“Sure. No problem.” Tom started tapping on his keyboard.
Then Kenzie had an idea. A brilliant idea. “Jared said he saw a lot of homes before he put an offer on your house.”
“Yes—”
“Have any new homes come on the market since he made his offer?”
“A few.”
“If there are any similar to your house, I’d like to see those first.”
Tom looked at her suspiciously. “Any particular reason? Or should I say ‘motive’?”
“Not really.” Except there might be a newly listed home Jared would like better than her brother’s. But Kenzie wasn’t going to tell Tom that. “Jared and I have similar tastes in homes. So could you print those out?”
“Okay, but it’ll take a few minutes.”
While she waited, Kenzie texted her mother, saying to go ahead without her and that Tom would take her home.
Once she had the papers in hand, Kenzie ruffled through them. “These are nice, but can you also show me some that are a little newer and have a master bathroom off the bedroom?”
Tom frowned. “Why didn’t you say so before?”
If she had, Kenzie wouldn’t have a list of homes to present to Jared. Instead she said, “I’m new at house hunting.”
With a groan, her brother asked, “Are there any other parameters you want to change?”
“Maybe the price range and the area. And a few amenities.
Tom frowned as he typed. “So essentially, we’re starting over.” When he was done, he asked, “Do you want me to print these out?”
“Let me see them first.”
Tom had two monitors, and Kenzie pulled her chair around. When Kenzie saw one she liked, Tom printed it out.
“This is a nice home except for the flooring,” Tom said, pointing at the monitor. “The linoleum is peeling up in the kitchen, but they’ve priced it to allow the buyer to put in new flooring.”
“At least I’d get to pick flooring I like.”
Tom printed out a few more. Then he said, “Here’s a nice one.” As Kenzie looked at it, he added, “That’s Jared’s house.”
Grimacing, she sat back. “Very funny.”
Tom chuckled, and they continued. He dissuaded her from a rambler she liked. “I’d avoid that one. The area has a high water table, and the people have to keep the sump pump on all the time.”
He pulled up interior shots of one house, then said, “Oops, didn’t mean to show you this one. There’s a question of mold.”
When they were through. Kenzie slid her chair back and rubbed the back of her neck. “Tonight I’m going to dream about basements, fireplaces, and kitchen islands.”
“Could be worse—you could dream about peeling linoleum, flooding, and mold.” Tom rolled his chair away from the computer. “We made a good start.”
“Yes, we did.” Kenzie stood. “Have I got time to run a quick errand before you take me home?”
Tom glanced at his phone for the time. “If you make it fast. I need to leave in fifteen minutes to have time to take you home and meet some people for a showing.”
Hurrying out, Kenzie jaywalked across the street to Jared’s Café. She bypassed the order station and strode to the sandwich bar, earning her a few looks from people in line. She asked the young man there if she could talk to Jared. He went to the back.
When Jared came out, he looked surprised. “Hungry again?”
She waved the papers in her hand. “I have something for you.”
He walked over, and Kenzie handed him the papers.
“What’s this?”
“Homes you might be interested in.”
Casually, Jared flipped through them. “I don’t think so. I’ve already found the home I want.”
Kenzie nailed a smile to her face. “I know you saw a lot of homes before making an offer on Tom’s, but these are new listings—you might like one of them.”
He thrust the papers toward Kenzie, but she pleaded, “Take a look at them. What could it hurt? There are some really great homes.” She pointed at the top paper. “This one has huge trees, a big backyard, and an oversized garage. And the price is about the same as Tom’s house. And there are a couple of homes that are zoned for animals. You could even have sheep if you wanted. Wouldn’t Corey love that?”
“Unfair,” Jared said, but there was amusement in his voice.
“I’ve got to run, but look through them. Please?”
From the grimace on his face, what Jared really wanted was to throw the papers in the garbage. But when Kenzie gave him a hopeful smile, his expression softened.
“All right. But like I said, I’ve already found the house I want.”
Chapter Twelve
It was painfully evident Jared had said the wrong thing. Ever since he’d mentioned his son’s race-car bed might not fit in the bedroom Corey wanted, his son had been pestering him to go to Tom’s house and measure the room. Since there were other things he wanted to measure, Jared called Mandy and arranged to stop by after school. Corey was eager to go, and it would be helpful to have someone hold the other end of the tape measure.
As they walked up the sidewalk, a thrill went through Jared to think this would soon be his house. Mandy invited them in, and they went to the bedroom where Brian was feverishly picking up clothes, Legos, and assorted toys—probably under orders from his mother. Corey stood at one end of the room, and Jared stepped over shoes, pajamas, a helicopter, and some cars to get to the other. Hillary came in to watch, grinning at her brother, who stuck his tongue out at her.
The doorbell rang, and Jared overheard Mandy talking to someone as he gave his son the good news that his bed would fit. “Okay, Corey, let’s go check out the basement.”
Brian and Hillary went with them, but Jared stopped in the hallway when he saw Kenzie and Sara by the front door.
“Why, hello, Jared. Hi, Corey.” Surprise colored Kenzie’s voice. “What are you doing?”
“We had to measure a few things,” Jared replied. “Corey has an unusual bed, and we wanted to make sure it would fit.”
“It’s a race car!” Corey spoke proudly. “My grandpa made it for me.”
“Wow! Sounds pretty special.” Kenzie smiled at him.
Sara was impressed but also a little confused. “A car?”
“Yeah, want to see where we’re going to put it?”
“Sure!” Sara was as excited as if she’d never seen the house before. The four children raced down the hall.
Jared turned to Mandy. “If it’s all right, I’d like to do some measuring in the basement.”
“Go right ahead.”
Half the basement had been roughed in, and Jared jotted down measurements on a notepad. He was pleased with the dimensions of the large, open area but decided he’d make it even bigger by taking down a wall. He’d build a large closet at one end with shelves for smaller tools and supplies. All he needed to do was put up sheetrock and tape and mud it, and the walls would be ready to paint.
When he went upstairs, Mandy and Kenzie were in the kitchen.
“It seems like my equipment will fit fine; although, I’ll probably take out a wall.”
Kenzie blurted out, “What equipment?”
“I’m going to put in a workshop.”
“A workshop? In the basement?” she sounded horrified.
“You make it sound like I’m going to be operating a still.” Jared grinned good-naturedly. “It beats working in a cold garage; plus I’ll be in the house with Corey.” He studied the entryway between the dining room and kitchen, and walked closer. “I may take this wall out too.”
This prompted another outburst from Kenzie. “You can’t do that.”
Jared raised his eyebrows. “Why not?”
Wearing an amused expression, Mandy also waited for Kenzie’s response.
“Because . . . well, that wall has always been there.”
A pretty lame answer. Jared disguised his smile and put on a thoughtful expression. A
ctually, he had no plans to take down the wall, but it was awfully fun to mess with Kenzie.
As a final touch, he added, “Time for it to come down.” He wasn’t surprised that Kenzie had more objections.
“But if you have visitors, they’ll be able to see into the kitchen!”
“So?”
“What if it’s messy? You don’t want visitors seeing a messy kitchen.”
“Why would I care if they saw?” Then Jared added dryly, “Besides, I have been known to wash dishes before I invite people over.” He stepped into the front room and looked around. What else could he find to rile Kenzie?
“Hmm, I might take out the fireplace and put in a wood stove insert.” Jared had to work hard not to laugh when Kenzie’s jaw dropped.
“But everyone loves the fireplace! It’s one of the great features of the house.”
“A wood stove is much more efficient at heating. With fireplaces, most of the heat goes up the chimney.” He watched Kenzie, amused at how he could almost see the gears churning in her brain, trying to come up with a rebuttal. Her eye lit on the stockings hanging on the mantle.
She turned to him triumphantly. “Santa can’t come down the chimney unless you have a fireplace.”
Mandy giggled, and Jared didn’t bother to hide his grin. “I don’t think that’s ever been documented.”
This was fun. Jared strode back to the kitchen, knowing Kenzie would follow him like he was the Pied Piper. “Another thing. I’d like to take out this floor and put in tile.” He swiveled round to Kenzie. “Any objections?”
“I guess tile would be all right.”
“I have some leftover boxes from when I remodeled the café.”
Kenzie gasped. “You want to use black-and-white tile?”
“There may not be quite enough, but I could put something different by the back door.”
When Kenzie threw Mandy an appalled look, Jared turned so she didn’t see him grin. Then he went into the dining room. “I’ll use this as my office. I’ve got a big desk, and it’ll go great in the corner.” He waited.
“Where will you eat?” Kenzie’s voice was feeble.
“If I squeeze, I can make room for a small table, but we’ll probably eat at the counter most of the time.”
“What if you have guests?”
He rubbed his chin as if considering. “Guess I could pick up a couple more bar stools.” When Kenzie closed her eyes in pain, Jared figured he’d tortured her enough.
“Corey!” he called. “Time to go.” As the children came running, Jared thanked Mandy for letting him come over. Mandy walked him to the door, and he glanced over her shoulder at Kenzie, who still stood in the kitchen, looking shell-shocked. “See you later, Kenzie.”
He told the children good-bye, and although they responded cheerily, Kenzie’s good-bye sounded like she had a fish bone caught in her throat.
On the way home, Jared chuckled—remembering the pained expression on Kenzie’s face when he’d mentioned the bar stools. Despite her ferocious frowns, she was still a very pretty lady.
“Why are you laughing?” Corey wanted to know.
“Oh, I was teasing Kenzie. When I told Kenzie I was going to put in a wood stove and take out the fireplace, do you know what she told me?” Corey shook his head. “She said I shouldn’t do that because Santa wouldn’t be able to come. She didn’t know Santa can come down anywhere.”
Being very patient, Corey told his father, “Dad, I know there’s no Santa Claus.”
“You do?”
“I’m too big for that. Only little kids believe in Santa.”
Jared blinked. Only yesterday Corey had been a little kid—and he’d had a mother. After Robin died, Christmas became one of the hardest times of the year. Even decorating the tree was difficult, since his wife had always taken charge of that. Robin always put on the lights herself except for the last year, when she’d been too frail. Still, he’d carried her out and laid her on the couch so she could direct him and point out if he’d put the lights too close or too far apart.
His first Christmas without Robin would have been impossible if not for her parents. They’d had him and Corey sleep over on Christmas Eve. Corey feared Santa wouldn’t know where to bring his toys, but he relaxed once Jared helped him write a note, which they’d left at their own house giving his present whereabouts. Corey had placed the letter beside a saucer of cookies and an empty glass, explaining that since he liked his milk cold, he figured Santa did too, and Santa could find it in the fridge.
Jared’s thoughts went back to Kenzie, and he smiled inside at the agitation she’d displayed over his remodeling plans. Once he and Corey arrived home, Jared started Corey on his homework, then got out a box of Hamburger Helper and a jar of salsa. Adding a cup of salsa at the end made all the difference.
As they worked, Corey piped up. “Say Dad, when we were at the house, Sara told me she likes to walk in the woods, just like me.”
“That’s nice, but thinking about the woods isn’t going to get your homework done.”
While the noodles simmered, Jared set out saucers, doled out pears, then put a dollop of cottage cheese on top. So Sara liked the woods. Interesting. She was about the same age as Izzy when he’d met her in the woods shortly after he and his mom had moved to West Lake Forest. They’d become fast friends, and most long summer days had found them in the woods near their homes. Only rarely had they ventured into Lake Forest or West Lake Forest. He remembered being surprised when his mother told him he and Izzy lived in two different towns.
As he stirred the sizzling noodles, Jared smiled at Kenzie’s reaction to the black-and-white tile. He had no intention of using that, but it sure had been fun to tease her and see those big eyes widen and those long lashes blink rapidly. Tom had said Kenzie was divorced. Then Jared shook himself. He had to stop thinking about that woman.
He thought about Pam, but really, there wasn’t much joy there. Jared was well aware Pam wanted more than an occasional date. Why didn’t he ask her out more? He liked her all right. After all, what was there not to like? Pam was smart and fun to be with. In fact, she had a whole list of good qualities. And whenever they did go out, he always had fun—though she teased him because he had a tendency to talk too much about the café.
“Nearly done?” Jared asked Corey as he set out plates and utensils.
“Two more problems.”
Jared poured milk into glasses and carried them to the table. Pam was good company, but he was content to take things slow. At first he’d thought it meant he wasn’t over Robin, but after a few years, gradually he came to the realization that something was missing. He’d been content with their employer/employee relationship and had been surprised when, a couple of years ago, Pam had asked him to a concert. They’d had a good time, but weeks went by before they went out again, since most of his time was taken up with launching his new business.
Corey slapped his book shut.
“Great timing,” Jared said. “Go wash up, and I’ll put dinner on.” He dished up their plates. There was no doubt the café had required all of his time and attention at the beginning, but now he was at the point where he could take things a little easier. Now that the café was doing well, he needed to get out of the mindset of working 24/7. In fact, maybe he ought to ask Pam to a movie this weekend.
Chapter Thirteen
When the door shut behind Jared and Corey, the three children ran off, and Kenzie took the opportunity to vent.
Throwing out her arms in a theatrical gesture of amazement, she asked Mandy, “Did you hear him?” She pointed at the front room window. “He’ll probably board that up. It’ll save on heat and be more efficient, you know.”
“Oh, Kenzie!” Mandy laughed. “I think Jared said half of those things to get a rise out of you.”
Kenzie wasn’t so sure. It was hard to explain her feelings. It was like Jared was trespassing on her personal territory as he went through the house she wanted, listing all the changes he
wanted to make.
“Jared sounded pretty serious about the workshop, but who puts something like that in their house?” Kenzie said. “Is he crazy? Think of the sawdust and the grease. And what kind of a workshop is he planning on anyway?”
“Hey, I don’t pry into a man’s religion or his workshop,” Mandy deadpanned. “But I agree with you—it’s a horrible, low-down kind of a man who would build a workshop in the basement so he can be close to his son.”
Rolling her eyes, Kenzie stalked into the front room and plopped onto the couch. “The man’s a demolishing maniac. Just think what he’s going to do to this house.”
“I hate to break it to you, but people do remodel.” Mandy settled into the easy chair. “Tom wants to put crown molding in the Steadman home and build shelves in the closets before we move in. And I’m going to paint, and you get to help me.”
“I’d hoped you’d forgotten about that.”
“Nope, you’re stuck.” Then Mandy’s expression changed, and she looked at Kenzie with sparkling eyes. “I think someone likes you,” she said in a sing-songy voice.
“What are you talking about?”
“Jared. He likes you. I can tell.”
“You can? Gee, I don’t know why I can’t see it. It must be the animosity that fooled me.”
“Take it from me. He likes you.”
“Mandy, the man gave me an extra pickle!”
Throwing back her head, Mandy peeled with laughter. “See, that proves it! He’s acting like a little boy—you know how boys like to pull pigtails and swipe pencils from someone they like.”
“Jared is hardly a boy, and all it proves is that he likes to provoke me.”
“Because, my dear, you’re so easy to provoke.” When Kenzie made a rude sound, Mandy went on. “I wouldn’t dismiss it so easily. I caught a lot of vibes coming from both of you after the Christmas play. Strong vibes. If I’d gotten caught between you two, I would have ended up fried.” Kenzie glared at her, and Mandy changed course. “Okay, forget Jared. There are plenty of other men. All they have to do is take one look at you, and they’ll be hooked. But first, we need to set you up with some dates.”
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