Page 64 of Ten Beach Road

Twenty-one

Maddie positioned the neon-strapped beach chairs, which now totaled five, in a semicircle around the low wicker table that she’d found at a garage sale last week and tried not to see the bargain basement furniture through Deirdre Morgan’s eyes.

The designer was in the kitchen with Nicole, preparing the sunset snack. Chase was still sawing away over in the garage while Avery, who did her best to stay as far away from both of them as possible, had headed down the beach for a walk as soon as they’d knocked off for the day. Last time she’d checked, Kyra was upstairs fiddling with her video equipment.

“Come on, you all!” Maddie called. “You’re going to miss the show!”

A few minutes later Nicole backed out of the kitchen door carrying a tray with a bottle of white wine and glasses. Deirdre followed with a tray of artfully arranged canapés and . . . Maddie did a double take. “That’s not actually caviar, is it?”

Nicole smiled. “It so is.”

Kyra came out with a tall glass of juice and her video camera. They’d settled into their seats and poured glasses of wine by the time Avery came up from the beach. She made a face when she saw the small bowls of condiments and the fancy cocktail napkins beside them, but continued on into the kitchen without comment, coming back with a warehouse-sized bag of Cheez Doodles.

They ate and drank and watched the sun slip lower in the sky while Deirdre entertained them with stories about some of the celebrities she’d worked with. Every time Kyra asked a question Maddie caught her breath, afraid that the next name she was going to hear was Daniel Deranian’s.

She knew that it wouldn’t be long before Kyra’s pregnancy became obvious, but there was still that small, irrational part of her that wanted to believe if they just didn’t talk about it, the problem would somehow cease to exist. She frowned as she realized how closely this resembled Steve’s abdication; there was no real safety dwelling in the land of denial.

Everyone fell silent as the sun brightened and glowed before beginning its slide toward the water. The whine of the saw ceased and Chase came out of the garage, mopping his face with his T-shirt. Muscles rippled beneath his darkly tanned skin; his abs could have been cut from steel. Only Avery kept her gaze on the Gulf as he walked toward them. Until his hand snaked down into her bag of Cheez Doodles.

“Hey!” she said.

“Mind if I join you?” He popped the Cheez Doodle into his mouth and munched contentedly.

“Of course not,” Maddie said before Avery could object. “There’s a six-pack in the fridge. I’m pretty sure it’s got your name on it.”

“Thanks.” He reached down into Avery’s bag of Cheez Doodles again and snagged a whole handful before heading inside.

“Thesedon’t have your name on them,” she called after him, closing the bag against further encroachment. “Did you really have to invite him, Maddie?” she asked. “Between the caviar and the crowd, it’s turning into a damned cocktail party. I’d rather have one of Nikki’s frozen drinks.”

“My, someone’s grumpy this evening.” Deirdre sipped her wine and reached for another canapé.

Avery tensed. Maddie put a hand on her arm to hold her back. “It’s just one sunset. We have a whole summerful ahead of us.”

Avery sniffed. “If he even looks like he’s getting ready to call me Vanna, he’s going to be wearing this bag of Doodles.”

“He called you Vanna?” Deirdre smiled. “Really?”

Avery’s hands tightened on the Cheez Doodle bag, making it crackle. “You know, you never said how you happened to have your summer free to join us.”

Deirdre turned from the view to face her daughter. “Trent told me what was going on and I made the time because I thought you might need my help.”

“Next time call me first so I can tell you no.”

Chase came out with his beer and a kitchen chair. Deirdre scooted over to make room for him.

Maddie wasn’t sure how much Avery enjoyed the rest of the sunset; she seemed to be fuming through most of it. When the sun had completed its disappearing act, Maddie raised her glass. After explaining their “one good thing” tradition to Deirdre and Chase, she said, “I’m grateful that I didn’t break a single pane of glass today.” Maddie took a small sip. “Of course, it figures I’m finally getting the hang of glazing now that the end is in sight.”

“I’m grateful for tonight’s caviar,” Nicole said. “I’d almost forgotten how much I like it.”

Maddie noticed that Kyra had her camera out and was, once again, recording them.

“Well, I’m grateful for Cheez Doodles,” Avery said belligerently. “Because a life without Cheez Doodles is hardly worth living. Caviar is only fish eggs with a fancy name.”

They looked at Deirdre, who hesitated slightly before saying, “I’m grateful to have this chance to be with my daughter and to work on Bella Flora. I’d gotten kind of tired of all the glitz.”

Avery snorted but remained silent, and Maddie found herself wondering how both of their mother-daughter scenarios would play out over the summer. Physical togetherness was one thing; the emotional kind could be so much more elusive. Everyone turned to Chase.

“Do I get to play?”

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