Chapter 15 #2
“I don’t blame them,” she mused. “They’re right to be mad at me for breaking my word. And trust is the hardest thing to earn back.”
“But they love you. Shouldn’t that be unconditional?”
“Spoken like an only child,” she teased.
“Of self-absorbed parents.” He grinned. That exchange had been a core tenet of their early friendship when he struggled to understand her family dynamics.
The fact was, Roni was his singular unconditional relationship.
His military pals probably counted, but they weren’t around day-to-day.
His parents had little time for Brayden unless he was furthering their specific interests.
If they could brag about him in the right circles, all was good.
They enjoyed having a son with a stellar sports record and honorable military career.
They were far less interested in the man he’d become with the many current endeavors he couldn’t and wouldn’t discuss.
“I do love you.” She reached over, lacing her fingers through his on the console.
The earnestness in her voice made his chest ache. “I know you don’t say things you don’t mean.” He lifted her hand to his lips.
“Where does this go?” she asked. “I know in your head you have a ten-point plan with contingencies.”
“Well, now that we have the original documents, I think Gamble and Swann will be able to—”
She laughed. “I meant you and me.”
“Oh.” He tried to laugh with her and managed only a small sputter.
“I, um…” He hesitated to tell her his plans for them looked more like a dream floating just out of reach.
Weird, because for over half his life, he shared everything with her.
But nothing about loving her had been within his control.
He hadn’t been sure she’d ever feel the same way he did.
“Brayden?”
“No plan.” He squeezed her fingers lightly. “What could I plan without knowing how you felt?”
Her smile was soft, full of understanding. “But you’ve thought about it.”
He nodded, his throat dry. Where was a bottle of water when he needed one?
His phone rang, the sound filling the heavy space between them. On the screen, the caller ID showed Connor’s name. “Leggett,” he croaked.
“You okay?” Connor asked. “I’ve been worried.”
Brayden cleared his throat. “I’m good. Sorry about earlier. We’re all okay here. Go ahead and finish filling us in.”
“Swann just sent me the digital copies of the documents from David Hargrave. You probably don’t need what I found to defend the property lines now, but both of you will want to hear this.”
Roni sat straighter in the seat. Connor had her full attention.
“I wish you weren’t driving.” The disappointment came through loud and clear. “This is so much cooler with visual aids.”
“I’ve got the tablet,” Roni said. “Brayden just unlocked it for me.”
“Awesome.” Connor clapped his hands once. “You’re gonna love this.”
Brayden listened as Connor did a quick recap about South Carolina easement laws for coastal properties. “That plat map your dad found protects the beach around the Hargrave cove as private, limiting the easement rules to conservation and utility needs only.”
“Indigo Reef has no recourse?”
“Not a bit,” Connor confirmed. “But it gets better. What do you know about accretion laws?”
This was where Brayden had ended the call earlier. “Not enough,” he said. Roni’s hopeful excitement was contagious. “Walk us through it.”
Connor began with the basics, including a few technical terms about erosion, gradual build up, and avulsion events like storms. “Now, when it comes to accretion,” he continued.
“When the shoreline shifts gradually over time due to natural elements, the legal boundary shifts with it. We’ve been working overtime to find overhead images of the maritime forest between Hargrave land and the Indigo Reef development.
Go ahead and scroll through that image file. ”
“I don’t know. I don’t want to get carsick.”
“Fair enough. Try skipping from the first to the last.”
With a wary groan, she did as he asked, gasping immediately.
“Are you sick?”
“No.” She clutched his forearm with one hand. “The forest has moved over time. Grown or spread or whatever.”
“Yes, exactly!” Connor shouted. “Now, your maritime forest is small, but still protected. I’m guessing Indigo Reef meant to argue that the forest is too small and inconsequential.”
“They’re wrong,” Roni grumbled.
“On many levels,” Connor agreed. “Environmentally, legally, and more. Even if Indigo Reef were to honor the forest line and sink the foundation pilings per their original building plans on file, it would be on Hargrave land.”
“How do we use that?” Brayden asked. “How would it be enforced? I looked at those images and I don’t get it.” Granted, he’d been distracted by Roni’s distress at the time.
“I’ve got you covered, man,” Connor said. “Ten years ago, severe tidal erosion washed out a chunk of the cove, but seasonal squalls have slowly deposited that sand back onto the Hargrave side. The forest shifted with it, though that’s hard to tell when you’re on the ground.”
“The trees are just the trees,” Roni said, thoughtfully. “And it’s not like we can do any thinning if we wanted to.”
“One of these days, I want to see that beach for myself,” Connor said. “My wife and I visited the Inn a while back and we love Brookwell, but you’ve got something special.”
“We’d be happy to host you and your wife,” Roni said.
Brayden chuckled. “That’s why you’ve been so intent on this case. You want to treat Sonya to a private vacation.”
“Maybe,” Connor allowed. “You know I’m always invested in my work.”
“I do know that. It’s one of the many reasons I’m happy when you’ve got my back,” Brayden said.
“To summarize,” Connor got back to the main issue, “Over the past thirty years, the forest had grown and spread into the accepted boundaries of both properties, but the physical average high-water line has shifted exactly thirty-two feet in your favor.”
Roni didn’t shout or swear or celebrate. In fact, she went way too still. Brayden reached across to rub her shoulder. “Do I need to pull over?”
“No,” she rasped, waving him on. “We need to get to the bank.”
“You can take your time,” Connor said. “This should feel like a huge weight off your shoulders.”
“If Indigo Reef honors it,” she murmured.
“They’ll have to,” Brayden said.
“They will,” Connor agreed. “And not just because you can present the original documents, Veronica. Under state law, due to the federal protections, you and your sisters actually own over thirty feet of the property on the other side of the forest,” Connor revealed triumphantly.
“Indigo Reef’s planned condominium footprint isn’t just close to your property line, it is encroaching on six feet of deeded Hargrave land.
They’ve been trespassing with their entire building plan this entire time. ”
“They built their development strategy on a forged plat map, unaware that the physical earth literally shifted under their feet.”
“Exactly,” Connor cheered.
Roni swiped at her cheeks. “Thank you, Connor. This is incredible news.”
“Gamble will be explaining all of this to your sisters shortly. And a local judge after that to halt any further construction.”
“Fantastic work, Connor,” Brayden said, his shoulders relaxing in relief. He ended the call and turned back to Roni, with a big smile. “After all the bullying tactics and nonsense, they’re done. Really done. You and your sisters will be back in business at the Hideaway in no time.”
She flipped the cover over the tablet and carefully tucked it aside. Then she gave a shout of joy loud enough that it should’ve blown the roof off the truck.
He hollered along with her and when she cranked up the radio for the rest of the drive, he wallowed in the immediate celebration.