Walter thought for a minute. "It had starlight in the name, I think. I can't quite remember." He paused as a cab pulled up. "Here's my ride."
He opened the back door for Walter and made sure he had his seat belt on. Then he shut the door and stepped back.
Before the cab pulled away, Walter lowered the window. "Reina left me a message at the club, the one with the red door. I just have to find it."
He had no time to question that statement as the cab pulled away, and he stared after it for a long moment.
"What were you doing with Walter?" a female said from behind him.
He whirled around to see Kaia on the sidewalk behind him, with two other women from Ocean Shores standing in front of the nearby bridal shop. The blonde was Emmalyn, and the brunette was Lexie, the manager's niece. He'd said the occasional hello to both of them, but nothing more than that.
"Well?" Kaia demanded, drawing his attention back to her. "You just put Walter in a cab. Why were you together?"
"I ran into him in the music store."
"Was he feeling okay?"
"He got a little unsteady at one point, but he ate some peanut butter."
"Well, that's good. I'm glad he had something with him for a change. What were you two talking about?"
"Just stuff. I think your friends are waiting for you."
"We just finished trying on bridesmaids' dresses for Emmalyn's wedding. You might have met her at Ocean Shores."
"I've seen her around. I'll let you get back to them."
"Did Walter say something about the red door?" she asked. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about that."
He didn't want to admit that the red door had made him curious, too. "He said the red door was the entrance to a nightclub he used to go to. He liked one of the singers there."
"What was the name of the club?"
"He thought it had the word starlight in it, but he wasn't sure. I need to go. Enjoy your afternoon."
As he turned and left, he felt not only her eyes on his back, but also the interested gazes of the other women as well, and he had a feeling they had even more questions now.
Kaia stared after Jax for a long minute and then walked back to her friends. She knew the questions were coming because as soon as she'd seen Jax putting Walter into a cab, she'd shot away from them in the middle of a conversation.
"What was that about?" Lexie asked.
"Wasn't that the man who lives in Hunter's old apartment?" Emmalyn chimed in.
"Yes, Jax Ridley," she replied.
"And you know him now?" Emmalyn asked with curiosity in her gaze. "When did that happen?"
"Last night. We ran into each other when the older man he was with walked into traffic. When I saw them together just now, it surprised me. I wanted to know what was going on."
"And?" Lexie prodded.
"I'm not sure. Jax said they ran into each other in the record store."
"Which means…what?" Emmalyn asked in confusion.
"It doesn't mean anything, except it's weird. Jax almost ran Walter down last night, and today he was helping him into a cab like they were friends." She knew she wasn't making any sense. "I've been worrying about Walter because I've had three calls to his house. He's a diabetic, and he's fallen a few times. And last night, when he was wandering around, he was looking for a place with a red door. Jax just mentioned that he brought it up again today. I think it led to a nightclub. Does that ring a bell for either of you?"
Emmalyn shook her head, followed by Lexie, who said, "I don't think I've seen any red doors leading anywhere around town. Is it important?"
