a few days. For Christina’s thirteenth birthday, Anna had given her an adorable tabby kitten whom they’d christened Mr. Waffles because of his wafflelike coloring, and now she spent most of her free time with him. So she doubted she’d be missed.
“Give me the details, and I’ll start packing,” Anna said, enjoying the surprised look on Mandy’s face.
“Seriously?”
“Yep,” she replied, grinning. “I need a break. After what I’ve been through the past couple of months, it will be a relief.” Anna had been stalked for weeks, probably by a crazy fan. The police had been called in and launched an investigation, but so far, there’d been no arrest. Fear and looking over her shoulder had taken their toll on her. She truly needed a vacation.
“You’re not joking?”
“I wouldn’t do that to you. I could use a break. Not sure how this cruising the high seas works, but I’m willing to give it a try. However,” she said, “not a long cruise. One week max. I’m clueless how I’ll react, so that’s all I’ll commit to. And you have to swear on your life that you’ll be extra watchful. Christina still has no clue about all this insanity.”
“I’ll guard her with my life—you know that. You’ve spent most of your life around water when you lived in Corpus Christi, so you’ll be fine. I’m going to book this cruise before you change your mind. It’s Wednesday, and the Splendor of the Sea departs this Friday. That should be enough time to pack a few things,” Mandy said. “Leave the details to me.”
If Anna didn’t know better, she would swear Mandy had an ulterior motive, but she’d always been up-front with her since day one, so she pushed the thought aside. She needed to rest and recharge, and this was as good an opportunity as any. She would relax and try to catch up on all the books piled up by her bedside. “I would say thanks, but I’ll wait until I’m back.”
“Anna, you don’t have to go,” Mandy said. “You work so hard, and we’re way ahead of schedule. Though I kind of promised Christina I’d take her to SeaWorld.”
“I knew it!” Anna laughed. “You two sneaking behind my back again?”
“Not really; it just came up in conversation a couple of weeks ago.”
“And what about Mr. Waffles?” Anna asked.
“SeaWorld has a pet-sitting service. I checked.”
“Looks like you’ve thought of everything.”
“My cousin has a time-share in Orlando. She’s not using it, so she offered it to me, and the idea blossomed from there. I checked the airlines, and there is a flight out of Lubbock on Friday.”
“Then, yes, you can take Christina and Mr. Waffles while I . . . do whatever I’m supposed to do.” She’d feel better knowing Mandy and Christina were out of town.
“I promise, you’ll have a good time. You know I’ve been on more than a dozen cruises, and I had a blast every time. You’ll be surprised at all the activities on and off the ship. Maybe you could vlog. No, forget I said that. This is a vacation from vlogging. Though you could take pictures.”
“I’ll hold you to that. If it’s too awful, you’re in for it, big-time,” Anna teased. “And no pictures.”
“Right. So, I can call the travel agency?” Mandy asked. “They’ve kept a room on the upper deck open for you; it’s the best they have. We can fly to Orlando together. I don’t think the flight was completely booked.”
“Make the call.”
“Consider it done,” Mandy singsonged, taking her cell phone from her pocket. Mandy was the ultimate vacationer, being single and gorgeous. They’d hit it off right away when she’d applied for the assistant position, and they’d been best friends ever since.
Anna shook her head, amazed that she’d so readily agreed to Mandy’s plans. She really did need some time away from work. As much as she enjoyed working, a few days to herself would be nice. Factor in the fear she’d been living with for the past few weeks, and Mandy’s cruise plans couldn’t have happened at a better time.
Since Wade’s death, she had dated a few guys, but there was nothing serious with any of them. Except one. Sort of. James Banks. She wasn’t really that serious about him, but he had been more than serious about her. He was a photographer she’d met while on location shooting a video for her YouTube channel. A true charmer. Blond, blue-eyed, and sexy as hell. She’d enjoyed spending time with him; he made her laugh and forget about the past. They’d already been seeing one another for three months when she learned he was still married. Feeling like a total fool, she’d broken it off immediately. He tried to convince her that he was in the process of getting a divorce. Anna adamantly told him no, see you later, have a nice life. She didn’t need or want anyone’s excess baggage. He’d called her numerous times, pleading for a second chance, but she’d politely told him he wasn’t the one for her. He’d been hurt, but she knew he’d get over her, as he was quite handsome and outgoing. No doubt, women would line up just to have a date with him. She didn’t need a man in her life. She and Christina had gotten along just fine without one in their lives, and she was positive she would continue to do just that.
Though late at night, when she was alone with her thoughts, she questioned her choices and how they would affect her daughter’s future. Anna hoped that the absence of a male role model in Christina’s life would not have any serious negative effects on her. She tried her best to be both mother and father, and so far, she hadn’t heard any alarm bells ringing. Yet the issue was always present in her mind, especially now that Christina was a teenager. Hormones and peer pressure were very real. She didn’t want her daughter to feel like she couldn’t come to her if she had problems with school, her friends, or anything she wasn’t sure of or comfortable with. So far, they’d shared a super mother-daughter relationship, and she prayed it would continue.
Anna had been raised in most part by her mother, her father having died from pancreatic cancer when she was only seven. She’d loved her dad so much, missed his big, booming voice when he’d come home from work, and for a while, it had been difficult for her to understand why he never came home again. With time and maturity, she understood, but she had never stopping missing him. He was the kind of man who walked into a room and people noticed him. He was movie-star handsome, with thick auburn hair and the same aqua-blue eyes she had, his smile as bright as the stars. People chartered his deep-sea fishing boat, the Miss Ellie, and he always had a story to tell at the dinner table. Her mother would laugh at his stories, telling him she knew a fish story when she heard one. They were a happy, fun-loving family. Then her father changed. Almost overnight. He lost weight, his bronzed skin became sallow, washed-out. His energy fizzled out like a deflated balloon. For months, her mother insisted that he go to the doctor for a checkup. And when he finally did, the news had devastated them. He hung on for nine months after his diagnosis. He died in her mother’s arms late one night while Anna was sleeping. She remembered waking up that morning and seeing her mother, her eyes swollen from crying, and she knew her daddy was gone. Their sadness seemed to last forever after he died. Mom sold the fishing boat and their house. Then they’d moved to a small condo on Padre Island. While her mother tried her best, their lives were never the same. Holidays were lackluster, forced. In Anna’s senior year of high school, her mother died of a massive heart attack at the young age of forty-two, and, once again, life for Anna drastically changed. With no family to speak of, she’d stayed with Elizabeth Callahan, her best friend in high school. As soon as she graduated, she moved to Lubbock to attend Texas Tech University. With three part-time jobs and a few scholarships, she
