The Devine Doughnut Shop(62)

Sarah chuckled. “That’s my girl!”





Chapter Fourteen


Iguess the girls aren’t going to waste a single minute,” Sarah said as she slid the glass doors open and stepped out on the patio. “They’re already headed toward the beach even though it’s dark.”

A crescent moon lit up the waves as they crashed against the white sand. The lights from the heated swimming pool on the other side of the railing from where Sarah stood illuminated two couples enjoying a midnight swim. Flashlights lit up little portions of the beach where folks were out looking for shells washed up from the surf.

Grace and Macy joined her, and all three took in several deep breaths of the salty air. No one said a word for several moments, and Sarah wondered if they were thinking the same thing she was.

“All that drama back in Devine seems to be far away,” Sarah finally said.

“How can anyone look at something this spectacular and even think about their troubles?” Macy whispered. “I’m going to join the girls. I’m not waiting until morning to get sand between my toes.”

“I still can’t believe we’ve done this, but I’m glad we did. That sand is so white that it glimmers in the moonlight. I can’t wait to put my toes in the water.” Grace sat down in one of the white plastic chairs and removed her shoes.

“I’m going, too,” Sarah said and then covered a yawn with the back of her hand. “Y’all don’t leave me on the beach if I fall asleep.” She closed her eyes for just a minute and let the sound of the surf sink into her soul. When she opened them, she had a smile on her face; she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they had made the right decision to get away for a while.

“We might all sleep beneath the stars.” Macy was already ahead of them and halfway around the pool area when they started that way.

“Welcome to our first vacation ever,” Sarah said.

“If we never do anything but sit on the patio and listen to the ocean, it will be the best one ever.” Grace looped her arm through Sarah’s and gave her a quick sideways hug. “Thank you and Macy for doing this. If you would have given me a day or two to think about it—”

“We would have never done anything,” Sarah butted in. “You’ve never been impulsive.”

“We all three make a good crew: I’m grounded, you’re impulsive, and Macy is the spiritual one of us,” Grace said and stepped off the bottom of three steps right out onto the beach. “Like that rope Mama talked about, it takes all three of us to make a good strong unit. Oh! My! Goodness! This sand feels so good.”

Sarah broke free from her sister and jogged across the beach to the edge of the water. She sat down and stretched her legs out far enough that the waves washed up over her feet and to the knees, soaking the legs of her jeans. The water felt like a cool seventy-five degrees, just like the research she’d done on the plane said it would be.

Macy sat down beside her, and then Grace joined them on the other side. After only a few minutes, Audrey plopped down beside her mother, and Raelene dropped beside Audrey. From where they were, the only sounds they could hear were those of the surf and a seagull off in the distance.

Raelene finally broke the silence. “There are no words,” she said. “But I’m going to try to write my next English Comp II essay on the way I feel right now.”

“Comp II?” Audrey asked.

Sarah listened to her niece and her friend talking plans for the future and wondered what her own tomorrows might hold. Would she ever find someone to love her and who wanted to start a family? That’s what she wanted above all things, and yet it seemed far-fetched. But thinking about a baby of her own and a husband to share her life with put a smile on her face.

“I’ve been taking concurrent college classes since last year. When I start college—or maybe I should say, if I get to go—I’ll already have twelve hours done with,” Raelene explained. “I want to thank y’all for bringing me with you. If this night was all I got, and we had to go home tomorrow, it would be . . .” She hesitated.

“No words, right?” Audrey asked.

“Yes,” Raelene answered. “‘No words’ is right.”

“I understand just how you feel,” Audrey agreed. “In less than twenty-four hours, we’ve been kicked out of school, had our first airplane ride, figured out how to rent a car and get here, and now all this.” She took it all in with the wave of her hand. “Like Mama said, family don’t leave family behind. Besides, I’m glad you are here. These old ladies couldn’t keep up with me after the first day,” she said with a giggle.

“Out of the mouths of babes,” Sarah whispered. Someday, she was going to have a family, and she intended to bring them to the beach at least once a year. One thing she’d come to understand in the past twenty-four hours was that getting away wasn’t just a luxury; it was a necessity. For the first time in weeks, peace washed over her—and she liked the feeling.



“‘Old ladies’?” Grace nudged her daughter’s shoulder.

“Yes, ma’am, all of y’all are old,” Audrey answered and then jumped up and ran down the beach with Raelene right behind her. “Bet y’all can’t run as far as we can.”