CHAPTER ONE
Tara
“Dad, will you stop fussing over me already?” I plead as I lug my suitcase toward the boat. He scurries after me ignoring what I just said.
“It’s your first trip away, sweetheart. I just want to make sure it goes smoothly.”
“It’s a cruise…what can possibly go wrong on a cruise? Besides, I thought you said you’d have someone spying on me the whole trip or something. You ‘helped’ me pick this cruise for a reason.”
“What I said is that my friend will keep an eye on you and make sure you’re alright. I don’t like the idea of you being out at sea all alone, honey.”
I smile affectionately at him, though I’m trying not to roll my eyes.
If I had my way, I’d be doing something a little more adventurous than a cruise for my first solo trip away from home. As nice as a cruise is, it doesn’t really leave much room for me to do my own thing.
But this was a compromise with my dad to stop him from having a heart attack. It was this cruise that he pushed for saying that he would feel better knowing he had an old friend nearby and would be up worrying that I was off alone somewhere where he couldn’t reach me, so I guess I have to let him have this one.
“I won’t be alone, will I? There are, like, five hundred people on this boat even though this cruise is on a smaller size. And besides. I know your friend isn’t going to allow the boat to leave unless I’m on it.”
“You better believe it.” He pauses, taking a breath. “So here are the ground rules. No wandering off on your own. No talking to strangers…”
“Not even nice ones?” I say in a joking tone.
“Tara!” he huff exasperated with me.
“Dad, if you don’t stop making a fuss, I’m going to miss the boat. I know you’re protective, but I literally couldn’t be safer if I tried. I made this compromise to keep you happy, so can you make one for me and pretend like you’re not freaking out? Please.”
Dad sighs, putting his hands on my shoulders.
“I’m sorry, honey. I know I tend to go a little overboard. It’s just that you’re the most important thing in the world to me. I don’t ever want to lose you.”
I offer him a sad smile.
I know why he’s so protective. Ever since he lost my mom when I was still a baby, I guess he has a reason to believe that his luck has soured. He’s spent my whole life trying his best to shelter me from the world.
But the problem was, keeping me caged in only made me want to get out even more.
I’m an explorer, a woman with a thirst for adventure. And now that I’m twenty-one, dad knows he needs to let me go out there and see the world.
“You’re not going to lose me, I promise,” I tell him gently. “You won’t get rid of me that easily. And Dad, I’ll call you when I can. I don’t think I can when I’m at sea, but I will the second I find land, okay?”
He heaves a deep sigh and nods.
I suddenly feel terrible for putting him through this. I can see how nervous this is making him, sending his only daughter off alone for the first time.
But I can’t live cooped up forever.
I have a thirst for life, a need to see the world that’s out there. I finally managed to convince my dad that I would be safe on this trip with this long-time friend along for the ride. This is my stepping stone to greater adventures. I have to take this opportunity now or else he might never let me go.
I lean in to kiss his cheek and he sighs with a sad smile. Then I head toward the boat, my suitcase in hand. It’s such a small thing, going on a cruise alone, but it feels like I’m spreading my wings and learning to fly. This is the first step toward my freedom. This is the first step toward becoming my own woman.
The boat is crowded as I climb aboard. Dad told me his friend, who works aboard the boat, is going to meet me at my cabin, so I allow a member of the staff to guide me to my room, my heart pounding in my chest.
Okay, maybe this part isn’t an adventure, but it’s the first time in a long time that I haven’t had my dad breathing down my neck, so it sure as hell feels like one. I’ve barely left his sight since I was a baby. Now, I’m learning to breathe on my own, and it excites me.
It feels like the possibilities of what might happen next are endless.