by J. D. Faver
Welcome to
August, National Romance Awareness Month.
While I'm pleased
that this very hot month has been dedicated to Romance Awareness, I'm also shaking
my head. Do you know how HOT it is?
Romance equates
to warm embraces, skin contact and so much more that involves heat-producing
activities.
Whoever decided
that August was the month to be aware of romance was obviously not living in
southeast Texas
If a hopeful
Lothario brings chocolate, you better stow it in the fridge because, even as he
walks from his air-conditioned car to your air-conditioned door, the chocolate
will become a little ooky. Same goes for flowers. Better get those long-stemmed
beauties in a vase quick before they faint.
Just went outside
with my dog. We were both ready to come inside in a matter of minutes...maybe
it was seconds. Gah! C'mon September.
Sending you a
cool excerpt from my romantic thriller, ON ICE. Hope you enjoy it.
~J.D.
~*~
It snowed again that night. Rene
stared out the window at the powdery flakes falling to earth. The full moon
cast a silvery glow over the whiteness, contrasting against the dark of the
trees. She shivered, contemplating her aloneness. She thought about Brett’s
home, so snug and secure. What was he doing now? Was he staring out the window,
thinking of her? The lonely howl of a wolf broke the stillness of the night.
She pulled on her jacket and boots
and stepped quietly onto the porch. The crisp, cold night air tingled against
her cheeks. The wolf howled again. Rene crunched out into the snow, taking in
great lungfuls of the chilled air. It only hurt a little now. Throwing her head
back, Rene answered the wolf, howling mournfully. The sound resonated, creating
a hollowness when it died away. The eerie silence was broken when the wolf
howled its reply.
“Mom?” Seth held Sara’s mittened
hand as they watched her from the porch. They wore warm down-filled jackets,
their breath sending cartoon-like balloon shapes from their mouths. “Are you
okay?”
“I’m fine. I was just keeping the
wolf company.”
“The wolf?” he asked.
As if on cue, the wolf’s howl cut
into the icy night.
“The wolf.” Rene held her arms out
to the children. They ran to her, still holding hands. She embraced them, and
then holding their hands, danced them around in circles. As she danced, Rene
howled to the wolf. Sara threw back her head and let out a shrill, wolf-like
howl. Seth and the wolf joined in.
“Let’s go in,” Rene said. “It’s
cold and we have to get up early tomorrow.”
Rene slept well, but dreamed a
strange jumble of dreams. She was dancing in the moonlight. First, she danced
with the children, then with Brett. Then it was Mark. She ran as Mark changed
into the wolf and chased her. She stopped and turned on her pursuer. Rene
became the bear. Rearing up on her haunches, she growled and slashed her
powerful claws at him. Waking suddenly, she lay in the dark listening to her
heart thudding against her ribs. She smiled in the darkness, feeling powerful
and secure.
~*~
ON ICE is
currently available on Amazon:
