When a man loses everything, that is when the possibilities begin. Ron had it all: the career, the big house, the sailing hobby, the great girlfriend. He always looked ahead, never behind. Never had to. Until the day it all went away. Left with nothing but his boat and a childhood dream of circumnavigating the globe, he set sail, looking for the future. When a storm lashes him during his first crossing, he finally looks at what he left behind. Come sail the seas in this opener to M. L. Buchman’s latest short story series.
A musician seeks inspiration on the open sea and finds it in the most unexpected way. Myles and Rose are twins. Despite the success of their musical duet, they can’t manage to break out. Myles knows they’re missing something if only he could pin it down. Vonda’s attempts to restart her life keep sinking beneath the waves. She needs to chart a new course. A chance meeting on Maui and a leisurely five-week sailboat ride to Victoria, Canada changes the future for all three of them.
Alice paints narrowboats that cruise the UK canals. Her reputation shines as sterling as her art. But when her mentor retires and leaves the company to her, she becomes paralyzed by the task. Carl simply brought in his parents’ boat for a new paintjob. But nothing prepares him for the life changes wrought when he meets the artist. How can they possibly make two uncertain tomorrows, and hearts, merge like two rivers on the canal?
Local Gloucester artist Morgan Henry built a career carving sand. Upon the arrival of a magnificent racing yacht off the beach, he alters his latest contest entry to match. Little does he know that his past skippers the boat. Mary Elizabeth sailed away from Gloucester and made her name on the ocean racing circuit. She never once looked back. Yet for reasons beyond her understanding, she returns. On the beach, in a sand sculpture conceived by a boy but carved by a man, she discovers that her past and her future are more connected than she could possibly imagine.
Against all bounds of common sense, Janine lands herself in charge of her yacht club’s annual Christmas Potluck. Sailing the tricky course between a clean finish and a complete wreck, she desperately needs a rescue. Or perhaps it’s time to set her own course. Howie loves to sail but saving to buy his own boat takes time. He volunteers as crew when he can. And for the annual whirl of yacht club parties, he gate crashes as Santa. When he sees one club has declared a pirate theme, he can’t resist and goes in with full sails set. But neither of them expect to find love in Santa’s gift bag.