Page 10 of Searching for Sunshine

“Yeah, I’m good. I still can’t believe all of this is happening,” I say with a laugh. “Are you really sure you’re up for all this?”

“Yeah, Stella, I promise I’m good with it. Now, go ahead and get on the road, and I’ll see you later this week,” Wyatt tells me.

“Sounds good. Thank you, Wyatt.”

He smiles at me and stands before closing my door and waving at me as I crank my car.

As soon as I pull out of the parking spot, I grab my phone. Preparing myself for Avery’s reaction, I hit her contact and wait for her to answer through my car speaker.

“Stella Elizabeth Hale. What the actual hell is going on? I’ve been calling you for over an hour. I was getting ready to drive down there and check on you.”

“Oh my god, Aves, I’m so sorry. It’s been the wildest day ever,” I tell her honestly.

“First of all, are you okay? I knew I should have come with you,” Avery says.

“I’m okay now. But buckle up, because, girl, do I have a story for you.”

“I swear to god if you don’t spill, Stella, I’m gonna come unglued. What’s the verdict? Are we gonna be sipping champagne in France this summer or what?”

I laugh and shake my head at her antics. “Not quite. Okay, I’ll be honest: I don’t know where to start but here it goes. Turns out, Memaw left me the High Tide Hideaway but in order to claim it, I have to move to Crestbrook Cove for at least a year and live on the property. Oh, and I have to be married too. But don’t worry, I’ve gotten that part taken care of, and the wedding’s on Thursday.”

The line goes quiet for a moment, and I check my phone screen to see if I lost her. “Avery? You there?”

“What the actual fuck, Stels? You’re joking, aren’t you? I swear if you’re joking I’m hiding your running shoes until you find a way to make it up to me.”

“Aves, I swear I wish I was joking. I told you it’s been quite a day.”

“Okay, wait, you’re serious. I’m gonna need you to rewind this all the way back and talk me through exactly what happened.”

I spend the next twenty minutes telling her about the meeting with Mr. Marshall, Memaw’s last wishes, my panic attack, and Wyatt’s offer. I lose track of the number of times she interrupts me. Finally, when she’s completely caught up, I finish with, “So, yeah, this isn’t quite how I saw the summer going, but I guess it’ll definitely be an adventure.”

“Holy shit, Stella. I didn’t think things like this happened in real life. I’m all for the main character energy you’re channeling right now, but this is wild,” Avery exclaims, and I can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just know Memaw had to be freaking giddy over this last round of shenanigans she orchestrated.”

Avery laughs before agreeing. “Yeah, honestly if anyone could make all of this happen, it was her. So when do we move?”

I blink in surprise for a moment before responding, “We? Avery, I can’t ask you to move to Crestbrook Cove with me. Where will you live? Where will you work? Just because I have to rearrange my whole life doesn’t mean you have to.”

“Babes, it’s really cute you think there’s anything that could stop me from moving with you. And as for where I’m going to live, didn’t you just tell me you inherited a big-ass hotel? You can hire me to manage your marketing and event planning, inexchange for a place to stay. Plus, you know I’ve been wanting to get my art business off the ground, and this will give me time to do that for some extra money.”

I feel my eyes well in my eyes at her offer and I feel my anxiety lessen a little at the realization that I don’t have to do this all by myself. “Have I told you lately how much I love you? But really, are you sure you want to do this? From what Memaw told me last summer, we’re gonna have our work cut out for us with this place.”

“Back at ya, Stels. And yes, I’m sure. Looks like we were right about this being our summer of adventure, huh?”

“God, I’ve gotta say that I think this is a little more than I bargained for.”

“Right? I still cannot believe you’re getting married this week. Don’t think you’re off the hook from telling me more about this Wyatt guy, though,” Avery teases before asking, “how far out are you? You promise you’re still good to drive? I’m worried about you.”

“No, I promise I’m good now. I should be home in about forty-five minutes,” I tell her after double-checking my navigation app.

“Perfect, I’ll order pizza and grab us a bottle of wine. Looks like we’re going to have a few late nights this week. You and I have a wedding to plan.”

CHAPTER 7

WYATT

“Man, where the hell have you been? I’ve been calling your phone constantly for the last hour,” Trent yells as soon as I open the door to The Sand Bar.

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