23. Vivien
L ate that night, Vivien leaned back in her prized Frontgate recliner, her bare feet aching after all the hours of physical labor as she gazed at the moon hung low over the Gulf.
It had been a good, satisfying, and successful day. One that left the impromptu party crew on a high that they were still enjoying hours after they’d cleaned up and come back to the Summer House.
She couldn’t help but marvel at how everything had come together for Tessa and Lacey, especially after the near disasters earlier in the day. They’d pulled it off, and now, as they sat together with Eli’s signature cocktails in hand, the world seemed… right.
Almost right. Close to right. There was something tapping on her heart, and no matter how she tried, she couldn’t ignore the thought that had taken hold that day.
She tried to pinpoint when the idea hit her, but couldn’t. It was sometime between that morning when Lacey announced they were going to work together to pull off a massive dinner party—reminding her of the night they’d all made an anniversary dinner—and right now, as she lifted her plastic cup when Jonah asked for a toast.
“To Tessa and Lacey,” Jonah said, raising his drink. “For pulling off what can only be described as a miracle.”
Tessa grinned, the flush in her cheeks more from pride than the cocktail she’d barely touched. “Please. It was the definition of a group effort.” She lifted her cup. “To the A-Team. Don’t think I won’t use you all again on our next project.”
“Which could be soon,” Lacey chimed in, her voice brimming with excitement. “Didn’t someone tell you about a lady who owns a bridal salon and wants a grand opening event?”
“Yes!” Tessa said. “And weren’t you talking to a couple who want to throw a Fourth of July beach bash that’s going to be twice the size of tonight’s party?”
“I was,” Lacey confirmed.
Tessa leaned over to give Lacey a high-five, which somehow morphed into a hug. “You’re a gem, sweet girl.” Over Lacey’s shoulder, she winked at Vivien. “She’s mine now.”
“Business only,” Vivien laughed. “And speaking of, I think I got a new client tonight, too.”
But Vivien wasn’t focused on the woman who’d asked her to set up a time to look at a Victorian house that needed an overhaul. Instead, she just watched her daughter and Tessa, not the least bit jealous of the friendship that had formed between them. Both of them radiated pure joy.
Tessa had changed so much this past month, she mused, eyeing her friend.
The uncertainty and doubt that hung over her when she’d been discovered camping out in the downstairs spare bedroom seemed to have melted away, replaced with confidence and determination. Lacey, too, had found her groove, proving that her boundless energy could be channeled into something extraordinary.
They’d all changed over this past month, to be honest. Jonah had come back after years of estrangement, his life situation demanding he take a new direction. Eli had fallen into the first soft cloud of an unexpected romance, and it had softened him. Kate’s influence could be felt on both of the Lawson men.
And Vivien…well, she liked being Vivien Lawson now. She’d well and truly let go of her old life and marriage, with just pings of sadness and regret lingering in her heart. Most of all…she never wanted to leave this place.
Oh, Viv. Never say never, right? Because she had to leave eventually.
Didn’t she? The thought made her sigh and feel that knock on her heart again.
“And to Chef Jonah,” Eli added to the toasting. “For not only saving the dinner but turning it into a masterpiece. Garrett couldn’t stop raving about the food.”
Jonah waved off the group cheer. “It was nothing. Just doing my job.”
“It was not nothing,” Tessa said firmly. “That mahi you whipped up in record time? With the mango salsa? I’ve never seen gratitude like that on anyone’s face. Sai Gupta might’ve signed on to Garrett’s board tonight because of your cooking.”
He managed a sheepish smile. “The host did ask for my email because he wanted to write a glowing recommendation of my cooking in case I needed it.” He narrowed his eyes at Tessa. “Not sure who told him I might, but it’s going right into my application to the program.”
The conversation flowed easily, punctuated by bursts of laughter and teasing. But Vivien didn’t say much, letting her gaze wander back to the moon. All the while, there was that idea dancing over her heart again.
Actually, not dancing. More like stomping in demand to be…considered.
“You’re quiet,” Eli said, nudging her arm. “Something on your mind?”
Vivien turned to him, looking into her brother’s kind blue eyes. It was time to talk to Eli, but it had to be alone. “Any chance I could talk to you privately for a moment?”
He sat up. “Everything okay?”
She nodded. “I just…have an idea.” And it was a doozie, she thought as she put her drink down. “Something I’d like to run by you.”
“Sure. Talk inside?”
“Yeah. I’m going to run to the bathroom for a sec,” she said. “Meet me upstairs in a minute.”
As Eli’s expression turned curious, Vivien’s nerves buzzed as she headed up to her room. In the ensuite, she rinsed her face, calming herself before she faced Eli. She was asking for a lot—but she had to ask. She had to.
“What’s up?” Eli called as he tapped on her bedroom door.
“Come on in.”
He walked in and glanced around, looking uncertain. She waved him to the open doors and out to the balcony, which seemed as good a place as any to present her idea. The voices and laughter floated up from the deck below.
What if Eli thought she was being foolish? Or, worse, selfish? But the thought of what was at stake gnawed at her heart and gave her courage.
“Listen,” Vivien began, leaning against the railing. “I have an idea. Bear with me—it’s crazy.”
“As crazy as the time you wanted us to have a crab racing contest and three of them got lost and ended up in Uncle Artie’s suitcase?” he joked.
She chuckled at the memory. “Maybe…worse.”
“The sandcastle contest? Boys versus girls? That was the same year, I think, the summer we met the Wylies.”
“Oh, yes!” she said, that memory particularly fresh from her diaries. “I happen to know the girls kicked butt in that contest.”
He drew back with a scoffing laugh. “Are you kidding? Peter and I had a bridge over our moat. You just won because Crista cried.”
She smiled, knowing he was right. “Got any more memories from when we were kids here?” she asked.
“About a million. Why?”
“Because that’s my idea—making memories.”
He studied her, a frown pulling. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…” She sighed. It was time to dive in and she knew the water wouldn’t be warm, at least not at first. “What if we didn’t sell this house, Eli? Not in November, not…ever.”
He just stared at her.
“I wouldn’t suggest it if you’d fronted this rebuild, but since it came out of the profits from over the years...” Her voice faded as he stayed silent. “I know, it’s giving up a lot of money.”
He snorted. “Millions. With an S at the end, Viv.”
“You can’t put a price on those memories, Eli, or on the value of owning a place like this,” she said softly. When he didn’t laugh in her face or run screaming from the balcony, she pressed on.
“We could have more memories like that,” she said. “With our families, and then theirs. Crista could bring Nolie. And Meredith, if she ever takes a vacation, would love it here. I’m never going to get Lacey to leave, and Jonah might come back with…your grandchild.”
His eyes flashed at the word. “My…yeah. I…I see where you’re taking this, Viv. What really matters in life, huh?”
“Seriously,” she pressed, leaning forward. “We know firsthand what summers in Destin meant to us and we could spend so much time here—summer vacations, holidays as a family, special occasions. We could gather as a family…or two.”
“Two?”
“With the Wylies.”
A million emotions sparked in his eyes as he processed that.
“Why couldn’t Kate come here with her kids? And Tessa?”
“One reason—and I don’t think I have to even say her name.”
Of course. Maggie. “Maybe she’d get over it.”
He shook his head. “You heard her that Sunday at Crista’s house. She never wants to set foot here again.”
“But we do!” Vivien insisted. “And she said we could do what we want?—”
“With the money ,” he finished.
“With the house ,” she corrected. “What if we want to keep it?”
He was silent for a few seconds, his sharp brain processing, no doubt going through all the possibilities, the pros, the cons, the long list of people and things that would be affected by such a wild decision.
“I don’t know, Viv.”
Okay, okay. Hope climbed up her chest. That wasn’t a no.
“This place is magic, Eli,” Vivien continued, reaching for his arm to make her point. “It’s not just a house. It’s a family. It’s memories and laughter and connection. Generations could grow up here, just like we did. Doesn’t that sound better than a million bucks in the bank?”
He finally turned away, looking out to the moonlit beach, swallowing hard. When he closed his eyes for a second, she knew he was praying. She just hoped God thought this was a good idea, too.
“We’d have to get Crista on board,” he finally said, and she almost jumped for joy.
“Of course!” Vivien said. “Maggie leaves tomorrow for a month-long trip. We could get Crista to come down for a few weeks, with Nolie. Maybe Anthony. We’ll give them the main suite and they’ll fall madly in love with the place and then we’ll hit her with the plan.”
He thought about that, but slowly shook his head. “I want to be straight with her,” he replied. “No subterfuge. If you and I agree that we want to think about this, let’s call her before she takes Maggie to the airport. If she loves the idea, she can maybe feel out Maggie in the car and get a first response.”
Vivien tipped her head. He was probably right, but she liked her plan better. “Maggie will instantly say no, and Crista will do whatever Maggie says. You know that.”
“Maybe. But maybe our mother will see the benefit and respect our decision.”
Vivien almost laughed. “Are we both talking about Maggie Lawson?”
He smiled. “If anyone’s going to get her on board, it will be Crista,” he added. “She has some sway over Maggie—it was Crista’s idea for her to take this gardening club trip to Europe.”
“I didn’t know that,” Vivien said.
“I picked it up between the lines. I’m not sure living with her is as easy as Crista makes it look.”
Vivien rolled her eyes. “I can only imagine. But you know what Crista might really like, then? A getaway at the beach.”
He nodded, still quiet, not yet committed.
Vivien slid her arm around him and dropped her head on his always-strong shoulder. “Hey, do you remember what happened the next morning, after the sandcastle contest?”
He narrowed his eyes, squinting at the beach. “I don’t, no.”
“Come here.” She tugged him toward the room. “I have to show you something.”
He followed her in and waited while she went around the bed and pulled out the bright pink Caboodle.
“Ah, the Destin Diaries,” he said on a laugh. “Did you write about the sandcastle contest?”
Smiling, she flipped to the last entry she’d read and brought it over to him. Side by side, they read together.
August 30, 1989
Yesterday might have been the best day of the whole summer! We had the big sandcastle contest on the beach, boys versus girls. And guess what? WE WON! (Okay, fine, maybe it was because Crista cried when her really terrible tower fell over, and the parents didn’t want to deal with her meltdown. But a win is a win, right?) Tessa and I worked so hard on the little seashell walkway, and Kate’s windows were so perfect they looked like something out of Cinderella.
The boys’ castle was good, I’ll admit. Peter added a spiral tower with driftwood sticking out, and Eli naturally went over the top and made a moat and it had a drawbridge out of sea grape leaves. Best part? It was still standing this morning when we woke up—both castles! They weren’t even wrecked by the tide.
Tessa went fishing with Uncle Artie super early (she’s way braver than me because no way am I touching slimy bait), and our parents took Crista into town for pancakes because, of course, she “needed” them after crying her way to victory.
That left me, Kate, Eli, and Peter on the beach. And we had the BEST idea! Instead of letting the castles just sit there, we decided to add on to the castles and make one big compound.
Kate said there is something called a “castle keep” (why does she know everything?) that is the strongest part of a castle, so we built one! Eli designed it and then built this amazing bridge that connected everything. Peter made four turrets—one named for each of us. That’s what holds the whole thing together, Kate said.
We called it “The Summer House Keep” which I loved. It was so pretty! Kate and I pretended to be princesses and the boys thought we were so dumb, but then they played along. I got saved by Sir Peter and Eli was a prince looking for the Holy Grail and he called Kate “Lady Katie.” It was silly, but I’ll never forget it or the Summer House Keep.
It’s so weird to think that summer is almost over. Tomorrow we have to start packing, and I already feel sad about it. But the best part is that everyone keeps saying, “We’ll be back next year!” I can’t imagine not coming back here. This place feels like home, more than Atlanta ever could.
The Summer House Keep got wiped out by high tide today, but it doesn’t matter. We’ll just build it again.
Vivien
For a moment, Eli just stayed very still, staring at the page. When Vivien looked up at him, she saw the mist in his eyes.
“See what I mean?” she whispered.
He sighed, running a hand over the splash of pink and purple on the girlish cover.
“I remember those turrets so clearly now,” he said softly. “Peter and I argued over how to build them. I wanted visual perfection, with balance and symmetry. He said it had to be secure so no one could storm the castle. As if it mattered.”
She laughed. “The architect and the cop. Makes sense.” Then she leaned into him. “It mattered then, and it matters now.”
A faint smile tugged at his lips. “All right, Viv. Let’s call Crista tomorrow.”
Vivien nodded, though her heart fluttered with nerves. “I just hope Crista sees it the way we do. If she doesn’t…” She trailed off, unwilling to voice the fear that she might still buckle under the weight of Maggie’s opinion and demands.
She might have shaken off Ryan, but her mother was another story.
Eli gave her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. “If she doesn’t, we’ll figure it out. But we have to try, Viv. This place is worth fighting for.”