24
EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, Bennett rose with the sun, feeling great. As he laced up his running shoes, he thought about Ivy. Being with her yesterday had been a rare treat. Out on the open water, away from the inn and the community. She filled his heart with such hope and light. That was how he saw her smile—like a beam of sunshine warming the cold, darkened corners of his heart. A heart that had lain dormant for so many years.
After a brisk run on the beach, he joined the rest of the guests in the dining room, although he could’ve had breakfast in his apartment over the garage. He liked being part of the surrogate family that was developing at the inn. The vacationers came and went—and they were interesting, too—but the core group of neighbors who’d landed here after the fire had become
