This week on Romance Writers Weekly, Fiona Riplee wants a 250 flash fiction story about a lost love that includes the words hammer, chisel and coping saw. Hope you’ve visited Veronica Forand’s blog.

First a little set up. This winter, I really got into the pirate show on Starz, Black Sails, and have been itching to write something about a hot scalawag like Charles Vane. Since a lot of my stories take place on the Outer Banks and the notorious pirate, Black Beard, aka Edward Teach, had a home base there in a small cove now known as Teach’s Hole, I’m using the place as a setting for this week’s flash fiction. The characters are shifters from my novella White Doe. Now for the flash:

Jim ran his gloved hand over the sandy ocean floor of the cove named Teach’s Hole. A flash of metal caught his attention. Bubbles streamed around scuba mask as excitement built. Treasure. He could use a bit of luck.

He’d merely been coping after losing Julianna, his life mate. Stupid hunter didn’t think anything of shooting a wolf. Jim chiseled open the bastard’s neck with his own fangs in revenge. His fellow shifter and friend, Shane was there in minutes, with his wife, but not even Cheyenne’s healing blood could save Julianna.

Jim shook the sand scoop and a ring of gold with an unusual green stone shimmered.

Later, that evening he sat on the beach by the bonfire with Shane and Cheyenne. He loved them to death, but their closeness only kept his loss as fresh as an open wound. Taking the ring from his pocket he surveyed the engraving on the band.

“What does it say?” Cheyenne rose from Shane’s lap to have a look.

“Tempus Viator.”

“Tempus is Latin for time.” Shane came over.

“Time for a big pay out.” Jim shoved the ring on his index finger. The green stone glowed. Electricity shot through his body. His heart hammered in his chest. He sawed in quick breaths as he was sucked into a vortex of blackness. In a distant voice, Cheyenne screamed.

A velvety voice pulled him from the abyss.

“Julianna?” Why she’d wear a voluminous long skirt and have a sword strapped to her hip?

Thank you Fiona! I’d been trying to come up with a sequel for White Doe using the hero’s buddy Jim, but couldn’t figure out how to pull it off. This little flash fiction time travel piece revealed it all to me! Whoo Hoo! Now, I must find time to write it! Brenda Margriet is next on the hop. Let’s see how she uses these interesting words, especially coping saw.