On Ocean Boulevard

by Mary Alice Monroe

  “Mama, you old matchmaker,” she said aloud. “You must have had a hand in this.”

  She stood on the porch a moment longer, watching the two lovers talk in a casual, comfortable manner. No ghosts, she knew. Just Linnea and Gordon, two young people with their lives ahead of them. But she couldn’t deny, there was something about seeing the two of them together. She couldn’t help but wonder about kismet and second chances.

  Cara reached into her pocket and pulled out the key that David had given her. It sat in her palm, a plain silver key, but one that held so much promise. She stared at it a moment.

  “Mama? What do you think?” she whispered, feeling her mother’s spirit. No vision, no perfume, just a subtle knowing. “This house is pretty special too. Isn’t it? Plus, the fact that Palmer built it… You must be having the last laugh now. You called me home all those years ago and I came running. And here I still am. My feet are firmly entrenched in lowcountry sand.” She shook her head in disbelief. “Me. Caretta. The lone swimmer. The daughter who never wanted to get married. Who wanted a career. Who ran as far from Charleston as she could. Here I am,” she said again, this time feeling the words deeply. “Married again. A wife. A mother. A sister. A friend.” She paused. “A daughter,” she added, feeling her love for her mother pulse. “Always your daughter.”

  A breeze floated by, carrying the sweet lemony scent of the yellow primroses for which the beach house was named.

  “Well, Mama, you got your wish. I daresay, your family is doing pretty well. I think you’d be proud. There’s a whole new generation coming up.”

  Cara thought how the torch had been passed. She was no longer the young woman seeking her path. She felt sure-footed. Now it was her turn to aid and assist the young ones coming up. To give a nudge when they needed it, a helping hand. Sweet tea and sugar cookies.

  “My Lord, Mama,” Cara exclaimed with a sudden realization. “That makes me the matriarch!”

  She shook her head, amused.

  Another summer was over. Another generation of sea turtles had emerged and were swimming in the sea. A new season was just beginning. And so it all began again in the circle of life.

  Cara wondered if it was her advancing years that made her more sensitive to the passing of time. She chuckled. Time certainly seemed to be passing more quickly.

  She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the island settle around her. Overhead she heard first the raucous laughter of the gulls, and from farther off, the unmistakable, piercing cry of the osprey. She smelled the sweet scent of wildflowers returning to the island in the fall after the scorching heat of the summer dispersed. And as always, the ocean. That great, unpredictable, beloved, living body, rolling in and out like a metronome.

  Opening her eyes, Cara looked again at the key in her palm. Taking a breath, she stepped forward to place the key into the lock. She heard the click, turned the handle, and opened the door. Cara Rutledge-Wyatt entered her new home. Her new world.

  Acknowledgments

  A BOOK DOES not write itself. I’m inspired as a writer by my experiences, by the people I meet, and by those dear to me who help me persevere through the journey of a novel. In this brief section I have the opportunity to thank those very special people, in but a few words, for the enormity of what I feel.

  In On Ocean Boulevard I return again to my beloved sea turtles. This has been an extraordinary year for nesting sea turtles along the southeastern shore. Record numbers of nests were laid in all the states. We celebrate this year’s success, which I attribute to the dedication and efforts of all the turtle teams who monitor the nests on the beach; the dedication of the members of the Department of Natural Resources and the US Fish and Wildlife Service who guide the teams; and the sea turtle hospitals that rescue, rehabilitate, and release the precious adult sea turtles. All of us working together are contributing to the trend of increasing turtle nests. I humbly thank you all for what you do. Yet we are witnessing the effects of climate change on the nesting cycle, as well as on the heat-determined sex of the turtles. This new development prompted me to write once again on this species.

  On a personal level, I have those near and dear to me I want to thank.

  Heartfelt thanks to Sally Murphy, DNR sea turtle coordinator, retired. Mentor and friend for twenty years and counting, thank you for reading my manuscript and confirming that all details were accurate. You’re great with grammar too! Sincere thanks to Kelly Thorvalson, conservation programs manager at the South Carolina Aquarium, for twenty years of inspiration with the sea turtles, and this year, for the recycled mesh plastic bags. To Kevin Mills, president/CEO of the South Carolina Aquarium, thank you for your leadership, your vision, and your friendship. Finally, thanks to Michelle Pate and the team at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Sea Turtle Conservation Program.

  In this novel I raise the question of how individuals can help make a difference in the seemingly overwhelming problem of plastic pollution. I want to thank Goffinet McLaren and the Chirping Bird Society for their support and for spreading the word about the devastating effects of plastic.

  I don’t have the words to thank my dear friend Barbara Neimer Bergwerf for her endless support for my work, both with sea turtles and in life. Photographer of my children’s picture book, Turtle Summer, Barb is also the photographer for most of the sea turtle/Isle of Palms photographs you see on my post! Thanks, Barb, for all that, and for coming up with the title of this book, On Ocean Boulevard.

  I am blessed to be a member of a sea turtle team made up of women I count as my dearest friends. I love y’all: Mary Pringle, Barbara Bergwerf, Tee Johannes, Bev Ballow, Barb Gobien, Cindy Moore, Jo Durham, and Christal Cothran.

  In my publishing world, I’m also fortunate indeed to have so many wonderful, talented people on my team.

  My editor, Lauren McKenna, has worked with me for eight books, four of which are in my Beach House series. We get excited as we brainstorm and edit each book in a series we love so much. Thank you, Lauren, for your superb creative editing and storytelling. It’s been a meaningful journey. I’ll always treasure this book, especially for our time working together at Windover.

  This year I celebrate the tenth anniversary of Gallery. In the past decade we’ve built a body of work I’m proud of, and I am truly grateful for your enthusiasm, support, and affection. The Beach House series is an especially important series to us all, and I’m profoundly grateful for your continuing faith in me and in the power of story to effect change. Thank you, Jennifer Bergstrom, for being at the helm, as well as Aimee Bell, Jennifer Long, Eliza Hanson, Sally Marvin, Abby Zidle, Bianca Salvant, Anabel Jimenez, Lisa Litwack, and Maggie Loughran. A shout-out to the incomparable Joal Hetherington for understanding my books and making magic with copyediting. I especially want to single out Michelle Podberezniak for going above and beyond to help me at any hour of day or night with her calm, confident competence. A heartfelt thank-you to Rick Pascocello and the excitement he brings to the house. Finally, to John Karp and the entire S&S sales force, thank you sincerely for your faith in my words and for tirelessly bringing them out into the world.

  Agents have the dual task of guiding a career while also holding a hand. I’m blessed to have an agent that excels at both. Thank you, Faye Bender, for your perspicacity, brilliance, and serenity. We travel this journey together.

  I am forever grateful to my dear friend and manager, Kathie Bennett, founder of Magic Time Literary Publicity, for being a relentless champion of my body of work and for her staunch faith in the why of my writing. And big thanks to the fabulous team—Roy Bennett, Susan Zurenda, and Patricia Denkler—for your kind, ever-loving care.

  I am so grateful to all the booksellers who hand sell my books. This year I’d like to say a special thank-you to Polly Buxton of Buxton Books; Aaron Howard of Barnes & Noble, Mt. Pleasant; Vickie Crafton at Litchfield Books; Debi Horton at M. Judson in Greenville; the girls at Pelican Books; and the Foxy Ladies (and Gary) at FoxTale Bo
ok Shoppe.

  Locally on Isle of Palms, I love singling out my friends and family Christiana Harsch and Ravi Sher for making The Long Island Café my second home, and for your endless support. I’m proud of my close affiliation with Wild Dunes Resort and our efforts to bring great ideas and authors to our community while supporting literacy. Thank you especially to Anna Maginn and Samantha Martin and Amy Gay.

  I have so many friends whom I treasure, but in this small space I want to thank those who stepped up to help with this particular book. First, I’m forever grateful to my pal Cindy Boyle for believing so strongly in The Beach House series, for being my muse, for encouraging me with relentless tweets. Thanks for always being my fearless cheerleader.

  To my dearest tribe—my heart kindles with love for you for always being there with your words of advice, creative ideas, walks on the beach, cover and title ideas, a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, and that je ne sais quoi when I need it most—Patti Callahan Henry, Signe Pike, Cassandra King, Marjory Wentworth, Patti Morrison, Katherine Kaneb, Linda Plunkett, Mary Edna Fraser, Barbara Hagerty, Nathalie Dupree, and Wendy Ellis. And great love to my ARTists who never fail to support and encourage me. And to my family tribe who always calls me to check on how I’m doing: Marguerite, Ruth, Maureen, Nuola, and James. My heart is captured and held tight by my children and grandchildren, who are a continuing source of joy, pride, and support—Claire, John, Jack, Teddy, Delancey; Gretta, Patrick, Henry; Zack, Caitlin, Wesley, and Penelope.

  A special thanks to Elin Hildebrand for the beautiful quote.

  I’d like to bow my head in memory of missing members of our tribe: Dorothea Benton Frank—Dottie, and Anne Rivers Siddons. You live on in your books and in our hearts. You are missed.

  No acknowledgments would be complete without stating my profound gratitude to my literary and PR assistant, Angela May. She is my right hand, my left brain. Thank you, darling friend, for your cheerful support, your insightful observations, and your creative talent.

  I always end with the man who comes first in my life—Markus. You are the wind beneath my sails, my sun and my stars, my steady rock. Thank you with my whole heart.

  More from this Series

  Beach House Reunion

  Beach House for Rent

  Beach House Memories

  More from the Author

  The Summer Guests

  A Lowcountry Christmas

  About the Author

  Mary Alice Monroe is the New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books, including the Beach House series: The Beach House, Beach House Memories, Swimming Lessons, Beach House for Rent, and Beach House Reunion. She is a 2018 inductee into the South Carolina Academy of Authors Literary Hall of Fame, and her books have received numerous awards, including the 2008 South Carolina Center for the Book Award for Writing, the 2014 South Carolina Award for Literary Excellence, the 2015 SW Florida Author of Distinction Award, the RT Lifetime Achievement Award, the International Book Award for Green Fiction, and the 2017 Southern Book Prize for Fiction. Her bestselling novel The Beach House is also a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. An active conservationist, she lives in the lowcountry of South Carolina. Visit her at MaryAliceMonroe.com and at Facebook.com/MaryAliceMonroe.

  FOR MORE ON THIS AUTHOR:

  SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Mary-Alice-Monroe

  SimonandSchuster.com

  @GalleryBooks

  Also by Mary Alice Monroe

  The Summer Guests

  BEACH HOUSE SERIES

  Beach House Memories

  Beach House for Rent

  Beach House Reunion

  LOWCOUNTRY SUMMER SERIES

  The Summer Girls

  The Summer Wind

  The Summer’s End

  A Lowcountry Wedding

  A Lowcountry Christmas

  The Butterfly’s Daughter

  Last Light over Carolina

  Time Is a River

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  Gallery Books

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2020 by Mary Alice Monroe, Ltd.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

  First Gallery Books hardcover edition May 2020

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  Interior design by Davina Mock-Maniscalco

  Jacket design by Laura Klynstra

  Jacket photographs by Getty Images; Shutterstock

  Author photograph by Mic Smith Photography

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Monroe, Mary Alice, author.

  Title: On Ocean Boulevard / by Mary Alice Monroe.

  Description: First Gallery Books hardcover edition. | New York : Gallery Books, 2020. | Series: The beach house series

  Identifiers: LCCN 2019060271 (print) | LCCN 2019060272 (ebook) | ISBN 9781982146948 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781982147006 (paperback) | ISBN 9781982146955 (ebook)

  Subjects: LCSH: Domestic fiction.

  Classification: LCC PS3563.O529 O5 2020 (print) | LCC PS3563.O529 (ebook) | DDC 813/.54—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019060271

  LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019060272

  ISBN 978-1-9821-4694-8

  ISBN 978-1-9821-4695-5 (ebook)