Page 29 of Sunsets at the Beach House

They met Rob at the table. He showed them on the map where The Preserve was. A fat line of blue meandered through it, with some smaller blue offshoots. “There’s the main canal, as you can see here. And then there are some smaller ones. There are pros and cons to being on the main canal. For one thing, it has the most boat traffic. We have rules about speed and noise and all of that, but it can still be busy at times. The pros, however, are that it’s faster to get to the Gulf, if that’s something that matters to you. And you’re more likely to see dolphins in the main canal. Not that they won’t show up in the side channels, too, they just seem to favor the main canal more.”

“Dolphins?” Willie smiled. She liked the sound of that. She didn’t think she’d mind the boat traffic, either. It would give them something to sit and watch in the morning while they had their coffee.

“Absolutely.” Rob nodded. “There can be some good fishing in the main canal, too. If that interests you.”

“Sure,” Miguel said. “I like to do a little fishing now and then.”

There was one lot that caught Willie’s eye. Because of a slight bend in the canal, the lot was pie-shaped with the widest end being on the canal, meaning it had more waterfront than the rest. She pointed to it. “How much is that one?”

Rob smiled. “You have great taste, Willie. That’s the last of our estate lots. It’s even bigger than the average Preserve lot. It’s currently listed at five hundred and ninety-nine thousand.”

Beside her, Miguel stiffened slightly. He glanced at her, but Willie just smiled and nodded. “Let’s go have a look at it.”

“I’ll get the keys to one of the golf carts,” Rob said.

As he went off to do that, Miguel looked at her. “That is an awful lot of money for land that still needs a house on it.”

“I can afford it.” She smiled at him. “And just think, if we get a boat, our families will have that much more reason to come visit us.”

He nodded. “That is true. But it’s so much money.”

“Do you have anything better to spend it on?”

He shook his head and laughed. “No. Let’s go see this lot.”

Rob returned with the keys and a folder emblazoned with the Dunes West name on the front. “I brought you a folder of our nicest floorplans, too. That lot will take any house you like in here.”

“Thanks,” Willie said.

Rob led them out to the driveway where the golf carts, also bearing the navy and green DW logo, sat waiting.

“I’ll sit in the back,” Willie volunteered. She figured that way the men could talk. She wanted to be able to look at the area, see what sort of place Dunes West was. She hoped it wasn’t full of fuddy-duddies. Some old people were downright boring.

She saw all sorts as they drove through the streets. Old people who looked old. Old people who looked young. Some who looked exactly their age.

They turned into The Preserve, which was easy to tell, because the entrance was marked with a grand sign and lots of big palms and showy landscaping. She liked it already.

Rob slowed as they went toward a guard shack. He waved at the guard and the long gate in front of them went up.

Now that was impressive. Willie leaned forward. “This is a gated area?”

He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Our most secure. No one who doesn’t live here is allowed in unless they’re on a guest list, and even then the guard will call and get the homeowner’s permission.”

“Fancy,” Willie said. The place was growing on her by leaps and bounds.

They drove on. A golf cart went past. The woman driving it had a pink streak in her silver hair. She waved at Willie and Willie waved back.

“I think I found my people,” she said to herself.

But they still needed to see the lot and figure out what kind of house they could have. If they were going to spend a lot of money on the lot, that meant the house couldn’t be too outrageous. Then again, they were splitting everything fifty-fifty.

She’d be okay putting a million bucks up for her part.

But maybe that was more than Miguel was comfortable with. She knew he had money, but not how much exactly.

Seemed to her the time was right for a more serious conversation about the subject. Later, though. Not now.

Rob parked beside an empty lot. The land had several nice-sized trees. Willie liked those. On either side were two good-looking houses.

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