Sunday Snippet: A Spellbound Yule (Holiday Spirit short)

Whew. What a long week. I've got three work projects going and some movement on my possible new venture. And crazy weather that keeps hopping back and forth from super cold to very mild. I'm not a fan.

Had a somewhat decent week of television. I'm not back to my normal schedule because my work projects need solid focus. But … I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things.

I finished up the Midsomer Murders I started last week and really enjoyed the episode. I have a lot of love for Barnaby and Winters.

I caught an episode of Peak Practice. I'm in season nine and what I consider the home stretch since there are three seasons left after this one. Not a bad episode but I do miss some of the recurring characters from earlier seasons.

Continued my Battlestar Galactica rewatch with my friend. Season one starts with what I consider to be one of the absolute best hours of scripted television ever. "33" is in my top ten episodes of Battlestar and probably in my top ten episodes of television. Edge of your seat viewing for the entire episode. Terrific stuff.

Watched an episode of Classic Who and finished out the arc. I have ten episodes left to finish out the full run of classic episodes. I think I'll be starting a Death in Paradise run after I conclude with Classic Who.

Started the first of the final two episodes in season twenty of Silent Witness. I'm looking forward to finishing it up and seeing where things go.

That's pretty much it for television this week. Tonight's post is from A Spellbound Yule, a Holiday Spirit short featuring a witch and a warlock that need to settle a dispute.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Holiday spirit, Bertram Goldwreath, has to bring Oakley Oliver, a witch and Calder Conrad, a warlock together over the Yule holiday so they can settle a territorial dispute. Oakley is looking forward to a quiet getaway at a bed and breakfast … until Calder invades her interlude and sparks fly.

And a preview snippet…

Oakley arrived through the veil to spot a man coming in from the other direction. "Damn, so much for alone time." She put a brave smile on display when they reached the porch of the large manor house at the same time.

Quite a handsome specimen. If she had to share her alone time, he'd at least be pretty eye candy. And with snow coming down, there might not be much else to do.

She lifted her chin. "Um, happy almost Yule." She could start off on a good note.

He paused then nodded. "Happy Yule." His booted foot shuffled a swath of powdery white flakes in front of him.

By mutual silent agreement, they stepped up onto the porch to get out of the falling precipitation. The man gave her a slow once-over and she preened … just a little. How long had it been? Maybe alone time could turn into slaking a thirst with a very hot guy. Happy Yule to me.

Then he introduced himself. "Calder Conrad." He dropped his duffel onto the floorboards.

Oakley groaned. "Dammit. So much for that happy daydream." The warlock … here? Argh.

He frowned. "I'm sorry, what daydream?" One eyebrow arched.

She sighed. "Never mind. I'm Oakley Oliver." Might as well get everything on the table.

He blinked, his mouth dropping open a little. "Really? I thought you'd be much older." His brows furrowed.

Oakley hid her surprise. "Sorry to disappoint." Why would he think she'd be an older woman? He couldn't be more than a year or two older than her and he led the warden.

He shook his head. "You're really the new coven leader I've been trying to meet with?"

Oakley jerked her head upward. "I am." And she'd been avoiding seeing him face-to-face—okay, not quite true—she'd been told not to respond to his demands.

Calder huffed out a breath. "First, I'm not disappointed. I mean, you're gorgeous. But I am shocked … as you can probably tell." He paused a moment. "How did you become so disagreeable at such a young age?"

Oakley's mouth fell open. "I'm disagreeable? Who sends multiple nastygrams on a daily basis?" And at the most inconvenient times?

Calder made a confused sound. "Nastygrams?"

Oakley shrugged. "What else would you call them?" Even if they came like clockwork, which they didn't, the implied tone reeked of mean-spiritedness.

Calder grunted. "Fair point." He rolled a shoulder. "But I'm at the end of my rope. Is there a reason we can't come to an agreement?" He paused and took a breath. "After months of non-negotiation?"

Guilt flooded her and Oakley closed her eyes, almost caving in to the desire to shout in frustration because she hated being in the middle of opposing forces. But she didn't give in. Instead, she shivered.

Meeting his gaze, she grabbed her bag. "Can we get out of the cold?" She didn't wait for an answer.

She pushed the door open, stepped inside, and shopped short. "Wow." An overload of festivity met her eyesight.

A hard thump against her back sent her forward again, her gaze struggling to soak everything in. Decorations covered every available surface. Nothing garish or over the top, but literally understated elegance oozed from floor to ceiling.

Calder let out a low whistle. "Holy crap. Talk about decking the halls."

She laughed. She couldn't help it. But how could she possibly like this guy?

I love writing the holiday spirit shorts and having fun with bringing two characters together.

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye