Chapter 24 #2
While they watched, she replied, “Free will makes life interesting. What if I hadn’t kept the house? What if Kiko hadn’t asked Ken to see his garden? You can feel pulled toward something yet still run from it.”
“And why do we do that?”
She grinned. “That’s easy. Fear of risk, of the unknown, of changing what’s become comfortable. But fear is not easy to overcome.”
Ivy thought about how Hana and Basil were pulled together, yet her mother kept them apart because of her fears and the fear of what others would think.
Hana honored her mother’s wishes for the rest of her life.
“Sometimes the universe gives you a second chance,” Ivy said. “It might be a few days or years later—like us—or a few generations, like Kiko and Ken.”
Bennett considered this. “Do you think this was somehow orchestrated from beyond?”
Ivy shook her head. “I think Hana wrote a heartfelt letter and trusted that her granddaughter would follow it. The rest... Maybe the rest was always going to happen. Or maybe it only happened because Kiko was brave enough to get in her car and drive to a town she’d never been to, based on the advice of a psychic she visited after too many Bloody Marys. Maybe we create our own luck.”
Bennett laughed. “That’s one way to look at it. I know we have the power to create our own lives to a certain extent.”
“That makes sense to me.” She turned to him. “Our relationship almost slipped past us. If I’d decided to sell the house and return to Boston, we wouldn’t be together now.”
“But you stayed.”
“Because of a sudden, overwhelming feeling I had.” She touched his face. “I’m glad I heeded that.”
He turned his head into her palm and kissed it. “So am I.”
They stayed until the sun set, filling the sky with brilliant splashes of color. After cleaning the dishes in the galley together, they secured the yacht and strolled back toward Bennett’s SUV, stopping only briefly to say hello to Tyler and Celia.
When they arrived home at the inn, Bennett opened the vehicle door for her.
“Walk with me,” he said, taking her hand. “I’d like to see the grounds in the moonlight.”
Overhead, palm fronds rustled, the trees swaying in a light sea breeze. Shelly’s fresh plantings cast soft shadows on the tended lawn.
The path to the greenhouse stretched before them, rosemary and lavender releasing sweet, savory aromas as they brushed past, gravel crunching beneath their step.
In the moonlight, the greenhouse was everything Shelly had promised. The restored panels, with their slight imperfections, glowed against the night sky.
As they approached the restored structure, the sweet scent of jasmine filled the night air.
They stepped inside. Luminous moonlight bathed the interior in soft light, pouring through the glass and casting silvery shadows across everything. Shelly’s seedlings stood in rows, their young leaves shining in the pale light.
In the background, the surf sounded low and steady, a constant pulse beneath the silence.
Bennett looked around, taking it in. “I see why Shelly fought so hard for this.”
“She was right all along. This is the heart of the property.” Ivy walked to the old potting bench and ran her fingers over the surface. She could feel the carved initials beneath her fingertips. H.K. and the letter B below that. The last initial was worn off.
“What’s on your mind?” Bennett asked, standing beside her.
“I’m thinking about all the people who’ve enjoyed this greenhouse,” Ivy replied. “Amelia and Gustav, who built it. Hana and Basil, who took refuge here and found love. Shelly, who saved it.” She tilted her head back, looking up. “And now us.”
“That’s a lot of history here.”
She turned to him. “This greenhouse is for growing things that can’t survive outside. Not just plants, but anything that needs shelter for a while. The house offers that, too.”
Bennett nodded. “I sure needed shelter the night my house got caught in the Ridgetop Fire.”
Ivy thought about the woman she’d been when she arrived in Summer Beach. Grieving and broken. Furious at a dead husband who’d betrayed her. She’d walked into this house with nothing but Shelly by her side and sheer determination between them.
Just like cuttings that sprout new roots, she and Shelly had grown here.
“I think we all need shelter sometimes,” she said. “The key is knowing when to step into the sunlight without getting burned.”
He took her into his arms and ran a hand over her hair. “Darling, you shine wherever you are.”
“Must be the moonlight,” she said, smiling. “Or this magical place.”
Bennett pulled her closer, and she rested her head against his chest in the safety of his embrace. His heartbeat felt strong and steady.
“What I know is that we’re meant to be right here, right now,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade this for anything.”
He tipped her chin up and kissed her, and she warmed to the love in his touch.
Outside, the ocean kept its rhythm while the garden slept. The inn stood watch over them, its windows dimmed until the next guests arrived. Its rooms were full of stories—some waiting to be discovered and others yet to be written.
Bennett pulled away. “There’s only one thing missing here.”
Ivy watched as he pulled a Swiss knife from his pocket and brushed dirt from the potting bench.
Grinning, he flicked open the knife and held it up. “I love you, sweetheart. Let’s add our initials to make it permanent. Would you like to go first, Ivy Bay?”
She laughed, delighted at the idea as she scratched hers on the worn wood.
Bennett did the same, and they stepped back to admire the mark they’d left: IB + BD .
“Forever,” he said, caressing her neck.
“And beyond,” she added, kissing him with all the love in her heart.
Thank you for reading Seabreeze Garden .