CountryCore Series: Her Lady of the Lake (WLW)

First Impressions

!!!My novels are completely off-limits to any adaptations and if plagiarized, you will be reported!!!

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Trinity awoke to the sounds of a puppy barking from far beyond her set of garage doors, still lazily slouched over her workbench having evidently fallen asleep here the night prior. She jolted and felt stiff from the waist up as she slowly sat up straight. Her back cracked and she reprimanded herself for falling asleep in her workshop for yet another night. It was always like this when she had a project that stole all her energy, leaving her a heaping mess on either her work bench, or the stairs opposite the garage doors that was entirely too inviting more late evenings than she would care to admit.

No more means no more, idiot... Trinity reminded herself yet again that her body was going to age faster than she ever imagined the more often she slumbered over her workbench. Still, she usually did it at least three nights a week no matter her internal reprimanding. One of the perks of working with her grandfather all those years was that he always woke her up and managed to get her into her own bed. She was dead weight when even half asleep and felt even more astonished her grandfather continued it so late in life, but warmed at the memory. That heat was replaced with a coolness like no other when she recalled her current circumstances and she dropped the slight smile she'd achieved.

For the last four years, Trinity woke up too many mornings to count draped over the table or the stairs and being saddled with soreness along her chest, back and neck, but always alone. Her grandfather would never wake her again and most mornings it was easy, yet others like the one she found herself within were a different story altogether.

She groaned as she lifted her head a bit further and her neck answered her with several loud, resounding cracks. Yer goin' to catch yer death out 'ere, girly. She heard her grandfather's voice scolding her with that country lilt he always bore so well. He hadn't ever waited for a reply. Trinity instead just sent him a scowl which was always enough to convey she wasn't moving anywhere by herself any time soon, enjoying the tenderness of having him tuck her in most nights. He was a man of few words and wasn't one to push her to talk either...unlike so many others.

Trinity yawned and smiled at what her grandfather would say to that, but her grin fell upon hearing more annoying puppy yelps. She listened to the echoes, releasing a sigh in irritation as she ruffled her shoulder length, dirty blonde hair. Curious as to what had the mutt barking so loudly first thing in the morning, Trinity lethargically got up and glanced at the neighboring property to find someone moving into the quaint cottage.

Well, she could see men and women taking things into the house from a moving van, but her gaze drifted toward a woman giggling as a playful pup jumped up and down in front of her. The woman bent down and felt along the pavement for the ball leaving Trinity quite puzzled, then tossed it and the pup ran in its direction. She couldn't see much more than that and didn't care to keep watching. More people meant more distractions. More unnecessary and chaotic noise.

She didn't move here for that.

She moved to Athens for some peace and quiet and it'd been years since anyone had lived in the area aside from herself and the author down the street. Trinity chuckled as she thought of their little lesbian street and peeked at the all too chipper woman at the neighboring cottage once more. She was definitely straight. She'd be a hundred footer if there were such a thing in hetero terms, which meant that the lesbian author down the street and Trinity herself were no longer alone in the rather deserted street in the backwoods of Athens, Texas. Not that there were many LGBT-esque streets there anyways. At least not those that were highly populated with the LGBT community. Still, this woman probably brought more family and friends with her that would soon take over the serenity her little street once held.