“She really likes salsa, chips, and cashews,” Audrey said. “And we’ll share whatever you buy—but could you get us some stuff for breakfast to have in our room, like those frozen bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits? Want me to call Sarah and Macy and tell them what’s happened so they won’t rush back to change for dinner?”
“I’ll let them know, and I will make sure you girls have something to snack on in your room,” Grace replied with a smile. “Oh, I forgot, Beezy is coming in tonight—and she’s not family.”
“Yes, she is, just like Raelene is. And I’m sorry that I said that about Travis, Mama,” Audrey said and then pushed away from the side of the pool. “Beat you to the other end, Raelene.”
“No, you won’t!” Raelene yelled.
The lyrics from that oldAnniesong about tomorrow being only a day away played over and over in Grace’s head as she picked up the keys to the rental SUV and headed outside.
Chapter Sixteen
Grace got a call from Beezy when she landed and then another one when she was in the parking lot of the Sugar Sands. She rushed outside, waved at her, and gave her a hug. The Uber driver set her bags out of the back of the black SUV.
“Thanks for keeping me company from the airport to here,” Beezy said to the driver. “And now, Grace, you can roll one of these suitcases to our room, and I’ll take care of the other one. I love to fly, but this time, I got seated by an old woman who just wanted to talk about her illnesses. I pretended to fall asleep so I wouldn’t have to listen to her talk about her gallbladder surgery. Poor old darlin’ doesn’t seem to have much of a life.”
Grace opened the door to their unit and stepped back to let Beezy go inside ahead of her. “Welcome to Florida. Macy did good when she found this place.”
“Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit,” Beezy said with a giggle. “This isn’t a motel, kiddo. This is a condo. I could live here for months instead of days. It’s a heck of a lot better than the room I had on the cruise ship.” She parked her suitcase beside the bunk beds and headed to the doors that opened out to a view of the beach. “Where is everyone?”
“Down by the water, enjoying the surf and the sand. We even had supper down there, and I’m supposed to bring you to them as soon asyou get here. We’re all so excited that you flew out to be with us,” Grace answered. “There’s a slice or two of leftover pizza and a cold beer in the fridge. I’ve got what we need to make margaritas.”
Beezy opened up a suitcase and peeled out of her slacks and shirt. She removed a long, flowy dress and slipped it over her head. “Beer and pizza is good. Let’s take it to the beach. Y’all can take turns filling me in on what happened at the school. I know it’s got something to do with Carlita and Lisa’s girls, but for the first time in history, they aren’t spreading gossip. The only thing they’ve said is that Audrey got them in trouble.”
Grace looked down at Beezy’s shoes. “You can’t get sand between your toes in those.”
Beezy sat down on the sofa and removed her sneakers. “I hope I won’t need these the whole time I’m here.”
“Maybe not for most of the time,” Grace said with a smile.
“Get that pizza and beer and tell me what’s going on that I have to wear shoes at all while we walk down to that lovely beach,” Beezy said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Grace said with a salute. She picked up a six-pack of beer with one hand and the pizza box with the other. Just having Beezy there seemed to add another layer to the happiness of their vacation.
“I earned the title of Bossy Beezy when I was a little girl, and I will exercise it whenever I want,” she said with a giggle. “God, it’s good to be here with y’all. This is my idea of a real vacation—and, honey, I love this place. Now, talk to me about the other times when shoes are necessary.”
Grace led the way out to the patio, locked the sliding glass door behind them, and tucked the room key into her pocket. “We are all going to dinner at some place called the Perfect Pig tomorrow night for supper. Travis Butler will be picking all of us up at six thirty.”
“The Travis Butler who wants to buy your shop and/or your land?” Beezy asked. “Won’t he take no for an answer?”
“He’s already taken a few noes, but he’s coming down here to see me,” Grace answered. “Maybe it’s just to try to sweet-talk me into somekind of deal—and if it is, tomorrow night will be the only time I see him.”
“I don’t know anything about the man, but you be careful, girl. Remember what Sarah and Macy just went through,” Beezy warned. “Ira, Claud, and Frankie aren’t always the savviest fellers, God bless ’em.”
“I will be careful,” Grace said. “I’m glad we’re all going to supper together. I want all of you to give me your first impressions of him. Especially before I go out with him alone—that’s saying that he ever asks me out for a second date.”
“Oh, honey, you know you’ll get mine, and I will be honest. I don’t ever want you to have to suffer again like you did when Justin broke your heart,” Beezy said as she went down a couple of wooden steps and then out onto the sand. “This is as white and as fine as sugar. I guess that’s where they get the name for the motel.”
Before Grace could answer, Macy and Audrey raced across the beach to see who could reach Beezy first. Audrey won by several yards and wrapped Beezy up in a fierce hug, then took a step back for Macy to get her hug.
“I’m so glad you made it,” Audrey said. “I know it’s only been a few days since we’ve seen you, but it seems like forever. It’s like time stands still in this place. I could stay right here forever.”
“You’re going to love it here, Beezy.” Macy took Beezy by the hand and led her toward the rented chaise longues. “We’ve only been here one night, and we’re already planning to come back during Raelene’s Christmas break. We rented chaise longues for the whole time so we could have our chairs all close together, and we got you one as soon as we heard you were on the way. Sarah and Raelene should be back soon. They went for a jog down the beach.”
Beezy eased down into one of the loungers. “Okay, Audrey, while I eat, you can give me the real story behind why y’all were able to get out of school and come here. All I’ve heard is that you got Carlita andLisa’s daughters in trouble. Those two may explode because they can’t spread gossip.”
“If they did, folks would find out the truth about Crystal and Kelsey,” Audrey told Beezy. “I was kind of an idiot, but Raelene helped me see what kind of mean girls I was running around with—and worse yet, letting control me.” She went on to tell Beezy the whole story and ended with the fight in school. By the time she had finished, Raelene and Sarah had returned.
Sarah hugged Beezy, twisted the top off a beer, and took a long drink. “Add all that to the mess Macy and I’ve been through, and you can understand why we all needed this time away.”
