Page 10 of A Magnolia Move-In
“Who is this?”
I swallowed. This was going well. “This is Penny. I’m a friend of Clementine. She told me that you have a room to rent, and it just happens that I’m in need of said room.” I closed my eyes. I sounded like an idiot to myself. I could only imagine what this stranger thought.
Silence.
Just before I pulled the phone from my cheek to see if we’d gotten disconnected, he growled. “It’s three hundred a month, and I don’t do any cooking or laundry.”
“Oh, I can do that,” I said as I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. Relief flooded through me as I moved to find a pen. “I’m fine with that. Really, I’m not a messy person.” I found a pencil with a worn-down tip and readied it over the napkin. “What’s your address?”
He paused before giving me his house number and street name. “I go to bed at ten, so if you’re not here before then, you can’t get in until the morning.”
I paused, trying to figure out how long it was going to take me to head over to Cordelia’s, assess the damage, and then head to Spencer’s place. I was still relearning my way around the island, and with the changes in streets and buildings, locations were vague for me. “Well, I was—”
“That’s my offer, Mrs…?”
“Penny, and it’s Ms.”
He paused. “Ms. Penny.”
“Oh, no. My last name is Brown, but you can call me Penny. And I’m not married so I’m a Ms.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop myself.
Silence filled the air, and I half expected him to tell me the room was taken and I was out of luck.
“If you want to rent my room, you need to follow my rules.”
I parted my lips to complain—I was a grown woman after all. My words lingered on my tongue, before I pushed them aside. I was here to change my life, and if I didn’t want to become a burden to my daughter, I was going to need to play by this man’s rules. “Of course. I will be to your house on time.”
“Wonderful. See you then.”
I nodded. When he ended the call, I slipped my phone into my purse and sighed. I started the engine and took off down the street to Cordelia’s house. The entire ride, I kept thinking about how damaged my things were and how I was now starting my new lease on life in a home with a man who didn’t seem interested in having me there.
One thing was for certain — fate seemed to hate me. I went from one of the highest-paid editors in the publishing world to this. Trudging through six inches of water to rescue the few belongings I’d brought with me.
Once I had as much as I could gather up, I climbed the stairs and deposited the items into my trunk. I’d come tomorrow to gather the soaking wet items and either throw them out or find a way to dry them.
If I didn’t want to be out on the streets tonight, I needed to get to Spencer’s.
Even though my common sense told me to keep on driving once I’d pulled up to his small white rambler that was half covered with bushes and vines, I shook my head and squared my shoulders.
I never backed down from a fight, and if fate wanted to play games, she wasn’t going to intimidate me. No matter what she threw my direction, I wasn’t going anywhere.
I was here to stay.
FOUR
Naomi
We got to Magnolia just as darkness settled around us. I stared at the scenery as it passed by, taking it all in. The ocean in the northeast was different from the south. The beaches weren’t the same. The air didn’t smell the same.
This definitely wasn’t home.
I closed my eyes as anxiety washed over me. Was I ever going to feel like I belonged again? Who was I now?
A month and a half ago, I was confident in the direction of my life, but as I sat in the taxi pulling up to Jackson’s house on the beach, I sighed. I wasn’t confident about anything anymore.
“Ready?” Jackson asked as he grasped the door release.
I nodded, moving to do the same, but then stopped myself. There was no way I could climb out of the car like he was. It was ridiculous for me to even pretend that I could. So, I sat, waiting for him to get my chair from theback. As soon as I saw him approach the window, I opened my door.
