Sunday Snippet: A Spellbound Yule (a Holiday Spirit short)

Another long week and part of it has been spent wondering exactly how many US senators are still with us. One passed last night and another appears to be not recovering. I've been alive long enough to acknowledge how bananapants it is that we don't know for sure. I mean, when an elected official can take four months off and still get paid by taxpayers, not explain what's going on, or be seen in public, there's something wrong. The FMLA allows for twelve weeks without a threat to employment. Sixteen weeks is not cool. Just saying.

Weather cooled down enough to not be miserable. I have to make space in my garage for some things my daughter needs to have stored, and it's been cool enough at night that I can make headway. We were supposed to have rain most of the week and didn't get as much as predicted.

Work continued to be steady. I'm moving along on two ongoing projects, and I finished up a proofread and started a new copy edit. Also touched a back burner project and hope to dive in a little more this week. Writing is also going well right now and I'm happy about that.

Had a fairly decent viewing week. I made it through my usual list of shows and also did a binge marathon of Death in Paradise on Ovation.

Started out with a bonus episode of Foyle's War with the writer and creator along with the show's historian. Very interesting conversation.

Caught another episode of Tales of Irish Castles and moved into a more modern age. I think I have one episode left and have to say I've enjoyed this series.

Watched a new episode of Death in Paradise. Gotta say, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Mervin interact with his brother and loved how everyone, including Catherine, came together to find Mervin. Seeing the punk-ass faux commissioner again kind of put the icing on the cake, even if he's still a punk-ass policeman now.

Enjoyed another episode of Poirot. The later movies are fun to watch but I do miss Hastings and Miss Lemon. And, of course, Japp. But it's also entertaining to dive into mysteries that have an intriguing premise.

Elementary had a great episode. Loved seeing Marcus put everything together with his girlfriend's ex. Really hated the ending though. I have a feeling all will not be as it seems.

Watched an episode of Young Justice and kind of liked seeing Connor and Megan in their regular joe roles. Also rather enjoyed Red Arrow asking Aqua Lad for help. And it looks like the overall mystery is starting to fall into place, with the behind the scenes machinations being revealed.

Also caught another episode of Star Trek Lower Decks. Really loved seeing a different vibe with Rutherford and Mariner teaming up and Boimler and Tendi being together.

That's it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Spellbound Yule, a holiday spirit sexy short featuring a witch and a warlock.

Here's the miniblurb:

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…

Calder woke up alone, but Oakley's side of the bed showed the signs of their night.

He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the mattress. "Wonder if I can talk her into more?" Heading for the bath, he cast a spell for his toothbrush and quickly cleaned his teeth then put a pair of loose pajama bottoms on.

Calder went down the stairs to find Oakley in the kitchen, wearing a long T-shirt, pensive and withdrawn. The sight kicked him hard. He didn't want her to be under strain any more than he wanted to be there either. After meeting her and being with her, the whole land dispute paled to what he wanted from the future now.

He put his arms around her. "I must've failed on epic levels if you're not happy and sated this morning." He hadn't been this relaxed in a very long time.

She turned and met his gaze. "Trust me when I say you didn't fail. My mood has nothing to do with your skill in bed." Her lips curved slightly and she gave a little shiver.

He dropped a kiss on her nose. "The land dispute?" What else could she be thinking about.

She nodded.

He led her into the sitting room. "Come on, let's talk about it." He settled on the couch and pulled her down onto his lap.

She raked a hand through her hair and explained. "We've cultivated the acreage and have a good supply of herbs and other plants we use for our craft and income generation. Many of the coven members rely on what we grow."

He nodded. "I see the dilemma." He ran a hand over her thigh. "Now, here's ours. We have a distillery and it's finally in the black. But … we've run out of storage to keep the casks. We need to build a new warehouse, but if we want to keep making a profit, we have to put up a temporary facility to house the product until our new structure can be built." He shrugged. "The land would be the obvious solution." One the warden needed if they hoped to stay debt free.

Oakley reacted with a groan. "This is crazy. We're both going to lose big parts of our livelihoods because of this stupid clause." She got up and paced back and forth. "There has to be a way to come up with a solution." She turned and faced him.

Calder expressed his doubts. "It's been fifty years. Don't you think it's been attempted?"

Oakley snorted. "No. Because the previous coven leaders, including my grandmother, let the bitterness fester and weren't open to the possibility of renegotiation." She made a disgusted sound.

Calder couldn't let her take all the blame. "The warden wasn't either and I didn't do anything to help. Especially after making so many attempts to contact you." And, yeah, nastygrams kind of hit the nail on the head.

Oakley met his gaze. "And now?" She moved to sit on the edge of the ottoman, her hands lightly resting on his knees.

Calder settled back against the cushions. "Now, I'm open to the idea of finding a mutual solution." He wanted to do whatever he could to make life good for the coven and the warden.

I love writing the holiday spirit shorts and pulling a couple together after they overcome an obstacle.

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye