Chapter1

Twenty-three yearsago

East Side Beach,Florida

Unchartered Destination

Her ten tiny toes with brightly colored nails were strategically placed in the wet sand. The sand oozing between her toes beckoned the crested waves to wash them clean again. Her quiet giggles heralded the incoming tide, and six-year-old Lindsey swooped down to catch the wave in her hands. Her long dark-brown braids dipped into the water as she recovered a newfound treasure in the sand. She picked up the large sand dollar, nearly the size of her small hand, and happily ran screeching all the way to her dad, Lucas, who was tidying up the picnic leftovers into a wickerbasket.

“Daddy! Daddy!” She shared her treasure with him, “Look what I found in thesand!”

“Hey, you found a sand dollar, didn’t you?” he boasted proudly. “We can add it to your collection athome.”

Just as quickly, Lindsey turned and skipped back to the water’s edge to see what other treasures she might find. Her thirty-five-year-old father’s sandy blonde hair was tossed about by the ocean’s breeze as he looked on. His blue eyes danced as he watched his daughter dabbling in the seafoam and giggling at the sight of a small crab scampering to get back into the water. All the while he dabbled in memories of Lindsey’s mother. It was hard to believe that two years had passed since his wife’s untimely passing, leaving him to raise little Lindsey on his own. He noticed how much Lindsey resembled the Polynesian beauty that won his heart while he was stationed in Hawaii during his service with the U.S.military.

Lindsey had inherited her mother’s bronze skin tone, her slightly almond-shaped dark brown eyes, and beautifully flowing long dark brown hair. From Lucas, her American father, she inherited her charming dimples, wit, and natural curiosity. Above all, she was Lucas’s baby girl whom he often called Pumpkin, and she was now the love of hislife.

“OK, Pumpkin, time to go,” Lucas called out to her as he folded the orange and white blanket and Lindsey gleefully packed her beach toys andtreasures.

Only a few people still dotted the beachscape today, for overhead the wind carried a blanket of soft gray clouds across the sky and only a few radiant sprays of sunshine pierced the clouds, reaching downward along the coastline. With the picnic basket, toys, and treasures packed, they made their way to Lucas’s silver open-topped 4-wheel-drive to unload. Then Lucas took Lindsey by the hand as they strolled to the marina just down the beach. He helped her up the high step to one of the old piers which was lined with countless boats. The salty air was filled with sound as a seaside symphony entertained them. The rhythm of the aged wood creaking gave life to the monotonous thumping of teetering boats against the weathered planks. Together they harmonized with the persistent washing of the tide and the melancholy cries of the seagulls overhead. It was these quiet times with his daughter that revealed a gentle side of Lucas, and f