He and Ted picked up one of the large boxes, Sean and David went for the next and Jonas determined he could take one of the smaller ones on his own. Kelsey stood by the stairway, her heart in her throat for several minutes, until she felt Katie’s arm around her shoulder. “They’re going to be very careful, Kelsey. It’s fine. Let’s put some of the snacks out—we can all run down to the beach for a few minutes to cool off and dust off and do some munching before firing up the barbecue. Come on.”
Kelsey nodded and turned away. They were all young, strong, and in good health. They could handle the boxes. And, once the boxes were organized, the task of going through them would not seem so daunting.
In the kitchen, she scrubbed her hands for the umpteenth time that day and delved into the refrigerator for dips and chips, cheese cubes, veggies and the other appetizers she had purchased. Katie started carrying things out the back door, setting up on the long picnic tables she had found in the family-room closet. By the time the boxes were moved and the last of the packing swept up, the backyard was set up. Kelsey was about to walk into the house when David and Katie came running out, screaming something about the last one in being a truly rotten and tough old conch.
They’d all worn bathing suits beneath the jeans, shorts and T-shirts they’d donned for cleaning, so clothing went flying as they raced for the water.
The beach itself wasn’t more than fifty feet, but there was a good sand bottom for a stretch, before the entangling mangroves and foliage began to take hold to the west, and the little peninsula curved back toward the mainland on the east. There was plenty of room for a group of ten to run in, splash, swim and torment one another.
“Am I dust-free yet?” Jaden asked, rising in four feet of water.
They all laughed. She still had a splash of black on her nose. “Grease!” Ted announced, walking over to rub his thumb over the top of her nose. “I got it, I got it, I got it—nope, nope, it’s on your cheek now!”
“Hey!” she protested.
Kelsey leaned back in Liam’s arms as they idled in the water, laughed and realized she hadn’t had this kind of fun in ages, and she didn’t really know why.
It was Liam, of course.
Her life in California was good. She was going back to it. This kind of…day couldn’t last forever. Real life overtook you wherever you lived. She couldn’t really just pack up and come back here to live.
They remained in the water awhile longer, then one by one trailed out, grabbing the towels from the picnic tables, munching on the snacks and setting up for the barbecue. Apparently, Jonas was the head chef at the portable barbecue pit, and he liked pretending the others were all his sous chefs, making announcements on how the different meat should be cooked and snapping his fingers for plates and other dining paraphernalia.
Finally, the food was cooked, and they all sat around the tables. Kelsey thanked everyone for all the work they had done. Soon after, however, Katie, David, Clarinda and Jonas left, saying that they had to get to O’Hara’s for the night.
The others remained around the picnic tables, watching the sun begin its descent into the horizon.
Sean, straddling the left side of the picnic bench, said, “You know, we were all lucky. We have great places down here, and the property our parents purchased might well be out of reach for us—even now, with property values struggling around the country.” He grimaced. “Katie bought our house from our parents, and now I’m buying it from her, but obviously, we’re keeping it reasonable! Still, not even the Beckett house could possibly be worth as much as this place, Kelsey. What a view! You can’t see a sunset like this even down on Mallory Square, or anywhere else, for that matter. I hope you intend to keep it.”
“With all that Cutter left behind, you should be able to keep it, even if you choose not to live here,” Jaden said.
“I do love the house,” Kelsey said. “Creepy as the world chooses to see it!”
“I think it’s an absolutely beautiful house,” Vanessa said. She grimaced and glanced at Sean. “Actually, right now, it would make an amazing place to film a movie.”
Sean groaned.
“No, no, no,” Liam protested.
“Nothing bloody!” Vanessa protested. “Something psychological.”
“Shades of The Haunting or House on Haunted Hill!” Ted suggested.
“That would be a way for the place to keep itself afloat,” Vanessa said. “Renting out to commercial and movie companies.”
“I really don’t know what I want to do yet,” Kelsey told them. She rose suddenly. “The box, the casket—whatever it is. We need to show it to Jaden and Ted,” she told Liam.
He nodded. “I’ll get it,” he said.
“What—casket?” Jaden asked.
“It’s a box, like a jewelry box, with a gold filigree ball inside it. It’s just big enough to hold the ball. I think it’s some kind of a reliquary, but I’m not sure. I have to go through all of my grandfather’s papers, and I may or may not find out what it is when I’ve gone through them. But he was holding it when he died,” Kelsey explained.
“Cool!” Jaden said. Her eyes were bright. “I love that kind of mystery!”
“I have to admit, I’d love a shower and a nap,” Vanessa said, yawning. “Kelsey, thank you, it was a great day.”