Patricia Hamilton Shook

Patricia Hamilton Shook

Let’s do one more Seeking Glory outtake

It’s been a long time since I last posted here. At the time winter seemed to be over, spring was just about to begin and we were on the cusp of the change from one season to the next. I intended to post again after that I really did but in April I became ill with the flu and pneumonia impacted by a whole laundry list of complications. I’m still recovering today and wanting to get back to writing! I never did get to enjoy spring or summer this year and now we are making that transition from one season to next yet again. Those brutally hot temperatures from the past summer have cooled down and despite lingering health problems it’s been nice to get outside and sit under trees still in full leaf.

In these waning days of summer I thought that I would share one last Seeking Glory outtake as I did in earlier posts. This one is reminiscient of the summer we just experienced in its timing and setting. Remember these outtakes did not make it into the book because it was thought they might be too revealing (are they? Read the book and decide for yourself). Again it is evident that someone is out there seeking Kate’s little granddaughter. That person is determined to find her and moving ever closer.

Seeking Glory Outtake 3

Palm trees waved serenely in the hot summer air high above the square, flat roofed stucco building, its paint worn and chipped, seemingly endless rows of windows marching across its face studded here and there with battered air conditioners.  A tiny grassy area fronting it had turned brown and withered in the relentless dry heat. While the street was largely empty of people, a steady stream of traffic headed up and down the street, leaving raucous music reverberating in its wake.  The strip mall on the other side of the road had a well-populated parking lot and a large number of customers hurrying in and out of the convenience store and the dollar mart. Alone at a table by the window of a small coffee shop sat a tall man dressed in a tee shirt and worn jeans, coffee and the remains of a bacon and eggs breakfast on the table in front of him.  His chin propped in his hand, he stared in frustration at the apartment building with its derelict air across the road, the fingers of his other hand lightly tapping the table’s cracked plastic surface.

“Will there be anything else?”

He glanced up at the slight young woman in her retro pink waitress uniform, smiling expectantly, his bill in her hand.  He pushed away the plate with a weary “No, I’m finished here” and watched as she put down the check in front of him and collected the dishes.  With the waitress gone, he sat back, unfolded the document he had removed from his tee shirt pocket and studied the address one more time before returning it to his pocket with a muttered curse. She was out there somewhere he reminded himself and he would find her soon enough.  He threw down a few bills onto the table and exited the glass door into summer’s brilliant sunlight, standing on the cement walk for minute or two before getting in his rental car and driving away.

Seeking Glory is very much a story set in the summer while my next book, Where Spirits Dwell, is set in the autumn. You may remember this from an earlier post (Summer is over now it’s Time for Autumn Festivals) where I provided a preview for Where Spirits Dwell. Now that I am feeling better I will need to get back to writing!

Here is a photo to get you in the mood for autumn with its rich harvest! Go apple picking, buy pumpkins, get some nuts for baking or snacking. Enjoy the season!

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