“This house is all of that and more,” Lorna assured her. “Come on, let’s see the rest.”
They continued through the rooms and while Tessa liked it and could even see herself living and working here, it was just a little too…landlocked. And despite an excellent renovation, she knew a man had lived here with his sick and dying wife.
The house simply wasn’t for her.
“Not quite what you want?” Lorna guessed when they worked their way back to the kitchen.
“I’m just starting to see what’s out there, and I’m afraid I’m looking for a unicorn.”
“Not if I’m your agent,” she quipped, gesturing toward the table. “If you don’t want this house, why don’t we get specific about what you do want, and I’ll find it for you?”
Tessa took a seat and let out a sigh. “Okay, but be prepared for a few things. One, I don’t know what I want until I see it.”
“Totally normal.”
Tessa shrugged because maybe it was. “And two, I’ve never owned a home before.”
That made Lorna look up, surprised. “Well, what a wonderful new adventure for you,” she said with the practiced ease ofsomeone who sold for a living. “Let’s make that happen, shall we? I’ll start with a peek at MLS right now. About two thousand square feet and in this price range?”
“Yep.” Tessa leaned back while Lorna tapped the tablet, looking around and thinking more about the man who’d lived here than the square footage.
“I have to admit,” she said, “the last person I would imagine as a caretakerorhouse remodeler was wild and rowdy Dustin Mathers.”
Lorna smiled and her fingers slowed, following Tessa’s gaze and train of thought. “It was Kelly,” she said. “That woman was like the balm on Dusty’s broken life.”
Tessa frowned, angling her head. “Broken?” she asked. “I just thought he was…immature and maybe a little reckless. I guess I didn’t think it was worse than that.”
“So much more.” Lorna set the tablet down. “I hope I’m not talking out of school, but since you knew him, it’s only fair you see the side he kept covered. His father was an alcoholic. A mean one, too. And his mother? She wasn’t around much. I heard she’d come back now and again, then disappear. I have no idea why, but I doubt it was good. Did you ever meet his older brother, Brendan?”
She knew none of this. Were these people the ghosts mentioned in Vivien’s diary?
Tessa shook her head, her heart already aching for the man she had a date with—something she suspected Lorna didn’t know or she wouldn’t be spilling this much tea.
“Well, you won’t ever meet Brendan because he spent years in prison and came out…rough. Their dad died pretty young, and I honestly thought Dusty was headed in the same direction as his brother but, then,wham. He and Kelly got together and a year later? He was a changed man.”
“Really?” Tessa tried to imagine a woman having that kind of power and patience. “She must have been…something.”
“She was awesome,” Lorna gushed. “Helped him get into school and get a degree, then an advanced degree that led to a very successful therapy practice. He’s volunteered for years at AA, helping people going through what his father did. Then Kelly got diagnosed with a rare blood disorder, spent her life in and out of the hospital, and he was…everything to her.”
Tessa blinked, her heart cracking with a million different emotions. Pity, admiration, and a new respect for a boy she’d always thought was just young and dumb.
And, if she was being honest, she also felt a twinge of envy, which was shameful, since Kelly was gone and Tessa was sitting here considering buying her house.
Still, she was human and couldn’t help wondering…what would it be like to be loved that way? Well, she knew. Her father had loved her mother that way. But Tessa had never had a relationship like that in her whole life.
So maybe it wasn’t envy, exactly, but a deep and powerful longing. Oh, men had pursued her—always. But no one ever wanted tosacrificefor her. It hurt to think about.
“It all went on for a long time, too, Tessa,” Lorna continued, oblivious to the effect her story was having. “Through all the years, Dusty never wavered. Not once. My husband and I watched him carry her through that. And then Kelly’s father died, and her mother came to live here, and that woman was no picnic. She also got very sick, and he took care ofbothof them. Gave his mother-in-law his office as her bedroom until the day she died, and ran his counseling practice from the garage back then. Didn’t sleep much, but he still showed up for everybody.”
Tessa could feel the prickle at the back of her eyes. She pressed a knuckle gently to one of them. Dusty was changed all right, by life and duty and a history she’d known nothing about.
“That sounds like a lot for one person,” she said.
“It was. And, yes, he had support from friends and his clients. Just recently, after he hunkered down and spent two years renovating his house like his very life depended on it, he told me he wasn’t sure who he was anymore.”
Tessa listened, rapt.
“He said he’d been so busy keeping people alive—and counseling his patients—he didn’t know how to live just for him.” Lorna gave a tight smile. “I think he’s finally out of the fog, and ready to start a new life. I really admire him for that.”
