It was worse than a blind date. It was a damn ship full of them. Her family dipped into the bottom of the barrel this time.

"A singles cruise? You guys can't be serious," she said, waving the paper in the air. "This has to be a joke."

"Nope, no joke," her father said, picking his apple cider up off the coffee table. "After everything that has happened, we feel that it would be good for you. Get away from it all and have some fun."

"On a singles cruise," she repeated herself again, flabbergasted that her family would even come up with such an idea. "Over Christmas?"

"Think of all the hot guys you'll meet there," her brother said, smirking.

Tamara scowled at Caleb, her stomach churning. "Was this your bright idea?"

The last thing she wanted was to be trapped on a floating orgie. She'd rather curl away in her room and hide away from the world than be trapped on board a boat with no way off. Douche bags lived for trips like that.

"I might have had a small part to play," Caleb said, picking his son up out of the playpen as a defensive move in case she lashed out at him, which she did occasionally.

"Sure, hide behind your baby," she snapped, slapping the paper on the coffee table. "No way. I'm not going."

"We figured you might say that." Dale leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knee. "This is one of the suspension requirements if you wish to return to work after. Consider it a therapy of sorts."

Suddenly it all clicked and she knew why her boss was there. He was her family's back up if she refused to go. "You guys are seriously going to force me to do this?"

Her brother slung his arm around Maria, grinning at her. "Yep."

Tamara looked at the sheet again. The cruise was with the The Pearl Cruise Lines, aboard 'The Ruby Pearl.' That sounded like something you'd find in the Pirates of the Carribean movies. Men would flock to her hoping to find a woman's undiscovered jewels. She'd probably wind up in their brig or something fending them off. "You guys are so mean."

"Anything for my dear sister." her brother's eyes sparkling with mischief. Something else was up, she could sense it; but she had no clue what. That was the one downside to being a twin. She always knew when he was keeping something from her, but couldn't read his mind.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Are there going to be any more surprises?"

"We did purchase a few extras, like a drink package, etcetera, which will be delivered to your room," her mother said.

"Just please tell me that you guys aren't going to try any other funny stuff," she pleaded. "Like no guy hiding in the closet or something, or a strip tease."

Maria covered Grace's ears. "Not in the presence of children, please."

"So says the woman who met my brother in a—" She was silenced by a pillow that came whizzing in her direction by her brother. Her family had to be the weirdest one on the planet. Caleb, who had an aversion to marriage and love, married a woman who showed up to a BDSM meeting.

They made a cute couple, but it was still hard to watch sometimes because it made her remember Harley. Maybe a vacation would do her good, take her mind off everything. Just because she was on a boat didn't mean she had to converse with anyone, or even leave her room. She could just call in room service.

"We should mention, the tickets are non-refundable and are in your name only," her dad piped up.

Resigned, she sighed, "Fine. I'll go."

"Merry Christmas," they replied.

"Merry, blah blah blah," she grumbled, as they smothered her with hugs and kisses.

***

What the heck were you supposed to bring with you on a cruise? Given that it was going to be in the Caribbean, she didn't figure a parka would be a necessity. Not like it was in the little town of Peterson where minus 21 degrees was normal in the winter. It was a little too chilly for her liking, but it was her town and she loved it.

It would be strange to not be home for Christmas. She had never missed a Christmas with her family aside from working. And they often tried to be flexible for her schedule, which was sweet of them.

Tamara stared at the stack of clothes on her bed. Given that it was a fourteen day round trip cruise from Florida, a formal gown was imperative or so the website said. And the only gown she could consider formal was a long red dress which was far too revealing for a singles cruise, but she didn't really want to go out and buy one. The idea of driving into the city and shopping during the big Christmas rush didn't really appeal to her. Traffic was horrendous. The sexy dress would have to do. There should be a shawl or something in her closet to cover up with.

It's too bad they didn't give her a second ticket, then Carla could come. Speaking of Carla, she was supposed to be here to help her pack and drive her to the terminal. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she dialed her number.

"I'm just about there, don't panic," her friend answered.

"Okay, see you soon."

Tamara tossed the phone on the bed and glanced at her packing list. Shorts, t-shirts, pants, underwear, socks—check. Swim-suit, undetermined. She had two suits. One was a one-piece, and the other a bikini.

Soon there was a knock on her door and Carla, her brown-haired whirlwind of a friend, with rosy cheeks and red ears from the cold, bowled into the room with her usual luster of unrelenting energy.

"Okay, help has arrived. What's your dilemna?" she asked, as she tossed her bag on the chair in the corner before sprawling across the bed.

"I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Right now, you're packing," she replied cheekily.

Tammy tossed her one piece at her friend. "Smart ass."

Grabbing it out of the air, Carla turned her nose up at the bathing suit. "You are definitely not taking this with you."

Her friend's response made her smile. If Carla hated it, guys would, too. "Thanks for making that decision easy for me."

"Tammy, honey, you're going on a singles cruise. Be daring for once in your life."

"I'm daring all the time," Tamara commented. "I'm a cop."

"You could meet the man of your dreams on this boat." Crawling across the bed, Carla grabbed the two-piece and tossed it in the suitcase. "Choice made. You are taking the bikini."

"Remind me why I invited you over?"

"You can't live without me," she said, flipping her long hair back as she fluttered her eyes at Tammy.

"I wish you were coming with me," Tamara flopped down on the bed, covering her face with her arms.

Carla moved over and made herself right at home, resting her head sideways on Tammy's abdomen. "Me, too. I can just imagine all the cute guys that are going to be there."

Tamara laughed, running her hand through her friend's silky hair, which smelled like coconut. "Right. All the guys will probably have beer bellies and bald heads."

"You never know. You might get lucky."

"I'm just gonna squirrel myself away in my room."

Most of the passengers were probably going in groups, and she'd be the only person flying solo—the saddest body there. Everyone would buy her pity drinks. She'd be known as the loner.

"Don't you dare!" Carla pinched Tammy's arm. "Since I can't go I have to live vicariously through you, so don't let me down. You better have some tales for me by time you get back."

Tammy tickled her friend's stomach. "I bet you were in on the whole thing."

"I'm innocent, honest."

They lapsed into silence as they laid there, listening to the music that was playing on her radio. It was going to be so weird not being here. She's never travelled to the other side of the continent before. Her family primarily stayed on the west coast even when they travelled, only going as far east as Yellowstone.

There was a small part of her that couldn't believe she'd finally see the turquoise waters that she'd only dreamed about and seen in movies. Dale had even pulled her aside and given her all the holiday pay that she'd accrued over the years, so she could even do some shore excursions. It was a little exciting to think about snorkeling in the pretty water and seeing all the exotic fish.

Carla scrambled off her lap and picked up her bag off the chair. "I got you a present."

"Shit girl, you're going to make me feel bad. I haven't had a chance to get you anything yet." Tamara took the golden-wrapped present, eyes turning misty.

"I know you'll get me something amazing while you're away, so think nothing of it."

She tore the wrapping paper, letting the pieces fall to the ground. Her eyes widened as her gaze fell upon the Kodak camera box. "I haven't had a real camera since I was a teen."

"Figured you'd need it to take a lot of pictures. Phones just don't capture everything in as good a detail," her photographer friend said. Ever since Carla was old enough to hold a camera, she had been taking pictures. She has her own little photography shop just down the block from Tamara's apartment. In fact, the pictures that littered the walls in her room were taken by Carla. Mostly people shots, but there were a few sunset ones that rivalled even the best artist in the world.

"It's waterproof, too, so you can take it with you if you go scuba diving."

"It must have cost you a fortune."

Carla waved off her comment. "Just remember me when you use it."

Tamara wrapped her arms around her friend and squeezed her tightly. 'I'm going to miss you."

Carla responded in kind, tears filling both their eyes. "Right back atcha."

"Okay, I better get cracking or we'll be late."

It didn't take long for them to get on the road and head to the airport. Her flight asked her to show up a few hours early, and they were already cutting it pretty close. She should have packed the day before, but that was not her nature.

"Thank you for driving me, Carla. I really appreciate it. I didn't want to drive my car and just leave it at the airport," Tamara said as her friend came to a stop in front of the Prince George terminal.

"It's no problem."

After giving her a quick hug, she grabbed her stuff out of the trunk and took a deep breath as she stared at the big glass sliding doors of the station. "Wish me luck."

"You're a star, hun. You don't need luck."

Her friend had more confidence in her than she did. She felt as nervous now as she did the day she went to college for the first time. The butterflies in her stomach clunked their way around her insides, knocking her food around.

She'd never been on a plane before. Her job never required her to travel anywhere. And anywhere she did have to go, she was able to drive. But since she was going across the country, only a flight would do the trick.

After giving Carla one more hug good-bye, she stepped inside the lobby and made her way to the WestJet counter with her ticket, and then passed through customs with relative ease, and onto the plane.

----

A/N

Hey guys,

Thanks for reading Chapter. I hope you are enjoying it so far. Don't forget to vote for the chapter and leave a comment if you can. I would love to hear from you. :)

What do you think is going to happen when she gets on the boat?