Page 62 of His North Star
“Three weeks. Will you be able to help?”
“Normally I’d say yes, but with Mom, I’m not sure.” I frowned. How much longer until we had more information? With her fall, internal bleeding wasn’t out of the question. Why hadn’t she asked for help? She shouldn’t have been moving heavy boxes at her age.
“I understand.” He squeezed my shoulder. “If you have a free moment this week, I can give you a tour.”
“Oh, I’d love that. I’m for sure covering today and tomorrow, but I might have time on Saturday. It depends on how long Mom stays in the hospital.”
“Let’s plan for this weekend. I’d like your opinion on paint colors and fixtures.”
I stopped his hand from scooping eggs out of the pan. “You see this.” I gestured all around my apartment. “I don’t decorate as well as your professional home stager. You should hire her instead.”
“I love it here. Your tastes are right up my alley.”
I chortled. “Right.”
“You act as if your place is ugly. I like your style, otherwise I wouldn’t have asked.”
He saw houses all the time and did not need my help. Lazy Bones just didn’t want to do it himself.
“All right”—I held up my hands—“I’ll help you.”
He smiled, pleased he’d gotten what he wanted. “Thank you.”
“Besides paint, what else needs to get done?”
We sat at the table and continued talking between bites.
He groaned. “You ready to hear this laundry list?”
“Lay it on me.”
“New flooring throughout the entire house. The kitchen and bathrooms need complete overhauls. A new water heater. The boathouse has a leak, and multiple places where the sheetrock has to be ripped out. Not to mention the landscaping.”
“No wonder you couldn’t sell the place. That’s at least another hundred grand worth of work, if not more. What were they asking?”
“Three million.”
My eyes widened and my jaw dropped of its own accord. Homes on the lake weren’t cheap, but three million for a dump like that? I’d stick to my tiny place any day.
“Please tell me you didn’t pay that much.”
It wasn’t a secret Ty had worked his tail end off. As a result, he had money. Enough to buy a multi-million-dollar home, though? I had no idea he hadthat muchdough rolling in. Suddenly, the small-town nobody Blake accused me of was more accurate than ever.
“No way.” He shook his head. “They’re stubborn as all get out, but I was able to make an offer they couldn’t refuse.”
I set my fork down. “What did you pay for it?”
He ducked his chin down, away from me.
“How much?”
“More than I should have, but the location is everything. Once I fix it up, it’ll be worth more than I paid. It was a good deal. I promise.”
“Are you doing the work yourself?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Only the painting. Everything else I’m hiring out.”
“I can help paint,” I offered. Although, really, if he had this kind of cash, it was laughable he didn’t pay for someone to do that too. “Have you sold your condo?”
