Contents ( 66)
- Cover
- Books by Valerie Fraser Luesse
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Map of Florida
- one
- two
- three
- four
- five
- six
- seven
- eight
- nine
- ten
- eleven
- twelve
- thirteen
- fourteen
- fifteen
- sixteen
- seventeen
- eighteen
- nineteen
- twenty
- twenty-one
- twenty-two
- twenty-three
- twenty-four
- twenty-five
- twenty-six
- twenty-seven
- twenty-eight
- twenty-nine
- thirty
- thirty-one
- thirty-two
- thirty-three
- thirty-four
- thirty-five
- thirty-six
- thirty-seven
- thirty-eight
- thirty-nine
- forty
- forty-one
- forty-two
- forty-three
- forty-four
- forty-five
- forty-six
- forty-seven
- forty-eight
- forty-nine
- fifty
- fifty-one
- Epilogue
- Keep Reading for a Preview of Valerie Luesse’s Next Book!
- Prologue
- one
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
Lisa smiled and took his hand. “What’s wonderful about being here is that we only have to think about what we’re doing—not what other people think we’re going to do. Back home, if all our friends were out there on the beach, we couldn’t lie here alone together on a sandbar because everybody would say it doesn’t look right. I feel like I hear that every day of my life: ‘You can’t do this and you can’t do that because it wouldn’t look right.’ Shouldn’t you be judged by what you actually do—not what other people think you might do?”
“I don’t think it makes sense to spend a lotta time worryin’ about what other people think as long as you do what you believe is right. Everybody has a true them that they’re meant to be. I think that’s why Daddy came down here. He was lookin’ for his.”
“Do you think he found it?”
Peyton propped on his elbow, looking down at Lisa. “Yeah. I think he did. But the sad thing is, he left it here. I don’t want to do that, Lisa. Because there’s something else I’ve figured out. You can’t follow anybody else’s path, like I tried to do with Daddy—like Daddy thought he had to do with Granddaddy. Somewhere along the way, you gotta draw your own map.”
Staring into her blue eyes, he traced the lines of her face with his fingertip, then bent down and kissed her. He was holding her in his arms, their faces almost touching, when he smiled and said, “What do you think we’d look like to a plane flyin’ low overhead, me and my beautiful mermaid on a sandbar in the sea?”
Lisa ran her fingers through his damp hair. “Like we found our island and we’re never leaving it—no matter where we go.”
forty-four
Good morning.” On the porch of the boardinghouse, Peyton put his arms around Lisa and gave her a soft, slow kiss.
“Good morning to you too,” she said with a happy sigh. “Aren’t you worried about Miss Flossie?”
“Not anymore. We’re fixing to make tracks. Ready?”
“I am so ready!” Lisa said as they left the boardinghouse for the last time and climbed onto the scooter.
“Do we need to go by your aunt’s house and get your things?” Peyton said over his shoulder as he started the engine.
“I don’t know where they are. Bobbie Ann said my clothes were too old-lady and would scare all the boys away, so she hid everything except the dress I had on—this one.” She held up the bag where they had stored her dress and shoes.
“Well then, I reckon we better do a little shopping in Fort Lauderdale. Let’s go say goodbye to Duval Street.”
As they passed Millie’s shop, they were surprised to see her standing in the doorway. “Hey, Millie!” Peyton called as he pulled up to the curb. “What are you doing here so early?”
“Lookin’ out to see who’s ridin’ a scooter on Duval at this hour—and gettin’ ready for a big sale. You headed to the marina?”