Thank you for stopping by to check out my snippet from Passages, my science fiction romance…which may need a genre label shift. SF also stands for ‘speculative fiction,’ right? Seems my novel might fall into the ‘science fantasy’ genre. Still looking into it.
Anyhow, here we go: Quinn has never experienced small town life before, and now that he’s in hiding, it’s all he’s got.
I shot a glance at the blond girl slipping into her coat. Eyes closed, Eve rhythmically lifted the steaming cup to her lips. I sidled next to her and whispered, “She can’t tell anyone I’m here.”
Eve rolled her eyes. “Mylta, what’s the news this morning?” She raised the cup to her lips again.
“Winds gusting at a steady thirty with the moons tracking each other, so DeLentes should be within the day. The first kidding occurred last night at my brother’s, twin whites. They’re pleased,” she said with a grin.
“Goats,” Eve filled in.
Mylta continued, “The trade ship supplies arrived short on coffee—”
Evard groaned. “It’s that bloody under-planting policy they’re implementing.”
“—but I have secured your portion and Malk assures me the ship will return in three weeks rather than the usual two.”
The local gossip was too tedious for my liking. I caught Eve’s eye. She took another sip of coffee before asking, “Anything else, Mylta?”
“Yes, the last concerns a stranger in town. Two boys saw the scruffy young man with dark curly hair stow away in one of the lifeboats on the trade ship. Appears he arrived and left the same day. Alone, everyone agrees. Will that be all, Miss?”
“Yes. Be sure to stock in extra for our guests.”
Mylta left and Eve shrugged in answer to my raised brow. “You were never here.” She took a long draught of coffee.
“Still aren’t,” laughed Evard.
I rounded on him. “You—you arranged this while we were gone. But you can’t get an entire town to lie.”
“Care to place a bet on that?” He plopped into his chair, ripped a muffin in half and dunked one side into his coffee. Eating it, he eyed Eve. She studied him, the coffee finally forgotten as she chewed her lip. This explanation was going to be good.
We’ve got more SFR at #sfrpb or the website. Thanks for reading!
A lack of coffee is bound to up the tension (or at least the jumpiness!) of the story.
Yes, coffee seems to come in handy for that, something everyone can relate to. LOL!
First time in a small town? I love reading about that. I’m a small town girl and it’s always funny to watch big-city types struggle to figure out what’s going on.
One of my favorite shows was The Gilmore Girls. I love the idea of everyone knowing everyone and being in their business.