Page 22 of No One Aboard

“Think the stars get old to NASA, missy?” MJ bent to tidy a coil of lines on the deck. “You’ve got the bug, I see.”

Tia watched MJ lift the thick rope, muscles outlined beneath her sun shirt. “The water bug?”

“Mmm-hmm.” MJ deposited the rope into Tia’s arms, and she nearly buckled. “Hang that on the cleat.”

Tia looked where MJ gestured and managed to hook the rope to a bit of metal jutting from one of the masts. MJ nodded her approval.

Tia watched her admiringly. She had so many questions but wasn’t sure how to broach them. What had MJ been doing since she saw them last? Had she gone on more great adventures? Was this trip going to bore her in comparison?

Tia opened her mouth to ask when Francis called out from his place helming in the cockpit.

“Everyone, come on over! Time for a little meeting.”

MJ and Tia shared a brief glance that made Tia’s chest inflate like a life raft. Tia finally had an ally. Together, they made their way to the cockpit.

Francis had set up Rylan’s gift, the deep-sea fishing equipment, off the back of the stern, several translucent lines flaring out behind them as Francis himself stood at the helm.

Tia’s father looked different at sea. He had spent most of Tia’s childhood in ties and golf polos, bronze hair gelled to one side, and cologne pungent. He believed in impeccable impressions, and everything from the Rolex on his wrist to his brand of mouthwash had its purpose.

But when he was at sea, Francis Cameron could have been anyone.

His ungelled hair obeyed the wind, revealing iron roots andthin spots. His cologne had been replaced by sea salt, his ties by safari button-ups. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing a faint scar the width of a penny on his forearm.

And he wassmiling.

“Come. Come.” He motioned eagerly for everyone to make a tight circle around the helm. They were all there now. Alejandro leaned against the chart house with flour powder on his shirt. Rylan sat on the cockpit bench, chewing the inside of his cheek as Lila gripped the railing and looked in the direction of New Haven as if she were leaving for war. MJ stood beside Tia, and Nico, who stood next to Francis, gave Tia a blinding grin when they locked eyes.

Francis slapped his thigh. “Well done, everyone! We’ve made it to open seas. First, some business. I’ve posted a list of watch times on the door of the chart house and in the galley. We’ll cycle through watches until we are safely docked or anchored somewhere.”

Tia craned her neck to see the list, written in her father’s delicate penmanship.

Captain Francis: 8 am–12 pm

MJ: 12 pm–2 pm (dogwatch)

Alejandro: 2 pm–6 pm

Nico: 6 pm–8 pm (dogwatch)

Captain Francis: 8 pm–12 am

MJ: 12 am–4 am

Nico: 4 am–8 am

“As you can see, MJ, Nico, and myself are the main crew members, so we are responsible for two watches each. Alejandro has additional responsibilities as cook, so he only has one. I thought about rotating time every day, which is more traditional... However,” he went on, “I believe it will be easier for us to get into aroutine. Furthermore, kids, Lila, you can’t stand watch because you aren’t licensed crew members, of course, but I really want to encourage you to take a few watches with us now and then. Trade some ghost stories. See the stars. This trip is to celebrate you, and you should get every last experience you can. And who knows?” Francis turned his smile onto Rylan. “Maybe you’ll be a captain yourself someday.”

Lila returned her gaze to the sea. “Is that all, darling?”

“Not quite. Everyone, please give a warm welcome to the newest member of our crew, Nicolás!”

Francis gestured to Nico so dramatically that Tia and Rylan both started to clap. Nico bowed, murmuring “Thank you, thank you,” and Tia rolled her eyes to stop from laughing.

“Nico has saved us quite a bit of trouble. Not many people can drop everything they’re doing to sail with six strangers for a week.”

“Fivestrangers,” Alejandro said, and he leaned to rub his knuckles on Nico’s curly head.

“Yes, of course,” Francis said.