Page 119 of Ten Beach Road

“It’s not the time to quit, either,” Deirdre snapped. “It’s never the time to quit.”

Avery snorted.

“I can’t believe this,” Maddie whispered. “How could this happen now?”

“It’ll be all right, Mom,” Kyra said.

“I knew I should have kept my eyes closed,” Maddie said. “I can’t bear to look at her like this.”

Avery couldn’t have agreed more. She wanted to leave right now and pretend none of it had happened. Her stomach rolled and she felt her gorge rise. Hurrying away from the group she reached a stand of sea oats and lost her breakfast. A brown pelican watched with sad eyes, making Avery feel even more pathetic.

Straightening, she stared out toward the beach and noticed that the fishing pier was gone, ripped from its concrete pilings and most likely lying at the bottom of the Gulf. The beach itself looked different; the sand oddly piled and rearranged, the walkovers smashed like matchsticks. The water was a murky green like some smoothie gone awry. Or a dirty martini with too many olives that had been both shaken and stirred.

Car doors slammed, and there were shouts. Avery looked up and saw Chase and Jeff and the boys standing frozen in front of Bella Flora. A wave of relief rushed through her and she tried to banish it, but she was embarrassingly glad to see him. The Hardins stood for a few long moments clearly taking in the damage, then headed around Bella Flora. Chase looked up and spotted her. He said something to his dad and then walked toward her.

“Are you all right?” He came directly to her and cupped the nape of her neck in his big warm hand. “You look almost as beat up as Bella Flora.”

She smiled a ridiculously wobbly smile. She couldn’t seem to locate their normal combative tone. “And that’s saying something.”

“We took the boys camping. I didn’t even hear Charlene had been upgraded until late yesterday,” he said. “We got back as fast as we could.”

Avery nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

“I was so afraid something had happened to you.” He said this quietly but with a depth of feeling that she’d never heard from him before.

Hot tears formed. She broke eye contact to look at Bella Flora. “Something did.”

“Ah, Avery.” He pulled her close and she buried her face in his chest, breathing in the scent of wood smoke and pine forest. “She’s a beauty, but she’s just a house. She can be rebuilt.”

He put both of his arms around her and held her there. “Truly maddening women like you are harder to come by.” Carefully, he set her away from him and looked down into her eyes. “You’re a lot of things, Avery. Many of them incredibly annoying. But you’re no quitter.” He smiled, and she dredged one up to match it, but he was wrong. And so was Deirdre. She didn’t have the strength or the money to start over. None of them did.

Near the pool Jeff Hardin shook his head in dismay. Even John Franklin seemed subdued, leaning on his wife in a way that belied the blow they’d all taken. Maddie looked like someone had punched her in the gut. Every time any kind of vehicle could be heard she paused for a moment with a sad yet hopeful look that made Avery’s heart hurt even more. Nikki looked both angry and oddly determined. Kyra hid behind her camera, moving through the rubble, documenting the damage.

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