The lakehouse was quiet.
Set along the edge of Lake Oconee, the Turner family’s private retreat was a place they rarely visited, but always treasured. It had become a sanctuary for major family transitions, a place to reflect, reset, and reconnect.
This weekend was one of those times.
Cassie stood on the dock, her hands tucked into the pockets of her cream shawl as the breeze lifted her curls. Behind her, the house glowed with warm light and the quiet chatter of her grandchildren echoing through the windows.
She smiled.
Hope had brought the twins, now six months old and giggling at everything. Grace, now three, had already claimed a favorite reading nook by the window. Ayden was inside making tea. And Ethan, fresh from his eighteenth birthday and months of world travel, had asked for
