Blair leaned in closer. “But Seth has space. His guesthouse, remember? It’s completely separate from his place. You and Olive could stay there until your house is livable again.”
I nearly choked on my coffee. “Seth? As in your brother, Seth?”
Blair winced. “It’s not ideal. ”
“That’s an understatement,” I muttered.
Images of Seth’s smirk flashed through my head. The way he used to tease me when I trailed after Blair as a kid. The cocky remarks, the eye rolls, the way he always made me feel like the silly little tagalong no one wanted around. And now Blair wanted me to live on his property?
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said quickly. “We’ll figure something else out. Maybe a motel or something else.”
“Madison,” Blair interrupted gently, her hand warm on mine. “You don’t have to do this alone. Olive needs somewhere safe, and you need to breathe for five minutes without worrying if the roof is going to fall on your head. Seth’s place is perfect. And knowing him, he’ll be out working most of the time anyway.”
I pressed my lips together, staring into my coffee like it might give me an escape route. The truth was, Blair was right. I didn’t have the money for a motel, and my house wasn’t an option. Olive needed stability.
Still, the thought of owing Seth anything made my skin crawl.
“I’ll think about it,” I said finally.
Blair gave me a knowing smile. “That’s all I ask.” But I had the sinking feeling she’d already won.
Chapter 4
Seth
The storm had left Wisteria Creek looking like a war zone.
I stood in the middle of Main Street with my phone tucked between my ear and shoulder, clipboard in one hand, pen tapping restlessly against it. A week ago, this had been a sleepy little town. Now, it was my job to make sense of the mess: fallen trees, ripped roofs, shattered windows. Every corner I turned, there was another pile of debris.
Normally, I thrived on this kind of work. Chaos, then order. Take something broken, rebuild it better than before. It was why I’d become an architect in the first place. But seeing my hometown torn up like this? That was different.
“Yeah,” I said into the phone, my voice clipped. “Get a crew on Oak Street first. Priority is stabilizing the houses with families still inside. We can deal with cosmetic damage later.”
My foreman confirmed and I hung up. I scrubbed a hand down my face, already feeling the start of a headache. The list was endless.
And then, of course, my phone buzzed again.
Blair.
I almost didn’t answer. Not because I didn’t love my sister. God knows I did, but because her timing was rarely convenient. And judging by the way my gut twisted, I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be good news.
“Hey, Bee,” I said, forcing some lightness into my tone. “What’s up?”
Her voice was calm, but too careful. “Seth… Maddie’s house suffered a lot of damage last night.”
I frowned, flipping through my notes. I’d already been to her street. The little blue bungalow with the sagging porch. Yeah, it was bad. The roof was half gone and there was water damage everywhere. It was going to be a nightmare to fix.
“Yeah, I know,” I said. “I had it on my list for priority inspection. She’ll need a full rebuild in parts of the house.”
There was a pause. “She and Olive can’t stay there. Not even for a night. And Greyson and I… Well, we can’t take them in right now.”
I stiffened. I didn’t like where this was going. “Blair.”
“They’ll stay in your guesthouse,” she said quickly, as if ripping off a Band-Aid.
I nearly dropped my clipboard. “I’m sorry, what?”
“It makes sense,” she rushed on. “It’s separate from your house, it’s fully furnished, and you’re barely ever home anyway. It’s perfect, Seth.”
