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Back The Summer Cottage
Chapters (75)
  1. Cover
  2. Back Cover Text
  3. Praise
  4. Booklist
  5. About the Author
  6. Dedication
  7. Quote
  8. Prologue
  9. Part One
  10. ONE
  11. TWO
  12. THREE
  13. Part Two
  14. FOUR
  15. FIVE
  16. SIX
  17. Part Three
  18. SEVEN
  19. EIGHT
  20. NINE
  21. TEN
  22. Part Four
  23. ELEVEN
  24. TWELVE
  25. THIRTEEN
  26. Part Five
  27. FOURTEEN
  28. FIFTEEN
  29. SIXTEEN
  30. SEVENTEEN
  31. Part Six
  32. EIGHTEEN
  33. NINETEEN
  34. TWENTY
  35. TWENTY-ONE
  36. Part Seven
  37. TWENTY-TWO
  38. TWENTY-THREE
  39. TWENTY-FOUR
  40. TWENTY-FIVE
  41. Part Eight
  42. TWENTY-SIX
  43. TWENTY-SEVEN
  44. TWENTY-EIGHT
  45. TWENTY-NINE
  46. Part Nine
  47. THIRTY
  48. THIRTY-ONE
  49. THIRTY-TWO
  50. THIRTY-THREE
  51. THIRTY-FOUR
  52. Part Ten
  53. THIRTY-FIVE
  54. THIRTY-SIX
  55. THIRTY-SEVEN
  56. THIRTY-EIGHT
  57. Part Eleven
  58. THIRTY-NINE
  59. FORTY
  60. FORTY-ONE
  61. Part Twelve
  62. FORTY-TWO
  63. FORTY-THREE
  64. FORTY-FOUR
  65. Part Thirteen
  66. FORTY-FIVE
  67. FORTY-SIX
  68. FORTY-SEVEN
  69. EPILOGUE
  70. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  71. AUTHOR NOTE
  72. Reader’s Guide
  73. Questions for Discussion
  74. The Heirloom Garden
  75. Abby

“Adie Lou and I have decided to honeymoon in the same town that so many people come to vacation and where so many friends live,” Scooter says. “Saugatuck!”

The crowd applauds. “We’re not telling you where we’re staying, but it’s not here!”

The guests laugh.

“May I?” Scooter asks, taking my hand.

I kick off my shoes, lift the train of my dress into the air, holding my shoes with it, and step into Lake Michigan. We wade out a few feet, and Scooter helps me clamber into my wooden namesake.

“Ready!” Scooter yells.

The guests think we are leaving, but the boat remains still. For a few seconds, the crowd is silent, the only noise the lapping of the waves. And then, BOOM!

Fireworks explode overhead, illuminating the night sky.

The guests crane their heads, mouths open, and watch fireworks on the Fourth of July, my favorite holiday, my wedding day.

I get lost in the simple beauty of fireworks on a summer night, and I feel like a little girl again, one whose dreams are as big and bright as the comets and cones exploding overhead. Scooter puts his arm around my back, and I lean into him. The Adie Lou rocks gently as we watch the show.

When the fireworks end, I grab the bouquet sitting in the front seat of the boat, hold it over my head and yell, “Line up on the lakeshore, ladies!”

I turn around and toss the bouquet with all my might. I pivot just in time to see the wind catch it and make it take a sharp left turn at the last moment. The bouquet unexpectedly falls into the arms of Trish, causing her to drop her ever-present glass of champagne. A look of absolute horror covers my friend’s face, and—before anyone can react—she tosses the bouquet at Iris, whose reaction is even more shocked than Trish’s. Iris tosses the bouquet back into the air, where it lands directly in the hands of Ashley.

I laugh as I watch Nate’s mouth fall open, his reaction—literally—taking the cake.

Scooter starts the Adie Lou, turns on her lights and begins to motor slowly into the lake. I turn and watch the crowd head back up the steps, Evan still standing at the shore, waving. Scooter slows the boat, and then idles her, as I wave at my son, who finally turns, walks across the beach and up the steps. His body is silhouetted on the stairs, the cottage behind him, the moon overhead.

I take a picture of this in my mind and shut my eyes to store it there forever. As I do, the cottage creaks, adding the perfect soundtrack to my home movie. I can hear my father whisper, “Some people don’t get the beauty of a summer cottage, but the magical campers do, don’t they, Adie Lou?”