Page 26 of Bear's Heart

It was a warm day, but the interior was dark and cool.As her brother shut the door behind them, he switched on the lights, revealing a decent-sized living room with heavily curtained windows.

“You see the doorways are wide, and the hallway itself is wide, so there’s no problem for Bear’s wheelchair,” Rye said as they walked from the living room to the dining room.

The dining area was a slightly smaller space in the living area but with ample room for a decent size table and chairs—and room for Bear, too.No one in a wheelchair wanted to be bumping against things, and Bear would want plenty of room to be able to turn corners and navigate the furniture.“A round table in here would be perfect,” she said.“Bear could just roll right under it, and it’d still feel spacious in here.”

“Check out the table in the kitchen,” Rye said, leading the way into the kitchen.

The kitchen doorway had been widened in the past ten or fifteen years, the swinging door removed.There were scuff marks on the door frame but nothing that couldn’t be covered by a little paint.

Like the house, the kitchen was designed for practicality, the old counters covered in laminate, and the cupboards looked like the original, painted a very pale baby blue.The stainless sink was divided in half.The faucets had watermarks but worked fine.The stove had seen better days, but the burners turned on.The white refrigerator worked, too, the interior cold.

Josie spied the old-fashioned booth in the corner, beneath the corner windows.The bench was u-shaped, and the table a rounded rectangle, with plenty of space at the end for Bear’s wheelchair.

“He can prep here,” Josie said, turning to face her brother.

“Or eat here, have his coffee here, whatever,” Rye agreed.

“The only change I’d suggest is opening the space under the sink.Obviously, if Bear wanted to spend the money he could get new appliances, but everything seems to work.”

“Just needs some freshening up.Paint and such.”

“What about the bedroom and bathroom?”

“Not pretty, but utilitarian and it functions.Bear would probably want to change up the showerhead.Its old and there are a lot of good ones available that don’t cost a fortune.”

“Is it a roll-in shower then?”

“Someone tried to create a roll-in shower, but the tiles are lifting and there’s some water damage.I suspect it wasn’t sealed right.It might require some work but shouldn’t be too bad.If Bear is interested in the house, I’d ask Richard, my plumber, to come in and have a look.”

“It’s as you said, functional but not attractive.”

“Well, that’s what you do, right?Style on a shoestring?”

“Since he’s renting, yes.If he were to buy it, I’d suggest bigger changes.”

Rye nodded.“He might want to buy down the road.”

“I’ll reach out to Bear and see if he can meet me here.”

Josie not one to procrastinate, phoned Bear even before Rye had returned to his truck.Bear didn’t answer though, and disappointed, she left him a voicemail message.She was trying to decide if she should head back to Bozeman or wait a bit when he returned her call.

“Hi,” Bear said.“I was on another call.”

“No problem.”She cleared her throat.“I’m in Marietta.I just saw a rental house that might work for you.Well, Rye saw it first and then asked me to come over as he wanted my opinion.”

“You think I’d like it?”

“Well… there’s potential.

“That doesn’t sound encouraging.”

“It’s not a lot to look at now, but with a couple of changes, it could work well for you, and based on what I’m seeing, I’m sure the rent is affordable.”

“Where in Marietta?”

“Almost downtown Marietta, just a few blocks off of Main Street.My brother was hired to reroof it, and once he saw the house, he thought of you wanting a smaller, more accessible place.I’ve got the key.Want to come see it?”

“Now?”

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