Forbidden Boy

“Hey, guys! Coffee break?” A voice bellowed from the top of the dune. Julia

Donuts run. (Okay, maybe she was projecting a little bit on the last part . . .)

“So, what’s the game plan for the afternoon, Tom?” she heard a deep voice call out across the dune.

“More demolition. We need to clear this entire area.

No brush left. It needs to be buildable ground,” Deep Voice Number Two, presumably Tom, called back.

“How much ground are we talking here?” asked a third guy.

“The whole thing. We’re taking out this entire pen.” Tom didn’t hesitate for a moment.

“What are they building?” Deep Voice Number One asked. “Pretty big demo order for a house.” 111

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“A gym, I think,” Tom said offhandedly.

Julia

“Like an LA/Sports Club?” joked another guy.

“Nah, not a franchise or anything.” Tom laughed.

“They’re building a gym addition onto the house. A waterfront gym.”

Julia

She felt a burst of cold air as a new shadow fell over 112

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her. She shivered and crossed her hands over her bare arms. Then the shadow cleared its throat. Julia

“What are you doing here?” he demanded.

“Nothing. You know. Just listening to my iPod,” Julia

“I hear the sound quality’s a lot better if you actually turn it on.” He raised one eyebrow. Crap.

“Thanks for the hint. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to be left alone.” Julia

“Left alone to do what? Continue eavesdropping on my father’s construction crew?” There was self-righteousness rising in Remi’s voice, mingling with teasing amusement. Julia

“I think you mean demolition crew,” Julia

Some parts of this beach are still public. At least for now.”

“Julia

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“This is my dad’s dream house, and they’re making great progress.”

“Progress? This isn’t progress! It’s . . . it’s . . . greedy and selfish. Your family is grabbing up every last morsel of space, every last grain of sand, so that you can have all of it to yourselves. It’s not about making something—it’s about proving that you’re the biggest kid in the sandbox.” After weeks of lying low and “monitoring progress,” it felt so good to just yell and let her anger pour out.

“I don’t understand why you’re taking this so personally!” Remi bellowed back at her. “My dad is an amazing architect and this is his home. It’s all he’s ever wanted—

it’s his legacy. Why does that bother you so much?”

“You are defending this? What’s with the infinite faith in your dad? How can you be so sure that he doesn’t have it all wrong?” Julia

“He’s a brilliant architect!” Remi exclaimed, stretching his arm toward Julia

“And that means he can’t be wrong? Why? He’s wrong about you! He doesn’t even think you can handle your own job site, but you trust him completely? That’s just weird!” Julia

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“He’s my dad, Jules. And he’s worked his entire life for this,” Remi said quietly, seeming to ignore Julia

“Well, did it ever occur to you that other people have worked their entire lives to afford the tiny slices of space that they live on? To sit at their windows and take in the view that you guys just bulldozed? The beach you’re wiping out to make your gigantic glass jungle gym belongs to this entire neighborhood!” The words were tumbling out of Julia

“Maybe this is bigger than just ‘some house’!” Remi shouted back at her. “My dad has been working for this for so long. I can’t even tell you what it means to him—

this is his artistic vision . . .” As he babbled on about his father’s dream, his voice was so earnest that Julia

But she couldn’t stand it anymore. She had to cut 115

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him off. If anyone needed to understand the real importance of this beach, it was the Moores. “Name one life that’s being made more beautiful by what is happening here, Remi!” Her feet dug into the sand as she tore off down the beach to grab her easel. “Want to talk about artistic vision?” she cried, spi

Out of the corner of her eye, Julia

Julia

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Chapter Eleven

!

“ Yo, Jules! Toss me those blueprints!” Beau called up to Julia

“No problem. Coming right down,” she called back, tossing the rolled-up specs down from her perch in the rafters.