“This is perfect,” I said.
“I love the rocking chair,” Kat said.
Chase stuck his hands in his back pockets. “It was my mother’s. When she and dad decided to move, she wanted me to keep the chair.”
I stared at the man standing before me. I put him a little older than me, maybe thirty, athletic with a wall of solid muscle. He didn’t seem like the kind of man who would own a Victorian. “How did you come to buy this house? I mean, it’s beautiful, but it just doesn’t seem like a house—I’m sorry, but it sounds bad no matter how I ask the question.”
He chuckled. “You want to know how it is a thirty-year-old man comes to own a Victorian home?”
“Well yeah,” I said sheepishly.
“I grew up in this house. After I graduated high school, I went into the service for eight years. When I came back, my parents decided they’d like to move closer to Portland since my older sister and her kids are there. I moved in about five years ago. Last year, I decided the house was too big for one person. So I added plumbing for an upstairs kitchen and knocked down a wall to make a large living room. You’re my first renter.”
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” I said. “I can’t wait to see the rest of the rooms.”
He led Kat, Mimi, and me out of the room and down a narrow passageway.
“Through this tiny hallway here you’ll have the bathroom on the left, bedroom on the right, and kitchen in the back.”
“Your first stop needs to be that bathroom,” Mimi said. “You smell just like that poofy fairy you’re trying to save.”
“Vernal pool fairy shrimp,” I corrected.
“Whatever,” Mimi said.
“The updates are lovely,” Kat said to Chase. “A nice place for Alexa to stay.”
Seeing as how I’d lived in tents, cars, camper trailers, jail cells, and even the floor of a rainforest for six days, I could pretty much make do with anything. But Kat was right…this would be like living in a palace.
Chase reached over and turned the knob of the bedroom and motioned for us to enter.
“Oh my!” I exclaimed. “This is beautiful.”
The dark gray hardwood floors beautifully contrasted the white of the bedroom furniture. The queen-sized bed with a wedding ring quilt was the focal point of the room, with a white dresser and night tables to match.
Mimi snorted. “This ain’t no man’s bedroom. I think deep down you knew a woman would rent here.”
Chase’s face turned red. “It’s all furniture my parents had.”
“It’s lovely,” I said. “More than I ever expected.”
“Are your suitcases in your car?” Chase asked. “I can get them for you.”
“They’re in my car,” Mimi said.
Chase frowned. “Whyyourcar?”
Once again I felt the panic settle in. Chase didn’t seem to know about me and had even expected a man needing a place to stay. I couldn’t help but wonder if that meant Chase didn’t know who I was and why I was staying with him. But surely Kat and Mimi wouldn’t lie to him, would they?
“She stayed a few days with us,” Mimi lied.
Oh no!
I knew I had to tell Chase who I was and why I was here, but somehow I didn’t think now was the right time. Especially since I’d just found out he was a cop!
Chase frowned, crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned back against the doorjamb. “Why do I get the feeling there’s more to the story here?”
I swallowed hard. “What do you mean?”
