Escape to Black Rock Beach: Black Rock Beach

By S.M. Grady

Candice has been covering up a rocky marriage for longer than she cares to admit. While trying to uncover the issues in her relationship, she stumbles upon family secrets, long-held resentments, and betrayals. Growing up in church fostered her deep sense of commitment to marriage, but when she hits a roadblock she can't see her way around, she decides to accept her friend Madison's open invitation for a visit to Black Rock Beach.

The sunny shores of Black Rock seem like the perfect place to heal and regroup. But when she arrives, she's immediately thrown into the middle of the on-going Moore family drama. As Madison and her siblings work out their issues, Candice seeks refuge in a friendship that proves to be slightly more than the casual distraction she had in mind.

Between the promise of new adventures, and the chaos back home, Candice must find a way to focus on her journey to healing and self-discovery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: S.M. Grady
• Release date: Jun 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223441410

S.M. Grady

S.M. Grady is an award-winning author, and the owner of Scattered Thoughtz, a small business that allows her to combine her passions for writing, creating, and helping others. She uses her voice to showcase realistic fiction through her short and novel-length contemporary, suspense, and romance stories. When she's not writing, she loves to travel and explore new areas and restaurants with her husband and son. To learn about her and her books visit ScatteredThoughtz.com or follow her on social media @ScatteredThz.

Book preview

1

CANDICE

Candice raced out of the doors of the Mount Victory Baptist Church banquet hall as soon as the Glaucoma Awareness brunch ended. The fundraiser was hosted by the Women’s Ministry, and as vice president, she probably should have stuck around to help clean up, but she’d gotten there early to set up. Like she did for most events, whether she was on the committee or not. Someone else would have to take care of it this time.

Today, she wanted to get home and relax for a little while before it was time to drive her husband to the airport. Joseph had an evening flight out for work, but she knew how he was about being there at least an hour ahead of schedule. With Atlanta traffic being so unpredictable, that meant they had to leave at least an hour earlier than that. He could have gotten a ride from someone else. Two of his brothers lived less than 15 minutes away, and they always owed him a favor, but she wanted to be the one to take him.

Things had been rocky recently. After seven years of marriage, she was used to the ups and downs, but last year was the worst it had ever been. They went days at a time without speaking to each other. His business trips became more frequent, then longer, until it got to the point where she was used to living alone. And she started to like it.

When he was at home, everything he said upset her. Everything she said irritated him. She stayed at her friend’s house sometimes to avoid him. She went on a trip so they could get some breathing room. It didn’t help. When she returned, they had to schedule counseling sessions just to have a halfway decent conversation.

She was sure the marriage was over, but they barreled through the worst of it. The winter holidays were probably what pulled them back together. They always made a big deal out of Christmas. Candice liked to host dinner on Christmas Eve for the entire family. Some of Joseph’s nieces and nephews would spend the night the day before. They’d wake up, open presents, and run around the house until dinner was ready and the rest of the family showed up. The kids got two Christmas mornings, in a sense, and their parents got a little break. It was their gift to the family.

They had to work together to pull it off if they didn’t want to ruin the tradition for everyone else. There was an unspoken ceasefire while they prepped for the children’s arrival, but sometime throughout the day it turned into more than that. Joseph’s permanent scowl was replaced with the smile Candice fell in love with years ago. They teased each other as they made a mess of the kitchen. Her heart swelled as she watched him chase the little ones around the house. Her calls to, be careful, drowned out by giggles and shrieks of laughter.

Joseph only left once between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. They spent the rest of the time together, talking and laughing like they used to. That was the thing she’d missed the most. Their days used to be filled with laughter. Even when they were apart, he would call two or three times a day just to tell her about something funny that happened. Those calls had been replaced with texts. Usually, a line or two informing her of his arrival.

They made resolutions for the marriage. Number one was to put the past behind them and start the new year strong. Number two was to make the most of the time they had together when Joseph wasn’t out of town for work. Hence the reason she was taking him to the airport instead of sending him off with someone else.

Candice finally pulled into her quiet subdivision in Vinings. The tree-lined streets were empty. It was a nice, clear day, but it was too cold for anyone to be outside enjoying the sunshine. A few degrees higher and the streets would be filled with kids riding their bikes, playing basketball in the cul-de-sac, or chasing each other through the yards. She couldn’t wait until she could add her own children to the bunch. The thought alone brought a huge smile to her face.

The security alarm was on. Weird. They only ever turned it on when they were both out of the house, or when they were going to bed. They didn’t keep it on during the day. There was no need for it in their neighborhood. She barely thought they needed it at night, but it didn’t hurt to be a little cautious.

The living room was clean, and the dishwasher was running. The only thing that could have been in it were the few dishes from Joseph’s breakfast that morning. She’d cleaned the kitchen last night, like she always did. She shook her head. How many times did she have to tell him not to run that thing for a single pan and a plate? He was wasting so much water.

Candice checked the office downstairs. It was empty. That made sense. If he had enough time to do all that cleaning, he definitely didn’t have any work to go over. Joseph only cleaned when he was bored or pissed off. If he was truly irate, the baseboards shined like they were brand new. She continued upstairs to look for him.

Joseph! she called out. No answer. He was probably in the shower. Or double-checking his luggage. That would give her at least a couple of minutes to stretch out across the bed and relax. Her feet were killing her.

There was no water running upstairs. No sounds of bags being shuffled around. No movement at all. Joseph?

Calls to his phone went unanswered. By that point, she knew he wasn’t home, but she peeked her head into their bathroom anyway. It was empty. It was also spotless. No streaks on the mirror, no trash in the bin. The counters had been cleared and freshly wiped down. There was only one item in view. Her pack of birth control pills that she stopped taking and threw away a couple of days ago. The bright, pink case centered perfectly on the stark, white countertop was unmistakable.

2

MADISON

Madison could feel Shane watching her from across the room. She knew he wanted to say something, but he didn’t want to ask her if everything was okay for the fifth time. She tried to fix her face, as her mother used to say, but every time she read the text messages from Candice, her brows furrowed, and her mouth scrunched up in confusion.

Do you want to talk about it? Shane finally asked. He joined her on the couch and switched the television off.

It’s Candice, Madison said. Something weird is going on with Joseph again.

Shane didn’t know all of the details, but he knew enough. He was the one who arranged the surprise visit from her friends and her mom last year. And when Candice decided to stay longer, he took them around to all of the tourist attractions. Madison was sure he caught onto some of her friend’s gripes about men and marriage in between visits to the Griffith Observatory, and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Candice was clearly going through something, but they still had a blast.

Madison had been too busy with the hotel and family stuff to go exploring outside of Black Rock Beach when she first arrived. Shayla and Carmen took her to the Santa Monica Pier one weekend, but that was it. Everything else was quick outings around town, mostly to grab food. She’d never been to the Venice Beach Boardwalk or Rodeo Drive. Taking Candice around Los Angeles was a breath of fresh air. She didn’t get concerned until the visit stretched on for a couple of weeks with no end date in sight.

I just needed a break. Maybe it’s the seven-year itch. Candice had tried to make light of it at the time.

Madison wasn’t buying it. This extended stay, on top of the days, maybe weeks, Candice spent at her house in Atlanta, was a big deal. She knew Candice and Joseph didn’t agree on when to have children, but something else had to be going on for her to never want to be at home. Madison couldn’t help her if she didn’t open up.

She took note of the designer luggage set that had made its way from the closet to the foot of the bed. You’re getting ready to pack? She hoped it wasn’t because she asked how much longer she was staying. The last thing she wanted to do was make her feel unwelcome.

Yeah, this was the last bit of my vacation days.

Good thing we’re about at the end of the year. And you’ll get the holidays off. The business office is always closed for the holidays. It was one of the only things Madison missed about the hospital where they used to work together. She would bank most of her vacation days until the end of the year. Between that and the paid time off for the holidays, she spent a good chunk of time from Thanksgiving to New Year’s in her pajamas.

That’s true. Joseph will probably be swamped with work.

What does he have to do over Christmas? Madison knew he owned two barbershops in Atlanta. People might want a fresh cut for the holidays, but he wasn’t the one doing the cutting.

He might have inspections. I didn’t ask. He’s always gone these days.

She hadn’t even considered his other job because she didn’t think his workload increased that time of year. Joseph was a healthcare site inspector. Most nonemergency sites would be closed. Showing up to an emergency site on Christmas, knowing they were probably running a skeleton crew, was just plain mean. And making more work for himself for no reason. Madison hoped he wouldn’t do something like that, but she didn’t know him that well.

She did know that Candice spent a lot of nights at home alone. For her and Joseph, spending long periods of time together was maybe a three-day weekend. And that was back when she used to join him on work trips occasionally. It was one of the reasons they couldn’t come to terms on the baby argument. Madison didn’t understand why Candice would want to raise a baby alone. Then again, she wasn’t sure that she wanted to raise a baby period, so maybe she wasn’t the best person to judge that situation.

Candice went home a few days after that conversation, and she claimed things were better after a couple of weeks. Great, even. But Madison wasn’t convinced. She was no marriage expert, but too much had gone down for everything to be resolved over one good weekend. Not to mention all the questions Candice asked about moving out there. Someone who was trying to iron out the logistics of a cross-country move didn’t go right back to being happily married 14 days later.

Candice claimed she was just thinking out loud, but it sounded more like planning out loud to Madison. She would be happy to help her friend start over in Black Rock Beach if that’s what she really wanted. Having her there was like having a little piece of home with her, but she knew it wouldn’t happen. Candice didn’t believe in divorce.

She came from a religious family. Her father was a deacon in the church where they were from, and her mother was the choir director. It was an old school, Southern Baptist church. Marriage did not come with the option of divorce.

Joseph’s father was a pastor with his own church. It wasn’t exactly a mega church, but it was one of the larger congregations in Atlanta. Candice was there every Sunday, representing the Hughes household, even when Joseph was out of town on business. Madison used to tease her about being the next first lady. Her mother-in-law was practically grooming her for the role. They spent more time together, running back and forth to Mount Victory, than they did with their own husbands.

Madison suspected that Joseph’s family was another reason why Candice didn’t want to leave him. Her parents lived a few hours south of Atlanta. She only had one brother that had moved away years ago, and he barely spoke to them. Joseph’s siblings loved her, and he had a gang of nieces and nephews. She went to as many pee-wee football games and tap dance recitals as she could.

Even if she did believe in divorce, what were the chances of winning the in-law lottery twice? It probably wasn’t the best reason to stick it out, but Madison knew plenty of women that were contemplating divorce because they’d inherited horrible in-laws.

Ding. Another text. She hadn’t responded to the last one yet.

She tried calling, but Candice wouldn’t pick up. Madison knew people hated that—they send a text, and you respond with a call. But she couldn’t make sense of all the frantic messages. What did a clean house and birth control have to do with Joseph disappearing?

"Can one of your other friends go check