T. A. Chase

Wednesday Work in Progress…

Today I thought I’d give you a sneak peek at one of the many books I’m working on right now. lol. This one is called Always Ready, which happens to be the motto of the Coast Guard. My characters are Chief Petty Officer Dean “Jake” Jacobson and Phil “Rhody” Rhodes.  As you can tell, Dean is in the Coast Guard. He works as a rescue swimmer stationed at the Kodiak Island base in Alaska. Phil is a Bering Sea crab fisherman.

I’ve been wanting to write a story about a rescue swimmer and a story about a crab fisherman (since one of my favorite shows is Deadliest Catch…which I now get to watch for research purposes…woo-hoo!)  I thought why not combine the two of them. 🙂

So here you go:

Always Ready copyright 2013 T.A. Chase

Excerpt:

The din of voices hit Dean like a physical blow as he pulled open the door to Darwin’s Theory, then walked in. He knew Phil would be waiting for him, but in the crowd of people, it was going to be hard to find him. Tonight was their last night together for a good long while.

Dean was a Coast Guard rescue swimmer stationed at Kodiak Base on Kodiak Island, and he had gotten a weekend pass to come to Anchorage. When he found out he’d gotten it, he called Phil to make sure his lover would be able to meet him.

Opilio season was about to open, and Phil had been up in Dutch Harbor, getting the boat he worked on ready for the season. Phil was a third generation crab fisherman, and it wasn’t easy for him to get away before a season started.

Yet he was able to do so, and now they had two nights together before Phil goes out on the Bering Sea to fill his quota, and make his money.

Dean jumped when someone pinched his ass. Turning, he hoped it wasn’t a woman who did it. He didn’t feel like dealing with tears or an indigent female wondering why he didn’t find her attractive. Hell, he hadn’t found any woman beautiful-except his mother-since he was young. He was gay through and through.

“I’ve been sitting here for over an hour, checking out the asses walking in and out of the bar. I have to admit you have go the best behind I’ve seen in a long time.” The voice in his ear caused him to relax, even as he turned.

“Do you also pinch everyone’s ass?” Dean grinned at Phil, though he kept his voice low to keep anyone from overhearing.

“Only the good looking ones.” Phil winked, then gestured towards a table further back in the bar.

Dean followed Phil, letting his gaze drift down Phil’s back to where the man’s ass was enticingly displayed by a pair of worn thin tight jeans. His lover would never wear those in Dutch or on the boat, but being in the city loosened some constraints for them both.

After flagging down a waitress, he asked for a beer and a shot of whisky.  She gave him a weary nod before rushing off to fill her orders. Phil took a seat in the corner, and Dean sat as close to him as he could without drawing attention to them. He slid his hand onto Phil’s knee under the table.

“Have a good trip in?” Phil inquires before taking a drink of his beer.

Dean nodded. “Yeah. LT came in with me to meet up with his girl before she heads out to visit her parents or something like that.”

“Cool. I came in on my own. Caught a flight out of Dutch early this morning. Checked in the hotel, then did some shopping for supplies. Season opens next week, and we have to be ready.” Phil’s blue eyes danced with desire and happiness.

“I missed you,” Dean softly blurted out, wincing when he heard those words spill out of his mouth.

Phil reached under the table to cover Dean’s hand, then squeezed it. “I missed you too. It’s been too long.”

It had been two months since they’d been able to spend time together. They’d chatted over Skype, emailed and text every day between opportunities, but it wasn’t the same as seeing Phil face-to-face and being able to hold him in his arms.

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013, by and is filed under "Always Ready, Excerpts, Wednesday WiPs, writing ". You can leave a response here, or send a Trackback from your own site.