEA agent, his investigation pulls Ruby back into his life and back into danger. Will they survive long enough to take their second chance at love?

A Painful Past.

A former street kid, Ruby now reaches out to runaways through her medical clinic in the worst part of the city, but her escalating battle with a gang leader puts that in jeopardy.

 A Love Returns.

Cavalier, a risk-taker, charming… Ruby’s first love is now on the right side of the law and the center of a dangerous DEA sting involving her clinic.  Tom’s disappearance ten years ago broke her heart and rattled her faith. As their romance relights, memories of what it costs to love him flood her with fear.

A Desperate Plan.

Ruby’s battle with the gang ignites a firestorm of danger, and a pattern of lies from within her own camp emerges. With Tom’s life in the balance and her world cast in shadows, can Ruby trust God as she once did…or has she strayed too far, for too long to ever return?  

Excerpt:

“Shhh,” Tom whispered. He took my hand in his and kissed my palm sending a ripple through me. “Its okay, I know what you meant, Ruby. And you’re right about what you said the other night too,” he breathed and leaned closer.

Barely able to think, I stood frozen by his nearness. “What I said?”

He smiled, so close now that I could feel his lips move. “You said that I don’t know you anymore. That I need to get to know you all over again.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not what I said,” I breathed.

Tom’s hand slipped to my face, cupping my cheek in his palm. He ran his thumb over my bottom lip and it sent heat thrumming through me. I gripped his sleeves, my fingers digging into the material.

A wayward warning flittered somewhere in the back of my brain, but I closed my eyes instead of moving.

Tom brushed his lips against mine, barely touching, his breath soft.

Up front, Lilah shouted. “This place is a wreck!”

Startled, I pulled away from Tom. Lilah had either rotten or impeccable timing. I hadn’t decided which just yet. “I – I’m back here,” I shouted back. “I’ll be right out.”

Tom groaned and let go of me. He looked up at the outer door with frustration. I followed his gaze to Lilah rooting through the debris making enough noise for three people.

Reluctantly, I turned from Tom and walked back down the hall to the front lobby. “It looks worse than it is, Lilah.”

“What are you talking about? This place is jacked-up!”

She spun slowly around with her arms out at her sides. Behind me, I heard the rear door swing shut and turned to look for Tom. My heart sank. He was gone.

Survival Wednesday - Secret Signals

In the second book of my Shades of Hope series,we meet Ruby Dawn and her love interest who happens to be a DEA agent.  


In honor of the handsome and charming Tom, as well as all things clandestine and shady, today's post will be about secret signals to another person.


As many of you are aware, I own quite a few unusual books that I use for research. One of my favorites, the one I used the most for Tom's character layering and quirks, was The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception by H. Keith Melton.


I created for Tom, a love of magic that stems from an incident as a teenager. He also loves the cloak and dagger way of doing things. 


Because of this, I had the opportunity to research some interesting facets of old school signaling...some that are still in use today.


Let's say that two people have to work together, but cannot contact each other by traditional means because they might get caught...


There are four critical criteria for signals used in the spy trade:

• It cannot be unusual. 

This is why the whole, "Flower in the Buttonhole" was so popular in old movies and fiction.  Nowadays it might be a certain baseball cap or phone case.

• You must be able to see it instantly.

Once glance should be enough. You don't want to make the other person stare at others like a psychopath...it might give them away.

• It has color and color attracts attention.

Again, its imperative that your signal be easy to pick out of a crowd.

• In an of itself, at that time in history, wearing a flower had no significance. 

Wearing a larger than normal flower, or a specific color flower set you apart from all the other gentlemen...or in this era...a red baseball cap or bright green sneakers wouldn't be all that strange.

Perhaps you don't want to wander around in a crowd, or simply don't need to meet face to face. Maybe you just need to send a quick message.

Some ingenious ways I've learned about are in plain sight...you would never notice.

• A wrapped package with the twine in a specific pattern. You have information to pass on.

• A row of pens in a pocket, red, for instance to show you think you've been made.

• Your tie in a specific way, untied, hanging over your shoulders, tucked in a pocket...to signal an emergency extraction.

• You might have something specific missing, a shoelace, or an earing. 

All of these signals can be explained, marked as coincidence, or simply missed UNLESS you're looking for them.

Strange skills are a great way to layer a character and add to the plot. Some simple research may open your eyes to a whole new set of ideas and conflicts to enliven your story.

What are some things you've learned specifically for writing a character?

Until next time...Go Write!

The Ghost I Found That Night Belonged To Me...

Personal Blogfest Day!

In celebration of Monday I submit to you the first chapter of my second book in the Shades of Hope series...Ruby Dawn.

Imagine the love of your life disappears after a tragic accident. What if he bursts into your life ten years later bringing with him a dangerous secret from your past...

---

Ruby Dawn

Chapter One - San Diego California

I should have known to stay away from dark corners. Nothing good ever happened to me in them. But it was my job to look and it was a good thing I did because the ghost I found that night belonged to me. In retrospect, the asphalt and the blood seemed fitting, considering my start in life.

A broken child found abandoned in a bus station. I was eight years old and newly born. I lay unconscious for two days in the I.C.U. No memory of who I was or who hurt me so badly ever came. I simply blinked into existence one morning. The nurses named me Ruby Dawn, after the color of the morning sky the day I opened my eyes.

I grew up on the streets outside various foster homes. Never quite comfortable in the unfamiliar houses or with the well intentioned, I often stayed out until it was too cold or too dark to remain under the sky. I don’t think I ever left the streets I roamed as a child.

I wander them still.

That is how I came to be outside the old brownstone this frigid winter evening. The last stop on my daily route, I parked my beat-up sedan against the curb. Peeling back the duct tape that held my glove compartment closed, I reached for my flashlight. Catching sight of myself in the rear view mirror, I frowned. I tried to tuck my long, dark brown hair back into a ponytail and smooth out my bangs. My blue eyes looked pale and tired. My shifts as an ER resident coupled with my time running the free clinic were taking their toll.

I wasn’t sure how long I could keep this up.

I rubbed my eyes and got out of the car. I pulled some donated coats from the passenger’s side seat and started down the sidewalk. Munch and Joe, old men ravaged by life on the streets, huddled close to a trashcan set ablaze in the alley. They recognized me walking toward them and hid their liquor. It was their version of cleaning up for company. Joe smiled at me with vacant gums, and Munch waved. His gravely voice echoed in the filthy alley like a kicked tin can.

“Ruby-D!”

I forced a cheerful smile onto my face. “Hey Munch, Joe, how’re you guys holding up tonight?”

Joe shrugged in his layers of suit blazers and sweaters. All his clothes eventually took on the same color as the asphalt. He was shivering but smiled. “Aw, you know.”

“You guys should get to the shelter. It’s going to be an all-time low tonight. The weatherman said.”

Munch waved his hand dismissively. “Weatherman…only job on earth you get paid for bein’ wrong most a’ the time.”

I smiled. “We should all be so lucky, huh?”

Joe craned his neck to see what I was carrying. “Whatcha got there, Ruby?”

“Couple a winter coats. Thought you guys might want them.”

Munch wrinkled his nose at them. “Nothin’ wrong with what I got on.”

“No, you’re right about that. I was just thinking that come morning, if you want, you can take these to the thrift shop for me. I could use the favor.”

Joe shrugged, but I saw his tongue snake out and lick his cracked lips. He was interested. He wouldn’t take charity, but he’d take a wage for a job.

“I have so much to do, and you guys usually head out that way anyway, right?”

Munch wrinkled his nose again. “Aw, that store only gives out food vouchers for clothes.”

Actually they paid cash, except to people I sent in. Anyone that came in with something marked with my initials, got vouchers for food, not cash. I wasn’t interested in supporting the local liquor store.

“Well, I hear the shelter is setting aside something special for the food voucher customers.”

Joe’s eyes lit up. “Special, how?”

I shrugged and made a mental note to drop off a case of something special at the shelter tomorrow night.

Munch smacked his lips and took the coats from me. “I’ll bet its pudding. Man, I love that chocolate pudding. Those cups don’t need no fridge.”

I nodded. “Maybe.”

Something at the far end of the alley crashed against metal trash cans making me jump. The movement in the shadows looked human. I thought I saw a prone figure flail in the shadows. Concerned it might be a kid in trouble, I looked closer.

“S – Stay here, guys.”

I pulled my heavy steel flashlight from my backpack and shined the beam down the alley. The light bobbed with my shaking hand. I crept forward. A man writhed on the ground holding his side. I flashed the light back up to the top of the fence he must have just scaled -- No one there. I walked towards him, gritting my teeth to quell the fear bubbling in my chest.

“Hey, Ruby, don’t get too close.” Munch called from behind me.

I turned to shush him, and then the man moaned.

“What?”

“P-police…call,” he gasped between groans.

“Uh, you need an ambulance, not a police car.”

He reached a hand out to me; it was covered with blood. My heart thumped in my chest. I took another step towards him, the flashlight beam quivered across his body. He lay on his side, his face bruised and covered with grime.

“No…I’m on the job.”

I gasped. “You’re a cop?”

He nodded and tried to sit up. I yelled back down the alley at Munch and Joe.

“Call 911! There’s a phone in my car, hurry!”

I leaned in to help him, and then the beam of light hit his face. I pulled back reflexively.

Green eyes under dark brown eyebrows stared back at me with shock. “Ruby?” he stammered.

I grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him into a hug. Breathless, I laughed nervously. “Tom, where have you been? What happened to you?”

He groaned in my arms, and I looked at the pain on his face and let go. He smiled at me, and it looked like it took all of his strength.

“Well, for starters, I’ve been shot.”

I wiped my eyes and helped him to his feet. We staggered to the mouth of the alley. The officer that patrolled this neighborhood pulled to a stop in front of us after only a minute. In the habit of checking on me, Officer Farrell must have been close by when he heard the call. I waved him over, panting under Tom’s weight. “We’re almost there, Tom. Stay with me.”

Tom groaned with the effort.

Officer Farrell rounded the front of the cruiser and pulled open the back passenger door. Covering the top of Tom’s head with his hand, he helped me guide Tom onto the back seat.

“Dr. McKinney, are you okay?” Officer Farrell asked me. His eyes ran over the blood on my hands and shirt.

“I’m okay, but I need to get this guy to my ER. He’s losing a lot of blood.” I caught Officer Farrell’s arm with my hand. “He’s a cop.”

Tom’s gasped from the back seat. “I can’t go in under my own name. Call it in, but don’t use my name. I’m DEA.”

Officer Farrell nodded. “Buddy, I have you covered.”

Tom turned to me, his face pale in the car’s interior light. Breath ragged, he held his hand out to me from the back seat. I climbed in next to him, and Farrell slammed the door shut. We tore off toward the emergency room with lights flashing.

Tom’s eyes fluttered closed for a second, and my chest tightened, panic soaring through me. I shook him and he started. He gritted his teeth and looked at me.

“You know I never said sorry,” he breathed.

I shook my head and pulled my scarf from around my neck. I wadded it up and used it to push against his bullet wound. Sticky warmth oozed between my fingers. Sobs welled in my chest.

“Don’t start.” My voice cracked.

He reached up and ran his finger down the bridge of my nose. He’d done it a thousand times before, a lifetime ago.

“I shouldn’t have left like that. I shouldn’t have just disappeared.”

I wouldn’t look at him. I couldn’t, without crying.

“You did what you had to do.” I pushed on the scarf.

He winced through the pain. “Do you still hate me?”

I looked at him then. I wanted to yell and cry and shake him for all of the heartache he’d caused me, but I didn’t. Instead I frantically slapped the mesh that separated the backseat from the front.

“Hurry, Farrell, hurry please!”

Tom moved in my arms and I leaned in and whispered with a shaking voice. “Just concentrate on not dying. I only yell at healthy people.”

“I am sorry, Ruby. I…”

Tom’s eyes fluttered closed mid-sentence.

Praying desperately, I held him in my arms while we flew through the streets. Lights flashed past the windows, and my heart ached so bad, I struggled to breathe. Tears trailed down my cheeks and landed on Tom’s dirty wool cap. I cried because I’d lost him before and couldn’t bear to do it again.

---

That is all for my first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and, as always, I welcome feedback.  Until next time...Go Write!

Photograph by Jelleprins.

Black Smoke and Death - Dream Sequence Blogfest

I love entering blogfests because it gives me a chance to stretch myself as an author.  Scenes that would not occur to me, or techniques that seem too hard challenge me to break out of my normal style...and that's a good thing.

Amalia T. over at Good to Begin Well, Better to End Well, thought of an interesting and difficult challenge. Today is the Dream Sequence Blogfest. I only have one dream sequence in anything I've written and I spent days on it.  I'm still not sure if I like it.

The excerpt is from my novel, Ruby Dawn. The heroine has been fighting for her neighborhood against a ruthless gang member.  He started out with vandalism, her car and clinic and when that didn't work...he tried to kill her.  He firebombed her clinic when she and Tom, her love interest were inside.  Paul and Tiny are street kids who abduct Ruby from a women's shelter to help their hurt friend, inadvertently saving her from the gang member coming to get her.  Sheila is her foster mother who died. The bowl of sea glass...represents Tom, his eyes are that color green. The dream is an a-ha moment...the character's epiphany when she realizes that through all that has happened...she wasn't alone.

Ruby Dawn

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The scenes in my dream flipped in rapid succession, like a movie on silent fast forward. I saw myself in front of my ruined car, walking through the wrecked clinic, and nailing up the plywood over the front windows. Talking to Mike in the parking lot with the paint splashed everywhere, glowing red under a bright yellow moon, I watched the flashes with startling calm.

I turned my head and I was in the clinic with Tom, watching in slow motion, as his face registered shock at the fireball flying at us. I felt the room jerk and swirl around me and suddenly I was outside the clinic, watching fiery bottles slam against the plywood windows, not going in. Then Tom and I were running down the hall, the fire licking at the walls but not touching us, never coming close.

An intense wind swirled around me, a silent tornado spinning me in circles. I stopped on a dime, instantly still, I watched two boys going through Dakota’s car, looking for something. My address. Angry, they brought guns up and fire flew out of them blinding me to the scene. I covered my eyes.

Another pull, deep in my core, and I rushed through waves of heat. I opened my eyes and saw that I stood in the shelter. All around me, mothers and children moved in slow motion, silently laughing and heading towards the back of the building. The front door opened achingly slow and I stared, panting at an approaching dark cloud.

Fear boiled in my gut and I felt a scream well in my throat, but a hand wrapped around my waist pulling me away. Tiny’s hands yanked me from the cloud, pulling me toward another door, a bright light. Behind us, the cloud receded. Billowing backwards frantically, it sucked itself back out of the door of the shelter.

Tiny walked with me and we took the room with us, spinning it like a whirling merry-go-round. Faster and faster we twirled, making me dizzy. Stopping suddenly, we stood in the Emergency Room. I saw myself wrapping Darnell’s arm. Beyond me, a dark cloud churned and slid across the walls; hungry for me.

My heart ramped up, dread squeezing my heart as I watched my dream self continue, oblivious. The cloud coalesced into the form of a man. Running he fired his gun at me. The scene jerked forward in flip book snapshots, the bullets tearing through the room in clear, rippling paths toward me. They missed as Paul pulled me down. I stared shocked as the rounds hissed by, a hair’s breath from my temple. The cloud receded again, swirling violently away, chased by Paul.

I watched, my heart ramming in my chest, as the room spun again. The wind whipping me in circles as walls rose up from the ground around me. I stopped abruptly, everything silently still. I heard my breath in my head, rapid, uncontrolled. Looking around I saw Sheila sitting at her desk in my old home. Her body lit from within. Next to her, a bowl of brilliant green sea glass sparkled with reflected light. Longingly, I walked towards her and she looked up at me and smiled. Overwhelming happiness washed over me and I reached my hand out to her.

Her voice echoed softly in my head. “This is a choosing moment, Ruby.”

---

I hope you enjoyed my dream sequence. Please check out the other entries at Good to Begin Well, Better to End Well.

Photograph by molesarecoming, Uploaded on September 19, 2009.

Poking At Tigers...Flirtfest Blogfest

The clever gals over at Critique This WIP are hosting a Flirtfest Blogfest today...say that three times fast!  The rules are simple: Post your favorite flirty scene...be it hot, awkward, or sweet.  So I decided to enter an excerpt from my book Ruby Dawn. 

Ruby's clinic was vandalized the night before and Ben, the cop she's just started dating drove her to the scene to inspect the damage.  Tom, a man from Ruby's past recently showed up to work a sting in her neighborhood. Her first love, Tom disappeared ten years ago after they were involved in the death of one of their school mates at a locked-down high school. Lilah is Ruby's receptionist and best friend.

Ruby Dawn

Last night, Ben told me that things were missing. He wasn’t kidding. A lot of supplies, chairs, and yes even the trash cans were gone. I stood in the middle of the ruined room and ran my eyes over everything, shocked. A muffled sob escaped my lips and I wiped at my eyes angrily.

“Ruby, are you okay?” Tom’s voice made me turn.

Startled, I gasped. “Tom, what are you doing here?”

He raised his eyebrows. “What am I doing here, really? I heard about what happened and came to make sure you weren’t hurt.”

I looked at him and flapped my arms at my sides speechless. Tom’s hair was cut, styled in way that made him look like he belonged in a country club. He still had the stubble though. It was a weird look, sort of high-end thug. He caught me staring, licked his pinkies, and used them to pretend groom his eyebrows. It was a move he used to do to make me laugh in class. I smiled.

“You know who did this.” Tom asked and nodded at the paint on the floor.

It wasn’t a question.

“Antonio Llave,” I whispered. “The gang-banger I was telling you about. I think he did this.”

Anger flashed across his face. “I’ve heard a few things about him. He’s busting through the ranks in La Eme.” Tom scanned the damage. “This looks like a threat from them; minimal damage, but a big warning. You’re probably right.”

In the front room, a second voice echoed Tom’s words.

“Minimal damage?” Ben repeated. “Are you serious?”

He walked in through the broken front window and joined Tom and I in the middle of the clinic lobby. My eyes flit from Ben to Tom. For some reason, I felt nervous with them in the same room.

Tom waved his hand at the room and nodded. “Yeah, I’m serious. Who are you?”

“I’m Officer Farrell, who are you?” Ben shot back.

The same height, Tom and Ben stood facing each other in a weird sort of standoff reminiscent of school-yard staring contests. I expected someone to double-dog dare someone at any moment.

I cleared my throat. “Ben, uh, Tom’s the guy from the alley that you helped me with.”

Ben eyed Tom with suspicion. Apparently no longer sure he believed he was in fact an officer.

Suddenly, Tom smiled and put out his hand.

“I never got a chance to thank you for that, Officer Farrell,” he said as he shook Ben’s hand. “Really, I appreciate you keeping my name out of this. I told my lieutenant about how great you handled that situation.”

Ben nodded dumbly, taken aback by Tom’s sudden change in demeanor. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, uh, no problem.”

Tom turned to me, shoved a piece of gum in his mouth, and winked. I forgot how disarming Tom could be if he wanted, from rival to brother-in-arms with one charming smile. I always used to tease him that he could sell ketchup ice-pops to a lady in white gloves.

“Ben, Tom is an old friend from…before I moved here,” I hedged.

Tom looked at Ben’s face, then at my awkward smile and grinned. He knew that Ben liked me. He took a step over to me, wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and kissed my hair.

“We’ve known each other for what, thirteen years?” Tom asked me.

Ben ground his jaw.

I blew my bangs from my eyes and frowned. Tom loved to poke at tigers. I pulled out of his arms, strode over to Ben, and kissed him on the cheek.

“Thank you again, Ben for being there, and giving me a ride. I’ll be all right now. I’m going to start cleaning up,” I said.

Ben nodded and then shot a triumphant look at Tom. “I’ll be going then,” he said. Then to Tom, “Try to keep from getting dumped in an alley again tonight. I’m not on duty.”

Tom smiled and nodded. He looked like he enjoyed sparring with Ben. “Oh, don’t worry. Ruby is really good at taking care of me.”

“Bye Ben!” I said suddenly and pulled him toward the door.

“I’ll see you tonight, then?” Ben asked in a needlessly loud voice.

“Yes, Ben. Pick me up here at eight, okay?”

He nodded and left. I watched him leave then turned and gave Tom a stern look.

He flashed me a look of complete enjoyment. “Let me guess, coffee?”

I rolled my eyes and pushed Tom down the back hall toward the rear door.

“Don’t you need to be somewhere dangerous?” I thought about his job and my heart wrenched with worry. “What about your cover, Tom? You’re not even supposed to be here, are you?”

“That can’t be concern I hear.” Tom turned and stopped himself with is arms across the doorway. He smiled down at me and my face flushed. He put his forehead against mine. “You’re not staying here alone, are you?” He whispered, breath brushing my eyelids.

Tom never liked any space between us.

I stepped back, my hands going to my hips. “What makes you think I’m staying here?”

Tom cocked his head to the side and folded his arms. He already knew.

“How…?” I asked.

“It’s my job to know about people, Ruby. I can’t believe you gave up your apartment to keep this place open.”

I took another step away from him and looked back down the hall toward the ruined office. Anger flaring, I shook my head. “I couldn’t just abandon these people, Tom.”

Pain flashed behind his eyes, and I regretted my choice of words immediately. I tried to backpedal, but I only managed to stammer incoherently.

“Shhh,” Tom whispered. He took my hand in his and kissed my palm sending a ripple through me.

“I, I didn’t mean…” I tried, my face flushed.

“Its okay, I know what you meant, Ruby. And you’re right about what you said the other night too,” he breathed and leaned closer.

Barely able to think, I stood frozen by his nearness. “What I said?”

He smiled, so close now that I could feel his lips move. “You said that I don’t know you anymore. That I need to get to know you all over again.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not what I said,” I breathed.

Tom’s hand slipped to my face, cupping my cheek in his palm. He ran his thumb over my bottom lip and it sent heat thrumming through me. I gripped his sleeves, my fingers digging into the material.

A wayward warning flittered somewhere in the back of my brain, but I closed my eyes instead of moving.

Tom brushed his lips against mine, barely touching, his breath soft.

Up front, Lilah shouted. “This place is a wreck!”

Startled, I pulled away from Tom. Lilah had either had rotten or impeccable timing. I hadn’t decided which just yet. “I – I’m back here,” I shouted back. “I’ll be right out.”

Tom groaned and let go of me. He looked up at the outer door with frustration. I followed his gaze to Lilah rooting through the debris.

Trying not to show my breath was ragged; I bent and picked up a broken mug off the floor. “I have to get started if I want to be done by eight.”

Tom already taking the shards from me flashed a crooked grin. “You’re gonna break his heart.”

I put my hands on my hips, indignation growing in my gut. “You don’t know that.”

Tom leaned against the door jam. “He’s not your type.”

I scowled. “And you are?”

He shrugged. “If memory serves.”

Anger at his teasing and my own weakness flooded my face with heat. “That was a long time ago, Tom. If my memory serves, we didn’t turn out so well.”

Sorrow momentarily flit across his perfect features but he recovered and smiled winningly. “A lot has changed since then, Ruby. You’ll see.”

I put my hand to my hot cheek and shrugged. “I don’t know if it matters anymore, Tom.”

He looked at me with sad eyes. “Don’t write us off completely just yet, Ruby.”

I shot him a look of shock. Poking myself in the chest I shouted. “Me…you’re telling me, not to write us off…you – you’re the one who left!”

Thrown his hands up in surrender, Tom backed up. “I can see that was the wrong choice of words.”

I pointed to the back door with a shaking finger. “Go.”

“Ruby—”

I grabbed a nearby magazine and hurled it in his direction.

Ducking it easily, he smirked and pointed it at me. “You still have great aim, I see.”

“Tom, I’m serious.” His amusement sent ripples of irritation through me. “Go.”

“And you don’t want my help?” He smiled again, clearly not intimidated by my reaction.

I rubbed tears from my eyes with the palms of both hands. “I need you to leave right now, Tom. I just can’t think with you in the room.” I looked at him with a deep sigh.

His smile faltered. “I’m sorry.” He took another step away from me. “I’ll leave.”

I blew the bangs out of my eyes and frowned upset with myself. I craved Tom. Like an essential component, my body ached for him. “That’s probably the best,” I whispered.

Pain darkened his green eyes, but he smiled at me gently. “I’ll see you soon.”

Crossing my arms over my chest I refused to feel bad. I couldn’t let myself get a taste for him again. Too much rode on my shoulders for me to abandon reason. “Bye, Tom.” I said softly.

“Dr. McKinney!” Lilah yelled again from outside. “Dr. McKinney!”

Reluctantly, I turned from Tom and walked back down the hall to the front lobby. “It looks worse than it is, Lilah.”

“What are you talking about? This place is jacked-up!”

She spun slowly around with her arms out at her sides. Behind me, I heard the rear door swing shut and turned to look for Tom. My heart sank. He was gone.

---

I hope you enjoyed my character's awkward angst.  Please check out the other wonderful entries at Critique This WIP.

Until next time...Go Write!

Photograph by Katie Tegtmeyer, Uploaded on April 6, 2006.