Beach House Reunion (Beach House #5)(38)

In the distance she spotted a mother and daughter strolling along the shore in the early morning sun, gathering shells. The little girl, maybe five or six years old, was bent over inspecting a shell before racing to show it to her mother. When they drew near, the girl spotted the turtle tracks and, with a squeal of excitement, ran toward Linnea as her mother followed.

“Are those turtle tracks?” she asked, eyes as wide as the sun rising beyond her.

“Yes, they are.”

“Are you a turtle lady?”

Linnea was wearing the season’s T-shirt and ball cap, which made her a walking advertisement. “Yes, I am.”

The girl’s mother caught up to them, tote in tow. She had the wholesome prettiness of young mothers, freckles smattering her cheeks from the sun.

“Isn’t this exciting, Willa?” the girl’s mother asked her. She looked to Linnea. “Willa loves turtles. She reads books about them all the time,” she added proudly.

Linnea looked at the young girl. She had long brown hair and freckles, like her mother. Her eyes were full of wonder and curiosity. Linnea could recall being mad about sea turtles at Willa’s age. The summer she’d become a junior turtle team member was a memorable summer for all, it being the last summer of Lovie’s life. Linnea always felt a glow of satisfaction that before she died, her grandmother had known her granddaughter would follow in her footsteps.

The following summer, Aunt Cara had stepped in to lead the team and taken Linnea under her wing. Her parents had let Linnea live with Cara and Brett in Lovie’s beach house for the summer, kind of like camp. “Only better—Camp Beach House is free!” her daddy used to joke. At sixteen Linnea became an intern for Brett’s Coastal Ecotour boat and fell in love with the lowcountry’s other marine life as well. Brett had taught her how to drive a boat and follow the tides. He was a natural teacher and loved nothing more than sharing his knowledge of the sea and its inhabitants. Linnea’s love affair with the lowcountry’s wild places had grown as she did.

It was inevitable that all those summers on Isle of Palms would shape Linnea’s career path. She didn’t think it was too much of a stretch to say they’d changed her life. By the time she was eighteen and headed for college, she knew she would end up working in environmental science. Lovie and Aunt Cara and Brett had impressed upon her the importance of giving back and making a difference with her life.

She looked at the young girl and felt a responsibility to encourage her. To help her see that she had an important role to play.

“When will the eggs hatch?” Willa asked.

“The mama turtles are just laying the nests now,” Linnea explained. “It takes forty-five to sixty days to incubate. So the nests won’t start to hatch until sometime in July.”

Disappointment flooded their faces.

“But isn’t it exciting to see the tracks? You came to the island at an excellent time. You found a nest! Look up there,” she said, pointing out the dunes. “Last night a mama turtle crawled ashore and laid a nest there. I only just found the tracks. Do you know what kind of sea turtle laid this nest?”

Willa shook her head. Linnea looked at the mother. Her eyes were as wide as her daughter’s. Nature makes children of us all, Linnea thought.

“A loggerhead?” the mother replied with all the excitement of a prize student.

“That’s right. Let me show you the nest. Follow me.” Linnea walked them up to the nest, explaining the nesting saga on the way. She took her time showing them how the turtle reached the top of the dune, described how she dug down to deposit her eggs, then showed the sprinkled sand, explaining how the mother threw sand to hide the nest from predators. The body pit was well marked and allowed their imaginations to soar.

“If you wait here a little while longer, the team will be here to check out the nest and find the eggs.”

Willa bounced on her toes in excitement while her mother mouthed a heartfelt thank you to Linnea.

A short while later, Linnea spied Barb, a team member, coming up the path with her camera hanging from her neck. Behind her Emmi and the other members of the team plowed through the soft sand, on duty. There were hugs among friends Linnea hadn’t seen in several years, and introductions to new members of the team—Cindy, Jo, Crystal. In the rear of the group walked a surprise.

“Cara!” Linnea exclaimed.

“Emmi called,” Cara yelled back.

Hope immediately turned toward her mother’s voice and began calling out, “Mama!” Cara reached the stroller and pulled Hope into her arms, kissing her cheeks.

“I couldn’t miss Hope’s first turtle nest! This is a milestone in our family.”

“Linnea,” Emmi said, approaching. “Since you found the nest, would you like to probe for the eggs?”

Linnea was stunned by the offer. She’d only just joined the team again after years away. “I haven’t done it in years.”

“Well, it’s time to get back on the horse. Besides . . .” Emmi handed her an envelope.

“What’s this?”

“Open it.”

Linnea looked around to see all the other team members smiling. Curious, she opened the envelope and pulled out the slip of paper. She gasped at reading it.

“This is my SCDNR permit!”

“Yes, it is. And here is your probe stick,” Emmi said, handing her the narrow metal rod the team used to locate eggs deep in the sand. It was the prize possession of a team member. “Now you can probe for the eggs and do everything else the team does. You already know how. You never forget.”