Castles by the Sea
The castles by the sea are dying, and Margot Caldwell is the only one stubborn enough to walk back in. After a decade away from Wickham Cove, Margot receives a letter from Attorney Hollis Pemberton: the Caldwell-Rook coastal estates are in legal jeopardy, and the family must convene or face partition. The saltbox houses, the harbor foghorns, the spruce-lined ridges, all of it is dissolving, and with it the last thread connecting her to the mother who let distance do the forgiving for her. Sebastian Rook is waiting at the water's edge when her car crests the ridge. He hasn't forgiven her for leaving. She hasn't forgiven him for staying. Between them, the tide keeps pulling, literally and otherwise. As the legal disputes mount and the estate's future hangs on a single signature, old alliances fracture. Tessa and Lily Caldwell arrive carrying their own grievances. Beverly Tate and Vivienne Marsh stake claims to property no one knew was contested. Henry Doyle and Arthur Lavoie represent interests that pull the family in opposite directions. Rosalind Whitcomb and Imogen Rook keep the old loyalties alive, while Clara Rook guards the doors Margot once walked through. The sea doesn't negotiate. The fog rolls in, the estates crumble, and Margot faces the choice that will define what home means: sign the papers and let the castles scatter to the highest bidders, or choose the man, and the town, that cost her everything the first time. Some castles you have to build from the wreckage.