Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“My neighbor is keeping her fingers crossed,” James said, twirling a set of keys on his finger. “The house was just put on the market yesterday, but she’s hoping for a quick sale.”
“Then, here’s to hoping I can afford it.” I followed him toward the house. I liked that the garage had enough space for two cars. “What’s she askin’?”
“Five seventy-five.”
That was within my budget, but it begged the question. What else needed renovating? Most houses in this area went for over six hundred.
“You wouldn’t mind having your boss next door?” I joked.
James smirked to himself and shook his head. “No, sir.”
I couldn’t lie. I enjoyed the times he threw out a sir. It was the Southerner in him. He’d moved here from Nashville some fifteen years ago, when he and his sister had inherited a house from his grandparents. James’s sister had been happy to sell her part of it to buy a condo.
I liked James. Getting to know him this year had been a highlight. We didn’t spend much time outside work or anything, but he’d tagged along with Dylan and me for golf a couple of times, and we’d met up to shoot hoops with his nephew too.
“Where’s the old lady now?” I asked when James unlocked the door.
The porch needed some TLC too, I noticed. Some of the boards had to be replaced.
“Her daughter’s family is helping her get settled in Phoenix,” James answered. “I guess she wanted the new home taken care of before she tackled this project.”
Once he’d shut off the alarm, I walked in farther, and the place definitely smelled like old people.
I liked that the hallway wasn’t so narrow.
“Kitchen here to the left.”
Just like at home.
Not my home anymore.
“Damn.” I loved the kitchen. I mean, the space. Big and open. Some things could actually be saved too. No need to buy new cupboards; I’d just sand these down and repaint them. The kitchen island needed a new top. The lady—or someone—had managed to put an actual crack in the marble.
Nate would’ve loved this too.
Hideous walls, though. The floor had to go.
Enough space for a kitchen table that seated six. That was great. Windows that faced the street.
We moved on, and the more I saw, the easier it was to picture myself living here. I was keeping the old wooden floors. They only needed some love and oil. Big living room, with sliding doors opening up to the patio—fuck me, there was actually a pool.
“Before you get excited, that pool needs relining.”
Yeah, whatever. It was there. It existed.
Nathan would’ve wanted the house based on the front porch and the fireplace in the corner alone.
And sure enough, a home office that could be turned into my bedroom.
“How many bathrooms?” I asked.
“Three,” he answered. “One down here, two upstairs.”
Good, good.
“There’s a half-bath in the garage too,” he added. “The husband built a studio there before he died, so he had a toilet and sink installed.”
I hummed and followed him up the stairs. Great, another banister to replace.
As luck would have it, the upstairs had four bedrooms, not three. They were all on the small side, except for the main bedroom. Which could pose an issue when the kids picked their rooms. Mikey wouldn’t want the large one. Big spaces unsettled him if he was alone.
I rubbed a hand over my mouth. I’d want all the kids here. The garage could eventually become a guest studio, maybe. And whoever took the big room would have to share the bathroom, which meant having a sibling coming and going as they pleased.
The upstairs didn’t need any major renovations, thankfully. New wallpaper or paint, sure. The floors would look good after being re-treated. The bathrooms were in decent shape. We’d see what an inspector said. Maybe I could give Reid a call, even though he only worked on commercial buildings.
“I’ll tell you right now,” I said, squeezing James’s shoulder, “I want this place.”
I also wanted Nate to see it. Because what if? I wasn’t naïve enough to believe a house could change the status quo, but perhaps it could remind him of our old plans. We’d talked about wanting a house with more greenery, a place the kids could run around, maybe out of the city… This wasn’t out of the city per se, but it had way more space. This was a forever kind of home.
James smiled. He had a charming fucking smile, that one. He was kinda like me, or what I’d heard all my life, that I was rough around the edges. So was he. But he might be the kindest guy I’d met.
“I’ll get you the Realtor’s information so you can see all the specs,” he said.
“Sounds good.”
From what I could see, I’d need maybe twenty or thirty thousand bucks to complete renovations, with the kitchen being the biggest money suck. The time it would take was the problem. Doing all this on my own, while working full time and spending as much time as possible with the kids… Yeah.