Greetings! We’re having a nip of winter down here in Florida, which can make Marigold, my sweet feline fur fae, a bit madcap. When this mood strikes, she does cat things. She might make a mad tear around the house, ruffle all the rugs, or find new forbidden objects to climb. Or all of those in sequence. Meanwhile, I’m huddled in sweaters, socks, blankets, and hats.
It’s time for Tuesday Tales, where authors write excerpts based on word or picture prompts. The word prompt this week is rock. This snippet is from an early section of my current Highlander Romance, before Lana makes her time switch. The title of the book has only changed a gazillion times so far. When done reading here, make sure to visit all the talented authors of Tuesday Tales.
The next morning Lana slowly came awake to the comforting sound of rolling waves. She yawned and rose to peek out the window blind. Sunlight dappled on the crests, turning the sea into a million shiny mirrors. Such a sight out Gran’s guest window always made her smile. They would be out and about today. She picked up her phone to check the weather and realized she hadn’t plugged it in last night before falling into bed. She took care of that, visited the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and donned a robe over her 8 Hours Till Coffee sleep tee. Sounds of Gran messing about in the kitchen and the aroma of fresh brew had her hurrying.
Gran held out a steaming mug. “Happy Birthday, Granddaughter.” Her dark blue eyes were a little too twinkly for nine in the morning. “I think you need this.”
Lana took the cup with a wry smile. “Thanks, Gran. Mmm, smells good.” Her usual stool at the breakfast counter faced out toward the gleaming waves.
A cheese Danish appeared next, piping hot from the microwave. Gran slid it toward her. “I know you don’t like a hubbub made out of your birthday. I thought we’d start out light this morning, have lunch wherever you want, and some surprises later on. What do you say?”
The word surprises put a knot in her stomach. To mark the day was important to Gran, though, and she didn’t want to dampen her enthusiasm. “Sounds good.”
Sitting cattycornered from Lana, Gran had a pastry, too, along with a coffee refill. A few moments of silence passed. Then Gran offered a bit of casual conversation. “Meet anybody interesting at Snack Jack’s last night?”
She wriggled on the stool. “Nah. Not so much.”
“I meant to ask, whatever happened to the young man you were dating up in Mallard?”
“It wasn’t serious. We kind of fell into our separate ways.”
Amusement trickled across Gran’s features. “No spark, eh?”
“No.” And how sad was it that she couldn’t have a spark with Mallard’s up and coming city councilman elect? “Not really.”
“How was the band last night?”
Wow, Gran was really persistent this morning. As busy and full of life as she always seemed, could she be lonely here on this pristine beach? Maybe Lana needed to call her more often, keep her up to date. “Lively.” Lana shrugged. “A little loud actually. I must be getting too old for rock.”
I hope you enjoyed the snippet based on the word prompt, rock. Thanks for stopping by. Check out the other authors at Tuesday Tales.
Cheers & Happy Reading!
Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic with Spirited Stories
All rights reserved, copyright @ 2022 Flossie Benton Rogers
Nice scene. No matter how old you get, it’s still nice to have someone fuss over how you came into the world. Well done.
So true, Susanne. Even curmudgeons like to be remembered, and Lana is not one of those.
Wonderful excerpt!
Thanks!
Great use of the word prompt! I love the relationship between the two of different generations and their affection and caring for each other. And, hmmm, cheese danish! Now I want one.
Thanks so much! I wouldn’t mind a cheese danish myself. As the parents always said in Time Goes By– rock on!