Page 13 of Beach Vibes

“Be careful going around corners,” he told her. “No hot rodding like you usually do.”

Beth laughed. “Right. That’s me. Taking the curves at ninety.” She glanced in the back seat and confirmed she had everything she wanted to take to her brother’s. She did her best to have dinner with Rick at least once a month, his schedule permitting.

She smiled at Kai. “I left you some chili in the refrigerator.”

His dark eyes brightened. “For real? Sweet! Thanks, Beth. You know I love me some chili, especially yours.” He glanced at the Crock-Pot. “If it’s not too much work to make, we could offerchili here at the shop. Maybe make it a special on Wednesdays or something.”

“We’re a sandwich shop. That’s our sweet spot.” She wrinkled her nose. “Besides, my chili isn’t that special.”

“You’re wrong, Boss. Don’t doubt yourself. You have mad skills. Your chili is delicious. Besides, people like variety. What if we got those small sourdough loaves and put the chili in there? I know the surfers would totally be into something that filling.”

Chili? She wasn’t sure, although he was doing a good job at selling her. “I’m still not sure my chili is good enough, but I get your point.” Expanding the menu was always a risk, but once it was made, the chili wouldn’t be labor-intensive to serve. If they offered a vegetarian option, that would certainly please their demographic.

“Let me run some numbers. If they work out, we could do some taste tests.”

“All right.” He held up his hand for a high five. “When the right wave comes, you gotta take it and ride it to the end or you risk being pulled under.”

“Or you can ignore it and take the next one.”

He grinned. “Naw. Take the wave. The right one doesn’t come around all that often.”

As she drove to Rick’s, she mulled over Kai’s advice. To be honest, she wasn’t a “take the wave” kind of person. She was more cautious and thoughtful—mostly because of her mother. Growing up, she’d watched their mom, Caryn, take all kinds of risks. One time they’d driven out to the desert to go on a hot-air balloon. The winds had come up as a storm threatened, causing the operator to want to postpone the trip. But Caryn had pleaded with the man, lying that it was Rick’s birthday and that he’d been begging for the trip. In truth, both she and Rick had been terrified, but their fear had never stopped their mom from doing anything.

Five minutes into the horrifying journey, a gust of wind hadsent them off course, and they’d nearly collided with power lines. The operator had tried to get them down safely, but they’d ended up crashing onto the interstate and causing a three-car pileup. The operator had been charged, and their mom had barely talked her way out of also spending some time in jail. Only her sobs about being a single mother had saved her.

Agatha was so normal in comparison, Beth thought as she waited at a light. So where had her mother’s brand of thrillseeker come from? Regardless, Caryn’s constant search for dangerous excitement was one of the reasons Beth preferred stable and calm. Oh, and predictable. She wasn’t interested in fire or waves or taking chances. She never had been.

She pulled into visitor parking at her brother’s ocean view condo. The building sat right on the beach, which meant it had been pricey, but oh, so worth it. Impulsively, she pulled her phone from her bag, stepped out and snapped a picture. She texted it to Jana with a text saying,Current view!

Three dots appeared. Then she saw the return text was a motivational poster of a surfer, pointing at her. Underneath it said,Seize the day…but wear sunblock.

Beth laughed before dropping her phone back into her bag and setting her tote on her shoulder. Then she picked up the hefty Crock-Pot. After Rick buzzed her in, she managed to maneuver her way through the heavy glass door and walked to the elevator. When she got to his unit, the front door was partially open. She pushed her way inside and saw her brother on his cell phone.

“Hi,” she said quietly.

He smiled before crossing to give her a one-armed hug and a kiss on the top of the head before retreating to his bedroom, where he shut the door.

Beth set the Crock-Pot on the kitchen counter and dropped the tote next to it before glancing toward the shut door. No doubt he was on with his medical office, the hospital or a patient. Her brother worked too hard, but that was because he wasdedicated to his patients. She could only hope that nothing bad was happening with any of them.

She unpacked the fixings for the salad she would assemble to go with their chili, then put the three casseroles she’d made into the fridge. She’d just plugged in the Crock-Pot to keep the chili warm when her brother walked back into the living room.

“Hey,” he said with a smile as he crossed to her and gave her another hug. “Sorry about that. I was on with the hospital. One of my patients isn’t doing well, and we were discussing possible treatments.”

“I’m sorry,” she said sympathetically. “Will you have to go back to the hospital?”

“I don’t know yet. If things don’t get better, I will.”

“One of these days you’re going to tell me you’re on the phone with a woman.”

He grinned. “I want that, too.” He pointed at the Crock-Pot. “What’s for dinner?”

“Chili. I made extra. I thought we’d freeze the leftovers. You should get at least four more meals from the batch. There are three casseroles in the fridge. You know what to do with those.”

He studied her for a second. “You always take care of me.”

“Of course.” She shrugged. “You’re my baby brother. What else would I do?”

“I’m less of a baby now.”

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