Page 81 of Love At The Shore
She took a deep breath. She didn’t want to stop and examine her life right now. If she did, she was afraid she might be disappointed with what she’d find.
“Do you mind if we pick up the pace a little? I just want to keep moving,” she said.
Maureen nodded. “Sure.”
Jenna took off walking again, the sand swallowing her footsteps, but no matter how fast or long her strides, the beach stretched out before her, bathed in beautiful silvery light.
Chapter Eighteen
Jenna tried to cram astack of books into the last of her organizational bins after they got home from summer camp, but it was no use. She had zero room left to pack anything. Too bad Tybee Island didn’t have a Container Store. Or perhaps a moving van.
Also, weren’t they leaving with approximately ten pounds less chocolate than when they’d arrived? Jenna assumed they’d have plenty of space.
This is ridiculous. She shook her head as she turned the books sideways and tried to slide them into the side of the bin. Still no luck.
“The car is already filled to the brim. I don’t understand where all this stuff came from.” Did she really need her gigantic hardback thesaurus? Could she leave it behind and start using an app instead? Nope. She was way too old-school for that. She’d no sooner part with her antique typewriter.
Ugh, the typewriter! She hadn’t packed that yet either, and they were scheduled to leave bright and early the following morning.
“I swear we didn’t bring this much,” she muttered.
Nick strolled into the room and tucked a pair of earbuds into his backpack, already packed and sitting in one of the living room chairs.
“Well, I’m almost done with my stuff.” He pulled a face. “Ally, not so much.”
Jenna looked up from the books in her hand, pausing when she caught sight of Nick standing with his back to the big picture window and its dazzling ocean view.
The water sparkled like diamonds in the late afternoon sun. A group of pelicans flew in a perfectly arranged V against the sweeping blue sky. No matter how many times she visited the island, its beautiful beaches never failed to take Jenna’s breath away.
But it wasn’t the sea view that made her throat clog with emotion all of a sudden. It was her son—Nick, her sweet little boy. Except he didn’t seem so little anymore. He was a little taller than he’d been when they’d first moved into the beach house. His favorite blue t-shirt wasn’t quite as baggy as it had once been, and he was definitely going to need a few new pairs of longer shorts when they got back home to Savannah.
But the changes that caught her so off guard weren’t strictly physical. Nick had a new air about him now. He seemed to have become more self-assured overnight, more confident. He even carried himself differently.
So much had happened since they’d come here, and somewhere along the way, her shy little boy had become a young man.
“What did I do now?” He froze and shot her a questioning glance.
She was staring.
“Nothing.” Jenna smiled at her boy, but her lips trembled and before she knew what was happening, she realized she was blinking back tears.
Her smile turned watery. “You just look so grown up—even from these last five weeks.”
Had it really been only five weeks? It felt like a lifetime…onsomany levels.
Nick eyed her as she crossed the room to stand beside him in front of the window. “Are you seriously crying right now?”
“What? Nooo. I just have overactive tear ducts.” She dabbed at the corners of her eyes in a wholly ineffectual effort to keep the tears at bay.
It was beginning to be a problem. She’d been crying off and on all day, blinking back tears during her walk with Maureen and now this.
I’m kind of a mess.
Saying goodbye to this place had never been so hard.
“Riiight,” Nick said.
She sniffed. So much for trying to seem stoic. “But you do look grown up, though.”
