“No, not at all. I like Maple Falls. I don’t wanna live anywhere else. And I ain’t tied down to work neither. I love my job.”
Senior smiled. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am, knowin’ that my life’s work is in good hands.”
“Thanks for your confidence in me.”
“No thanks needed. You earned it. And don’t worry, son. You’re a good, honest man, and one day you’ll find a good, honest woman who will appreciate you.”
“You’re my grandpa,” Rusty mumbled. “What else are you gonna say?”
“The truth. Now don’t be such a Sad Sam. You’ve got lots of blessin’s in your life, including me.”
Rusty laughed. “That’s true.”
“So it’s settled, then. You’ll sell this house and find a new one.”
“All right. I’m sure Harper can help me do that.” At Senior’s questioning look, he added, “She’s a real-estate agent. I’ll give her a call next week.”
“Why not call her today?”
He paused, then nodded. There wasn’t any reason to wait. “I will.”
“Good,” Senior said, a gleam appearing in his green eyes. “Now for the more important question: Is she single?”
“You’re not gonna let up, are you?” Rusty said, rolling his eyes.
“Nope. Not until you’re happy and hitched.” His grandfather finished the last bite of his sandwich, then said, “I need to get unpacked. What time are you meetin’ your agent?”
“I have to call her. I took the rest of the day off. Can I drop you at Price’s on the way?”
“That would be dandy. Me and Jasper need to talk.” Senior shook his head. “Ms.Erma. Who would have thought?”
Rusty got up and retrieved the suitcase from the living room, then took it to the bedroom at the back of the house. This room had been Senior’s and G’ma’s, then Senior’s before he moved to Little Rock. Now it was Rusty’s, but he had moved his stuff upstairs to his old room so his grandfather didn’t have to deal with the steep staircase. He set Senior’s suitcase on the bed and turned around as his grandfather walked into the room. “I’ll let you get settled. Let me know if you need anythin’.”
“I’m fine. Think I’ll take me a catnap before we leave.”
While Senior unpacked and took a little nap, Rusty went to the living room where his desk and computer were set up, making sure he avoided the hole. Relieved that his grandfather was on board with selling, he called Harper’s number and wasn’t surprised that she didn’t pick up. He left her a message and hung up, then typed in the name of a real-estate website and began to search for houses. He figured he should have an idea of what he wanted before he met with Harper.
When the site loaded, he paused, the reality of what he was going to do sinking in. Spending a lot of money on a new house didn’t bother him. He’d been building his nestegg since he was ten with the intention of buying an old car to fix up. He’d done that and sold it, along with three other cars over the years. The GTO was his fourth, and while he had planned to sell that one, too, he’d had a second thought or two about keeping it.
But the GTO sat in the recesses of his mind right now. He didn’t cotton much to change, but Senior was right. Their current house was fine for just the two of them but too small for additional people. And while he didn’t have any prospects on the horizon, he still hoped his grandfather was right about Rusty finding the right girl.Someday.
After clicking on a few houses, he saw a listing for land only. Twenty-five acres just outside Maple Falls. He clicked on the link and smiled. This was perfect. Tons of trees and privacy, along with a large, fully stocked pond at the edge of the property line. The listing described abundant wildlife, or the land could be transformed into a farm if the buyer wanted. And having a fishing hole right on his property? Jackpot. He and Senior both loved to fish.
He did some more searching, then printed out four listings to show Harper. He hadn’t expected to be this excited about looking for a new place to live. Senior was right. He shouldn’t be so down in the mouth. It was time to focus on what he had instead of dwelling on what he didn’t.
***
Madge waited until midnight before she readied herself for bed. She clenched her jaw and started her eveningroutine—cleansing and moisturizing her face, brushing her teeth for exactly two minutes with her electric toothbrush, and smoothing lavender-scented lotion on her skin. Then she got into her empty king-sized bed, turned off the light, and put on her sleep mask.
But she was too irritable to go to sleep. Harper hadn’t called her back... again. Her daughter was well past being childish and on to rude. Their relationship had been strained for a few years now, ever since Harper had opened up her own brokerage firm and become too busy for anything but work and her friends. Madge had been proud of her daughter’s ambition and success, but she had also thought Harper had gone out on her own too soon. When she let her thoughts be known to Harper, her daughter had been upset. Oh, she’d hid it well. But Madge was her mother. A mother could always tell how her child felt.
Harper wasn’t the only person she was irritated with. She was also mad at herself for telling Erma about the divorce last week. For so long she’d tried to hide the embarrassment over her failed marriage, and that was the main reason she had avoided the Bosom Buddies. But ten minutes with Erma, and she hadn’t been able to keep her emotions and her secrets to herself. She shouldn’t be surprised, though. Erma McAllister had a way of getting people to open up to her. Madge had seen it numerous times. Not because the woman was a busybody—although she did like to stick her nose in people’s business sometimes. But she always had good intentions.
In this case Madge didn’t care what her intentions were, and she wasn’t about to return to Knots and Tangles or the Bosom Buddies anytime soon.
Dread formed in the pit of her stomach. This coming Tuesday she and Don would have their first meeting with their lawyers—something that was supposed to have happened earlier this week but had been suddenly postponed by his attorney. She wanted all this over with—telling Harper, hammering out the divorce details, and putting Donald Michael Wilson in her past. She’d been right about what she told Erma. Their marriage should have ended a long time ago.
Her phone rang, and she quickly pulled off the mask. Finally Harper had remembered to call. But when she picked up the phone and looked at the screen, she was shocked to see Don’s number.
