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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

I follow his mittens toward the base of the dune where a large culvert is located. There was a washout on Lakeshore Drive decades ago—the road and dune collapsed in the midst of heavy rains, and historic summer cottages disappeared in front of our eyes like a game of Jenga—and the Army Corps of Engineers had to reinforce the dune, reengineer the water flow and rebuild the road. A creek just a short distance from Cozy Cottage’s beach steps has been created, and now flows from the woods, under the dunes, through the culvert and into the lake.

“Snowmelt replenished the creek, and the rushing water uncovered all these stones,” he says. “No one has seen these beauties before. You’re the first.”

I kneel and look into the creek. “It’s like a runway show,” I say, “but for rocks.”

The creek bed is filled with bird eggs, limestone, sandstone and beach pebbles of basalt volcanic rock. Under the ice-cold crystal-clear water and last of the day’s sunlight, the creek bed is filled with color and shape, and its beauty is breathtaking.

I look at Scooter. “Thank you for showing me this,” I say. “And thank you for the Adie Lou. You’re making my dream seem more and more like reality every day.”

I think of the unintended romantic double entendre hidden in those words but am still glad I said them.

“You’re welcome,” Scooter says, after considering the words. Then he stands and shows off his coat as if he were a game show model.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Showing you all the pockets I have,” he says. “Knowing you, I came prepared to be loaded down with about a hundred pounds of extra weight.”

“Are you talking about me or the rocks?” I ask.

Scooter laughs. “Load me down.”

“Do you want to walk for a few minutes maybe?” I ask. “It’s cold, but I have to say it feels refreshing to be out here right now. Maybe head toward Pier Cove and then turn around?”

“That would be nice,” he says.

Pier Cove is a tiny section of public beach just south of Saugatuck-Douglas. While Oval Beach is the gem of the area—named one of the most beautiful beaches in the world by Condé Nast Traveler and Douglas serves as the pretty public beach to the small town’s residents—Pier Cove is but a tiny swath of sand that sits along a curve in the lakeshore featuring another freshwater creek and beautiful homes tucked along the dunes.