Page 1 of The Beach House With You 2

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“Carmen, are you sure that it’s okay we’re surprising your mom a week early?” Franny asked, her eyes looking out the taxi window at the darkened, empty streets of Provincetown.

“Sure it is,” Carmen replied, reaching across the center seat to take her best friend’s hand. Though she tried to sound as carefree as possible, an unsure tone had seeped into her voice. The two of them had been thrilled when they’d pulled off a second week of vacation to visit Carmen’s mother, Jeanette, and had thought it would be a great surprise for her. But, as they drove through the quiet streets of her mother’s birthplace, she suddenly wasn’t sure.

Their flight from Montreal to Boston had been smooth, and they had been lucky enough to catch the very last ferry out to Provincetown, but now that they were moments away from Amanda and Whitney’s bed and breakfast, The Sea Glass Cottage, something felt off. As if, perhaps, they’d chosen a bad time, even though neither of them could figure out why. Picking up her phone, Carmen tried once more to call her mom. And once more, her call went straight to voicemail.

“How far away are we?” Carmen asked their taxi driver.

“Just another minute or two,” the middle-aged man with a thick, unknown accent replied. “We have one more turn coming up.”

As he said so, the taxi took its last turn, and as they pulled onto the next street, a flare of red and blue lights began flashing in front of them.

“Oh dear,” the taxi driver said, slowing down as he came upon the two police cars sitting in front of a beach house. He turned around to look at Carmen and Franny in his backseat, his brown eyes wide with apprehension.

“Well, this is it, The Sea Glass Cottage,” he said to them, his tone unsure. “I would get closer, but with the police here, this is the best I can do.”

Carmen and Franny shared a worried look, and without a word moved into action. While Carmen paid their driver, Franny went to the trunk and pulled out their luggage.

“Are you sure this is where you want me to drop you?” the taxi driver asked, accepting his fare from Carmen. “Perhaps it might be best if I take you somewhere else?”

“No,” Carmen said quickly, opening her door, “thank you. This is where we’re meant to be.”

From his rolled-down window, the man poked his head and arm out and extended Carmen a card.

“My name is Toussant. I’m off-shift in another half-hour, but if you need a ride, please call me. I’m sure you can take care of yourself, but I don’t like leaving young ladies alone in this type of situation.”

“Thanks for this and the ride,” Carmen replied, taking his card, “but this is my cousin’s place. We’re going to be fine.”

“Carmen, I got the bags,” Franny said, walking up to her, “come on.”

“Take care of yourselves, ladies,” Toussant urged, putting his car into drive.

“Thanks, Toussant,” Carmen called back to him as she and Franny had already started walking toward the flashing lights, “we’ll call you if we need you.”

The cool ocean air picked up speed as they walked closer to The Sea Glass Cottage, making them both shiver as they looked for Jeanette. Finally, relief poured through Carmen when she saw her mother standing next to a man in a black suit talking to one of the policemen.

“Mom!” Carmen called, picking up the pace.

Jeanette O’Shea’s head whipped suddenly toward Carmen as she heard her daughter’s call. The calm look of resolution that had graced Jeanette’s face suddenly melted like ice cream into an expression of joy and surprise, and she began walking quickly toward the two younger women.

“Oh my gosh, my babies!” she exclaimed, her voice filled with emotion as she wrapped one arm tightly around each of them. Carmen and Franny felt their smaller frames be squished against Jeanette as a hail of kisses covered their faces and hair, and despite the multiple questions and concerns they had about the police presence, they both giggled.

“What are you doing here?” Jeanette asked, still squeezing them tight. “Not that I mind, but I thought you weren’t coming until next week.”

“We both caught a break at work and thought we’d come to surprise you a week early,” Carmen explained, her arms still tight around her mom’s waist as she looked up at her.

“Mom, what’s going on?” Carmen continued. “Is everything alright?”

“I’m sure it is,” Jeanette reassured, patting them both on the back as she released them, “we’re just taking some precautions.”

From behind her mother, Carmen saw the man in the black suit shake hands with the two policemen and began walking toward them. He was older, probably older than her mother, but very handsome. And she couldn’t help but notice that his eyes were drawn protectively to her mother’s figure.

“Who’s this, Mom?” Carmen asked as the man approached them.

As if suddenly remembering that she wasn’t alone, Jeanette blushed before she turned just in time to see the handsome stranger place a hand on her mother’s shoulder. A wide, sheepish grin came over Jeanette’s face as she looked between Carmen, Franny, and the stranger, and she made a gesture with her hand as if to introduce them.

“Girls, this is an old friend of mine, Jason Flaherty. He’s been helping your cousins and me out quite a bit with the repairs here. Jason, these are my girls. My daughter, Carmen, and her best friend, Franny. They’ve come to visit me from Montreal.”

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