New words! I’ve manage at least some every day. Today’s snippet originated from 250 words based on the #ThursdayThreads prompt of **”What did you say?”** As the following shows, hearing and listening can be two totally different animals. Good news! I am getting ever closer to typing THE END on CROSSFIRE. True story. The mark of a newbie writer is actually submitting a manuscript with “The End” typed in at the end. Or, if they came from a journalistic background the every useful -30-, which was (no clue if still in use) the clue to the editor that your story was complete. Anyway, one of the first writing conferences I attended, an editor and an agent in one of the classes BOTH said, do not do this! So now, I metaphorically type it when I’m done with the first draft because we all know that the dang book is NEVER completely done. 😉 Anyway, the snippet is toward the end of the book and not exactly a spoiler–not if you’ve read any of my books. LOLOL
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Kin stared for a stunned moment. “What did you say?”

Glowering, Meg said, “You heard me.” She so was not in the mood for whatever bug he had all up in his brain. That said, he did look perplexed by her statement.

He continued staring at her before saying in a very deliberate voice, “Aye, lass, I heard you but I’m not listening to a word of it.”

And didn’t that just get her back up. Who did he think he was? “Oh? Really? So what I say isn’t important?”

“Now you’re not listenin’ t’ me.”

Her face acquired a pinched look that almost made him laugh. Being a smart Wolf, he refrained from teasing his mate at this particular moment. “Answer me this then. Why are ya goin’ t’Scotland?”

“To see my dad and assure him I’m fine.”

“Ya’ve talked t’him on the phone and done the zoomie thing on the computer. He knows yer fine.”

“Chatting on the computer is not the same as being face-to-face in person. He’ll want to see for himself.”

Since the Major-general was human, that was probably true. Still…he had questions. “And why would ya be stayin’ there?”

She noticed his accent was getting thicker. She’d learned that could mean a number of things—that he was angry, worried, amused, or afraid he was losing an argument. Admittedly, it currently could be any one of those things. Or all of them. She rolled her lips between her teeth and pressed them together, closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply—all actions designed to settle herself.

Schooling her voice to a high degree of patience, she explained. “I no longer have a place in the US. I gave up my apartment and put all my stuff in storage before I left for Ukraine. I am not going to my mother’s house in Beverly Hills. Until I find a job and get some funds, I can live at Dad’s place in Edinburgh.”

“Ya can, can ya? And it never occurred to ya that you’d be comin’ home with me?”

She blinked at his tone of voice—quiet, gruff, and with a hint of menace. “Come home with you?”

“Aye, Meg, with me.”

“Why?”

As she looked genuinely confused, he threw up his hands in frustration. “Because yer m’mate and mates live t’gether. Yeah?”

She blinked rapidly and a part of his brain wondered if that was some sort of feminine Morse code. He made a mental note to ask Duke.

Her mouth curved into a perfect circle and one word came out in breathy acknowledgment.

“Oh.” That quick, all was right in her world. She stepped toward him and he immediately enfolded her into his arms. “Home,” she murmured against his chest.

“Aye, lass. Home.”
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There you have it. Now I’m off to add more words! Question of the day: are men and women really from different planets when it comes to communication?