Sunday Snippet: Quality of Care

Man. Whateveralignment the planets are in has been wrecking things in my house lately. Afterthe washing machine saga, our coffeemaker took a crap. It's less than a yearold. Seriously … not the norm. But the good news is a new washer andcoffeemaker should arrive sometime this week barring any other global serveroutages.

Had a super busywork week. Finished the holiday manuscript and received a mystery and a romancefor copy edit. Picked back up with a novella I've been working on with an authorfor a while now and enjoying getting back into the groove of the book. Also hadan author reach out about a new twist on a previous project. Really fun week!

I didn't get a lotof screentime this week, but I watched a few shows. I'm in a weird place withviewing. I want to watch stuff, but my brain isn't settled on exactly what. Kindof want to binge something with a lot of seasons for a while to see if thatwill reset the needle.

I loved the episodeof My Life Is Murder. Actually really twisty with an interestingoutcome. Once again, Madison shined. I love that character.

Caught another Bestin Paradise. This one featured the farewell to Martha, which ended up beingso funny and sad at the same time. Excellent episode.

Watched another Deathin Paradise with the introduction of the new DS. Not completely sure if Ilike her or not. Stay tuned.

Started an episodeof Elementary but struggled to stay focused so I'll finish it up thisweek.

And that's prettymuch it for the life update. Tonight's post is from Quality of Care, anovella that brings a couple together during a very trying time.

Here's the miniblurb:

Stuck on the fringe of space, cut off by an enemyblockade, Phoebe Point and Dane Moragson keep their ragtag crewmembers fromgoing stark, raving mad. When food rations become nonexistent, Phoebe and Daneplot a daring plan to improve the quality of care for their comrades—even if itmeans going against orders and risking court martial.

And a sneaky peek…

Dane sealed the hatch to the storagelocker and met Phoebe by the middle rack of shelving. "I guess we shouldsee what's in here." He opened the pouch and emptied the contents on abare section.Phoebe sucked in a breath andstared at the food. "I'm, uh, not sure where to begin." Her gazeskidded to Dane's.Dane got her consternation. Aftergoing without for so long, the bounty on the counter seemed like a veritablefeast. His mouth watered and his stomach gurgled at the thought of having somethinghalfway appetizing. Phoebe's fingers twitched and her head tilted to one side.Her lower lip trembled a little.Dane lifted his chin. "Do youwant the dried fruit?" Before rationing, she had a preference for the sweetbits.Phoebe's mouth worked for a moment,but she could only nod. Her face crumpled and she sagged, sinking to the floor.Dane dropped down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She'd beensuch a rock keeping him tethered, standing by his side, always there to get himthrough whatever crisis popped up. She deserved a tree to lean on, something—orsomeone—to offer a bit of shelter in the shitstorm they were trapped in.She put her head on her knees, tooka couple of deep breaths then pulled herself together. "I'm a little overwhelmed.I mean, I didn't think anyone gave a damn." She huffed out a breath."And this generosity kinda blows me away." She clasped his hand andburrowed closer to his side. "I don't blame the crew for hoarding. Hell, Ifigure they deserve to have a little something to keep hope alive." Herlips twisted in wry grin.Dane nodded. "Yeah, I've kept mymouth shut, deciding to let those who had stuff keep it until the very lastpossible moment." Which could be in the near future. "I'd only ask ifit came down to life and death." He didn't want to think about thatoption.But they might have to.Phoebe raised her brows. "Haven'tyou felt like dying in the last two weeks?"He lifted a shoulder. "Sometimes.The pain got intense a couple of times." If not for the supplements filledwith vitamins and minerals, he didn't doubt the discomfort would be worse.Phoebe lowered her voice. "Didyou do the paper thing?"The admiralty provided thesuggestion when the blockade entered the third week. Try eating paper so thedigestive track had something to move through it. Zero nutritional value, butthe daily shots provided the necessary nutrients to keep them upright.Dane grunted. "Yeah. Neededsalt."Phoebe sputtered with laughter andfinally relaxed. She got to her feet and retrieved the food from the shelf.Sitting back down, she placed everything between them on the deck. They divviedup the items—the dried fruit, two candy bars, an energy bar, several MREs, apack of jerky, and the crunchy chips they used to serve in the level ten galley.Dane rifled through a couple ofcrates and found a case of bottled water. He handed one to Phoebe and kept onefor himself.Twisting the lid off, he toastedhis container against hers. "Here's to this brief moment of downtime andsharing it together."Phoebe flashed a smile. "I'lldefinitely drink to that." She tilted the bottle back and took a drink.Dane also swigged some of the clearliquid, then carefully opened one of the candy bars.

Gotta say, I'mhaving fun with this story. It's a little dark but there's a lot of humor mixedin with the dire circumstances.

 

That's it for thisweek. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye