Sunday Snippet: Loss

So, first week of April in Ohio and we had a wintry mix of sleet and snow yesterday. *shakes head* Come on, Mother Nature, cut us a break. LOL

On the television front… The Walking Dead set everything up for the finale tonight. I'm actually thinking I won't watch it live. It's been a rough week and my brain might just break if one of my faves doesn't make it out alive.

Missed Gotham on Monday and haven't caught up yet. This plays into the rough week angle. My teenage daughter had her first track meet Monday night and badly sprained her ankle during the warm-ups. The poor kid didn't even get to compete. The good news is she cleared all the hurdles. The bad news? She needs to work on the landings. LOL Needless to say, she's on crutches and miserable but gets to see the orthopedic guy tomorrow. Whew.

The Flash and Agents of SHIELD had great episodes. I liked seeing the fallout from previous episodes on both shows. Time travel always kicks my interest up a notch and The Flash usually pulls off nice twists when it happens. Henry Simmons is terrific at playing Mack and I'm glad he's on Agents of SHIELD.

Arrow added some new layers to relationships and it was cool to see a Flash villain show up in Star City. I kind of liked having Felicity save the day and Curtis was a total riot in the Arrow cave / bunker. I love his character so much.

Legends of Tomorrow surprised me with revealing how Mick survived his encounter with Snart. Very cool to see Sara back in Nanda Parbot and being introduced to Talia. I loved the little seeds / references to Nyssa, too.

I checked into The Magicians and love the kind of twisty things they're doing with the relationships there. Bitten also had a great episode, but I'm truly sad another pack member met his end. I'm very ready for Elena and company to kick ass and end the menacing presence in their lives.

I'll be catching up with Wynonna Earp and Banshee sometime today. Will probably be adding little bits to next week's post on both.

And that's it for television this week.

Tonight's post is from Loss, a novella built around how my main characters handle the loss of their mentor. And how they find their way back to each other… if they can.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Welsh Hollingsworth is the golden child of Clan Grimstone, but when he's expected to fill the void left when his dad dies, he can't quite figure out how and he hopes Cagney Gaines can help him find some insight. Cagney can't deal with the loss of her mentor, the one constant in her chaotic world and she leaves when Welsh needs her the most. One year later, she returns to find a very different Welsh—one who doesn't welcome her with open arms.

And a preview snippet…

Cagney quietly made her way to the grotto. She'd snuck inside the compound, through the small fissure she and Welsh created when they were teenagers. How many times had they busted curfew using their secret passage? More than she could count.

She entered the small alcove and stopped; glad she'd used a dampening spell to silence her footfalls. Welsh stood at the altar, facing the double urns forged from pewter, holding the ashes of his ancestors. She approached from behind, but left plenty of space between them. No way would she intrude on his moment of remembrance.

Cagney tried to think of something to say, but being home, seeing Welsh, knowing the huge hole she'd left behind and the damage it probably caused had too many emotions clogging her throat. She couldn't speak so she remained quiet.

Welsh didn't turn around, but he broke the silence. "Thanks for coming, Cagney."

She didn't question how he knew. She'd never be able to explain the almost unbreakable connection they had, the deep awareness of each other when in close proximity. Even after being gone for months, he'd sensed her presence. She'd been so caught up in grief and guilt she closed herself off from sensory instincts. If she hadn't, she would've waited and not intruded on Welsh's time in the grotto.

Geez, they had so much left unsaid between them.

Welsh finally turned and met her gaze, held it a long moment, then stepped back. "I'll leave you to have a moment."

Cagney nodded thanks. She wanted, needed, to apologize to Wallace for leaving when she did. But she also owed Welsh the biggest act of contrition. She'd left him when he needed her the most.

He got about ten steps away from the exit when Cagney turned. "Welsh." Her voice got stuck, no words would come.

Her heart ached with the loss. Her eyes watered with grief and the need for forgiveness. Welsh took a step forward and Cagney ran to him, wrapping herself in his embrace.

She put her head over his heart and whispered. "I'm so sorry, Welsh. For everything."

Cagney's home but there's a lot she has to make up for. Welsh doesn't plan to make it easy on her.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye