No, she wanted to do things on her own. Couldn’t blame a girl who was left at the altar to be skittish about making long-term plans with a guy. Especially if that guy was her ex’s brother. I’ve proven I’m nothing like him, but she wasn’t the only one hurt by him. I had my own life to reclaim, and I was so close.
We had one more place to look at. It was a house rental, and it wasn’t one that Alder owned. We’d looked at his open unit first, and she didn’t mind it, but she wouldn’t go for it. I didn’t have to ask why. The rent was suspiciously low, and she didn’t want to feel like she was taking charity from her brother.
The drive only took a couple of minutes. A little square house not far from the elementary school was wedged between two large ranch houses on a small lot with no garage and barely two dirt tracks for an off-street parking spot. The landlord’s pickup was parked across the road, and the front door hung open. There was nothing visible of the place through the screen door.
“It’s cute.” Clover pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and adjusted her hat. “Not a big place to take care of.”
It wasn’t. The ad said it had two bedrooms, a separate bathroom, and was newly updated. “Let’s see if it’s the one.”
I studied the houses around us as we walked to the door. I’d change locks as soon as she signed the papers. That was the advice I’d always heard, and I’d make sure it happened for her place. I stepped inside behind her. The landlord was my age, and he brandished flyers for houses for sale with his face on them. He was a real estate agent too.
She was going to pick this house. The floors had been restored to the original walnut, and all the trim was freshly stained. The walls were painted a clean off-white and all the holes in the plaster had been filled. I had expected a musty smell from an old house like this, but someone had baked an apple pie. Maybe it was a candle. Whatever. It worked.
Clover took a deep inhale. “Oh, this is charming.”
I grew more dismayed as we walked through it, and her smile widened. The bathroom, while tiny, had a tub-and-shower combo, a new toilet, and a vanity with lots of storage. Clover gushed over the equally small linen closet in the hallway before breathing a sigh of relief in the bedroom.
“This is it, Van.” She glanced past me to make sure the landlord wasn’t around. “It’s clean, and the rent is reasonable. There’s not much of a yard for me to take care of.”
“There’s no garage.”
“A shed’s in the back.” She crossed to the rectangular window and lifted the blinds. “All I’d need is a little push mower and a shovel.”
That wasn’t good enough. Her car would be out in the elements. If she didn’t leave the house for days during a cold spell, would it even start? Then what?
She’d call me or one of her many family members.
Didn’t change how much I couldn’t get on board.
She closed the blinds. “I won’t have to buy much to fill the space.”
My stomach twisted on itself. She didn’t have any furniture, not even a bed. Goddammit. “I’ll help you with that.”
“Thanks, but I’ve saved enough to get my own.”
I bobbed my head and held her brilliant gaze. Her eyes lit with excitement, but she couldn’t hide the trepidation in their depths. All my misgivings about this being the perfect place for her to begin a new adventure vanished.
“It’ll be okay,” I murmured.
A crease formed along her brow. “Will it?”
“I’ll make sure of it.”
Her smile started and then dropped. “I’ve got to make sure of it.” She raised on her toes and kissed me. I gripped her elbows, but she pulled away. “Sorry. I forgot we’re not at home.” Her smile was tight. “At the house.”
That house was the best home I’d ever had. This might be her chance at a real, secure home for her and Bean. Guess I’d call Alder and ask him what the real price of rent for his property was.
She wandered into the next room, and I trailed behind her. I was following this woman anywhere, it seemed. Perhaps she was right to create distance between us. I’d worked too hard to get back to a semblance of my earlier self, the Van from before my brother tore through my life.
“This will work.” She spun to one wall and spread her arms out. “The crib would fit here. A glider rocker. I don’t need a changing table, but maybe I could find a cheap dresser–changing table combo.”
Note to self: find a combo she’d like. Cost be damned.
“What about you?” she asked. “Which one of the places we looked at are you going to pick?”
“The first.” The first house rental we checked out was the one Alder owned. If Clover and I grew apart, I’d have one link to her.
Was that too stalkerish?
