“I’m sad to miss out on that.”

He cracks an actual smile, which feels hard-earned. He levels a finger at Willa. “I like you, kid.”

“Thanks.” She laughs. “I like you, too.”

Taylor

HER BIRTHDAY ARRIVES AS UNCEREMONIOUSLY as every other day of the year, and as they eat breakfast, Taylor wonders if Willa even remembers. But before Taylor has time to read too much into it, a gruff voice calls out, “Hey, Taylor. I need you to come help me scrub the hull.”

Taylor puts down her bowl of cereal and climbs out on deck. Captain Norm is standing on the dock beside Whiskey Tango Foxtrot with a bucket and a long-handled brush. “Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“Why?”

“I don’t have time for questions. Just come on.”

“Um . . . okay,” she says, scratching the back of her head in confusion. “Let me get my shoes.”

Taylor returns to the cabin and slips on her flip-flops. “Apparently I’m going to help Norm wash his boat.”

Willa’s eyebrows pull together. “Why?”

Taylor lifts her shoulders in an I-have-no-idea shrug. “But they’ve been so nice to us. How can I say no?”

After dinner, Amy invited Taylor and Willa to stay for a movie and made a giant batch of her special rosemary Parmesan popcorn with garlic and lots of butter. The large television and country decorations were a little slice of home, and it had been hard for Taylor to leave. If Amy had suggested a sleepover, Taylor would have said yes in a heartbeat. So even though she’s not sure why Norm needs her to help him scrub the hull of his boat, there is no other answer but yes.

“Have fun with that.” Willa yawns. “I’m going back to bed.”

Taylor scratches her nose with her middle finger, then goes out to meet Captain Norm. He has her climb down into his dinghy, then hands her the scrub brush and the bucket of soapy water.

“Just do along the waterline,” he instructs. “Call me when you finish this side and I’ll come loosen the dock lines so you can get the other.”

Taylor wonders if doing all the work is still considered helping, but she doesn’t say it out loud. She snaps a picture of the brush and bucket, posting them to Instagram as she mutters, “Happy birthday to me.”

She’s cleaning an area near the back of the boat when Willa comes off the sailboat wearing shorts and a cute floral tank top. Her hair is twisted up in two little buns on the back of her head. “Amy invited me to go to town with her,” she says. “Since you’re stuck scrubbing, I’ll pick up some groceries. Is there anything special you want?”

A German chocolate birthday cake with coconut-pecan frosting, Taylor says in her head, but in real life she splashes the brush into the bucket and says, “No.”

“Okay, well, I’ll see you later.”