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Back Sunset Beach Save as PDF
Chapters (73)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. 49
  54. 50
  55. 51
  56. 52
  57. 53
  58. 54
  59. 55
  60. 56
  61. 57
  62. 58
  63. 59
  64. 60
  65. 61
  66. 62
  67. 63
  68. 64
  69. 65
  70. Epilogue
  71. Also by Mary Kay Andrews
  72. About the Author
  73. Newsletter Sign-up

“I don’t have a bike, but I guess I could buy a used one, once I catch up a little on my bills,” she said.

“Here’s another idea—get yourself to a pool. You can do exercises, walking, pedaling, like that, without putting any weight on the knee. The passive resistance of the water is great for injuries like yours.”

“Again, I don’t have a pool,” she said. “And a gym membership definitely isn’t in the cards for me anytime soon.”

“No friends with a pool at their complex?”

“I’ve only just moved here recently,” Drue said. “My father and his, uh, child bride have a pool, but I don’t see me inviting myself over there for water aerobics.”

“Tell you what,” he said. “We’ve got a pool in my condo complex. This time of year especially, it’s mostly deserted, because all the snowbirds are back up north. If you want, I can get you a key card, and you can use our pool. We can set a time, and I’ll meet you out there and show you some simple exercises you can do.”

“Really?” Drue was taken aback. “That’s so nice of you. I mean, we just met.”

“It’s no big deal,” Corey said. “I’m sorry Leonard moved. I mean, he was one interesting old guy, but I’m glad to meet his replacement. You’re not into, uh, nude sunbathing, are you?”

She felt herself blushing. “No. Why?”

“That’s actually how I first met him. I was running down the beach, and I looked up here, and there was this old man, stretched out, stark naked on a towel. I ran up because I thought maybe he’d passed out or had a heart attack or something. Turns out he was just really into nudity. He’d move his chair down onto the beach in the afternoons, after the deck was in the shade. People were all the time calling the cops on him. He eventually got tired of the hassle, so he made himself a loincloth out of some washcloths. I asked him once why he didn’t just get a Speedo or something, and he told me…” Corey started to laugh. His chest rose and fell, and he tried to speak but couldn’t, he was laughing so hard.

“He told me…” Corey was wheezing, tears running down his face. “He didn’t even wear underwear, because he liked to air out his undercarriage. Swear to God, that’s what he called it. His undercarriage.”

15

After her guest departed, Drue wandered into the kitchen to consider her dinner prospects. In the end, she settled on her default comfort food menu: a bowl of ramen noodles topped with a poached egg and a dollop of her favorite, Cholula Hot Sauce.