The invitation caught her off guard. “I have client calls tonight.”
“All night?” he challenged.
Meg thought about the stack of emails waiting for responses, the presentation she needed to review, Brad’s increasing demands for updates. “Pretty much.”
Luke nodded, accepting her answer without pushing. “The offer stands. Beach at Crystal Cove, starting around seven.”
As they approached the Beach Shack, Meg saw Margo at the back door, signing for a delivery. Her grandmother looked up, caught sight of them walking together, and didn’t even try to hide her satisfied smile.
“Subtle,” Meg murmured.
“Bulldozer,” Luke agreed with a laugh.
They separated at the steps, Luke heading toward his truck parked nearby while Meg returned to the shack. As she passed Margo, her grandmother raised an eyebrow.
“Nice walk?” Margo asked innocently.
“Very strategic timing with that delivery,” Meg replied.
Margo’s eyes twinkled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Inside, as Meg helped unpack the delivery, she noticed Margo quickly tucking a stack of papers into a drawer when she thought Meg wasn’t looking. A glimpse of what appeared to be a bank statement, different from the business accounts Meg had seen earlier.
Another small mystery in a growing collection.
“Everything okay?” Meg asked casually.
“Just fine,” Margo replied, too quickly. “Just some personal business.”
Meg nodded, not pressing the issue. But as she returned to organizing supplies, she thought about Luke’s words on the beach.Margo has her reasons for doing things the way she does.
What reasons could justify the strange financial patterns she’d glimpsed? And why was her grandmother, normally so straightforward, being secretive about them?
The afternoon continued without incident, the Beach Shack closing promptly at three despite a few hopeful latecomers. As Meg helped with the closing procedures, she found her thoughts returning repeatedly to Luke’s bonfire invitation.
One evening away from work wouldn’t derail her career. And perhaps, in the more relaxed setting of a beach gathering, she might learn more about what was really happening with the Beach Shack’s finances.
“All done for the day?” Margo asked as they finished cleaning up.
“Almost,” Meg said. “I thought I might stop by that bonfire at Crystal Cove tonight.”
The surprise on her grandmother’s face quickly gave way to pleased approval. “Wonderful idea. Don’t worry about opening tomorrow. I’ll handle it.”
“I didn’t say I’d be out late,” Meg protested.
“Of course not,” Margo agreed, not even trying to hide her smile. “But just in case.”
As they walked to their cars, Meg caught Margo watching her with an expression she couldn’t quite read.
“What?” Meg asked.
“Nothing,” Margo said softly. “Just remembering something.”
“What?”
Margo’s smile turned wistful. “Just that life has a way of circling back sometimes. Giving us second chances when we least expect them.”
Before Meg could ask what she meant, Margo had climbed into her car with a finality that suggested the conversation was over.
