Page 1 of Serenity at Seagrove
CHAPTER1
The long road stretched out before Luna Mason. It was flanked by the lush greenery that only the South could provide. Giant live oak trees draped with Spanish moss arched over the roadway, creating a tunnel effect of quiet beauty. She rolled her window down, allowing the salty breeze to tease her hair and fill the car with the ocean scent. The air seemed lighter here as if it carried whispers of possibility and new beginnings.
Her hands tightened on the steering wheel as the miles to Seagrove dwindled. She had waited so long for this moment, imagining it repeatedly in her mind. It was a daily visualization she had done for so many years that she couldn't even remember how many it was. But now that she was here, her excitement was tangled up with nervousness, leaving her stomach fluttering with anxiety.
She could still picture herself here as a wide-eyed ten-year-old running along Seagrove's sandy shores during the one and only vacation her family took when she was a child. Her parents hadn't had much, and they had saved a long time to take that one beach vacation. It had been magical, not the kind conjured up by fancy hotels or big amusement parks, but the quieter kind, with bonfires on the beach, looking for perfect pieces of sea glass, with the warm embrace of an island that felt like home from the very moment she had stepped onto it.
Nothing else held her there - no family members, no history. Just that one vacation to Seagrove had been enough to make her long for it for the rest of her life. Her grandmother had loved hearing her childhood stories about Seagrove.
“If it made you that happy, darling, it must be a special place,”she had said more than once.
Now, thanks to an unexpected inheritance her grandmother had left her, Luna had finally been able to take the leap that she would have never dared to take otherwise.
Serenity at Seagrove. The name alone filled her with excitement and hope and a healthy dose of apprehension. What if her new business didn't work? What if the dream that she had focused on so carefully, all the way from Austin, Texas, crumbled the moment she saw it in person? Her holistic health center had been designed and built while she had managed everything remotely, balancing blueprints and contracts from all the way in Texas. She had poured every ounce of energy into this venture, leaving her whole life behind because it felt like it no longer fit her.
A psychotherapist in the bustling city, she'd spent her days helping others untangle their lives while quietly mourning her own. When the pieces of her life had fallen apart—her marriage, her plans for a family, her own sense of belonging—she decided it was time to start over completely.
She had adored her grandmother. She was her father's mother, and she had seen her so much throughout her life that she felt like she was a second parent. Losing her had been hard, but her grandmother had given her that one final gift of an inheritance large enough to make her dream come true. Luna had been blessed by wonderful grandmothers on both sides of her family, and she considered herself so lucky because of it. So much wisdom had been passed to her over the years she spent with both of them, and she prayed that wisdom served her well now.
Now here she was, following that faint childhood memory of happiness back to Seagrove. The GPS chirped, pulling her from her thoughts. She looked at the screen—only five miles to go. Her heart rate sped up, a mixture of anticipation and doubt.
Would Serenity be everything she'd imagined? She had chosen every detail with care. The soft coastal hues of the rooms, the deck to do yoga overlooking the ocean, the small garden that she'd dreamed of planting with herbs for teas and tinctures—but she'd yet to see all of it with her own eyes.
She thought of SuAnn from Hotcakes, who'd been a lifeline in the planning of this opening. "You're going to love it here, honey," SuAnn had said in one of their many calls. "Seagrove has a way of welcoming folks just like you."
She'd met SuAnn after calling the local chamber of commerce to get some help with planning. SuAnn had jumped right in, even though she owned a bakery and had no experience with a holistic retreat. She hoped to find more friends like her. The last thing she wanted to feel was like an outsider, like the new girl with big dreams and not enough roots. She needed this place to feel like home to her. She needed the center to be more than just a business, but be a haven for others to heal—and maybe a way to heal herself too.
The first sign for Seagrove appeared, the words painted against a weathered blue background. Her chest tightened. She was almost there.
She slowed as the trees thinned, revealing glimpses of the ocean shimmering off in the distance. A smile broke across her face. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this way—hopeful, alive, and ready to embrace whatever came next.
"Well, this is it. No turning back now," Luna whispered to herself. "It's time to live my dream."
* * *
The tires of Luna's compact car crunched softly against the gravel driveway as she came to a stop in front of her new home. Her breath caught at the sight before her. Serenity at Seagrove stood proudly in front of the ocean in the midday sunlight. This was a vision that had once only existed in her dreams. All of her sketches and visualizations were brought to life right in front of her. Her chest tightened as a surge of emotion flooded her body—pride, disbelief, and the faintest little bit of fear.
She had painted the house a soft and welcoming shade of pale pink. It looked like it belonged right there on the beach and had been there forever. It was framed by swaying sea oats and dunes that were kissed by the ocean breeze. The outside exuded such charm and warmth, and it was exactly what she wanted her clients to see when they arrived looking for a break from their lives.
White trim outlined the windows, and there was a wide, inviting front porch that wrapped around the front and the sides, complete with rocking chairs that seemed to call to anyone passing by to sit, relax, and lose themselves in the rhythm of the ocean waves. There were some strategically placed potted ferns and blooming flowers brightening up the already sunny facade.
She turned off the engine and sat for a moment, taking it all in. Her hands trembled slightly on the steering wheel, so she pressed her palms flat against her lap to steady herself. After all, she would teach people about stress reduction and how to be healthier in mind, body, and spirit. She had to take her own advice.
“This place is really mine,” she whispered to an empty car.
She had poured herself into the design, managing every detail between therapy clients from her small apartment in Austin, Texas. And now here it was, not just an idea in her mind, but something solid and tangible. Finding a lot on the beach in Seagrove was rare, so she was thankful when this one came onto the market. She snatched it up within days of it going up for sale and never looked back.
She pushed open the car door and stepped out into the warm, salty air. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, remembering that childhood vacation like it was yesterday. Her sandals crunched against the gravel as she moved toward the house, her heart beating faster with each step.
A sign near the entrance read “Serenity at Seagrove.” The words were etched in an elegant script on a wooden plaque that she had painted to match the pale pink of the house. Her grandmother's words echoed in her mind.
“If it made you that happy, darling, it must be a special place.”
She reached the front porch, placed her hand on the smooth white railing, and ran her fingers along the wood. The porch stretched wide and had plenty of space for morning coffee and afternoon chats. Her gaze shifted to the double front doors, which were flanked by tall windows that allowed sunlight to stream into the house. The soft breeze carried the scent of the ocean, mingling with the faint aroma of the freshly cut wood and paint. The house had just been completed a week or so ago, and she'd made it just in time.
Luna reached into her bag for the key and hesitated momentarily. What if it wasn't everything she'd hoped for? What if the inside didn't match the image she had carefully curated in her mind? She shook her head, shaking away the thoughts. This place was hers, perfect or not, and it was the start of something new.
The key turned quickly in the brand-new lock, and the door swung open with a gentle creak. Cool air greeted her as she stepped inside, and it had the unmistakable smell of a new house. It was one of the reasons why she loved going to home improvement stores—the smell of wood and paint just did something to her, like perfume did for other people.
