Page 97 of Sunsets at the Beach House

“Toby!” Jules shook her head. “You silly thing.”

“I don’t know,” Jesse said. “I think he’s got the right idea. We belong together.”

She smiled up at Jesse. “No argument from me.”

“Don’t work too hard tonight. You need your sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be one for the music history books.”

She loved his enthusiasm. “I promise I’ll be as fresh as a daisy. Speaking of working too hard, don’t you have someone coming in to interview?”

“In about an hour, yes. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“I hope well.”

“Me, too.” He gave her another quick kiss before stooping to free them from Toby’s antics. He helped load Toby in, clipping him into his seat restraint. “Have a good night.”

“You, too. See you tomorrow.” She closed her door and pulled out of the lot. “Today was a good day, Toby. If this song really does what everyone seems to think it’s going to do, we’re going on the road again.”

She glanced over at him. His eyes were squinted against the sun and his tongue was hanging out of his open mouth. He loved car rides.

“The good news is, this time your girlfriend will be coming with us.” Jules smiled at the road ahead. “And so will your Mama’s boyfriend.” Her grin got a little bigger. “Won’t that be fun?”

Kat stood on the front porch to sign the paperwork that Peter, the man from the veterans charity, had just given her. She scrawled her name on the appropriate line, then gave the form back to him on the clipboard it was attached to. “There you go.”

He tore off the yellow copy and handed it to her. “Thank you again. We really do appreciate this.”

“Thank you. I can’t believe how fast you guys work.” It had helped that he’d come with a team of six people.

They’d gone through the house like a well-oiled machine, making short work of packing up and moving out whatever was left. She supposed most of them were former military, which probably explained their speed and efficiency.

While that had been going on, the realtor had come by. He’d agreed with Kat that a good cleaning, some fresh paint, and shampooed carpets would go a long way. He’d also given them an appraisal that had made her mom very happy.

After that, her mom and Danny had stayed around until the last of the main rooms were cleared out, then they’d gotten back on the road.

Pastor Freeman and the men who’d come with him had just gone, too. It was just her and Cash now. The whirlwind of a day was over.

He came up beside her. “That was a lot of work.”

“Yes, it was. And it’s not over yet.”

“You mean the drive home?”

She nodded. “Yeah, but that’s the easy part, although you have to deal with that truck. It’s the unpacking when we get there I’m not looking forward to.”

“We’ll get it knocked out. There’s a lot less stuff in that truck than I thought there’d be. Anything else that needs to be done here?”

She shook her head. “Nope.” She’d gotten her mom’s key to give to the realtor so he’d be able to show the place. He was going to arrange for carpet cleaners, painters, and then a general cleaning, too, all of which he’d promised could be deducted at the closing.

She opened the front door, took one more look inside, then closed it and locked the door one final time. “Let’s go.”

“Can we grab something to eat first? Fast food is fine, but that pizza didn’t hold me.”

“Sure. There’s a Fry Shack just up the road. Plenty of parking for that truck, too.”

“Works for me. I’ll follow you, since I don’t know where I’m going until we get back on the highway.”

“Okay.”

At the Fry Shack, she just got a cheeseburger, small fries, and a diet soda. Cash got a double bacon cheeseburger with Cajun curly fries and a chocolate shake. She honestly didn’t know where he put it.

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