Rainbow Snippets*-- Let It Snow

It snowed this week. Again. It's the second we've had this winter with measurable accumulation and probably more than we had all last winter. It doesn't bode well for the next few months. I used to like snow and the cold, but I was younger then and it didn't feel like such a hassle getting where I had to go, nor did the cold hurt as much! It was pretty, though, as it came down and settled on the trees.

(my evening walk home from work, hence the dimness)

I like the silence that comes with snow, the way it seems to insolate and soundproof the world, and how it sparkles when the sun comes out. And the crunch when I walk on it. And the way it makes it feel more like Christmas. Which is why I have a snow scene in Cut Shot. And in honor of this week's smattering of white, I'm dedicating this week's snippet to Winter Wonderlands everywhere.

This week's snippet from Chapter 20:

             Relief shook him when he sighted the car parked in the driveway. There had been the smallest of fears that Ian would come to his senses and drive the opposite direction as he finally realized Jed wasn’t worth his time. He sat there with his truck running, listening to a Matchbox 20 song playing on the radio, suddenly nervous. His life was about to change; the past Jed was gone, but he couldn't picture the future Jed. There was a certain disconnection, sitting with the music and the heat and the vibrations from the motor, all while the snow swirled thicker, blurring the landscape until he could barely see the house.

Jed could easily be in a time capsule, floating in an etherness where time stopped and the world fell away. His breath quickened and his fingers tingled as his face went numb. It had been a long time since his last panic attack, but his fear held the same sharpness as it had fifteen years ago as he struggled to breathe. His dad’s voice echoed through time, calming him. Pa hadn't known what sent Jed into a series of spirals back then, but he knew his son was faltering. “Jed,” he said, “shit happens. Move on.” Okay, the old man wasn’t always the most eloquent, but the actual words weren’t important, it was the compassion behind them. And he’d helped him move on by encouraging and loving him.

And with that memory, Jed took a deep breath as he shut off the engine and opened the door, plunging himself into the quiet and the cold.

*Rainbow Snippets is a (Facebook) group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation. If you're interested in following a diverse group of authors, check it out here.