40

Gavin breathed in the cool ocean air through his nose and blew it out through his mouth as his feet hit the ground four times. He repeated the cadence again and again. Finding a rhythm came naturally these days, even when running long distances. It was nice when time and tides aligned to let him jog on the hard sand of low tide before the day got hot. He checked his smartwatch. His hunch was right: he’d run almost three miles. And, according to the device, he’d apparently missed a text from his mom too.

Could you come on back to the house now?

He didn’t know what she needed a hand with, but he imagined it was something she’d made for the addition to the store. Even though it had been a year since they got the additional space, the Glynn Girls were still redesigning and staging it to be exactly how they wanted it. She didn’t interrupt his workout time often, so it must be important. He pulled his phone from his pocket to text a quick reply.

K.

He ran through a cluster of gulls, making them scatter and squawk. What was Tara doing right now? Maybe she was running too. On some mornings when they had shared text messages, he’d noticed they had the same routine of jogging before the busyness of the day settled in. She was like his running buddy, except for the hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles that separated them. He’d love to hop in his car and drive the six-plus hours to visit her, but she hadn’t asked that recently, and he wouldn’t suggest the idea. Besides, she wasn’t at the cabin right now. Was she still in Virginia?

She was doing a fantastic job of working through everything her own way without anyone pulling or pushing on her. And the success of her nonprofit and the power of her yet-to-be-published nonfiction book were proof of it.

His mamas had invited her to come to the island anytime, and he’d assured her it was an open invite. She’d declined without any hesitation.

St. Simons was a perfect place for jogging most all year—flat, warm, with a nice breeze coming off the ocean and wide-open expanses of sand. Yeah. Come here to jog on the beach. Never mind that she was in the land of crisp mountain air, thousands of miles of trails, and rocks for climbing. He longed for her to see the new cottage. But if he told her about it, she might feel some obligation or guilt to use it, and he didn’t want that. No, she had to want to come to St. Simons again for her own sake. Then he’d show her the place and let her know it was hers to use whenever it suited her.

He was coming up on Gould’s Inlet, where he’d started running on the beach. It was still early enough that the popular spot was almost empty. There were a few people casting their nets into the tidal stream for crabs. It looked like another runner was headed his way.

What is that? He skidded to a stop in the sand so his vision wasn’t impaired. No way. He rubbed his eyes. The glaring light of the still-rising sun was making him see things.

The vision came closer.

Tara? His heart leaped, but his feet wouldn’t move.

She ran until she melted into his embrace. The feeling was heaven. He wrapped his arms around her and held tight, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair and feeling the steady beat of her heart. Her ear was on his chest. His own heart had to be going a mile a minute. The mere sight of her was more exhilarating than any physical exercise.

She pulled back enough to look at him. A dazzling grin spread across her face. “Hey, you.”

She was here. Really here. “Hey.” Smooth one. He’d often rehearsed what he would say to her if she returned like this, but none of those words were coming to mind. How on earth could he tell her how she lived in his mind and heart every moment of the day, regardless of however many miles separated them?

With her fingers splayed she combed her long hair from her face. “Maybe I should’ve told you I was coming, but I wanted to surprise you.” She chuckled. “Based on the look on your face, I can’t tell if you’re happy or uncomfortable or—”

Her lips drew him in, a magnetism too strong to ignore, and he stopped her words with a kiss. He couldn’t help it. But she didn’t pull away. Was she caught up in the moment too? He put his hand on the back of her head and ran his fingers through her hair. Its softness reminded him of silk.

She broke the kiss. “Wow.” Her breathing was fast. “That’s”—she touched her fingers to her lips—“quite the welcome.”

Did she feel for him some of what he felt for her? If only they could have been rooted in the same town. They should’ve had a childhood together. She would’ve been his best friend. Maybe much more.

He put his arms around her waist. “You know, just hoping you’ll feel welcome to visit again.” Would visits always have to be enough? How would she respond to the cottage? He was positive his mom didn’t tell her that place was hers. If Tara gave it only a quick glance, she’d think it was a home someone built on that third piece of property. Tara’s arrival had to be the reason his mom had texted him to head home.

“Gavin, I was thinking we should date.”

He grinned. “Me too.”

“But here’s the problem with that. I’m going to be one of those women you hear about who talk of marriage on the first date.”

“I’m happy to join in on that conversation.”

Her beautiful brown eyes bore into him. “I don’t want to be anywhere else but with you. In your life. In your arms.”

Was this for real? Of all the surprises he’d had in life, this was the best by far. Actually, nothing else compared. “You do?” He had to be grinning like an absolute fool.

He leaned in and kissed her again. When he pulled back, he glanced down at her feet. “I see you wore your running shoes. Let’s run back to Mom’s house. I have something to show you.”

Holding hands, they ran across the expanse of hard sand, jumped over the tidal stream that flowed along the dunes, and stepped onto the pavement of the East Beach neighborhood. They walked hand in hand.

Tara pointed toward his mom’s house. “Your mom told me where to find you. I just pulled into her driveway less than twenty minutes ago.”

He grinned. “So you drove and you just got to the island?”

She shrugged and smiled. “I had to wrap up my appointments along the AT in Virginia yesterday. Headed this way twelve hours ago.”

“You drove all night to see me?” No one had ever done something like that for him.

“Yeah, and if my brothers can see me, I know they’re laughing. Me driving all night. Me running down the beach into your arms.” She giggled.

They turned the corner off Bruce Drive, and about four hundred feet later, they were walking up his mom’s driveway. “This way.” He led her past the entrance to his mom’s house and to the separate shell-and-gravel driveway that went to the new white-clapboard-and-brick cottage.

She pointed at it. “I saw this when I arrived. It’s so cute and looks great. Your land buyers haven’t wasted any time getting houses built.” She gestured across the three lots. “The one closest to your mom’s house is my fav. On stilts, elevated like your mom’s, but so inviting with lots of curb appeal. They have good taste.”

The flying squirrel inside him jumped and flew about. “I’m glad you like it. I’ve been using my carpentry skills on this one, and I happen to have a key. Let’s go inside.”

She paused, her fingertips gently lifting the leaves of the jasmine he’d uprooted from Sapphira’s and replanted. She inhaled it and smiled before they walked up the wooden steps and onto the front porch that was as wide as the small cottage.

She touched the face of the brick cottage. “This looks like Sapphira’s brick.”

“It is her brick.” He held the door open for her, and she walked inside.

Her jaw dropped. He chuckled, put a finger under her chin, and closed her mouth.

She pulled away. “It’s…part of Sapphira’s home, a piece of the living area, right?”

He nodded.

She meandered into the next room and gasped. “The art room. The easels, the paintings, everything. Even the lighting is right.”

He found it hard to speak as he watched her excitement. “I tried to recreate everything as close as I could. I moved all the reclaimed materials that would still work. I called in that big favor from the squad and hired some professionals too. There’s a bathroom, a kitchenette, and a twin bed in the nook over there.”

She went to the staircase and peered toward the ceiling. “And a roof.”

He laughed. “I hired someone to do that—ceiling and roof. Up those stairs is space enough that you could build a nice large bedroom or two and a small full bathroom.”

“Wait. And by ‘you could,’ you mean the owners could.”

“I mean you.”

Her eyes bore into his. “Me?” She turned a circle. “This is for me?”

“It is. I wanted a place for you to stay anytime you wanted but with no obligations.”

She squealed and stomped her feet as if running in place. Was there something wrong?

“Are you okay?” Had he overstepped?

She hurried back to him, stood on her toes, and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes. I love it. It’s home. I…I’m inside a room where someone loved me and prayed for me all my life. I’m home.”

He embraced her. Love already permeated every space of the small house, and he knew it would for the rest of their lives and into the next generations.