Page 11 of Hidden Depths

"Girls!"

Every Sinclair turned.

"Breakfast."

There wasn't a hesitation among them.

Storm's shoulders relaxed.

Willow smiled.

Hazel immediately abandoned her clipboard.

Even Calle emerged from the engine room, wiping her hands on a rag.

Storm looked at me.

"My mother."

"I thought your breakfast was onboard."

"It is."

She smiled.

"But nobody tells Mom no."

Ben walked up beside me, breathing in deeply.

"Please tell me those are for us."

Storm laughed.

"I suppose we can share."

Ben grinned.

"I suddenly love this charter."

I watched Storm walk toward her mother.

For just a moment...

She wasn't Captain Storm Sinclair.

She was simply a daughter accepting a warm cinnamon roll and a kiss on the cheek.

Something settled quietly inside me.

I couldn't explain why.

Maybe because I'd spent so much time chasing promotions, deployments, and expectations that I'd forgotten what something this simple looked like.

Family.

Real family.

The kind that didn't care what rank you wore.