Page 3 of Sunsets at the Beach House

Jules walked over, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. “Are we all supposed to go down and meet her?”

“I’d like to take Kat first,” Claire answered. “Roxie’s bringing Trina. I can text you once we see how things go. But Kat’s the only one the baby’s related to by blood. So it’s up to you if you want to meet him or not.”

Kat got to her feet. She looked about as uncertain as Claire felt. “Are you okay with this, Mom?”

Claire sighed. “I honestly don’t know what I am.”

Roxie knew Trina would be receptive to the idea of a baby brother, but Roxie’s mom, Willie, was a different story. She was a lot less likely to believe Paulina was strictly here to introduce her son to his half-sisters.

Roxie had her doubts about Paulina’s intentions, too, but until she could talk to the woman in more depth, she was trying not to jump to conclusions.

Unlike Trina, who generally saw the good in everyone first, Roxie was a touch more jaded. More like her mother. And Paulina, showing up here right after the insurance money had been delivered, seemed awfully suspicious to her.

Maybe she was wrong. She wanted to be wrong. But life had taught her that people weren’t always to be trusted. Especially when it came to money. Money made people do awful things sometimes.

Roxie walked back into the living room.

Trina was pulling a cookie sheet out of the hot oven. She’d lined it with tin foil before adding their leftover pizza to it to reheat. “Who was that, Ma?”

Roxie sat on one of the stools at the narrow kitchen counter without making eye contact. She was still searching for the words to explain what had just happened.

Willie spoke up before she could answer. “Wasn’t someone you were expecting to see, by the looks of you.”

Roxie exhaled and finally lifted her gaze toward her mother and daughter. “You’re not going to believe this, but that was another one of Bryan’s wives.”

For a few long seconds, both Trina and Willie just stared at her.

Trina held the cookie sheet mid-air, but finally set it down on the hot pad and took her oven mitt off. “Another of his wives?”

Roxie nodded. “A young woman named Paulina and she brought her—”

“Young?” Willie’s brows went up. “That’s a curious way to describe someone.”

“Well, it fits,” Roxie said. “I bet she’s not much older than Trina.”

“Are you kidding me?” Willie made a face. “That husband of yours was a complete bum. And maybe a little bit of a pervert.”

“Ma.”

“Well, what do you call taking up with a woman the same age as his daughters?” Willie made a spitting sound. “It’s a good thing he’s dead or Margo’d make sure he was. She likes him less than I do, and I wouldn’t pee on him if he was on fire.”

“Ma.” Roxie shot her mother a look. “I had a lot of happy years with the guy.”

“Sure, but he was still a louse.”

“Mimi, that’s my dad you’re talking about,” Trina said.

“Sorry, honey, but you can’t be happy about this. Are you?”

“No, but—”

“Hey,” Roxie interrupted. “I wasn’t done.”

“Sorry, Ma,” Trina said. “You say whatever else you were going to say.”

“Thanks.” Roxie exhaled. “Paulina didn’t come alone. She brought her newborn son with her. Trina, you have a half-brother named Nico and if you’d like to meet him, he’s downstairs with Paulina right now.”

Trina inhaled, already smiling. “A baby brother?”

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