solution for you.”
Anna thought her life was as close to perfect as one could get, given her circumstances. Being a single parent had its moments though she’d been lucky so far. Anna adored Christina and knew her daughter felt the same way about her. At thirteen, she was tall, like Wade, who’d been six-four. Christina was five-eight already, but that’s where the similarities ended. Minus her height, she was a carbon copy of Anna. With her reddish brown hair, aqua-blue eyes, full lips, and olive skin, Anna often thought of her as a mini version of herself. They laughed about this, Anna telling her at least she would know what she might look like when she was her age. At forty-one, she hadn’t aged too much; but she knew that in this age of fillers, plumpers, and sunscreen, Christina’s generation would age exceptionally well if they took care of themselves while they were young. Living in Texas, sunscreen was a necessity. She had used it most of her adult life and insisted that her daughter do the same.
“So, you’ll go?” Mandy interrupted her thoughts.
Sighing, she knew that if she didn’t give her an answer, Mandy would never let up. And why not? she thought. They were weeks ahead with her filming schedule; school was out for the summer. Christina would be fine without her for 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