He just sighed. “Same.”
“Summer’s ticking away,” she said. “And Kate was supposed to be here the whole time. I’m sure that’s a huge disappointment for you.”
“It is. And I probably need to get back to Atlanta, but I want to close that Pippin Lake deal and then set Meredith up to stay here and run it.” He squinted at his kids, who were a few feet ahead, laughing. “It’s the closest she and Jonah have been since Melissa died. And Meredith is so helpful to him with the baby.”
“Or you could just close Acacia in Atlanta. Or let your top dog up there run it for you, and open Acacia Destin.”
“Don’t think I haven’t imagined that,” he said. “But you never answered my question, Viv. Is it Peter or just the end of the Let Go Bridge that has your smile in hiding?”
She gave him the best one she had. “I am sad about the bridge, but I don’t know why. Well, maybe I do.”
“Tell me.”
Taking a deep breath, she looked up into his blue eyes, a familiar warm affection spreading through her. She adored her big brother and trusted him. And if anyone would understand this, it might be him.
“The two are tied together—the bridge and Peter.”
“How so?”
“Well, somehow they are tangled up in my heart,” she started, trying to put her thoughts in a way that made sense. “The bridge was always there—and not just the summer we let go. Every summer. There for parties and shade, a symbol of connection, a landmark that lasted. And Peter was the same to me. Always there, always had my back—even the time you bolted from the ice cream place in a storm and left me behind.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Blame?—”
“I’ll blame Tessa,” she said dryly. “Youneverleft her behind.”
“Didn’t help my pathetic cause,” he joked. “But explain Peter and the bridge to me.”
She let out a noisy sigh. “The bridge reminds me that I’ve had a crush on Peter since time began. And it’s going to be gone.”
“And…?”
“And maybe I’m more in love with the memory, the crush, the heady, crazy high I got when he looked at sixteen-year-old Vivien than I am with Detective Peter McCarthy of today.”
He considered that, nodding.
“I mean, I ‘let go’ of my crush back in the day, but…”
“You didn’t let go of him.”
“Well, I did, two months ago. And I just can’t seem to find a way to tell him that was a mistake, which makes me wonder if it was or not. And if the bridge comes down, maybe my past—and present—with Peter does, too.”
Eli was quiet, carefully watching Jo Ellen and Maggie navigate a tricky turn around some fencing and the narrow path to the jetty. When they made it, he put a hand on Vivien’s shoulder.
“There’s a verse that says, ‘For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.’”
She glanced at him, mixed feelings about his use of the Bible for any problem. It helped, but she didn’t understand it. No wonder Kate was confused. “That sounds…like something you’d say.”
He smiled faintly. “It’s in Hebrews, a book which doesn’t actually have an author attached to it. But as an architect, that verse has always resonated with me.”
“What does it mean, exactly?” she asked as they rounded the last corner and started marching on sand up toward the bridge in the distance.
“That nothing built in this world—nothing built by men—is meant to last forever. Not homes or monuments or bridges. And that’s good, because God doesn’t anchor us to steel structures. He anchors us to Himself. And He was anchored to wood and nails on our behalf. That’s grace and it’s a gift.”
She smiled, but as always, Eli’s deep biblical knowledge left her lost. “And Peter?” she pressed.
“He isn’t tied to a bridge or even a memory. He’s tied toyou. And if you want my opinion…” He squinted into the fading light, seeming to lose his train of thought.
“Your opinion?” she urged.
