Page 72 of Blue-Eyed Jacks
That side-to-side shake of my head was back.“Ground floor, windows, cheap ass fucking locks.I hate it.”
She glanced at the decor.“It’s too open.”
“Mom, it’s huge.I love it.”
“It’s the first place you looked at.Sprout, let’s see what else you got.”
The next model home was a two-story with garage doors gobbling up the curb appeal.I liked it already.I could ride up to the smaller door, slip the bike in, and lock it down without exposing Kate’s car or the SUV to thieves.The windows facing the street were higher and smaller, exposing much less of the life inside to someone casing the joint.
The door had a reinforced kick plate.I tapped it as Sprout led us in.“Much better.”
The foyer opened up on the right to a compact office.Beyond that was the great room and open floor plan kitchen and dining.The space was much less ostentatious, with fewer windows, subdued stone counters, not the garish black and white of the other house, but it still managed to pack a lot of space in the tighter frame.
Bear pointed at the yard behind the house.It was walled off, with no neighbors.Trees lined the sightline along with old-growth vines that would make most snipers groan with frustration.I’d have to get Wolf’s old Ranger buddy up from West Virginia to check it out.But it felt safe.Safer.
“Pantry, mud room that attaches to the garage…” Sprout led Kate and Zoe through the tour of the main floor before leading us to the stairs we’d passed on the way in.One side went down, the other up.
“This reminds me of the house in Maine.”Kate smiled at the open banisters and ran a hand over the railing.
“Except it’s alotbigger,” Zoe commented.
“The stairs aren’t nearly as steep.”
“Or as narrow.”
Their commentary bounced back and forth as they pointed out the similarities and the differences.
The staircase opened to a common area at the top.Sprout’s decorator feathered it with a huge ass couch and sweet big-screen TV.
Zoe ran to the couch and picked up the remote.“It’s got movie streaming!”
I scrutinized Sprout.“You keep a model home wired?”
He shook his head.“I had Hickey set it up last night after the meeting.”
“Did you wire the other house?”
Another shake of the head.
“Bastard,” I muttered.He arranged the showing in the order he did on purpose.He knew I’d turn down the first house because of the security issues.Most people thought he was a dumbass.Things like this were why I kept him around.
“This one could be a guest room.”He motioned to the bedroom next to the stairs.It had double windows facing the street.“This one is harder to target.”He led us to the doorway to point out the smaller space.The single set of windows above the garage was tucked into a dormer.Bear scanned the view.
“Bitch of a shot.The overhang fouls everything up.”
I nodded and silently conferred with Kate, tossing the ball into her court.
“Zoe’s,” she agreed.
Perfect.
“Now for the money shot…” Sprout was finding too much pleasure in this.
And yet, he was right again.
The vaulted owner’s suite was large enough that the king-sized bed fit nicely.There was a set of double French doors along the back side.
“What is that?”A security risk.
