Tuesday Tales: Writing Leaf

Welcome to Tuesday Tales, a weekly blog featuring diverse authors posting excerpts from their works in progress based on word and picture prompts. We’re a book hungry bunch that enjoys reading as much as you do. This week’s word prompt is leaf. My snippet is from a paranormal fantasy in which a goddess occasionally inhabits the body of an archaeological assistant. Enjoy the other authors at Tuesday Tales.

He ushered her in. The faint smell of sandalwood tantalized her nostrils. “Get settled on the couch, beautiful. I’ll take out the recycling and then open a bottle of that Blush you like.”

She smiled and did her best to give the impression that wine with Zeth would solve all her problems, and the world’s. “I’ll be waiting.”

As the door closed, her toe brushed against something under the couch. Shoving her shoulder bag out of the way, she bent down and yanked. Her heart set up a thud fest. Simon’s satchel. The one he’d had that night.

Voices sounded, Zeth’s and Esther’s, and trailed off, fainter. Maybe he was helping with her recycling, too.

On her knees, she tore open the zipper. Not much in here. Gym clothes, a couple of books. She patted the inside of the bag. Something hard was entwined in Simon’s pullover. She bit her lip and glanced at the door. Unwinding the fabric disclosed a box. Her forehead scrunched. The blue green stone embedded in the center tugged a memory. Where had she seen that recently?  The lid creaked open to reveal a miniature book. It looked old and so very fine. She touched a finger to the buttery cover. The foreign lettering was embossed with gold. Gold leaf embellished the edges of the pages.

The voices came louder. She snapped shut the lid and thrust the book and box into her shoulder bag. At the same time, she toed the satchel back into its hiding spot. Footsteps sounded on the sidewalk.

She was lounging on the couch when the door opened, her bag pressed tightly to her side. “I thought I heard you talking to Esther. She didn’t want to pop in for a drink?”

With a satisfied shrug, he strode toward the bar sink. “That well versed lady understands the fine art of mathematics.”

She bit on a fingernail and tried to appear normal, as her brain scrambled to think of a reason to duck out. The book could provide clues about Simon’s whereabouts. “And what is the art of mathematics?” She was sure he was about to comment her on her tense demeanor or distracted tone.

Instead, he stood drying his hands and scorched her with his eyes. Her breath quickened. Something always seemed to pulsate between them. Why did he have to be a cad, or a criminal, or whatever he was?

He threw the towel onto the counter. “Esther knows two is the only prime number.”

I hope you enjoyed the snippet based on the word prompt leaf. Thanks for stopping by. Return to Tuesday Tales.

Cheers & Happy Reading!

Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic in Romance