Page 75 of The Deadbeat Next Door

“Then I’ll move out,” I said. “We can let everyone think we’re still engaged, but I’ll spend my time at your house. Eventually, you can sell your house and take over the rent on this one.”

“I can’t let you do that,” she said. “This is your house.”

“Just let me do this one thing for you. You’re right, it’s weird for the kids to see us here, sharing a bed, when we aren’t married, but I’d like to keep seeing you, Carrie. I really…I’ve really had fun these past few weeks.” Mentally, I slapped a hand on my forehead. Why couldn’t I tell her how much I cared for her?

She stood and maneuvered past me. “I doubt I’ll have much time for myself or for fun in the future.”

She walked out of that room and I felt like letting her go was the biggest mistake I’d made in a lifetime full of them. I made another when I didn’t call her back, didn’t tell her how much she and the kids meant to me. But I couldn’t call her back, couldn’t make her any promises, because I had nothing to offer.

I cooked a big dinner of hamburgers on the grill, pasta salad, and grilled vegetables and then I packed a bag and headed to Carrie’s place for the night. She walked me over and let me into the house.

“I can still get Jenny and Simon from the bus,” I said.

She gave me a tight smile. “Norma Jane volunteered to get them from the bus from now on. She’ll watch them until Kayla gets home, but thanks for the offer.”

“Of course.” Why was I sad that I wouldn’t get to be attacked by sweet Jenny the next afternoon? “Let me know if you need help with the petition for guardianship or anything else.”

“I won’t need help, but thanks, anyway.”

She left and I settled into her house. I wasn’t lonely and that ache in my gut wasn’t sadness. I was just missing the chaos of bedtime with three kids, it wouldn’t take me long to get used to the peace and quiet. I had a winery to start and I had to prove to the rest of my family that I was every bit as capable of starting a business as the rest of them. That goal felt hollow and less important than it once had, but I was sure, once I got on the property and started preparing the land for my vineyard, my priorities would settle back into the right order.

***

“Hello, young man,” Bart said from his rocking chair on the front porch.

I shook his hand and took a seat in the chair next to him. “You ready to sell me this property?” After four days spent alone in Carrie’s house, I was long past stir crazy and on the verge of complete and total mental breakdown. I’d set her kitchen up for wine tastings and put the word out that I was open for business again, but there had so far been no takers and there was nothing else for me to do until I had the property from Bart. I’d resorted to working on her flower beds and taking care of the exterior of her house just for something to do. I tried not to go outside during the hours I knew the kids would be out. Carrie was right, it was best to make a clean break and be out of their lives for good.

Even so, I’d taken my creeper status to a new low, watching the kids from the window to make sure they were doing okay. Simon hadn’t smiled once, yet, but Jenny and Kayla seemed, if not happy, at least content. I’d attended their dad’s funeral on Saturday and I’d stopped by Norma Jane’s house twice to find out what she knew. Not much. Carrie was still miffed at her and applications for guardianship apparently took time, so there was no word on that, yet.

Bart stared out at his front yard, rocking, and sucking his teeth. “I’d like to, son, but I hear you and Carrie are on the outs.”

Shit. Bart wasn’t the first person to mention that, Norma Jane had fished for gossip about my engagement to Carrie, said she’d noticed I had moved into Carrie’s place. “There’s been a bit of a change,” I said, repeating what I’d told Norma Jane. “She’s taken in three children and we felt it wasn’t right to share a bed if we weren’t married.”

“Uh-huh. They’re good kids from what I’ve heard.”

“They are good kids. Jenny is adorable and already reading at a second-grade level. Simon is a bit grumpy, but he’s got good reason. He’s amazing at math. Kayla is like a mom to those kids and she’s stronger and more mature than anyone her age ought to be.” What was that tightness in my chest? I ignored it. They were the past and the winery was my future.

“They’ve been through a tough haul, but kids are resilient.” He rocked for another few moments. “I want you to get married on this property.”

“What?” I tensed, hot anger making me brittle. “I’ve been engaged for a month, that was the deal.”

“But there are kids in the picture now. There’s no harm in moving up the wedding date so you can all live as a family, right?”

“I’m not sure any of us is ready for that.” I definitely wasn’t ready for that. Marrying Carrie would be making a promise to her and the kids that I was incapable of keeping.

He shrugged. “Then I guess you’ll have to wait another little while to get this here property.”

I was beginning to think he was never going to sell me the property, had never had any intention of selling it to me. Maybe he’d only played along to this point to appease his sons. “I’ve met the terms of the deal and I’ve got your money. You can’t set new terms.”

“Sure I can. You marry that girl here on this property and I’ll knock another twenty grand off my asking price.”

I stood, caught somewhere between fury and despair. Maybe I should just move on, accept Bart was never going to sell me this property, and go somewhere else. The only problem was, my savings were dangerously low, my investors were muttering about backing out, and I was running short on options. Plus…I looked around, at the view of the mountains and the golden fields around us, and I felt certain I’d never find a better place. “I’ll talk to Carrie.”

I texted her as soon as I got home and asked her to meet me at her house after she got home from work. I promised it would just take a couple of minutes.

She showed up just after five and I let her in. My palms were sweating and my heart was racing. Why was I nervous? None of this was real.

“What’s up?” Carrie asked, her eyes on my chin. “The kids are hungry for dinner.”

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