<div class="floatleft">(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6UaMTyxI03k/TMhXkuIdhXI/AAAAAAAAA7k/fdXFNUx29l4/s1600/Ashley-Judd_0.jpg)</div>Claire Logan stood in the guest room, making sure everything was just right.  They'd had the housekeeper come by last week and clean the house, but Claire had wanted to make everything comfortable for Landon herself.  Little personal touches were everywhere.  She'd put fresh flowers around the beach house, tulips and azaleas and peonies arranged in vases.  A stack of books that she'd thought Landon might enjoy were on the nightstand, and she'd bought several swim trunks for him and put them the dresser.<br/><br/>They'd known for a few weeks that he was coming to stay with them for a little while, but they hadn't known exactly when.  Then he'd called a couple of days ago and said he was finally coming home.  She had started preparing the beach house and Gavin had been wrapping stuff up with their business; they wanted to be able to spend some time with Landon and were taking a vacation from work.<br/><br/>Usually, she and Gavin spent weekdays at the condo in downtown.  It was closer to the small corporate office for their hotels.  But she loved the beach, and so a few years ago they had bought the cozy three bedroom on the shore.  It had become where they spent every weekend, so much more than the little getaway place they had originally intended it to be.  She'd come to think of it as home more than the condo, even.  The backyard was sand, and the water was only fifty yards away at high tide.  Her favorite part was mornings.  She'd sit outside sipping coffee and listening to the surf and seagulls, sometimes alone and sometimes with Gavin's arms around her.  The occasional jogger would happen by, waving as he or she passed, but even that intrusion was not enough to break the peace that she so loved.<div class="floatright">(http://images.vacationrentals.com/_pictures/Fort-Myers-Beach-Florida/11588/1-1299102545173.jpg)</div><br/><br/>She wore, as she almost always did when she was at the beach, a swimsuit with a linen shirt thrown on top.  Today, it was with capris, although sometimes she wore long skirts, too.  Before... a year ago, she wore bikinis and shorts, but those days were over.  That she didn't do anymore.<br/><br/>There was nothing left for her to prepare or fuss over.  Landon's room was ready and lunch was ready and the house was clean.  So she went to the living room and curled up on the sofa with a book.  She didn't look up again until she heard a car door close outside.  In bare feet, she ran to the extra bedroom that she and Gavin had converted into an office.  As with the rest of the house, it had large windows that they'd put expensive shades over that would allow them complete privacy or all the natural light they could want, or anything in between.  Right now, the entire house was bathed in warmth from the sun, and the windows were open, letting the breeze cool them.  The office was no exception.<br/><br/>"He's here," she said to her husband, her voice tinged with excitement.  She adored Landon and always looked forward to spending time with Gavin's best friend.  "Come on!"  A big smile on her face, she ran outside.