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“Aye.” He kissed my fingers. “I promise.”

We made our way back into town and down to the docks.

Wolfe was barely a breeze beside me, but I felt him all the same.

I can do this, I thought to myself. I can do this. I can do this.

Kieran Matlack ran the whale watching charter with his brother, William. Kieran met me beside the boat with two other shivering families and gave us a run down of our excursion. It would be a twenty minute sail out to their preferred whale watching spot and from there, we’d putter around for the better part of an hour hoping to see the whales. When we finished, we’d make our way back into port. Sometimes if the whales were active, the boat would stay out a little longer.

I prepared myself for almost two hours on a boat and stuffed my chilled fingers into my pocket. Kieran said our trip came with a thermos of hot chocolate and some small pastries from the bakery up the road. When no questions came at the end of his speech, we boarded the boat.

It rocked gently under my boots and I made my way to the stern and away from the families huddled by the bow. Kieran boarded and ran through a few checks and safety regulations while another man—William, I assumed—untethered us from the dock.

We pushed from the bay and out into open water.

Salt air whipped past my face, cold spray dotting my cheeks and nose. The further we pushed into the open ocean, the faster my heart began to beat. Wolfe was beside me, a bare flicker in the sunlight.

I watched the sea churn below the propellers, white froth rolling over the waves.

The coast grew smaller, rolling green hills and jagged cliffs cutting a dark line through the ocean. I leaned against the rail, heart an absolute wreck inside my chest.

The sun broke the clouds and something inside me caught flame. I missed this. I missed adventure. Possibility. I missed standing in the sunlight and feeling it sear against my cheeks. I missed excitement and disbelief. I missed awe. There were parts of me that were so deeply buried I’d taken them for dead but standing here, boots soaked and hair tearing from my braid…

“Feel it, Avery,” Wolfe rasped. “Just like that.”

My smile came, full and unrestrained. My cheeks hurt as we cut across the sea. Fins broke the waves, chasing after the ripples we caused in the sea. The dolphins wove between the current, mouths open and curious eyes trained our way. I laughed, delighted, and fished my phone from my pocket. I braced myself as best I could, snapping pictures of the cliffs and the waves.

I wished I could have taken a picture of Wolfe and I. Flipped the camera around, burrowed against his side, head on his chest, and captured the moment forever.

“I’m here,” he reassured. His presence settled into my back. When I looked down at the rail, I saw the faint outline of his hands beside mine. He had me pressed against it, his chest to my back. “I’m here.”

We sailed for a few more minutes, dolphins breaking off and circling back. When Kieran cut the engines, my hands began to shake. Hope tasted foreign on my tongue and I lifted a hand to my brow to shield my eyes. Kieran droned on the microphone about the wildlife and the migration patterns of the whales, but I could barely hear him.

I needed this. I needed to see it, believe it. Needed to feel something.

I turned to face the bow, scanning the horizon line. We bounced up and down with the waves for a few movements before one of the kids in the family in front of me shouted, “There!”

We all turned west, back toward the cliffs. For a moment, the sea and the world stood still. I couldn’t feel the cold air stinging my cheeks or the white-knuckle grip I had on the boat’s railing.

“Please,” I whispered, throat tight with emotion. “Please.”

In one explosive moment, the whale breached. I clapped a hand to my mouth, biting back a sob. The humpback was the largest thing I’d ever seen, twisting gracefully above the waves before slamming back into the sea and disappearing once more.

Behind me, everyone was cheering.

I stood frozen in my little corner tracing the shadow below the surf. Another tail broke the water, slapping once before it, too, slipped from sight.

“Your camera, Avery,” Wolfe reminded me gently. “Capture it.”

I fumbled for my phone, tears sliding down my cheeks as the whales swam around us, their songs echoing and clicking below the boat. A smaller whale breached, twisting with much less grace and slamming back into the water causing a plume of spray to rise up. The kids beside me were laughing gleefully, but I felt like I couldn’t take a full breath.

They were beautiful. Majestic. Strong. Resilient.

One surfaced right beside us, hot air and water droplets spraying from its blowhole. I leaned against the side, watching it lazily turn to look up at us. One large dark eye met mine and I nearly jumped in after it, just to experience the sea beside them.

“They’re incredible,” I whispered.

Wolfe hovered by my side, peering down into the water. “Some of the old wives’ tales say that whales are meant to guide you on your journey through healing. Look, Avery.” He pointed further out where more and more whales were surfacing. “They all came for you.”