Sample Sunday - DNA

Amoy sat on the mattress facing him. When she didn't do anything but stare, Russ met her gaze. “What do you want from me, Amoy?”

The hurt in her eyes wrung his gut, but what did she expect? The hair covering her forehead fell into her eyes. They were red and watery as if she'd been crying.

Right now, he didn't give a damn. She deserved a taste of what he'd gone through since he found out how she'd duped him.

She sniffed and pressed the corners of her eyes, then cleared her throat. “We need to talk.”

“You keep saying that, but nothing you tell me is going to make a difference.”

Amoy folded her arms and lifted her chin. “So you're condemning me without even trying to find out what happened.”

“We both know what happened.” His dull response turned nasty along with his thoughts. “You tricked me.”

“For heaven's sake, Russ, can you stop playing the victim long enough to listen to me?”

His voice was louder than intended when he answered, “You don't get to talk to me like that.”

Amoy glared at him. “And you don't get to write me off without giving me a chance to—”

“A chance to do what, Amoy? Justify cheating me? Making yourself feel better about what you've done?”

Her skin was pale and her full lips drooped as if it was the end of the world. In a sense it was. Nothing would be the same for him.

Pre-order your copy of DNA at lrd.to/DNAvav

Sample Sunday ... Retribution

Today's #SampleSunday snippet comes from an oldie, but goodie - Retribution. It's a story about a woman who ... I think you better read the excerpt to find out what she did.

The customers in the coffee bar went still. The only sound relieving the lull was the cash register’s chatter. Head lowered, Justine picked at something in her lap. Another moment passed before the other customers forgot them and restarted their conversation.

Xavier didn’t give a shit. He suspected Justine was blinking back tears, but reminded himself to stay focused. Remember what she did to you.

“I want to see my son. I want to talk to him. I need to spend time with him.”

She grabbed his wrist, squeezing hard. Tears hung on her lashes. “I…don’t do this. Please…I…”

He removed his hand from her grip, ignoring the heat seeping into his face. He didn’t need to be reminded of what her touch did to him. “I don’t care how you explain this to your husband. You figure it out.”

“But Milton is…” She sighed. “Why d’you want to do this. Why can’t we just keep things the way they are now? Why d’you have to stir things up?”

A bark of laughter escaped him. Had she lost her mind? “We’re not talking about a pet. This boy is my son, who you chose to hide to suit your purposes.” Reckless with frustration, Xavier spoke before he thought. “Milton obviously couldn’t give you a son, so you soothed his ego with mine.”

She choked on the insult, which in turn shamed him. He felt as if he’d kicked a puppy. He knew better than to say something like that, even if it was the truth. However, he refused to apologize. He didn’t owe her any kindness. If anything, she owed him a whole lot more than an apology.

Justine pulled her handbag off the back of the chair and dropped it in her lap, still glaring at him. “That’s not true!”

“Why else would you pass off my son as your husband’s child?”

“For a quiet and peaceful life!”

She dragged a handful of tissue out of the bag and blew her nose. With watery eyes, she studied him. He stared back at her, refusing to change course. He smiled, but the gesture had nothing to do with amusement. “Milton must be blind or stupid to believe that boy belongs to him. So much for your quiet and peaceful life.”

She hunched over the table, but he continued to punish her.

“Maybe it suits you to think Milton is a fool, like the fool you took me for, but he probably knows what you did. You just refuse to acknowledge that he knows.”

She blew into the tissue again and shoved the wadded paper into her handbag. “There’s no need for you to act like this.”

His forehead throbbed and he struggled not to smash his fists on the table. When he was sure the top of his head hadn’t exploded, Xavier spoke again. “Woman, don’t force me to be rude to you. All I’m prepared to do is give you time to think about how you’re going to arrange for me to meet my son.”

Want to know more? Go to lrd.to/retribution 

Sunday Sample ... The Hole-in-One

Here's a sample of what I've started working on. 

While my friends argued back and forth, my mind sank back into the mire of my discontentment. I didn’t stay there because Brianna squirmed on my lap and sat up rubbing her eyes. She was my pride and joy; the best thing to come out of my relationship with Bryan.

Now eight months old, Brianna was a sweet combination of her father and me. She smiled, showing me four teeth which had made her miserable over the last few weeks. Holding up both hands, she reached for her father who sprawled behind me. I picked her up, shifted to one side, and dropped her on his lap. She held on to his shirt and pulled herself up to stand.

While she gurgled at him, Bryan spoke back to her, protecting her with his hands at her back. The loving light in his eyes and the tenderness on his face reminded me of all the reasons I loved him, but my feelings were no longer enough. Matter of fact, they had led me astray and here I was, stuck in Nowhereville.

His gaze lifted from Brianna and he looked sideways at me. He cocked one eyebrow as if he was curious.

I realized then than I was frowning. My attention went to the television when Garth yelled at the footballers onscreen and his fiancée, Anna-Lise rolled her eyes. They were getting married in August, which was another reason for me to be annoyed with Bryan.

It wasn’t my intention to force him into anything, but I didn’t understand how he could be so clueless, unless he didn’t think I was the one. I sighed, watching him playing with Brianna. My mind was dragging me all over the place, which wasn’t a good thing.

Bryan and I loved each other. We both knew that. Maybe I needed to reopen the discussion about where we were going with our relationship when the time was right. Stewing over it wasn’t doing anything other than putting me in a sour mood, and that had been the case for a while now.

“What about this pineapple-upside-down cake you promised us?” Vance asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“You don’t miss a catch, do you?” My waspish tone shamed me and I covered my gaffe with some humor. “I don’t know where you put all this food you consume since you’re still the same size you were fifteen years ago.”

“You can eat the way I do when you’ve got good genes.” Vance grinned at me from the love seat.

Suddenly, I was overly conscious of the weight I’d gained since I had the baby. I looked the same, except for the extra flesh around my hips and thighs. Bryan didn’t mind, but it bothered me. I ran my hands over my hips and backed away. “Give me a few.”

We’d invited the gang over to our house after work for one of our usual Friday get-togethers. They kept me sane and our gathering was something to look forward to after being home with Brianna all week.