Page 75 of New Day at the Beach House

Ray cried harder.

Danny waved a hand in front of his face. “I can smell the alcohol. Good job containing him, son.”

Alex nodded.

“That’s Alex, by the way. Alex, this is Danny Rojas, our next-door neighbor, and my mom, Claire. Although this was not how I wanted you to meet.”

“Thank you, Alex,” her mom said. “I’m glad you were here. It’s nice to meet you, despite the circumstances.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Thompson.” Alex glanced at Kat. “When is that Uber coming?”

“Sorry, still working on that.”

Danny ran his hand through his hair. “Why don’t we throw him in my truck and take him wherever he needs to go? He’s in no shape to drive.”

Alex nodded. “I was going to send him to the Best Western in town.”

“Sounds good,” Danny said. “I’ll grab my keys.”

“You boys don’t have to do that,” her mom said.

“It’s no trouble,” Alex said.

It was Kat’s turn to snort. “It’s all kinds of trouble.”

“Kat,” Ray whined. “Why won’t you talk to me?”

Her mother rolled her eyes. “Oh, for the love of Pete. Ray, you drunken fool, snap out of it. You cheated on her and it’s over. Permanently. Kat has moved on. Do you understand me? You need to do the same. If I ever see you on this property again, I will call the police.”

Kat rolled her lips in to keep from laughing and looked at Alex, whose eyes were as wide and amused as her own must be.

Danny returned with his keys and took Ray’s other arm. “All right, let’s load him up.”

Alex relaxed his grip and the men walked Ray off. Alex gave Kat a smile. “Back in a bit.”

“Thank you.”

Her mother stood next to her. “It’s a good thing your grandmother didn’t know he was down here. She would have called the cops.”

“Is Grandma home?”

Her mom nodded. “She’s watching one of her crime shows. Except now she calls it ‘doing research.’” Her mom looked at Kat and smiled. “You didn’t tell me Alex was so handsome. Or that fit.”

“He is a firefighter, Mom.”

Her mom slipped her arm around Kat’s waist as Danny’s truck pulled out of the driveway. “Those are two very capable men right there.”

“Yes, they are.” She put her arm around her mom’s shoulders.

“Your grandmother said she has something to tell us later. Want to go up and see what it is?”

Kat nodded. Danny’s taillights faded from view. “Sure.”

Margo looked over as the elevator opened and her eldest daughter and granddaughter stepped out. “Are your evenings over so soon?”

The two women exchanged knowing glances.

Margo’s brows bent. “What is that all about?”

---