by Jen Malone
Or is it time to accept that those unknown possibilities lie in wait no matter where I am? And that not all of them are bad. If I embrace the fact that the exciting and the scary could be down either path, then all I have to do is to pick my tack and set my course, until the wind shifts and it’s time to adjust the sails. Right?
Which is my tack, then? Drive north or sail south?
Oh my god, I’m so tired of weighing pros and cons and endless loops of questions. Being afraid to let myself fall for Jonah despite all the practical reasons I shouldn’t. Being afraid to let down my guard around my mom the times I wanted to, because of all the intellectual reasons I had for feeling betrayed by her. Thinking, thinking, rationalizing.
I don’t care that I might look like an idiot. I close my eyes and shut it all down. I take a deep breath, from my core, and slowly exhale it.
Then I appeal to my gut.
I make myself trust what it tells me and I open my eyes.
I know what I want to do.
But finally knowing my own mind clearly and actually acting on it are two different things when other people are involved. I might be making headway in forgiving my mother for forcing this trip on me, but that doesn’t mean I can’t also learn from her mistakes.
I turn to Drew. “I say we take a vote. You should get to decide too. That’s the only fair way to do it, right?”
My brother looks surprised. “Um, yeah, I guess.” He recovers quickly and says, “Well, then . . . I vote yes for sailing on.”
“Mom?” I ask.
My mother studies me and finally says, “I vote for whatever Cassie wants. Like I said, I’m gonna try taking the backseat on a few decisions where my lovely but headstrong daughter is concerned.” She pauses and winks at me before I can take offense to the headstrong part.
“Okay, then. I guess my vote counts for two. Can’t say I didn’t try, Roo.” I draw a deep breath and avoid Jonah’s eyes as I say, “Drew, I’m really sorry . . . but we’re not sailing on.”
His shoulders drop, and beside me, Jonah tenses. I ignore them both and focus on my mother.
I smile at her. “I think I might be ready to try the whole ‘sailing in’ thing instead.”
Mom smiles back, barely even wincing as she does. The pain medicine must be kicking in.
Jonah looks at Drew. “Does any of this make sense to you?”
Drew shakes his head. “I wish I was Luke Skywalker. At least he got to reach adulthood before he had to deal with having a sister. Are we going home or not?”
Mom and I laugh, and I say, “Not.”
Jonah’s grin could light the room, and he squeezes my shoulder. Then he glances at Mom and Drew before saying, “Oh, screw it,” and kissing me.
I must say, my gut makes damn good decisions.
I don’t know what comes next for us, but if I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that none of us ever know that anyway. Might as well enjoy the present moment. And, uh, yeah . . . Consider that box checked.
When he releases me, he says, “I propose a toast!” He crosses to the door and sticks his head into the hallway. “Guys, get in here. We’re toasting!”
Amy, Miranda, Christian, the girls, and my grandparents crowd the room. Drew passes my mother her water and the rest of us hold up our soda cans.
“To sailing in,” Jonah says, threading the fingers of his free hand through mine.
I lock eyes with Mom.
“To sailing in,” we say in unison.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Annie and Alyssa (my own personal A-Team): How did I get so lucky?! I’m fairly certain the three of us would have a better-than-decent time sailing off into the sunset.
Annie, you helped shape so much of this story’s concept. When I think back on our early “what if” phone calls, I’m struck by how many major aspects of this book would not exist without your input and your magical idea-sparking abilities.
Alyssa, you swooped in and demanded more Jonah, which was my first clue we’d be simpatico. The fact that your edit letter not only included a picture of the Coreys, but was signed “Frog Brother Enthusiast,” well . . . signed, sealed, delivered.
Holly, as always, you’re a calm harbor in any storm. You do know I plan to torture you with bad book-specific puns in every acknowledgment from now until the end of time, right? But seriously. I bow to your savvy-with-a-side-of-sweet.
The team at Harper: you beautiful unsung heroes, you. Thank you for the care, pride, and love you put into creating and championing my books. It does not go unnoticed or unappreciated! Special shout-outs to Rosemary Brosnan, Alexandra Cooper, Bethany Reis, Jessica White, Kate Klimowicz, Olivia Russo, and the entire marketing and sales team.
Alison Cherry, Dana Alison Levy, and Gail Nall, thank you times a billion for your early reads. I leaned heavily on you guys with this one, and wow, did you answer the call. Your thoughtful reads (overnight during ALA, Dana? My hero!) and your constant cheerleading were invaluable and I love you guys to the moon and back.
This manuscript took me outside of my comfort zone in more ways than one. I relied heavily on the expertise of those much better versed than me in everything from sailing to medicine to daring rescues at sea. For that I thank (and indemnify—any mistakes in the book are entirely of my own doing):
The very brave Coast Guard men and women who are proud to talk about their line of work and humble enough to not want named credit for it. Beyond gratitude for helping me with the technical aspects of Elise’s rescue, an even bigger thank-you for all that you do—and risk—to keep so many safe at sea.
Wade Edwards and the Boston Sailing Center. Thank you for personal tours of differently sized sailboats, answers to ridiculously detailed questions, and “sure, that could work” responses to my many hypothetical “well, could this happen on a boat?” scenarios.
Dr. Lydia Kang. Thank you for the wonderful writerly blog resource that is Medical Mondays, and thank you even more for taking the time to help me solve a critical plot point with regard to head injuries.
Hallie Macdougal. Thank you for lending your boating expertise. I hope you enjoy your summer captaining your very own sailboat, and I’m counting on you to take me out exploring the Maine coast.
Last but never least, a million billion kisses to my patient family, who deliver meals and hugs to the writing cave and provide endless sources of inspiration—all the love to you: John, Jack, Ben, and Caroline. I’d sail away with you anytime.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo by John Malone
JEN MALONE once spent a year traveling the world solo, met her husband on the highway (literally), and went into labor with her identical twins while on a rock star’s tour bus. These days she saves the drama for her books. Jen is also the author of the YA travel romances Map to the Stars and Wanderlost. You can learn more about her at www.jenmalonewrites.com.
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BOOKS BY JEN MALONE
Map to the Stars
Wanderlost
Changes in Latitudes
CREDITS
Cover art © 2017 by Nisian Hughes / Getty Images
Cover design by Katie Klimowicz
COPYRIGHT
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
CHANGES IN LATITUDES. Copyright © 2017 by Jen Malone. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-
engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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ISBN 978-0-06-238017-3
EPub Edition © July 2017 ISBN 9780062380180
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FIRST EDITION
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