“I don’t want you to have buyer’s remorse. I have all the reports on the house and it’s structurally sound but sometimes a second opinion isn’t a bad thing. Of course we’ll request a home inspection so that will go a long way in making you feel a little more secure, but…”
“No buts,” Alesha interrupted. “I really did want Reece to be here with me for this—to give me his opinion—but he already has so much on his plate that I don’t want to burden him with this.”
“If you’re sure…”
Alesha nodded. “Would it be okay if I took some pictures to send to my father? I’d love to get his input too.”
“I’ll step outside while you do that. I have a call to make.” Lauren gave her a warm smile as she walked out the front door.
For the next few minutes, Alesha walked around taking pictures with her phone. Disappointment swamped her at how she was doing this alone. In her mind either Reece or her father should have been with her—at least that’s what she had envisioned—and it was a little less exciting to be celebrating such a big decision all on her own.
When she snapped her last picture, she walked to the front door and took one final long look at the space. “See you soon, house,” she whispered, closing the door behind her.
****
“You put an offer in?” Reece asked, unable to hide his disbelief. “But…you only just started looking at houses, Alesha.”
“I know, I know…but I just knew. I walked in and it was perfect! There were a lot of updates done but there’s still room for me to do things to really make it my own. It’s everything I wanted and if I didn’t put an offer in, someone else could beat me to it.”
“I hate to break it to you, but someone still can.”
“What do you mean?”
“Someone could outbid you or the owner could reject your offer. It happens all the time.” He hated to be the one to rain on her parade, but he wanted her to be prepared for all possibilities.
Alesha sighed into the phone. “Well damn…I didn’t even think of that. I kind of just assumed it was a done deal.”
“It may very well be,” he said with sincerity. “I guess I’m just one of those people who overthinks things and fixates on all that can go wrong rather than what can go right.”
“No, no…you were right to point that out to me. I took a whole bunch of pictures and sent them to my dad.” She paused. “I probably should have waited.”
Now he really felt bad. “Why don’t you send them to me too? Then we can talk about what you’re thinking for the spaces.”
“Oh! Okay!” That seemed to perk her up. “As soon as we get off the phone I’ll send them to you and we can talk about it tomorrow night.” She sighed again. “I wish you were here.”
“Me too, baby. I’m so sorry this is taking so long. I really had hoped to be back by you by now.”
“I know.”
“So…I was wondering…are you planning on going to see your dad this weekend?”
“It’s still kind of up in the air. He said that he’s still feeling pretty awful and his immune system is weak. I was thinking I’d skip it again to give him a little more time to get his strength back. How come?”
“Oh,” he said quietly. “I was kind of hoping you’d come here and then we’d go to San Francisco together.”
“Do you think you’ll be done with all of the insurance stuff by then? Maybe you can come here for the weekend? Then you could go and see the house with me and look it over and tell me what you think.”
It wasn’t quite what he had planned for the weekend, but he supposed it could work. “That sounds good. And then, I’m locking us away for at least twenty-four hours! I’m not even telling my folks that I’m coming to town. I just want us to be alone. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too,” she said quietly. “This hasn’t been as easy as I thought it would be.”
“I know what you mean. But this has been an extenuating circumstance. It won’t always be like this. I promise.”
“I know, I know. I just hope the rest of the week passes quickly. Now I have something to look forward to.”
“You and me both, beautiful. You and me both.”
****
Best laid plans and all that…
Reece was climbing into his truck Friday afternoon when his phone rang. He hesitated for a second, unwilling to take the chance that there was someone on the other end who was going to hinder his plans with Alesha again.
One glance at the screen and he cursed. “Seriously?” he cried out to no one. Swiping the phone, he snapped, “Hello?”
“Hey, Reece. It’s Kevin.”
“What’s going on?” Dread—plain and simple—filled him as he waited for Kevin’s response. Then he listened for a solid five minutes as his foreman explained how there was a water main break two doors down from their current commercial job and water was flooding the entire first floor of their site.
“The city has guys out here already but…it’s a mess, man, a total mess. I think you better get down here.”
Reece knew he was right, but it still pissed him off to no end. “I’m leaving my house now. I’ll be there soon.”
Tossing the phone on the seat beside him, Reece let out a string of curses and slammed his fist on the steering wheel. He allowed himself all of thirty seconds to freak out before he simply put the truck in gear and headed toward the job site. He knew he needed to call Alesha, but not right now. He was too upset and couldn’t bear the thought of possibly snapping at her.
Later, he thought. Once he got things settled on the site, he’d call her and maybe, just maybe, he’d get into Hope Falls before midnight.
Chapter Twelve
Saturday morning, Alesha was frantic. Not only had Reece not shown up as planned, but he hadn’t called. Every time she tried to get through to him, his phone went directly to voicemail. Not knowing what else to do, she drove into town and went directly to Two Scoops.
“Alesha!” Harry called out as she walked in the door. “What brings you here on a Saturday? I thought you took the weekend off.”
His smile was so sweet and Alesha hated that she was going to upset him. “Um…have you talked to Reece lately?”
He stepped out from behind the counter. “Not since Wednesday. How come? Is everything all right?”
She quickly went over the last conversation she had with Reece. “He never showed up last night and I can’t get him on the phone!” her voice cracked on the last word as tears welled in her eyes. “I…I’m afraid something’s happened. I don’t know any other numbers to call. I don’t know his office number. I…I’m really worried!”
Harry stepped forward and wrapped her in his embrace. “Okay, okay,” he said soothingly. “I’ve got a list of phone numbers from when the guys were working here. Let me go into the office and get them and I’ll start making calls.” He pulled back and looked down at her. “Everything’s going to be all right.”
Marlene came out from the kitchen and spotted them and quickly came around the counter. “Oh my goodness! What’s going on?” She looked at Alesha and then back at her husband. “Why is she crying? What’s happened?”
Harry repeated everything Alesha had just told him before adding, “I’m going into the office to get the numbers we have. I’ll start calling and I’ll make sure we have news in no time.” He hugged Alesha one last time before turning to Marlene. “Get her a cup of coffee and the two of you just try to relax.” He strode away before either could speak.
Alesha took one look at Marlene and hated the worry she saw there—she knew it mirrored her own. Together they sat down at the nearest table. Reaching across the table, Marlene took one of Alesha’s hands in hers.
“He’s fine,” Marlene said firmly. “I’m sure of it.”
“Why hasn’t he called?” Alesha cried, unable to hide her distress. “I stayed up all night waiting and worrying! He would have called if he could!”
Marlene bit her lip
and nodded. “We have to think positive, Alesha. Maybe he got sidetracked and lost track of time.”
“No,” Alesha replied adamantly. “He can’t be that inconsiderate. He wouldn’t do that to me.” Then she paused. “Or at least I hope he wouldn’t.”
Squeezing her hand, Marlene straightened in her seat. “He wouldn’t. Trust me. My son isn’t perfect, but the one thing he is, is considerate, especially where you’re concerned.”
Alesha looked at her oddly. “What does that mean?”
Sighing, Marlene gently pulled her hand away and folded them in her lap. “Alesha, I raised my boys to always be considerate. They may forget every now and again, but never when it’s something important. And if Reece didn’t call, he has a good reason. You mean too much to him.”
Shaking her head, Alesha suddenly wished she had stayed at home. She certainly didn’t want to have a conversation about how Reece may or may not feel about her with his mother. “I thought that,” she finally said. “And then it all seemed to change. I’m not cut out for dealing with having a weekend relationship. It’s just not who I am. I had planned on telling Reece that when he came this weekend. But now…”
“You were going to break up with him?” Marlene asked worriedly.
Alesha looked away uncomfortably. Where the hell was Harry?
“Oh, Alesha…I’m really disappointed in you.”
Turning back to Marlene with wide eyes, she said, “Excuse me?”
“First of all, Tahoe isn’t all that far away. It’s not unusual for most couples who work to only see each other on the weekends. I know the two of you were spoiled because of the way things were in the beginning, but that’s not the norm. Secondly, you know the pressure Reece has been under with the business. Someone was trying to frame him with insurance fraud! So yes, he didn’t make you a priority during it all, but can you blame him?”
Crap. Marlene was right. She was so caught up in feeling sorry for herself that she hadn’t really been fair. “Marlene, I…”
“Not finished,” she snapped. “Let me tell you something else about my son, twenty years ago…when you moved away? He was devastated. Devastated! He cried for days. It broke my heart. As a mom, I wanted to take that hurt away but there was nothing I could do. Do you know what he told me back then? Do you have any idea why he was so brokenhearted?”
Alesha silently shook her head.
“He sat there crying when he came home from school that first day. And he looked up at me with those big brown eyes and said, ‘Mom, I was going to marry her.’ He was seven years old and that’s how strongly he felt about you. He continued to feel that way for years. And when you came back? I knew he still felt that way.”
Alesha’s eyes went wide. “He never…he never told me that.”
“Well of course not. It wasn’t something you just throw out there so soon in a relationship. I’m sure he was going to…”
She stopped talking when she spotted Harry walking toward them with his phone to his ear and grabbed Alesha’s hand again. Without a word, Harry handed the phone to Alesha.
She looked worriedly between Reece’s parents and it wasn’t until Harry gave her a smile and a nod, that Alesha let herself breathe. “Hello?”
“Hey, beautiful,” Reece said, sounding beyond exhausted.
“Where are you? Are you okay?”
“I am so sorry,” he began. He told her about the water main break. “I should have called you right away but I was just so angry and ticked off about the entire situation that I thought it would be better if I just waited until I had some answers. I got to the site and it was complete chaos. There was water everywhere. I dropped my phone somewhere in it and still haven’t fished it out.”
“Oh no! So what’s going on now?”
He sighed. “Things are finally winding down. I’m so sorry that you were worried. I programmed your number into the phone but didn’t memorize it, otherwise I would have called. I probably should have just called my parents and let them know what was going on so they could call you. I’m working on over twenty-four hours of no sleep.”
“I’m just so relieved that you’re all right,” she said, giving Marlene’s hand a squeeze as she smiled at her. “I’m sitting here with your mom. Talk to her.” She handed the phone to Marlene and then let herself sag down in the chair as all the tension of the last twelve hours finally eased.
When she looked up, Harry was smiling down at her. “He’s going to beat himself up over this for a little while.”
“I’m just happy no one was hurt,” Alesha replied as she stood and hugged him. “Thank you.”
He hugged her back. “For what?”
“Because I came in here completely freaked out and you were so calm and wonderful.” He hugged him again. “I needed that.”
Harry chuckled. “I may have two sons, but I’ve been married for a long time. I’ve seen Marlene freak out a time or two so I know that at times like that, someone has to be the voice of reason and remain calm.”
“Well I completely appreciate it. Really.”
“Get some sleep,” Marlene was saying into the phone. “You’ve been up for over twenty-four hours now. That is the most important thing.” She paused and listened. “I’m going to put Alesha back on the phone. I love you.” Then with a smile, she handed Alesha the phone and went to hug her husband.
“Hi,” she said as soon as she had the phone back. “So you’re going to go home and go to sleep?”
His first response was a loud yawn. “I’m going to be here for another hour at least. Then yes, I’m going straight home and crashing. I’m so sorry. You have no idea how badly I want to be there with you right now.”
Behind her the bell over the door rang and she turned and saw Lauren and her husband Ben walking in. She gave them a quick wave before returning her attention to Reece. “I know,” she said. “But it’s okay. I want you to get some rest and we’ll talk tonight.”
“Alesha…” Her name was almost a groan.
“It’s just for another week, right?” she said, sounding optimistic. “We can handle it.”
He was silent for a minute before he finally said. “Yeah we can.”
“Okay. So go and finish up and get some sleep and we’ll talk later. I love you.” The words came out before she even realized it. She gasped and covered her mouth, but it was too late.
“That probably the greatest thing I’ve heard in a long time,” Reece replied softly and Alesha could hear the smile in his voice. “I love you too.”
Everything in her melted. More than anything she wished he was here right now so she could kiss him.
“I’m going to make all of this up to you,” he said, interrupting her thoughts.
Smiling, she said, “I’m going to hold you to that.”
“I’ll talk to you later.”
With a sigh, she hung up and handed Harry the phone. Marlene grabbed her and hugged her tight. “See? He’s good. He’s all right.”
Hugging her back, Alesha nodded.
“Is everything okay?” Lauren asked as she walked over.
Harry gave her and Ben the details on what had happened.
“Boy, he’s had a rough couple of weeks,” Lauren’s husband Ben replied. He shook his head. “Poor guy.”
“That is the truth,” Marlene said as she stepped away from Alesha. “What can I do for you too this morning?”
“Actually,” Lauren began, “I needed to talk to Alesha. Ben and I just had breakfast at Sue Ann’s and I saw her car out front. We went to the bookstore first and then figured out she was in here.”
Alesha looked at her expectantly. “Is it about the house?”
Everyone seemed to move away casually to give them privacy. She and Lauren sat down at the table she had been at just minutes ago. “Did they accept my offer?”
Lauren gave her a sad smile. “I’m afraid not, sweetie. Someone came in with a higher bid.”
“But…how is that possible? I thought it was your li
sting? Did you show it to someone else?”
“It came in from another broker—out of town. I know how excited you were about the house, but I have to give the homeowner all the options. I’m so sorry, Alesha.”
Well this sucks, she thought to herself. “Reece warned me not to get my hopes up.” She sighed. “I guess he was right.”
“We’re going to find the perfect house for you. I promise.”
“I wish I had your confidence.”
Lauren chuckled softly and patted Alesha’s arm. “We only looked at a few houses. Trust me. We’re going to find you the right house.” Turning, she reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. She scrolled across the screen a couple of times before looking up. “Tell you what, why don’t we make an appointment to go out again tomorrow afternoon? Will that work for you?”
Being that her plans for the weekend had pretty much been canceled, she nodded. “That sounds great. Thanks, Lauren.”
They stood and said their goodbyes before Alesha turned to look back at Harry and Marlene. “I’m going to head home and crash for a couple of hours. Staying up all night worrying is exhausting.”
“Get some rest,” Marlene said and we’ll talk later.
And with another smile and wave, Alesha walked out the door and into the sunshine. It was still cold out, but it felt good. Actually, a lot of things felt good—overall, her life was more than good. She had a thriving business, good friends and had fallen in love with a wonderful man.
And after a few hours of sleep, she was going to appreciate all of it even more.
Chapter Thirteen
It was becoming incredibly obvious that things weren’t working.
Alesha sighed as she looked out the window of Lauren’s car the next day. They had looked at three houses already and none of them fit Alesha’s criteria or budget. She was beyond frustrated and no matter how many times Lauren told her to relax and look at all her options, all Alesha wanted to do was cry.
She wanted the house she had put the offer in on.
And she wanted Reece here with her.
Turning to face Lauren, that’s exactly what she told her. “I think I should wait.”
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