Page 15 of A Magnolia Move-In
He peered toward the front windows. “Rough?”
I nodded. “It’s just a tad overgrown.”
A pained look flashed in his eyes, and he cleared his throat. “It is what it is. Now, do you want to see the room or not?”
I hurried to fall in step with him. “I want to see the room.”
It seemed strange that he was sensitive about the landscaping. After all, he had eyes. He could see that it was in dire need of some work. I wanted to press him more about it, but since I needed a place to stay and his was the only place available at the moment, I wanted to stay in his good graces.
“This is the room,” he said as he flipped on the light.
The room was bathed in an orange glow. There was a small bed pressed against the side wall. A dresser, nightstand, and desk completed the set. It was tiny but clean. I stepped into it and looked around.
It wasn’t the Ritz—which I’d stayed at on numerous occasions—but it worked. “I’ll take it,” I said.
Spencer frowned. “Now hold on, I need to make sure you aren’t a crazy person.” He leaned over and pulled a piece of paper off the top of the dresser. “Here’s the application, please fill it out.”
I stared down at what he’d presented me. It looked like the standard lease agreement you could print off from the internet. “You want me to fill this out?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
I pointed to it. “Do I need this to stay the night?”
He paused and then sighed. “You can stay the night, but bring this to me as soon as you can.” He turned to leave.
“You do know that I’m a friend of Clementine. She’ll vouch for me.”
He grunted. “I’ve learned that things like that mean nothing. I want to see what kind of shenanigans you’ve gotten into.” He folded his arms. “Don’t fill it out. Don’t stay.”
I brought the paper to my chest. “I’ll fill it out.”
He made his way into the hallway, holding onto the door handle as he went. Just before he shut the door, he glanced back at me. “Good.”
The click of the door filled the air. Now that I was alone, I blew out my breath and collapsed on the bed, stretching my feet out in front of me. I set the application down and threaded my fingers, pressing my arms out as I hunched over.
The pressure in my back began to lessen as I took in a deep breath.
It wasn’t what I’d expected, but I was beginning to learn that nothing in my life turned out the way I wanted. I was beginning to expect the unexpected.
I unpacked what I’d brought into the dresser and nightstand. I pulled open the small closet on the other side of the room to find a bundle of hangers. After hanging what clothes I had, I glanced around the room.
What was I going to do now?
I took in a deep breath, my stomach growling. I was hungry. The pastry I’d grabbed at The Hideout wasn’t cutting it.
I wondered if Spencer was still up.
I shuffled over to the door and twisted the handle. I pulled the door open slightly and peeked out to the hallway. When I didn’t detect movement, I slipped out, closing my door quietly behind me.
I made my way down the hallway, taking note of the pictures hanging up there. I couldn’t tell if they were put there by Spencer or were original to the house—I couldn’t imagine Spencer putting up pictures of flowers. This house definitely had a feminine touch to it.
I finally discovered where the kitchen was located. I made my way to the fridge and peered around. Would Spencer be angry if I looked inside? I would repay him for whatever I took.
He hadn’t been clear about what I could or couldn’t use, and it wasn’t like my room was equipped with anything. He had to know that I needed to eat and was going to use the kitchen. He couldn’t blame me for that.
I pulled open the fridge and peeked inside. There wasn’t a lot there, but I did see some ham and cheese.Hoping that I would be able to find bread, I pulled those items out and moved to kick the door closed with my foot.
“What are you doing?”
