Page 22 of Wild and Wrangled

“Nice to meet you,” he said as he moved his hand from Emmy’s to mine. “Anne was excited to hear that you were interested in the house.”

“She was?” I asked, touched that Anne even remembered who I was.

Ed nodded. “She said you spent a lot of time here in high school.” “A lot” was generous, but this house and I were definitely familiar. “She said not to even show it to anyone else unless you decide you don’t want it.”

Emmy squeezed my arm. “Oh my god, that’s great news!” she exclaimed. “I didn’t know you and Anne were that close, Cam.” I laughed sheepishly. Me either.

“So let me walk you through,” Ed said, turning to start walking deeper into the house. “The house was built in 1929. Anne and her husband, Arnold, bought it in the fifties. Theyraised three children here, and it was well loved by their grandkids and their neighborhood, too.

“Over here we have the formal living room,” Ed said. There were two cream-colored love seats and a pink velvet chair. “Kind of a relic, but with bay windows like that, you’ll definitely be spending some time in here, I’m sure. Formal dining is on the other side, but Anne currently has that set up as a library.”

“Is she hoping to rent the house furnished?” Emmy asked.

“So only the common areas are furnished currently, and Anne is happy to leave them that way. The bedrooms, though, are a clean slate.” That was good. Riley loved her canopy bed.

“Partially furnished is great,” I chimed in. The only furniture that I owned was Riley’s. Graham had bought everything else for the house—it was all his. I’d have to figure out a bed and stuff for myself, but that didn’t matter.

“Great,” Ed said. “Let’s keep going.” We walked down a short hallway toward an open space. “Kitchen and living room. There is a fully functioning wood-burning fireplace there.” Ed pointed at the north side of the room. The fireplace was outlined by gorgeous red brick and a dark wood mantel.

“Kitchen appliances were updated about five years ago. All stainless steel, and the stove is gas,” Ed said. “And a dishwasher was added, which wasn’t there before.”

“It’s beautiful,” I said as I looked around. It was so close to how I remembered it—warm and inviting. A mishmash of colors and styles, maybe one too many for me, but the way they came together made it feel unique and classic all at once. Plus I thought Ada could help me with design to make it feel more cohesive. A little simpler, which was just the way I liked things.

“The primary bedroom is behind the living room, and the two other bedrooms are behind the kitchen,” Ed said.

I nodded. “En suite bath in the primary and a shared bathroom for the other bedrooms, right?”

“That’s right. Laundry is in the basement—it’s unfinished, so it’s a little scary down there, but nothing too crazy.”

“This is great,” I said. “Really great.” I could see Riley and me here. We’d be close to her dad—to her family.

“So you’re feeling good about it then?” Ed asked. “Any questions?”

“Loads,” I said, “but I think we’re going to want this no matter what.”

Ed clapped his hands together. “Perfect! There are a few housekeeping items that Anne wanted me to go over with you. Is that okay?” I nodded, waiting for him to continue. “Right now, she’ll have you sign a twelve-month lease. The lease can be renewed if—this part is a little bit of a bummer, sorry—Anne is still with us. If she passes on during the tenure of your lease, it’s contracted that you’ll be able to finish it out, but it’s up to the new owner’s discretion on whether or not you can renew.”

Christ, that was a downer. “Okay,” I said. “Does she already know whose hands the house will fall into if that happens?”

“She does, and they’ve agreed to these terms.”

“That’s fine with me,” I said. A year was plenty of time to figure my shit out—I hoped.

“The other stuff is less intense. She asks that you don’t make any structural changes to the home, but you’re welcome to hang things and do renter-friendly projects. The fireplace requires a lot of care, so she asks that you only use it if the groundskeeper gets it going and has permission to put it out.”

“Groundskeeper?” I asked. That was new.

“Oh, yeah,” Ed said with a “not a big deal” hand motion. “There’s a smaller house on the edge of the property—basically a studio apartment but in house form. It’s about two hundred square feet. Anne started renting it to a tenant last year. In exchange, he takes care of snow removal, yard work in the summer, and a lot of maintenance that Anne could no longer do. He’s been a godsend to her.”

“Who is it?” I asked, still wrapping my head around the fact that there was someone else on this property. That could be a game-changer.

“Maybe you know him,” Ed said, pulling out his phone. “He’s local. It’s Dusty Tucker.”

Chapter 12

Dusty

Cam,

---