Page 29 of New Day at the Beach House

She was surprised the man had remembered her name. “Thank you for letting me join you again.”

The mood around the table was the same as it had been the first time Kat and Trina had been at the station for a meal. Lots of joking and storytelling.

The tacos were great. Kat had made two, one chicken and one beef. But the plates around her were piled high. These guys were big eaters.

Alex had four on his plate and was more than halfway through. “Hey, Miles and Trina are going surfing tomorrow. You want to join them?”

Kat hesitated. “I don’t know how to surf.”

Alex grinned. “Neither does Trina.”

She looked at Miles. “Are you going to teach her?”

Miles nodded. “That’s the plan. You should come. I haven’t been doing it as long as Alex, but it’s not that hard.”

“Not that hard?” She snorted. “Are you kidding? It looks impossible.”

“Nah,” Alex said. “You’ll get the hang of it in no time, I bet. I promise to give you all my best tips and tricks.”

“Okay.” It wasn’t like she was starting a new job. And it was something that she and Alex might be able to share—if she could even do it. Plus, he taught kids how to surf. He was bound to be patient. “I will.”

“Great. Trina has the details about when and where. Afterwards, we’ll grab some dinner at Coconuts. Have you been there?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Really low-key place with great burgers and great fish tacos. Although you might not want tacos again.” Alex grinned. “I could eat them every day.”

Several guys got up and went back for seconds. Kat probably could have had a third, but she decided not to. She wanted to save room for one of her mom’s cookies, no matter how questionable they might be.

As dinner wound down, Larry caught her eye. “You want to bring that tin over? I think we’re ready for something sweet.”

She nodded. “Sure.” She got up to get it and pulled the foil off the top as she came back to the table. “My mom sent another contribution. A new experiment. Popcorn cookies.”

A couple of curious looks greeted her words, but that didn’t stop them all from digging in. The tin got passed around and the cookies quickly disappeared.

“Does your mom want to know what we think of these, too?” one guy asked.

Kat nodded. “I’m sure she would.”

“They’re weird,” said another guy. “But really good. Like, surprisingly good.”

Even Frank, the chief, took one. “Can’t go too wrong with a sugar cookie,” he said. “But these are not bad at all. If you left that tin in front of me, I’d definitely have a few more. Tell your mom she’s got another winner on her hands and give her our thanks.” He reached for a second. “We are more than willing to taste-test anything she’s got. You can tell her that, too.”

Kat laughed. “Okay, I will. But you might be sorry. No telling what she’ll come up with next.”

After dinner, they all helped clean up, making short work of the chores. Then they went back out to the lounge. Tonight wasn’t only taco night, but also, apparently, movie night. The movie was The Dark Knight.

Kat settled onto one of the couches with Alex and as the lights got turned down, she prayed there’d be no emergency taking him away from her this evening. Being with him, even with all the other guys around, was just what she’d needed. She couldn’t have cared less if it was Batman or the Muppets on the screen.

Halfway through the movie, her phone vibrated. She checked the screen and saw an email had come in from Future Florida. She put her phone away. She already knew it was going to be a “thanks but no thanks” response and that could wait until later.

Right now, she just wanted to forget about that and enjoy the moment.

The moment only lasted a few minutes more, though. The siren in the station went off.

The chief came in. “Truck One and the bus.” Kat knew that meant the ambulance. “Three-car accident on Palmetto.”

“That’s me,” Alex said. He kissed her cheek. “I’ll text when I can.”

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