He hugged her tighter. “Just well enough.” This new job opportunity with Melendez Cottages might be the one he needed to get his company…his life back on track, and he wouldn’t have it if it weren’t for his genius daughter and the woman he was in love with.

He cleared his throat. “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have an app that could help me go back in time and stop myself from doing something stupid, would you?”

Marissa raised an eyebrow as she looked up at him. “Nope. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to make it up to Sarah the old-fashioned way—by groveling.”

Groveling. Right.

…

The ceremony of life on the beach was the perfect send-off for Mr. Harrison. All the local business vendors along the boardwalk had closed early that evening to say a final farewell to a man who’d meant a lot to all of them. One by one, they’d helped spread his ashes into the ocean and shared a memory of the man they’d gotten to know over the years.

Sarah had only recently gotten the chance to know him, but he’d always hold a special place in her heart. She hoped he’d finally found peace.

As the sun set on the ocean, everyone slowly dispersed, leaving Sarah alone on the beach. She stared out into the waves and fought to calm her conflicted emotions. Her grandmother and Mr. Harrison had never gotten their second chance, despite the love they had for each other.

Maybe some things just weren’t meant to be.

Years ago, Dove’s Nest had helped her grandmother cope with heartache and loss, and now this new event venue would help her heal from her disappointment as well.

She wiped a tear from her cheek as she silently said her own goodbye to the man who’d meant so much to her grandmother; then she turned to head back.

Her cell phone chimed with a new email from Whitney, and Sarah smiled to see the new reopening brochure her friend had redesigned for the inn. Sarah gulped. This was it. She was doing it. She was staying in her hometown and taking a chance at her own dream, while preserving her grandmother’s.

Climbing into her car, she took her time driving along the coast toward the inn. For so many years, she’d been desperate to leave. She’d always felt out of place in the small town and hadn’t thought she could accomplish the things she wanted living there. She’d been wrong. She’d just needed to carve out a place for herself and let the community embrace her.

Just like they were embracing the new Dove’s Nest.