Page 46 of New Day at the Beach House

“There is,” Kat said. She put the last slice of melon on the plate and moved on to making toast. “You look happy. I take it you had a good night with Jesse?”

Aunt Jules yawned before she answered. “I did. That man is amazing. He’s going to make it possible for me to record the demo that my agent wants. He’s getting musicians together for me and everything. If not for him and the Dolphin Club, I’d be headed back to Landry.”

“Speaking of,” Kat said, now that most of her family was all in one spot. “What are we going to do about getting ourselves moved out of there and permanently into here?”

Her mom sighed. “That’s going to take a lot of work.”

Kat shook her head. “I don’t think it will. Not if we agree that most of the furniture could be sold or donated. It’s not like we have room for it here anyway.” The toast popped up. She took it out and started a new batch. Thankfully, their toaster held four slices, so one more round and that would be it.

Her mom seemed to think about that. “That’s mostly true. But that dresser in the guest room belonged to my grandmother. I’d like to keep that.”

“I should think so,” Margo said.

Kat’s mom stirred the eggs before she looked over. “If you want it back, you can always take it. There’s room for it in my bedroom here in the corner.”

Margo nodded. “Good. But what about the buffet in the dining room?”

Claire sighed as she looked around the space. “It’s an antique, too. I’d hate to get rid of it, although I’m not sure where I’d put it.”

“Okay,” Kat said. She spread butter on the toast she’d already made. “So there are a few things like that we need to hang on to. If you could make a list of what you want to keep and what’s okay to donate, I can sort through the house in a couple of days. I already talked to Alex. He’s willing to come with me and help. Maybe Cash can come with us, too.”

“For sure,” Aunt Jules said. “I know he’ll do it. So long as it’s not the day we’ll be in the studio recording.”

Her mom glanced over. “That’s very kind of both of them. But how will you bring everything back?”

“Rent a truck,” Kat said. “Plus, we can put stuff in my car and yours.”

“It’s still a lot of work,” her mom said. “Are you sure you want to tackle it?”

“Yes. And I’m going to have time to do it before I start at Future Florida. With the signing bonus they’re giving me, I can pay for the truck, too. Cash can drive it back, Alex can drive my car, and I can drive yours.” She needed to get the jam out of the fridge and put it on the table.

“It would be good to have my car,” her mom admitted. She stirred the eggs again, then added a little salt. “But what if I forget to list something that’s important to me? I’d hate to lose a memento just because I didn’t come along.”

“So come,” Kat said. “Ride with us, then you can sort through things and drive your own car back. You could do it all in a day easily, if that’s what you wanted.” The final batch of toast popped up. She added it to the plate and went to work buttering it.

“A day would be good. I’ll just have to let Danny know I’ll be away.”

“Plus,” Kat said. “Donating all that stuff to charity would give you a nice write-off come tax time. Then the house will be empty and ready to go up for sale.”

“Which I really want,” her mom said. “We’ll figure out a day to do it.” She looked at her sister. “What day will you and Cash be in the studio?”

“Not sure yet, but I’ll tell you as soon as I hear from Jesse.”

“Claire?” a male voice called up from downstairs.

Her mom walked over to the top of the steps. “Danny? What are you doing down there?”

Footsteps followed and his voice got closer. “Willie’s phone ended up in my dad’s pocket last night. I was just returning it to her.”

Danny appeared on the landing. He waved. “Morning, all.”

Everyone waved and said good morning back.

Kat wasn’t surprised that her mom was smiling again.

Claire looked up at him. “Do you want to stay for breakfast?”

“Thanks, but I can’t. My dad was just getting up and about to slice some chorizo for an omelet when I left. I just wanted to say hi.”

---