“Tell me you’re not serious,” Lily said. “It’s a disaster. I mean, it was great years ago, but now it could pass for a haunted house.”
“Lily,” Anna argued, “Tessa knows houses. She wouldn’t buy something if she thought it was a terrible idea. Right, Tessa?”
“It needs work,” Tessa admitted.
Lily scoffed. “It needs more than work. How can you afford it? How are you going to pay for all the renovations? It’s going to cost a fortune.”
“I have my savings,” Tessa explained. “And I’m going to use the money from the sale of the condo to pay for some of the rehab.”
“You know I love you, Tess,” Lily said, “but I think this is one of the worst ideas you’ve ever had. Anna hasn’t seen the place, so she can’t vouch for its dilapidation, but you should know better. What in the world were you thinking? Why would you use your savings on a money pit? Why not buy a new build like your condo was? Something that doesn’t look like nature is reclaiming it? Where’s your notebook? Did you get three people to tell you this was a great idea? I can’t believe your mama agreed to this.”
Tessa clenched her jaw and felt a spark of fury flare inside her. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t know anything about Honeysuckle Hollow. It’s a house worth preserving, and I don’t need a stupid notebook to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do—”
“Tessa,” Anna interrupted in a tone meant to calm her, “you have been impulsive before—”
“This is different,” Tessa argued. “This house needs me, and I need it. Weneedeach other.” Tessa’s voice pitched high and desperate. She was one tick away from sounding irrational, but she kept on. “I’m going to live there—starting tonight.”
The phone fell silent again. Tessa’s heart thumped in her ears.
Anna spoke quietly. “Have you talked to your parents?”
Tessa pressed her forehead against the steering wheel. “No.”
“Don’t you think you should at least call them?”
“No. Yes. I dunno.” Tessa lifted her head. “Why can’t you both just support my decision?”
Lily huffed. “Because it sounds half-cocked, that’s why.”
Tears prickled in Tessa’s eyes.
“Lily,” Anna scolded. She cleared her throat. “What she means is that we’re not trying to sound unsupportive. But we’re concerned, and we want what’s best for you. Buying an expensive fixer-upper sounds a little out of your comfort zone, and we don’t want you to get in over your head.”
“Too late,” Tessa said. She squared her shoulders. “But I’m not changing my mind. I need to go. I have to get back to the house. Thanks for . . .”For making me feel worse? For making me feel as though I’ve made another stupid harebrained decision?“For calling. I’ll talk with y’all later.”
Anna said, “Tess—”
But Tessa ended the call. Then she covered her face and cried. If no one else on the planet agreed with her decision, Tessa had held on to the hope that her best friends would be on her side. If they thought buying the house was a reckless, ridiculous idea, what would they say about her possibly falling for a man who was leaving town before they ever had a first date? Why did her friends’ lack of support make her doubt her own gut feelings about the house? Were they right? Was she?
Tessa gave herself exactly five minutes to feel sorry for herself, and then she wiped her eyes and blew her nose. She looked over at the mint plant. “Should I call my parents?” The mint plant wiggled in the breeze. “You’re right. Best to get this over with.” Tessa grabbed her phone.
“Tessa, how are you, honey?” her mama asked. “Hang on. Clayton, it’s Tessa, will you please turn that down. I can’t even hear myself think. Nobody on this street gives two licks about what we’re watching, but at that volume, they can surely hear it. Okay, now, let’s try this again.”
“Hey, Mama.”
“Don’t just ‘hey, Mama’ me. You haven’t called me back for days. Are you avoiding me? You’re not sitting around moping, are you?”
“Only for the past five minutes,” Tessa said, sniffling.
“Is that sarcasm?” Carolyn asked. “Tell me about the condo. What’s happening? I feel out of the loop.”
“You’re on vacation. You’re supposed to be out of the loop. How’re you and Daddy?” she asked, stalling and trying to inhale courage into her lungs.
“Your dad is as happy as a clam at high tide. Did you know they have all-you-can-eat apple pie out here? I think he’s going to eat himself sick every night, but every day he starts all over again. The weather is gorgeous. No humidity, of course, which means we can take a walk without needing a shower afterward. The house we’re in is a real class act. A turn-of-the-century Victorian with all original hardwood, moldings, two-inch thick pocket doors, you name it. You should see the staircase, especially when the sunrise hits it.”
Tessa sighed, picturing Honeysuckle Hollow in her mind. “Wow, Mama, that sounds nice. I’m glad y’all are having a good time. Everything here is . . . fine.”
“Fineis a loaded word.”
