Tammy
Why don’t you ever text me back?
I need to borrow some money.
I’ll pay you back.
Not much.
I could always borrow some from the guy I’m seeing. Enough to buy a bus ticket your way.
Grace was surprised her jaw didn’t crack from how hard she clenched her teeth. She sighed, closed her eyes briefly. Why couldn’t she just tell her mom to go get lost? Part guilt, part useless hope that she’d change, part certainty that the woman would do as she pleased.
Grace
I don’t get paid for another week.
Tammy
I can wait that long.
Grace sighed, leaning her head against the seat. Shit. Tammy did that often—threatened to come live closer. Grace had worked most of her life for two things: to get away from her mom and to not turn out like her. Now that she was in the house her mother had grown up in—the one she’d run from at sixteen—Grace was even more determined not to let the woman tarnish the life she wanted to build. She thought about the three hundred dollars Mrs. Kern had paid her in advance.
Grace
I have $200. That’s it. You can’t keep doing this.
Tammy
This is what family does. Thanks.
xoxo
“Family.” Their definition of the word was vastly different. Grace wanted to toss her phone but reminded herself she couldn’t afford a new one. She set it on the passenger seat, started the car, and backed out of the driveway. The earlier satisfaction she’d felt, the sense ofhomeshe’d wanted to lap up as she walked through the rooms, had disappeared. So much for porch swings.Silver linings, Grace. You have enough for paint.Grace had been making the best of things her entire life. She wasn’t about to stop now just because of a grumpy neighbor and a selfish parent. There was always a silver lining. The paint store being open despite the hour was hers for today.
5
Noah leaned against the upstairs wall, keeping his body angled so he could see out the window but wouldn’t be noticed. Grace was mowing her lawn. She had headphones on and a smile so wide he could see it from his second floor. Who smiled while doing yard work? He sure as hell hadn’t felt like smiling while he was trying to grapple with the stupid hedges the other night. Well, not until she fell ass over head across the fence. Once he knew she was okay, he’d still bit back the laughter. He wasn’t sure if she was clumsy or just unlucky.
Whatever she was, the old guy was right. She was stubborn as hell. He’d seen her twice in passing the last two days. Once, the next day, when she’d simply waved on her way in from her car, and then last night while he was making use of the freestanding basketball hoop he’d had shipped to his place. She’d watched him for a few minutes from the front porch after washing windows. The woman had more energy than those dogs she walked, which he’d also seen her doing at the crack of dawn this morning.
A tiny little piece of him admired her grit—he had some of his own, coming to the surface more in the last week than he’dfelt in a while.Thrill of the chase.Glancing at his watch, he saw he had a bit more time before he needed to head out to the rec center. Plus, closing a deal that took no effort wasn’t any fun. Since moving to California, he’d purchased a couple of corporate properties that were fully leased out. They were moneymakers and didn’t need him. He and his brothers owned a few other companies, but Noah was eager to do something completely on his own. This house was just the start.
His phone buzzed. Moving away from the window, he swiped his thumb across to answer.
“Hey,” he said to Wes.
“Hey, back. How’s it going?”
Noah shrugged, even though his brother couldn’t see him. “Fine. The house next door? Someone moved in.”
“Someone like an owner?”
Forcing himself not to look back out the window, he walked toward the master bedroom. He didn’t have much furniture, but he’d bought a kick-ass California king bed. Sitting down on it now, he rolled his shoulders. “Inherited, I think.”
“So, now you can make an offer face-to-face.”
Straight to the point. That was Wes. The thoughtful, optimistic one. Chris was analytical, serious. Noah was the fun one. The fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants, carefree one. Supposedly. No one knew how much thought, planning, and work went into choosing his deals, seeing them through, and fighting for what he wanted. Not much of that was carefree. He just didn’t bitch about it. They had a sister as well, but Ari was in a world all her own. She was the princess of the family, not held to the same expectations as the others. Which was likely why she was the only one who could put up with their father.
