Page 12 of Sunsets at the Beach House

Her mom hugged her. “Oh, honey. I don’t want that to go away, either.”

The elevator doors opened, and Jules came out with Toby in her arms. “Did I miss something? No one died, did they? Did another wife show up?”

Kat let go of her mom, laughing. “No, but there is going to be a wedding.”

Margo had just hung up with Conrad and stepped out of the bedroom in time to catch Kat’s words. An icy feeling slithered down her spine. A feeling that could only be described as dread. “A wedding? Who’s getting married?”

She stared at Claire. “Please tell me you and Danny did not—”

“Mom,” Claire said. “Don’t panic. None of us are getting married. But Willie is. To Miguel.”

Margo put her hand to her throat and exhaled the breath she’d been holding. “Thank heavens.”

“Yeah,” Jules said. “I was wondering about that, too.” She carried Toby into the laundry room to wash his feet.

Claire arched her brows. “What would be the big deal if Danny and I were getting married?”

Margo hesitated to answer. She wasn’t sure if her daughter was being serious or not. “For one thing, Claire, you’ve only just lost your husband. For another, you’ve known Danny less time than you’ve been a widow. You’re already going into business with the man. Don’t you think that’s enough?”

Kat looked at her mother. “Do you really like him that much?”

Claire laughed and shook her head. “I like him a lot, but don’t read anything into what I said. I was just asking a question.”

“Good.” Margo took some comfort in that. “I wanted to tell you that I spoke with Conrad and he’s fine postponing our trip until the day after tomorrow. In fact, he asked if you’d like to come with us, Claire. We can take you to your house before we go to mine.”

Claire nodded. “That would be great. Then the kids can have their fun without Mom in the car.”

Kat rolled her eyes. “We wouldn’t have minded one bit.”

“That’s sweet of you to say,” Claire said.

It was, Margo thought. But she had no doubt Kat, Cash, and Alex would still enjoy their time without parental supervision.

Toby came scampering out of the laundry room with a treat in his mouth. Jules was right behind him. “I’m headed upstairs to practice. I assume Cash is already up there?”

Kat nodded. “With cookies.”

Jules laughed. “Of course he is. If we get too loud, just text me.” She headed for the sliders, went out, and up the back steps.

Margo went to the coffeemaker. “Anyone want some decaf?”

“I’ll have a cup,” Claire said. “Are you going to watch your murder shows?”

“I am. I have a few recorded that deal with autopsy. I need to get some practical experience and make notes of the proper terminology.”

“Autopsy sounds kind of gross,” Kat said. “Are they going to be gory?”

“I don’t think so.” Margo took the carafe to the sink to fill it with water. She hoped not. She could only stomach so much. “If it’s gratuitous, I’ll turn them off and we’ll watch something else. All right?”

“Deal,” Kat said.

“You two go ahead,” Claire said. “I’ll have my decaf in the bedroom. I have a book to read. Although I have so much to do that I’m not sure I’ll get to the book.”

About to scoop coffee into the filter basket, Margo glanced over. “Such as?”

“Bakery stuff. But as I was telling Kat, I’m also making Miguel and Willie’s wedding cake as my present to them. I need to do some research on that. Figure out my decorations, the proper supports, that sort of thing.”

Margo added the ground coffee. “That was very generous of you.”

---