Joining in the Round is a lighter, more personal story from my Restoration series. Since it takes place in part around the Winter Solstice, it’s my choice for this week’s snippet.
THE FARM DIDN’T LOOK its best in winter. The mountains were lost to sight, wrapped in dull, misty clouds, and the forest surrounding the pastures became a gloomy wall of bare black tree limbs and drooping wet evergreen boughs.
It was a dismal sight, but in Felicity’s opinion the warmth made up for the dreary view. The sky might be murky and the ground soggy, but the damp air felt positively balmy after the last few weeks of frigid Nebraska winds.
No tents huddled in the pastures for this revel. The weather was too unpredictable, and the attendance was low enough to house everyone in the lodge’s guest rooms and the twelve rustic cabins behind it. The creaking porch rockers held elders enjoying the fresh air and dogs who had been evicted from furniture indoors.
Felicity’s shouted greeting was met with a few desultory waves and a bark or two. She inhaled the heady scent of home, with its unique blend of greenery, drifting smoke and wet farm animals, and then she gave Carl a smile. “What do you think?”
Carl lifted each boot and lowered it in place, squishing mud into their clean treads. His bright blue winter coat was so new it still had creases, and it made a beautiful contrast with his hair, like sunshine and clear sky. He scowled at the lodge while he swung his weekend bag idly in one hand as if preparing to throw it at someone. Felicity cleared her throat. “Carl?”
He took a deep breath. “I’m too scared to think, and I hurt people when I feel vulnerable.”
“Not with me around, you won’t. I’ll slap you back fast if you cross the line from jerk to manipulator.” Wasn’t that the whole point of all the work we did, the last few weeks? “My brain is full of keywords and warning signs, remember?”
“There’s a fairly long stretch of spectrum between civilized behavior and slipping far enough into sociopathy to warrant a neurological ass-kicking.”
“Pulling out all the vocabulary stops and using expletives?” Felicity took his hand and gave his wrist a quick kiss. “You are fretting. Listen. Unless you get radically worked up, no one will even notice. Haven’t you paid any attention to my stories? This crowd thinks of barbed commentary and verbal beatings as casual conversation. Berating others is an art form.”
Carl exhaled on a chuckle. “This is a selling point?”
And yeah, if you like, you can buy it along with its partner novella Turning the Work in the edition titled Weaving in the Ends.
Handy link to my books: https://books2read.com/ap/xqvlwR/K-M-Herkes
