Tessa Trask expects a quiet summer restoring a friend’s beach house—not waking up to an intruder and defending herself as best she can. Wyatt Henry isn’t a burglar, though. He’s just as surprised to find her there—and just as determined to stay.

Under protest, the two agree to an uneasy truce. Tessa is creative and spontaneous. Wyatt is disciplined and guarded. Keeping their distance should be easy…until a surprise visitor arrives and turns their temporary arrangement into something far more complicated.

As sun-soaked days lead to deeper conversations, irritation softens into a fragile peace and grows into something worth protecting. While Tessa begins to trust God’s leading for her future, Wyatt wrestles with a past that makes trust feel dangerous.

Are their growing feelings worth the risk—or is walking away the only safe choice?

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About the Author

Hope Toler Dougherty holds a Master’s degree in English and taught at East Carolina University and York Technical College. She’s written seven novels and one novella. Forever Free, won the Faith, Love, & Hope Reader’s Choice Award for 2025. Beach House Rescue is her newest release. She and her husband live in North Carolina and delight in visiting their two daughters, twin sons, and new daughter-in-law.

More from Hope

Have you ever heard of Vinegar Pie? This interesting dessert is Tessa Trask’s snack in the first scene of Beach House Rescue.

Vinegar Pie is a real dessert created generations ago when creative cooks didn’t always have fresh ingredients like lemons. Sometimes they were also called “desperation pies.” They’re similar to chess pies in texture and in their use of whatever ingredients the cook could find in the pantry.

The pie became very popular during the Great Depression when money and ingredients were scarce, but Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about her mother’s vinegar pie in Little House in the Big Woods.

Even though I grew up in the South, I’d never tasted this pie until I visited my parents after I’d moved to Pittsburgh, PA. A local shop was called Vinegar Pie, and I was intrigued. The store sold southern items and baked goods, among them Vinegar Pie. I tried a slice and enjoyed it!

Don’t worry. The pie doesn’t taste like a pickle. The flavor teases the taste buds with the tang of lemon and offsets the sweetness of the sugar.

Here’s a recipe if you’re intrigued, too.

Vinegar Pie

Ingredients:

4 large eggs
1 ¼ C sugar
2 T vinegar (apple cider or white)
¼ C butter, melted and cooled
1 T all-purpose flour
1 regular pie crust (not deep dish)

Directions:

Bake the crust for 15 minutes at 350. Use beans or baking weights to keep the crust from puffing up.
While the crust bakes, make the filling. Whisk the eggs and sugar until combined.
While continuing to whisk, drizzle in the cooled butter and add the vinegar.
Pour into the crust (after removing the weights) and bake for 30-35 minutes. The filling should just be set. If it’s a little jiggly, but golden brown on top, the filling will firm up as it cools.

Enjoy straight or with some whipped cream or ice cream. Tessa, Wyatt, and Skylee would take theirs with ice cream, for sure!

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