Read Online Never Say Never by Lena Nelson Dooley - Free Book Online Page B

carpet then back at her daughter. “Have you been out of the water long enough for it to dry out?”
    Tears filled Chelle’s eyes. “How”—her voice had a catch in it—“how did you know?”
    Holding out her hand, Charlotte answered, “I saw you get out of the boat.” Then she lost her control on her anger. “What did you think you were doing parading around almost naked in front of those hormonal young men?”
    â€œMother!” Chelle clutched the large bath towel around her.
    â€œDid you think they wouldn’t look? They couldn’t miss it.” Charlotte still held her hand out.
    Chelle reached back into the drawer and pulled out the beach towel she brought from home just in case she needed it. She opened the folds and extracted the offending bits of fabric. “Here. Take it. Can’t you let me have any fun?”
    Charlotte caught the bikini her daughter threw at her. “Fun? You call that fun? What happened to the daughter I raised to be a strong Christian girl?”
    With defiant eyes, Chelle shouted, “Why does everything have to be about you? What about me?” She threw herself onto her bed and sobbed uncontrollably.
    Charlotte stood, holding the still damp clothing while tears streamed down her own cheeks and her heart broke. I lost it again. Why am I always doing that with Chelle?

Five
    Chelle cried herself to sleep, and Charlotte paced the length of the cabin. This was not how she imagined spending this cruise with her daughter. Chelle seemed to be recovering from the loss of her father, but maybe she hurt more than she let on. Perhaps she hid it because she didn’t want to add to her mother’s pain.
    I’ve got to do something to heal our hearts. Make tomorrow a new day. Our last day on an island. We need to build good memories together so when we get home, we’ll have things to talk about. We have to reconnect.
    Sure, Chelle was grieving, but Charlotte knew that her age worked against the situation. The mothers of Chelle’s friends often talked about the battle of wills as young people pushed boundaries. That was what Chelle was doing, trying to find her boundaries. I need wisdom in the morning.
    Charlotte stopped by the window. Tonight they had the drapes pulled back. Millions of stars twinkled in the sky like sparkling jewels against a velvet indigo background. A full moon made a bright path across the water, reaching from the horizon to the ship. Part of her wanted to step out and walk the magical, golden road to a new and better life. If only it could be that simple.
    Well after midnight, Charlotte finally undressed and slipped between the clean sheets. Because they never left the stateroom after their excursions that day, the cabin stewards didn’t have opportunity to come in and prepare the room for the night, leaving a whimsical animal made out of towels for their enjoyment. Charlotte didn’t miss that as much as she missed the wonderful mint on her pillow. She was afraid she wouldn’t get much sleep, but once she fell asleep, she didn’t awaken until morning.
    When Charlotte opened her eyes, Chelle sat on her own bed, with her knees drawn up, watching her mother. “Mom, I’m sorry. I knew I shouldn’t do what I did, and I was mad that I’d gotten caught. Can you forgive me?”
    Charlotte’s heart melted. She went over to sit beside Chelle. “Of course. And you need to forgive me for losing my temper.”
    Chelle put her arms around her mother, and they shared a bear hug like the ones they used to share when she was younger.
    â€œHow about we do something together on Jamaica? It’s our last chance on the cruise to go on an excursion together.” Charlotte hoped she wasn’t pushing too hard.
    Chelle jumped up and got the cruise guidebook. “I want to do that waterfall thing everyone is talking about.”
    They pored over the list and chose the