Page 2 of Love At The Shore
“Yeah.” Jenna winced. The year before, there’d been a similar delay involving a giant inflatable beach ball.
Maureen nodded, and her eyes danced with laughter. “We’re a slow-moving team.”
Accurate. But as usual, Maureen seemed as calm and unruffled as a yoga teacher.
“You’re right. We’ll meet you there.” Jenna couldn’t keep the smile off her face. The perfect summer was just one short road trip away.
“See ya. Bye, guys.” Maureen poked her head in the backseat to make sure Nick and Ally had fastened their seat belts before clicking the car door closed.
All Jenna had to do before they were off was grab her purse and keys from the foyer.
“Bye, house,” she said in a melodic voice as she locked the door.
Then, with a Beach Boys song playing in her head, she climbed behind the wheel and headed off for five weeks in paradise.
The island was less than an hour’s drive from Savannah, but it might as well have been a world away. It was a sunny, sandy oasis, where Ally and Nick could play on the beach while Jenna worked on her manuscript without the pressures of homework, carpool and all the craziness that accompanied the school year. More importantly, it was their own special tradition—their first as a family of three.
Since her divorce four years ago, Jenna had sworn to herself that she’d still make Nick and Ally’s childhoods as stable and happy as possible. According to her stack of parenting books, traditions instilled kids with comfort and a sense of belonging. The beach house rental had been their very first tradition as a trio. The summers Jenna spent at the beach as a kid were some of her fondest memories, so she’d booked a vacation home on Tybee the minute school was out. All these years later, it was still their favorite time of year.
Within minutes of merging onto the interstate, the lush oaks, cypresses and draping greenery of Savannah gave way to salty breezes and windswept marshes. When a seagull swooped into view, Jenna’s heart gave a little squeeze. Every so often, she caught a glimpse of sand and cool blue ocean through a break in the vegetation.
Not much farther.
“How about a map update, Nick?” She met her son’s gaze in the rearview mirror.
He peered at her cell phone, which she’d set to navigation and surrendered to the kids in hopes of avoiding the inevitable are-we-there-yet questions. “I think she just said we’re close.”
Ally moved to pry the phone out of his hands. “Is it near Ocean Burger?”
Nick shook his head and maintained his grip. “You always want to go to Ocean Burger.”
“You always want to go to Splash Café,” Ally countered.
True. Last summer Jenna could have run a shuttle bus between the two restaurants.
“Well, we’re changing things up this year. New rental house, new summer camp.” She and Maureen had found the perfect day camp for the kids, complete with beach activities and an Olympic-sized pool. While Ally was busy making sandcastles and Nick challenged Grayson to one freestyle race after another, Jenna would be free to work on her book in tranquil silence. It was a total win-win situation.
She just hoped the beach house she’d booked was as cozy and welcoming as it looked online. She’d been so consumed with working on the plot for her sequel that she’d booked their rental home later than usual. Consequently, the place they’d stayed for the past few years had been unavailable. She’d had no choice but to reserve someplace completely new. Luckily, she’d found something roomy enough, but the end of the school year had been crammed with so many activities that she hadn’t even been able to do a drive-by and check it out.
“Does that mean it’s not near Ocean Burger?” In the backseat, Ally deflated.
“We can still go. It just means that we have to drive to get there.” Jenna glanced to her left, where the shore was beginning to stretch parallel to the highway, still barely visible through the sea oats. “All right, we’re getting close. Tell me your goals.”
Summer goal-setting was another of their family traditions. Last year, Nick caught his first fish in the surf and after days of combing through the sand, Ally accomplished her goal of finding a perfect, round sand dollar.
“I don’t have anything new.” Nick shrugged. “I just want to make swim team next year.”
“You’ve got all summer to practice, bud. You can do it this time.”
He was so close. Last year, he’d only missed the required lap time by ten seconds.
Ally’s goal, on the other hand, was a tad less serious. “Can I just eat chocolate all summer?”
Laughter bubbled up Jenna’s throat. “Um, no. You can havesomechocolate, but maybe you could pick a goal that’s a little less…sugary?”
Ally thought for a minute. “Oh, I know! Play at camp so you can finish your book?”
Jenna nodded. “Both of our goals rolled into one. I like the efficiency.”
