Page 76 of New Day at the Beach House

“Yeah,” Jules said from her spot on the couch. Toby was next to her, snoring softly. “What’s going on? I was bummed Jesse only had an hour to spare for dinner, but now I see I would have missed something if I’d been out longer.”

Kat nodded at Claire. She sat next to Jules and started scratching Toby’s head. “Go ahead. You tell them.”

“Well…” Claire took the other chair. “Danny and Alex just escorted a very drunk Ray off the property.”

“What?” Jules laughed. “Are you serious?”

“That’s ridiculous,” Margo said. She’d always thought Kat could do better. This just proved it. “What did he hope to accomplish?”

“He was trying to win Kat back,” Claire said.

“Not like that,” Margo said. “The nerve. What a lunatic.”

Jules tucked her feet under her, obviously riveted by the news. “Drunk, huh?”

“As a skunk,” Kat said. “He was crying, too.” She winced. “It was actually pretty sad.”

“Sounds sad,” Jules said. “So Danny and Alex stepped in?”

“Like heroes,” Claire said.

Margo pursed her lips but managed not to roll her eyes.

“Tell me everything,” Jules said.

So Kat did, filling them in on what had just transpired. “Danny and Alex will be back after they get him a room.”

“And probably after they make sure he gets into that room and into bed,” Claire added. Then she looked at Margo. “You want to share your news now? You said you had something to tell us.”

“That’s quite a hard tale to follow up,” Margo said. She lifted her chin slightly, preparing herself for their reactions. “But I bought a house today.”

“You what?” Kat said.

“You bought a house.” Jules stared at her mother.

Claire opened her mouth but said nothing at first. Then she cleared her throat softly. “You said you were going to get your own place. I didn’t think it would be quite so fast.”

“Neither did I,” Margo said. “But an opportunity presented itself and I had to act. It’s a private sale and a very good deal. I’d be foolish to pass it up.”

“Um, where is this place?” Kat asked. “Are you going to be close by? How big is it? How did you find out about it? When are you moving in?”

“One question at a time, Kat.” Margo smiled. “It’s not far. About ten to twelve minutes. Probably faster if your aunt is driving. It’s a twelve-hundred-square-foot ranch, three bedrooms, two bathrooms. It has a pool, nothing fancy, but a pool all the same. Two-car garage, as well. It needs a decent amount of cosmetic work. Parts of it are very dated, so I’ll be here until that’s reasonably taken care of.”

Toby let out a big sigh. Jules scratched his belly. “What kind of cosmetic work? You mean painting? Stuff like that?”

Margo nodded. “Painting. New flooring. New countertops in the kitchen. The master bath is a total redo.” The second bath was stuck firmly in the Seventies as well, but she’d decided she could live with that for a while. Painting the walls and cabinets would go a long way in there.

“Can we help?” Claire asked. “We could at least paint.”

“Yeah,” Kat said. “And maybe pull up carpet? Or, I don’t know, whatever needs doing. I could probably get Alex to help, too. I don’t know how handy he is, but he’s strong.”

Margo smiled. “Any help would be gratefully appreciated.” She hadn’t even had to ask. She should have known better than to think otherwise. Once again, Conrad was right. It was time for her to have more faith in her family. “Thank you all for offering. It’s a lot of work to take on by myself.”

“Mom,” Jules said. “You won’t be doing it by yourself, I promise. Cash is all yours, whenever you need him.”

That made Kat and Claire laugh.

“Thank you, sweetheart.” Margo’s breath seemed to come easier.

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