Taylor’s dad chuckles a little, but it’s the laugh of someone who has forgotten more about sailing than Willa will probably ever know. “Unless you’re racing, there’s no reason to torture yourself. Use the engine and save the sailing for a better day.”

Being given his blessing to be a fair-weather sailor is a relief to Willa. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Mr. Nicholson says. “Put Taylor on the line, okay?”

Willa hands the phone to Taylor, then starts the engine and rolls in the jib. Doing these things doesn’t change the nature of the wind and waves, but the boat stops pounding so hard and she feels more in control.

Taylor disconnects the call and offers her a grim smile.

“Everything okay?” Willa asks.

“My mom looked at her credit card statement,” Taylor says. “And she saw the charge for the room in Niagara Falls.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Exactly. She basically cut off the card, so if we have an actual emergency, she’ll handle it.”

“Is she really pissed?”

“Disappointed.”

Willa winces. “God, that’s the worst, isn’t it?”

“At least when they’re mad you know it won’t last forever,” Taylor says.

Willa wants to ask her why she did it, why Taylor would book a hotel room overlooking Niagara Falls when she knew her parents would be disappointed. But Willa is pretty sure she knows why and doesn’t know how to say thank you, so she says, “They love you, Taylor. Their disappointment won’t last forever.”

After eight hours of sailing, both girls have found their sea legs. Taylor has been fortified by a steady stream of saltines and ginger ale, and Willa has lost her fear of the waves. Even Pumpkin has ventured out of the sink to sit on Taylor’s lap. They reach Manasquan Inlet after lunch.

“Maybe we could keep going,” Taylor says, flipping through the pages of the Captain Norm book. “I haven’t gotten sick since this morning, and the book says it’s only fifty-two miles to Atlantic City.”

“That’s only another ten or eleven hours,” Willa points out. “We’d have to sail all night.”

“Captain Norm says if we stay offshore, there are no obstacles to worry about. We can break the night into shifts so you don’t have to do all the work.”

Willa’s eyebrows hitch up at Taylor’s sudden faith in the advice of an elderly Looper who published his own book. “Are you absolutely sure about this? Because once we commit, turning back would be a huge waste of time.”

Taylor closes the book. “Let’s do it.”