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Lauren sighed, her smile huge and the relief rushing through her with the strength of a stiff beach wind. “Oh, praise the stars,” she said.
Ty laughed and went over the paperwork and details he’d have his secretary send. Lauren said she’d watch her email, and then she hung up.
“You got it.” Joy rushed at her and wrapped her up into a tight hug. “I’m so happy for you.” Her voice broke on the last word, though, and Lauren pressed her eyes closed to keep her tears in.
“You’ll come stay in the guest bedroom every weekend,” she whispered.
“Heck yes, I will,” Joy whispered back, though both of them knew Joy wouldn’t do that. Cass hugged her too, and then she went into the master to get ready, Joy left through the front door, and Lauren stood in not-her-house and grinned and grinned as she typed out two texts.
One to her Supper Club group, who were all anxiously awaiting the news. The other went to Blake, who responded almost as fast as Bea and Bessie.
As she left Cass’s and went down the street to her house to make her popcorn and order her pizza, her thoughts went west. First to Texas, and then further, to California. Maybe she should reach out to her brother and let him know she was making a twelve-hundred-mile move. She wasn’t sure why Jess lingered in her mind, and she didn’t know how to reach out to him quite yet. Her memory stirred about an upcoming birthday, and once she got home, she checked her calendar. Sure enough, his oldest’s birthday was at the beginning of September, and once Lauren texted him about that, she could let him know about the changes in her life.
17
Beatrice Turner joined her husband at the back hatch of their SUV and put in the beach tote filled to the brim with paper products—cups, plates, napkins, and silverware.
“Got it all?” Grant asked.
Bea sniffled as she nodded. She let her husband fold her into his arms, unsure why the weepiness had started so soon. “She’s not even leaving until next weekend,” Grant whispered. “You still have Supper Club.”
“It’s not just her,” Bea said. On the same day she was driving to Charleston with Joy and Lauren, Grant was taking Shelby back to her mother. She’d moved once again and now lived near Birmingham, and she was going to be in Atlanta next weekend for something Bea didn’t quite understand. A fair, maybe?
Grant would be driving her to meet her mom, and then Shelby would be gone. “I love her,” Bea said. “I know it makes no sense, but I do. She’s fun to have around.” She stepped away from her husband and wiped her eyes. “I don’t know how you do it.”
He turned away from her. “I don’t either.” He sounded emotional too, and Bea wondered if he’d ever considered asking his ex-wife for a swap in schedules. Now that he was married, Bea could help so much with Shelby during the school year. When she’d met and married Grant, the girl had been thirteen, and she was now closing in on sixteen.
She’d been on the honor roll every term this past year, and Bea texted with her constantly. She knew her mother wasn’t home all the time, and she simply wanted the best for Shelby. Something told her not to bring it up—and not to ruin Beach Day by starting it out with crying.
He reached to close the hatch with the press of a button, and he gave her a smile. She saw the pain masked behind the action, and she cradled his face in a single palm. “Thank you,” she said.
“Have a fun day,” he said. “Call me if Cass forgot something you really need.” He gave her another grin and leaned in to kiss her.
Bea gave him a smile and got behind the wheel. He hadn’t met Cass if he thought she’d forget something, but she couldn’t just run back up to her house if she did. Bea had wanted and organized a ladies-only day on the beach at Lighthouse Point, and as she drove to the destination alone, she wondered why she’d been so lonely for her friends this summer.
She’d been the one to start this domino effect of their Supper Club leaving their small town along the Gulf Coast of Texas. She was the one who’d fallen in love in a single summer—heck, in ten days—while a tourist on the island.
She’d been the one to encourage Cass to start fresh here in Hilton Head, and she and Harrison had taken almost a whole year to fall in love and get married. But they’d settled here, not there.
She’d been the one to beg her friends to come for the summer, and while Bessie couldn’t do it for too long, she’d come when she could. Joy and Lauren had been here for months, and Lauren was now staying.
Bea smiled at that, because Lauren deserved every single good thing in the world. She’d dedicated far too much of her life to her career and her company to have everything fall apart the way it had. She’d not seen her and Blake together yet, but Joy said they were an “adorable couple.”
She pulled into the parking lot, surprised to see Blake emerging from his dark-colored SUV too. “Don’t worry, Bea,” he said. “I’m just here to help you unload. Lauren suggested it last night, and well, here I am.”
Bea raised her eyebrows at the tall, sandy-haired man. He was charming and good-looking. Broad shoulders and tight muscles across his chest and in his legs. He opened the back of her car and started pulling out the heavier objects like the cooler and the box of cookies, crackers, and candy.
“I can get the paper products,” she said.
He flashed her a smile and waited for her to reach into the car and get the tote. She also shouldered her bag with her eReader, her suntan lotion, and her towel, and then she faced the beach.
“I’m following you,” he said. “I can get your chairs and umbrella set up too, okay?”
“Yes, that would be wonderful,” she said. She had no problem letting someone take care of her, and she found it romantic and cute that Blake was here doing it.
She followed the sidewalk until it ended, and then she squished through the sand until she found a suitable place. “I think two rows,” she said. “So we’ll put up the shade in the front and angle it down, and the umbrella can go back here,” she said. She set down the tote with the plates and cups.
“Yes, ma’am,” Blake said. He put the cooler next to her bag and left to go get more. Bea tilted her head back and took a long, deep breath of the beachy air. She loved the sun. The sand. The ocean. The breeze. All of it.
