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Bennett drew Ivy close beside him, huddling under his beach blanket on a flat rock on the beach, not far from the inn. All around them, the beach was coming to life, with shorebirds pecking at the sand and gulls swooping low across the water hunting for fish.
“I love the fresh ocean air in the early morning,” Bennett said, breathing in.
Ivy did the same. “It’s the time of the day that holds so much promise.”
Bennett enjoyed the solitude of the beach with Ivy. Simply being together fulfilled him in a way he hadn’t known for years.
As the sun slowly brightened the dusky sky with ribbons of rose, they sipped steaming coffee and talked about the surprising turn of events with Rachel and Topper. This was likely their only quiet moment of the day ahead. Behind them, nascent rays illumina
