started in the late 1800s. From the beginning, it was the Cape’s simplicity, its natural charms that held appeal for the wealthy city dwellers who came to claim the land. Early architects were instructed to build with the landscape in mind, to construct big but undecorated homes. Those who moved there did so to get away from the hustle of cosmopolitan life, to escape it—and the locals built as they were told. But it was that exchange that set in motion a legacy of strained relations. Men who had made perfectly acceptable livings as farmers and fishermen became Realtors and builders to suit the demand. The division in the sand was drawn early on. Now, as Lexi stood in the middle of the Mosses’ great lawn and looked around, she could feel the awe and excitement—and maybe even a bit of the ambivalence—of those who came before her. She’d found Cooper’s Jeep gone and a new car in the driveway when she’d arrived, nervous for a moment that it might have belonged to Hudson, but the South Carolina plates calmed her fears.
