FATAL CODE The SNAP Agency Series Book Blog Tour
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FATAL CODE
Fatal Code
by
Natalie Walters
Click
to read Part 1 of the Deleted Scene
It’s never fun to have a scene/chapter cut but
sometimes it’s for the best. When my editor suggested cutting this scene, she
mentioned that while the personal information revealed is relevant to Elinor’s
character, it doesn’t truly move the story forward and could easily be
interspersed throughout the rest of the story. The best part about an
author/editor relationship is trusting one another enough to believe each is
working to make the story the best it can be and in this case, I trusted my
editor wholeheartedly and hit ‘delete.’ Here’s part two of what was cut:
Maple
Valley, Iowa
“We received a
call from one of our game managers.” Her mother slipped a pair of sunglasses
on, unbothered. “They found an elephant caught in a snare and one of our herds
is missing. We need to get back.”
Our herds.
Not for the first time in her life, jealousy flared over an African game
animal. “You’re flying back to Africa? When?”
“Our flight leaves
in four hours.” Her father checked his watch and searched among the vehicles
passing on 8th Street. “We’d love to stay longer but this is important. Our donors
are depending on us.”
Elinor’s throat
constricted with emotion. She was depending on them.
“Besides, it’s
only a day earlier than planned.” Elinor’s mom said. “We didn’t have any big
plans, right?”
No. They didn’t.
But this was the first time Elinor had seen her parents in person in a year.
When would the next time be? They’d only flown home because Gramps died. What
would bring them back now? She cleared her throat. “Do you have time for lunch?
We can grab something at the Red Door.”
“I wish we could
but—” Her mother slid out of her cardigan and folded it over her arm just as a
car pulled up. “We’ll call you when we get there and as soon as we take care of
things, maybe we can make plans to fly to D.C..”
Elinor steeled
herself not to grasp onto the hope of that happening. She’d been let down too
many times before. “That would be nice.”
Both parents
wrapped her in a hug that felt anything but comforting and she forced herself
to keep her emotion in check. She would not cry in front of them.
Her mother’s hand,
calloused with decades of living in the harsh African desert, lifted Elinor’s
chin so their eyes met. “It’ll be alright, Elinor.”
Another quick hug
and a kiss to her temple, her father helped her mom into the car with a final
wave before disappearing.
Anger threatened
to swallow her grief with a violent sob that Elinor quickly silenced with her
hand. Tears turned her vision glassy and embarrassment warmed her cheeks at the
emotional sight she must be standing in front of a church all by herself. If
she stood here too long someone would recognize her and it wouldn’t take long
for all of Maple Valley to know that her parents had left her—again.
Mayor Milt’s voice
echoed from the bandstand. Elinor’s first years living in Maple Valley were
tough. She’d heard the whispers going around town about her and her parents.
Why had they left her with Gramps? What was wrong with them? What was wrong
with her?
Elinor kept to
herself and rarely ventured out beyond going to school. It hadn’t taken her or
her grandfather long to learn their roles as a new, unconventional family.
She’d come home from school, help with chores around the house and work on
homework until Gramps came home to fix dinner. In the evenings, he would spend
hours telling her about his day at the university and what new, exciting theory
his students were testing.
As a little girl,
they fascinated her. Into her teenage years…his stories could hardly keep her
attention over cute boys, teenage drama, or the latest episode of One Tree
Hill or Gilmore Girls.
A
noise escaped her lips. How often had she imagined her life a mirror reflection
of Rory—the daughter forced to grow up before her time—or maybe it was Lorelai?
The daughter who couldn’t live up to her parent’s expectations until it drove
her away?
It was Maple
Valley instead of Stars Hollow and it was her grandfather instead of her
parents. At eighteen, when her parents missed her graduation, Elinor resolved
to keep her hope in check from that point on. No expectations meant not being
let down.
Gramps notebook in
her purse burned against her side. He used to remind her that our expectations
laid at the feet of humans leaves us at great risk of disappointment, but
expectations laid at the foot of the cross put us in position to see the
fullness of God’s love for us.
Elinor tried to
cling to Gramps wisdom and his faith. She carried it with her when she went off
to college in Georgia and then to D.C. when she moved there for work but over
the last several years Gramps voice had quieted until the dementia all but
silenced him completely.
Her insides
squeezed, pushing a painful lump into her throat. She clutched the photo in her
hand, wanting more than anything to hear him remind her that she was going to
be okay—that she wasn’t completely alone.
A little sparrow
landed on the sidewalk a few feet from her, hopping on the ground for a bit
before taking off. She followed its flight across the sky, breathing in deeply.
That was just for me, huh, Gramps?
Wiping beneath her
eyes, Elinor started for her rental car. Humming, as the words of the familiar
hymn Gramps would sing to her echoed in her mind.
“Why should my
heart be lonely…when Jesus is my portion…his eye is on the sparrow…and I know
he watches over me.”
Elinor would keep
repeating it until she believed it once more.
(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 5/20/2022)
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5/10/22 |
BONUS Series Spotlight |
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5/10/22 |
Review |
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5/11/22 |
Review |
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5/11/22 |
BONUS Promo |
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5/12/22 |
Excerpt |
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5/13/22 |
Review |
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5/14/22 |
Deleted Scene 1 |
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5/15/22 |
Deleted Scene 2 |
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5/16/22 |
Author Interview |
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5/17/22 |
Review |
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5/18/22 |
Top 9 List |
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5/19/22 |
Review |
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