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“Be careful. Didn’t a couple of dead bodies wash up on this beach last year?”
“They caught the killer,” he said. “I’m safe.”
He pulled on fleece running pants and a thermal undershirt. He’d forgotten to bring the jacket he wore when on the rare runs, so instead, he layered up another shirt and a hoodie.
“I hope my father has a knitted cap and gloves I can wear, or I’ll freeze.”
“He said some of his clothes were still here,” Kassandra muttered. “Hurry and get out so I can go back to sleep.”
Tony leaned over and kissed her. “I hope the sperm met the egg last night. It would be so cool if we conceived our first in this house.”
Chuckling, she swatted him away. “Go.”
In a closet off the mudroom, he found goggles, a cap, a scarf, and gloves. Probably items his father had worn running on the beach. Unsure about the scarf, he stepped out onto the terrace. The temperature had to be freezing, the cold made far worse bythe wind. His eyes watered right away, so he dug in his pocket for the goggles that were protection against blowing sand, too.
Heading south, he hoped he’d run into his brother.
“I run when the baby is still sleeping,” Andy had confided to Tony. “I want to be with her every second she’s awake.”
Sure enough, Tony had run south about a quarter mile when he saw Andy’s distinctive form coming toward him. Tony waved and picked up his speed.
“I know it’s you. You look like a professional athlete running on the beach,” Tony called out proudly.
“You look pretty good yourself, brother. But I didn’t think you got up this early, or I would have planned on running with you.”
“I usually don’t, but the noise from the ocean woke me up.”
“Turn around,” Andy said. “We can run up to the state beach.”
They fell in step together, matching each other’s pace.
“I’m thrilled you’ll be down here,” Andy said. “It will give me a chance to get to know you. Kassandra too.”
“I’m not that interesting. You’re the one.”
Andy didn’t reply right away. After a moment, he said, “I know you are in touch with my ex.”
“Not really, Andy. Only as far as your kids are concerned. She can’t stand Kassandra, so it’s never gone farther than a phone call or an email. I talk to your kids all the time.”
“I appreciate that. They are finally warming up to Sandra. Bella has everything to do with it.”
“If you want, I’ll stop communicating with Julia.”
“I wasn’t sure if I could ask that without seeming like a control freak. I only want it so that Sandra can have a relationship with you. She could barely tolerate Dad, for obvious reasons.”
“I never realized how superficial he is,” Tony said, a touch of bitterness in his voice. “We thought he moved down here to be closer to you and Bella, and all along it was for the woman. I keep forgetting her name.”
“Pam. He still denies that she had anything to do with it,” Andy sneered. “But the minute they stopped seeing each other, he was history. Look at it this way—his leaving brought you and Kassandra here. And I’m so grateful. I love these people, but they aren’t family. You are.”
“Why’d I think Sandra’s son had some connections?” Tony asked.
“Oh, Brent does!” Andy answered. “His Aunt Lisa is a close friend, and Pam is his grandmother. He has an aunt across the street. There are lots of connections.”
“I didn’t realize there was so much. Sandra was married to Brent’s father?” Tony asked.
“No, they never married,” Andy confided. “He was murdered up in White Plains before Brent was born.”
“Oh. That’s awful.”
