Sunday Snippet: Mia's Choice

Happy Easter to those who celebrate. We're having a low-key day without a lot of fanfare. That's exactly the way I like to celebrate holidays and my middle kiddo had his gallbladder removed earlier this week so being kind of quiet is a good thing.

Had a decent week of television viewing. My work schedule is still sporadic and I've been able to catch up on a few more writing projects. I'm also taking some time to organize my works in progress and then I hope to plan out a tentative schedule to finish up the ones that are close to being done.

I started a new episode of Blue Heelers and, so far, it's pretty good. I'm a little confused about the new character being in uniform but hopefully that will resolve itself by the end of the episode.

Watched the first episode of No Offence's second season. Really nice setup for the overarching storyline. I really love Viv and Dinah's dynamic. This show is so excellent.

Caught the opening episodes of the tenth season of Silent Witness. Really liked the first two-parter. I've started the third episode and I think it's going to be a twisty one.

Watched the final arc of Doctor Who's fourteenth season. Pretty solid storyline and I'm starting to like the dynamic between Four and Leela. I like her.

I ended up with a free six-month trial of Discovery+ so I started a show called UFOs: The Lost Evidence. I love diving into theories of visitors from outer space.

Watched two more episodes of The Muppet Show. Both were very funny. I've discovered I really enjoy the ballroom dance segments. Considering I'm not a huge comedy fan, this is high praise.

And that's pretty much it for this week's update. Tonight's post is from Mia's Choice, a novella that is pretty much complete. At least the first draft is. Edits are next and I'm eyeing a release sometime this summer.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Mia Sinclair finally got her doctorate and embarks on a work trade assignment to a new space station. But when she runs smack into Hal Manning, and her past, she has to face her demons, which isn't easy because she promised she'd never be under any man's control again.

And a sneaky peek…

"Doctor Sinclair." Stepping back, he indicated she should enter. "Thank you for coming."

Mia gave a terse nod. "I assume this is about my report."

She entered his quarters and glanced around. He had a large space, broken into sections. A desk, littered with paperwork, sat in one corner, a lamp shone brightly over a stack of files.

A sleeping area, tucked into another corner had a partition separating it from the living space. And as the captain, he had a small bath area with a toilet and sink. Very efficient, even if tiny.

Moving further into the room, Mia glanced at the desk with comfortable looking chairs facing opposite. She hoped Hal would go in that direction.

He didn't.

Instead, he chose to sit on the somewhat rugged couch, covered in brown leather, and left room for her. She opted to sit in the chair positioned at its arm so she'd be close, but not too close. She crossed her legs at the ankles and smoothed down the front of her lab coat. His gaze settled on her and nervous tension kicked in her veins. She ruthlessly tamped it down. No more cowering under a male gaze.

"You have concerns about the water?" Of course he did. He wouldn't be the leader of the crew if he didn't. Stupid question.

But it served to break the ice and draw his attention away from her.

"Yes. You need to find out how it happened."

Mia bristled, but showed no outward sign of it. "What do you mean?" What difference did it make how the contamination occurred? And why did she have to figure it out?

Hal turned to face her. "I mean, I want you to run some tests to see how and when our supply became tainted. You can do that, right?"

His sarcastic tone irritated her. "Um … I suppose." She had zero time to add anything to her workload right now.

Hal quirked an eyebrow, probably because she didn't sound certain.

Mia shook her head then nodded. "Of course, but why?" Again, he had her at a loss.

Hal considered her a moment, probably unused to having his orders questioned. "Why? Because I need to know if this was a general fuck up before the water was loaded onto the ship or if it happened right here." His voice had risen and he made a controlled effort to bring it under control. "If it happened here, was it a mistake, or are we looking at sabotage?"

Mia snorted at the thought. "You can't be serious?" She couldn't believe Hal or the paranoid track his mind latched onto.

Hal didn't blink. "I'm very serious."

Mia shook her head. "It figures the military would jump to the conclusion that someone would taint the water supply on purpose. Let me guess … you think it's one of the civilians on board."

Hal took offense at her words. "I don't think anything yet. I know my crew, but you can bet your ass I'll be looking at them just as hard as I look at everyone else." He leaned forward. "And by the way … what the hell is your problem? This isn't a small, trifling issue. Why are you so damned obstinate and stubborn when asked to do something?"

"Because I don't respond well to orders and you don't ask. For too long, I had choices made for me. What school I'd attend, who I'd marry, how long I'd have to put my profession on hold—" She bit her tongue to keep from saying more than she wanted.

Hal quirked an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.

Dragging in a deep breath, she finished. "I didn't even choose to be on your ship. And I'm done. Done having no say in my life. If you can't deal with that … too bad. I have a will of my own and it's about damn time I use it. You want something. You can make a request."

Ugh, she sounded stupid. Of course he wouldn't make a request. The man held rank in the military. He issued orders. Sinking down, Mia put her head in her hands and blew out a calming breath.

I'm so excited this story is finished!! Hal and Mia are dear to my heart and have a couple of bonus sexy shorts they'll feature in. Looking forward to polishing this one up and getting it out there.

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye