Page 58 of Just Beachy

“It is, isn’t it?”

“How’d you sleep, Grand?” I ask as she unwraps a stick of butter then begins cracking eggs.

“Like a rock. You?”

“More like a pebble bouncing down a cliff. Things just kept rolling around in my head. Between thinking about the job and money I threw away and building up the nerve to fire Marty, I barely slept.”

“Well, I have no doubt you did the right and honorable thing in turning down that Lift business.”

“Thanks.” I take another long, lovely sip of coffee that doesn’t quite dispel my unease. “Unfortunately, my decision doesn’t feel quite as clear-cut today as it did in the moment.”

“They rarely do, dear. When I look back on my relationship with Phillip and how I let it derail me and my plans,I don’t know what I was thinking. But I’m proud of you for taking a stand.”

Grand places a finger under my chin and lifts it gently so that our gazes meet. “I have complete faith that you’ll get back on your feet and figure things out. In the meantime, you have Harley’s on the weekends and story time and potential acting lessons at the bookstore. And I have absolutely no doubt that you’ll have plenty of acting opportunities once people start forgetting about the whole Cassie Everheart drama and you have someone new representing you. But no matter what, there’ll always be a place for you wherever I live. ‘Mi casa es su casa,’ ” as they say. “No matter where that casa is.”

I reach over and wrap my arms around her. “Thanks, Grand. You’re the best.”

“I feel exactly the same way about you.” She shivers slightly. “Now, all we have to do is make sure that home isneverat Buffington Arms.”

I nod my agreement. “I’m with you.”

When we’ve finished our breakfast and drunk as much coffee as we can hold, we do some light housekeeping and a bit of laundry. Then we take a lovely stroll around the complex, greeting people who are out enjoying the weather or walking their dogs.

“I just love how friendly everyone is here,” Grand says after a woman she met at a mah-jongg lesson smiles and waves as she drives by.

When we get back to Grand’s town house, we carry glasses of ice water out to the main-floor balcony and settleat the table to watch the boats go by. Grand is the first to spot the three dolphins just beyond the seawall while I try, unsuccessfully, to capture them with my cell phone camera. I’ve been attempting this since I arrived and I’m always just seconds too late to get a shot before they dive.

Grand points to bubbles that appear just a few yards farther out that indicate the dolphins are about to surface again. “They say if there are three, it’s a mother, father, and baby. If it’s only two, the father is off somewhere else. And if it’s alone, it’s a male.”

I look at my grandmother. She looks as relaxed as I feel in this moment. Seconds later our dolphin watch is interrupted when my phone shrieks out thePsychoringtone.

“I feel so wonderfully relaxed. Maybe we can call her back a little later…”

I wince as I drop the call. I love my mother, but she and relaxation are rarely used in the same sentence.

I’m just starting to unclench when Mom calls back.

“You really need to replace that ringtone before your mother accidentally hears it,” Grand says.

I inhale then exhale but it just keeps ringing. “Hi, Mom,” I say as I answer.

“Are you and your grandmother all right?” Her tone is urgent.

“Yes, of course. What’s wrong?”

“Is she there with you now?” She sounds increasingly frantic.

“Yes.”

“Put me on speaker. I need to talk to both of you.”

My heart kicks up a beat as I do what she’s asked. “We’re listening.”

“I came to check on your house this morning, Mother,” she says in a rush. “I wanted to make sure everything was okay and that your mail was being forwarded and not just sitting in the box.” The breath she draws is loud and shaky. “But when I got here, the front door was ajar and the security system had been disarmed. Whoever was inside made a huge mess in your house and your studio. They were clearly searching for something.”

“Oh no. You shouldn’t have gone in. Are you sure they’re gone?” Grand says.

“I haven’t seen or heard movement of any kind since I got here. The police are on the way. So is Sean. Right now, I’m standing next to the open front door waiting for them.”

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