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skin as desired to seal in filling. When oil is hot enough that a corner of the wonton immediately floats to the top, add uncooked wontons and cook 1 minute, or until golden brown. Turn wontons over and cook an additional minute (reduce heat if necessary to prevent overcooking). Remove wontons from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined cookie sheet. Once fried, keep wontons warm in a 190-degree oven until ready to serve. Serve with Saundra’s Sweet and Sour Sauce.
     
Makes approximately 48 wontons.
     
Note: Wontons can be fried ahead of time and reheated in a 450 degree oven for 5 minutes.
     
Note: Shawn likes 2 ounces of softened cream cheese added to the sausage mixture.
     
Sandra’s Sweet and Sour Sauce
     
2 tablespoons cornstarch
     
1/2 cup honey
     
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
     
1 clove garlic, minced
     
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated (or 1/4 teaspoon dry ginger, ground)
     
5 tablespoons ketchup
     
6 tablespoons pineapple juice
     
Mix all ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Simmer 1 to 2 minutes until mixture thickens and becomes clear. Serve warm.
     

Chapter 4
     

     
    Because of her discussion with Breanna, Sadie had missed the first half of the one-hour show. But she was no longer in the mood for show tunes anyway—a rare thing for her since she usually loved the upbeat tempos and easy-to-recall lyrics she’d known since she was young. Cruise ships were a mecca for such nostalgia, and since there was a show every night, she didn’t worry about missing out on too much.
    Pete and Shawn seemed to be getting along, which helped her feel less guilty about ditching them, though she wondered if either of them would have gone to the show if not for her being excited about it. She’d have to find a way to make it up to them later.
    Instead of going to the show, she went to the coffee counter on deck seven and ordered a hot cocoa, then wandered over to the photo gallery, which was just a hallway displaying all the welcome pictures taken by the ship photographers that were available for purchase.
    The welcome photos from yesterday were organized by time of arrival in half-hour intervals. She and Breanna had arrived at 1:45, and Sadie found their picture quickly. She frowned at how wide her hips looked and immediately determined never to wear those shorts again. She turned the picture around and returned it to its place on the rack, indicating she wasn’t planning to purchase it. She found Pete and Shawn’s picture in the 3:30 to 4:00 section and decided to buy that one. Seeing the two of them together made her a little misty-eyed.
    She was on her way to the counter when she caught a flash of black and pink braids from the other end of the hallway. Sadie turned her head quickly and made eye contact with the woman for a split second before the woman turned and began walking away, casting an anxious look over her shoulder after just a few steps.
    Sadie followed her without considering whether it was a good idea. She wouldn’t need to get answers from Shawn if she could get them from this woman instead. But why was the woman in a hurry to get away? There were so many other people around that Sadie refrained from calling out to the woman, but she really wanted to.
    “Ma’am!” someone said behind her. “Excuse me, ma’am!”
    She looked over her shoulder as the cashier from the photo gallery walked toward her with his hand outstretched.
    “You must pay for your photograph.”
    Sadie realized she still had Pete and Shawn’s welcome photo in her hand. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, handing it to him. She caught another flash of braids as the woman turned the corner into the foyer area in front of the elevators. “I’ll come back and pay for it in a minute,” she said over her shoulder as she began heading in the woman’s direction.
    The staff member said something Sadie didn’t hear as she increased her pace,