“Maybe.”
Five
Emma
“The bones of the house are solid.”
I fix my gaze on the real estate agent. “What does that mean?”
She gives me a faint smile. I chose her because she was honest with me when I approached her over another house. She warned me away from buying it when she found out, I’d been recently widowed and had a family.
We’ve been in Napier for three weeks now. The children are settled into school, but Noah’s not found a job yet. Not that he’s been looking hard. We agreed that he would help me out until we find a house, but I think we might just be there today.
“There aren’t any structural issues inside the house. It needs a bit of love—that much is true, but the roof has just been replaced, and the kitchen and bathroom have been recently remodelled. It needs a repaint inside, and the deck needs to be demolished and rebuilt. But we can factor all that into the offer.”
I nod and Noah squeezes my arm. “There’s plenty of space for all of us. And having a back yard will be good.”
“You like the look of it?” the agent asks.
“I do,” I say. “I’ll talk to my lawyer about getting the reports …”
Her smile is bigger now. “Good idea. I had a client come through here a while back, and they had their own building report done and it was good. But their finance fell through. When you told me what you were looking for, this was the first home I thought of.”
“If I make an offer, how long until we can settle?”
“The owners are after a quick sale. They’ve already gone overseas for employment reasons. I’d say after the sale goes unconditional, it’ll be a few weeks at most.”
We can do that.
“I’ll leave you to talk to your son for a few minutes if you’d like.”
Noah enters the room as she leaves, and he looks over his shoulder before smiling at me. “I think we should do it.”
I grin. “Me too. It’s the perfect size. What they want is reasonable.”
“Kiera and Bailey will love not having to share a room. And Jase will love the back yard.”
Laughing, I slip my arms around my son’s waist and give him a hug. “I knew coming here would be a good idea.”
“What about you, Mum? Are you going to look for a job or take a break for a while?”
I take a step back and drink in the sight of my pride and joy. We’ve all been through so much, but Noah knows better than anyone how hard it’s been.
“I thought I might look for a part-time job after we’re all settled.” My throat tightens despite the upbeat words. I’ve never had a job. I was married off at sixteen, and Malcolm was the one who supported us.
Oh, I worked. When we were still in the church, everyone did their share, but none of that counts for anything when you’re looking for your first job at forty-three. But I could clean, or even stock shelves at a supermarket. Anything that helps keep our heads above water.
I know I’m in a better position than a lot of people.
“I can contribute toward the bills anyway. The kids can pick their own room colours and we’ll repaint,” he says.
My heart swells. “I love that idea.”
He grins. One day soon he’ll know just how much he looks like Caleb and that scares me. How will Caleb react to finding out he has a son after all this time?
But I have to do it—I have to tell him. He deserves the truth.
“I’m glad you came with us, Noah. I know you’re more than old enough to go and live your life.”
