Page 2 of Sunsets at the Beach House

“Be right there,” Roxie said. She closed the front door and looked at Claire with utter frustration in her eyes. And maybe a little anger. “Can you believe that man? A third wife? Another kid? I no longer have any idea who I was married to.”

“I know,” Claire said. “I feel the same. Do you think she’s really just here to introduce her son to the girls? Or do you think there’s some other reason?”

“Like money?” Roxie snorted. “That can’t be it, because I have no doubt she’s where the rest of the insurance money went.”

Claire sucked in a breath as she realized Roxie was right. “Of course she is. That makes perfect sense. But do you really think Bryan left her six hundred thousand?”

“Probably three for her and three for the kid, but yeah, I do. Kinnerman told us there were beneficiaries, remember? Plural.”

“How could I forget,” Claire said. Losing that money meant her stake in the bakery wouldn’t be nearly as substantial.

Roxie rolled her eyes, obviously over the whole thing. “I suppose we could ask her about the money. I will, anyway. People expect those sorts of questions from me. And we deserve to know. Not that it matters. We can’t do anything about it.”

Claire frowned. “It would be nice to know for sure, though. I guess it’s good that he took care of them, but wow. Just…wow. To all of it. I really hope she’s the last one. If he has any more wives out there, I’d rather not know.”

“Me neither,” Roxie said. She heaved out a breath like she was trying to get an enormous weight off of herself. “You okay?”

“Not really. You?”

Roxie pursed her lips. “Not by a long shot. She’s Trina’s age if she’s a day.”

“Maybe she’s a little older.”

“Well, she’s not our age, is she?”

“No.” Claire couldn’t deny that Paulina was much younger than her or Roxie.

Roxie looked like she could have chewed nails. “As much as I don’t want to, we should get the girls and go have this talk.”

“Yes.” Claire nodded. “See you down there.” She went up the steps, trying to work out how she was going to explain to Kat what was going on. There was no easy way to do it. Better to just come out with it.

Kat was on the couch, watching a show with her grandmother, Margo. Claire’s half-sister, Jules, and Jules’s son, Cash, were in the kitchen and just about done with the dinner they were making for everyone.

Jules glanced at Claire as she joined them. “You look like you just got bad news. Everything okay?”

“I don’t know anymore. I guess it’s fine. But I did get news. Not great news, either. Although that depends on how you look at it, I suppose.”

Jules laughed. “Well, that explains everything perfectly.”

Claire walked through the kitchen and went straight to the living room area. She picked up the TV remote and hit Pause. “Listen, everyone. There’s no easy way to explain this, so I’m just going to say it. A young woman showed up at the front door downstairs. That’s why Roxie called me down there. That young woman was apparently also married to Bryan—”

“What?” Margo’s mouth gaped. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am. Very serious.” Claire looked at Kat. “She came here because she knew your father owned this house and she was looking for his family.”

“Why?” Kat said. “I can’t see any reason we’d want to know her. Unless I have another sister you haven’t mentioned yet.”

Claire took a breath, preparing herself for whatever reaction Kat might have. “Not another sister. But you do have a brand-new baby brother.”

Kat blinked. “I what?”

“You heard me. The woman who showed up, Paulina, she’s young. Maybe your age. And she’s just had the baby. Nico. They’re downstairs right now. The baby is why she came. She wanted him to know his family. Apparently, Bryan told her about us, but told her that we were his ex-wives. He said he’d divorced me and Roxie. Can you believe that?”

“The nerve,” Margo said. “And a liar to the very end.”

Kat didn’t move. “I don’t know how I feel about this.”

“Trust me,” Claire said. “I’m right there with you.”

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