by Ann, Natalie
“Sounds like great reasons to start looking. You want a fixer upper?”
“That was my thought. I don’t want new. I told the realtor that today. I guess I didn’t know what I wanted until I looked at a bunch of things I didn’t like.”
“Then it wasn’t a waste of time after all,” his grandfather said.
“No. Not really.”
“When are you going to look at others?”
“Not sure. She’ll send me some more listings and we’ll work it out. Weekends are better for me, but I’m sure she is running around with everyone at that time. Guess I’ll play it by ear.”
“You’ll find what you’re looking for. You always do.”
His grandparents had always said that to him, but the truth was, the only thing he’d found in life was his career.
He’d known all along he was going into law enforcement. He wanted to protect himself in his home at night and make sure his family was protected too.
Guns had never been in his house growing up and he wondered if there had been one if his parents could have fought back more.
Then he told himself to stop. He was hiding in a closet and had no clue what was going on. His years in law enforcement taught him that not everyone fights. That many will do what they are told if they think their loved ones are at risk.
His father would have laid his life down for his wife and son. And he did. Only his mother hadn’t lived either. If the guy who murdered his parents thought Josh was in the house, he might not be alive either.
“Josh, I hope you are hungry,” his grandmother said when she walked into the living room carrying his coffee.
“I am. I’ve been starving myself all week so I had plenty of room.”
She giggled. He always thought it was cute when his grandmother giggled. “I know that isn’t true. You normally can’t go more than two hours without eating.”
“I’ve stopped going through growth spurts,” he reminded her.
“It’s a good thing,” she said.
“What else do you need done while I’m here? I’ll take care of it while you’re cooking dinner.”
His grandmother narrowed her eyes at his grandfather who was sitting in his chair smirking. “What?” his grandfather said. “He offered.”
“You know I want Josh to sit and visit with me when he comes.”
“I can do both,” Josh said. “Tell me what you need done.”
“There are some lightbulbs that need to be changed that Grandpa can’t reach. It’s hard for him to get the ladder up from the basement.”
“I’m on it,” he said, leaning down to kiss her soft wrinkled cheek once again.
There wasn’t anything in the world he wouldn’t do for them. Even moving them closer to him, but they had insisted they were staying put. He’d see about that, bringing it up at dinner since he was looking for a house anyway. Maybe he should add an in-law suite to the list.
4
Call Her Own
“Any showings tonight?”
Ruby looked over at Claire. Claire, the top salesperson in not just their satellite office, but in the whole company that was spread throughout the Capital Region. Did Claire say she wanted to be the top selling realtor in all of the Capital Region? Yes, she did and she bragged about getting there one day too.
But Claire had no life. All she did was line up one person after another. It was probably why she had no family and was still single at fifty.
“Not tonight,” Ruby said. “I’ve got a list of houses I’m getting for a few clients that I’ll send out later though.”
“You won’t make money if you aren’t showing,” Claire said to her.
“No use wasting anyone’s time and angering them. I’d rather show them something that at least fits their needs.”
She hated to waste her time, so the last thing she was going to do was waste someone else’s. People like Claire didn’t get that though.
“You never know. They might love it.”
Ruby shrugged. Yeah, like someone who is six foot three is going to love a house where he hits his head on the doorframe every time he walks from one room to the next. There were some things that just wouldn’t be accepted from her clients and she didn’t blame them.
She’d settled enough in her life and she was making it her mission to help others find their home.
Something she’d never had in her life. Not a permanent one. Not one she could call her own.
Had she seen a lot of properties she wouldn’t have minded purchasing since she’d gotten her realtor’s license six years ago? Yes, she had.
But she couldn’t pull the trigger. If she saw one she liked, she saw another she loved. Most times the ones she loved were out of her reach. Or didn’t quite fit what she wanted enough.
As good of a salesperson as she was, she still only had so much money she could spend. She didn’t want to be house rich and life poor like so many people were.
“Maybe,” she said. No reason to argue with Claire who had thrown a few clients her way at times. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
“You’re young and cute. Use it to your advantage,” Claire told her. She just wouldn’t let things drop at times. It was not the first time Ruby had heard that and she was sure it wouldn’t be the last.
“I’m good at my job without selling sex.”
“No one said sex,” Claire said. “But sometimes it works.”
There was a twinkle in Claire’s eyes that told Ruby the rumors were true, that she did sleep with clients if it was offered up at times.
Ruby hated it when clients flirted with her. Well, she didn’t when Josh did and that was saying something. But the married ones that grinned and winked with their wife in the same house. Or made sly comments and brushed against her. Yeah, that only ticked her off.
“I’ll leave you to the sex,” Ruby said. “I’m too green for that.”
This time Claire laughed. “You’re not green and you know it. There is something about you that screams survival. I bet you haven’t been green a day in your life.”
She’d never let anyone here know about her background. She’d only worked here three years. It was much bigger than the first place she was employed and she almost doubled her income with the move, but she also knew the market was as grouchy as a colicky baby. She lived frugally and put away for a rainy day.
Not many would know that by looking at her though. She’d learned a few things from Claire. Like looking successful was the key. Ruby managed to be able to do that with clothes and lots of bargain shopping.
Cars were another thing. When it came time to buy a car, she’d done her research and went right to the middle of the road SUV. Practical and safe in the winters, and so average no one thought anything of it. SUV’s weren’t cheap, but she didn’t have a luxury one. She hoped it said she was “responsible.”
“I guess you’ll never know, will you?” she said back to Claire.
“I like you, Ruby. I see a lot of myself in you.”
“A few centuries ago?” Ruby said back, knowing that Claire would laugh.
She did. “And that is why I like you. Not many would dare say that to me. They are intimidated by my persona. And you know why?”
“Because you’re the best.”
“Girl, you are just filling my ego cup up to the brim.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted when you started this conversation?” Ruby asked with a big grin on her face.
Claire walked over and angled her hip against the opening to Ruby’s cubicle. The cubes were glass with not a lot of privacy. “I was right. Not green a day in your life. You come off as all sweet with a touch of sass at the right level. But I bet not too many would think to mess with you.”
Not now they wouldn’t. “I can hold my own if I need to. Just like you, right?”
“You’re going to make something of yourself someday,” Claire said.
“I’m not out to break records,” Ruby said. “I just want a comfortable life.
”
“What’s the fun in that?” Claire said, walking back to her desk.
“There is no fun in not being comfortable,” Ruby said back and knew she was ending this conversation. To assure that, she picked up her phone to make a call to a client. By the time she was done Claire was gone and Ruby could get back to her list for Josh Turner.
The guy that had been on her mind since she watched him strut back to his SUV late Saturday morning.
Tall, dark, handsome, and flirting with her. His hair was cut short, no facial hair either. She figured it was for the job, but it fit his personality too.
Hadn’t she said she didn’t do that...flirt with someone? Didn’t need to do that.
Yet with Josh, it just sort of happened.
And she couldn’t wait to see what would happen when they met again.
* * *
“How about a beer after work?”
Josh turned to look at Mick Stokes, a fellow investigator. Mick was younger, probably thirty-three or so and just promoted to an investigator a few months ago.
“Sure. Want dinner with it?” Josh asked.
“Works for me. Do you need to go home and change or are you good going right after work?”
“I’m good like this,” Josh said. He’d spent most of the day in the office doing paperwork. He was dressed like he normally was in cotton pants and a button-down shirt. Mick looked the same.
“Me too. If I go home I’m not going to want to leave again. My girlfriend will nag the crap out of me, so it’s best to just go from work.”
He knew Mick had a girlfriend but didn’t talk of her much other than to complain about her. “Why are you still with her?”
“Why not?” Mick said.
A stupid reason if Josh ever heard of one. “I’ve got a few things to finish up. Just let me know when and where you want to meet.”
“Yeah, I’m running out now. I’ll text you when I’m ready.”
Josh watched Mick walk out the door, then turned when he heard a laugh behind him. “The young ones have no sense at times.”
Nathan Randal was standing there in full uniform having come in off of patrol. “You’re younger than him.”
“I am by a few years. Young in age, but not wisdom.”
Josh laughed. “Because you don’t have a nagging girlfriend waiting for you back at your place?”
“That’s right. I live alone and like it that way. I’d rather spend my time working on projects on the side.”
“What projects are those?” Josh asked. He’d spoken to Nathan a few times. Not many talked to the guy. He was on the quiet side, almost a little scary. Josh figured him to be ex-military but never asked. Didn’t really care, to be honest, as they didn’t cross paths often.
“I flip houses. When I’m not working here, I’m working on a house flipping or renting. I don’t plan on this being my life. I’m hitting my twenty-year mark, grabbing my retirement, and then moving on.”
“I don’t have much longer myself but don’t know what I’m doing when the twenty-year mark hits. Too far away to worry.”
“It’s never too far away.”
“So you flip houses. I’m looking to buy right now. Got any suggestions?”
“What area are you looking in?” Nathan asked.
“I’m open to fifteen miles around here. Any direction.”
“School districts of importance to you?”
Josh grinned. “Not at the moment. Most likely in the future, but I need a woman for that first.”
“Most of the districts are good around here for academia and sports. You can’t go wrong with many of them.”
“I’m staying out of Albany. I figured Colonie, Latham, Guilderland, Clifton Park, Niskayuna. That’s more than enough options.” He had been researching enough. Those areas were right in the middle of anything you’d need in thirty minutes or less without a big city feel.
“You’ll find something. If I hear of anything I’ll let you know, but I’m sure you’ve got a realtor by now, or haven’t you started to look?”
“I do. I looked at four houses over the weekend. Not impressed with any of them. First time meeting the realtor though and it was my fault. She asked a bunch of questions and I kept saying it didn’t matter. I guess I was wrong. A lot of things mattered.”
Nathan laughed. “Don’t I know it. I will tell you this. You’ll know when you walk in if it’s the house or not. Even if it doesn’t have everything you want, it just might feel right.”
“You talk from experience.”
“Not for myself. I’ve lived in four different houses in the past four years. I buy one, think I want to live there after I fix it up and then realize it just wasn’t right. Someday I’ll find the right one. No rush.”
“Yeah,” Josh said. “No rush.”
Only in his mind he was in one because his lease was running out and he didn’t want to renew it. He could go month to month at a higher rate but the penny pincher in him didn’t want that either.
He had money put away that his grandparents had given to him left over from his parents’ life insurance and social security payments over the years.
He’d wanted them to keep it and they refused. Said they weren’t taking anything that should have gone to him.
They’d done right by him. He never went without, but he learned to be responsible. He worked part-time jobs in high school and college for spending money, he took out student loans, and he bought his own car.
Then when he graduated from college his grandparents handed him over the savings account and his jaw might have had to be picked up off the floor with a crane.
They’d been ridiculously proud of him when he paid off all his student loans. The rest of that money had been invested. But now he’d tap into some of it for his down payment.
5
Friendly and Sweet
When Josh had gotten home from dinner with Mick, and Nathan who had tagged along, he’d seen he had an email from Ruby and immediately booted up his computer to get a better look at two of the listings she’d sent him. She’d said she had more, but was asking questions of the listing agent before she passed the information on.
He liked that about her. She was checking things out before she even asked to see if he wanted to spend his time viewing it.
The two she sent him looked decent from what he could see online so he emailed her back that he could be available to look at them, to let him know what worked.
He closed his computer, went to his room and changed into workout clothes. When he was getting ready to leave, his phone went off with an email and it was Ruby. Talk about fast.
She could set up both listings tomorrow after work if he could manage it. Why not, he figured, knowing it would free up his weekend.
He replied back that anything after five thirty would work depending on where it was located. That would give him enough time to run home and change.
When he got to the gym there were more people than normal since he was two hours later than his usual.
He grabbed a treadmill, popped his earbuds in and started out on a run. Even with the rock music blasting in his ears, he heard someone say hi on the treadmill next to him.
What he wanted to do was pretend he didn’t hear it, but it wasn’t his way. He turned his head and noticed a blonde that had flirted with him before. All he did was nod his head and look straight ahead again.
She didn’t seem to get the hint when his thirty minutes were done and he shut the treadmill off.
“I’m Ashley,” she said. Again, he could just ignore her with his earbuds in, but he didn’t.
He pulled one out of his ear so she could hear the music was still playing. With her hand in front of his chest looking to shake, he had no choice but to address her. “Josh,” he said, returning her sweaty shake. Yeah, his was too and he would have preferred to not be touching someone.
“Are you new to the building?” she asked.
“Been here almost a year,” he
said. Either she was playing dumb or she flirted with enough men in the gym she didn’t remember.
“So you are getting ready to renew. Me too,” she said all smiles. “We should get a drink together sometime.”
“Actually I’m looking to buy my own place,” he said, moving toward the weights.
She stopped her treadmill that she’d only been strolling on and followed along getting on a piece of equipment next to his when he lay on his stomach to do hamstring curls. “Where are you looking to move?” Ashley asked.
“Not sure yet,” he said back. He still had one earbud hanging out of his ear, the music piping through, but she wasn’t getting the hint.
“I hope to get my own place at some point. But apartment living is easier.”
He nodded his head again. There was no question there, no reason for him to reply, so he lifted the dangling earbud back in place and tried to ignore her presence next to him.
It was hard to do when every machine he moved to, she followed close by, the scent of her floral body spray letting him know she was going to hang around like the child on the playground that no one wanted to play with but he was there every time you lifted your head.
Once he was done with the weights, he started to walk away, but Ashley was close by again. Damn, how hard was it for her to get the hint? Maybe he should say he was gay.
Nah, he wouldn’t say that to ditch a woman.
Besides, there wasn’t anything about Ashley that was offensive. She was pleasing to the eye. She was friendly enough. She was definitely determined.
He just wasn’t interested.
“So how about that drink?” she asked.
He looked down at the shirt he was wearing that was filled with sweat, telling him he probably stunk on top of it. Nothing attractive there in his eyes.
“Not tonight,” he said.
“Tomorrow?” she asked.
His phone went off so he pulled it out of his pocket. He looked at it quick, then said, “I’ve got plans, sorry.”