Page 84 of His Secret Wish

Chapter 19

Owen pulled out his toolbox and closed the tailgate on his truck. He wanted to make sure the plumbing in the house was good, since it had been some time since he’d run the faucets. Drew and Lea were supposed to be coming by in an hour or so to have a look at the place. See if they liked it and wanted to make an offer.

The idea of selling still caused a little itch inside him, but he knew it was the right move. Just like it had been the right move to sign the divorce papers and drop them off at Izzy’s house. Didn’t matter that it still made him hurt.

One day it wouldn’t hurt. At least he hoped like hell that was the case.

He unlocked the front door and stepped into the foyer. Opening the windows the other day had been the right call. The musty, closed up smell was gone, replaced by fresh, spring air. He went to the kitchen and flicked on the tap. The water sputtered and then streamed out. He then went around and turned on all the faucets in the laundry room and the bathrooms. No issues.

He went back downstairs. There was still dust everywhere. He probably should have done something about it, but it was kind of too late now.

Okay, so that wasn’t true. He was just being lazy, the idea of dusting unappealing.

With a sigh, he went back into the laundry room, searching for cleaning supplies. He found some cleaning rags that Izzy had made out of some old towels, and a bottle of window cleaner. It would have to do.

He went back in the living room, spraying and wiping every surface he could reach. The ceiling fans were going to have to wait, but as long as Drew and Lea didn’t look up, or too closely, it would be fine. He went upstairs and wiped all the surfaces in the bedrooms and the bathroom. He still couldn’t go into the master bedroom, so he skipped over it.

He’d just tucked the rags and the cleaner back in the laundry room when there was a knock on the door.

“Come on in.” He headed toward the front of the house.

The front door opened, and Drew and his girlfriend, Lea, stepped inside. Owen had only met Lea once, and if he was honest, he didn’t really remember her. She was a petite thing. Very curvy, with dark hair and brown eyes. There was a smattering of freckles across her nose.

“Hi, sir.” Drew held his hand out. Owen shook it. “You remember my girlfriend, Lea.” Drew wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in to his side.

She batted him away, although she was smiling from ear to ear. She had a really nice smile. “It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Callahan.” Her voice was lower than expected, but not unpleasant.

“Please, call me Owen.”

“Alright then, Owen.”

They all stood there for a moment, staring at each other.

“Okay then,” Owen said, finally realizing he was supposed to be the one running this show. “Why don’t you guys have a look around, and I can answer any questions you may have. The living room is around the corner to the right, the kitchen and laundry room, as well as another bathroom, at the end of the hallway. There’s a bedroom on the other end of the living room, that we used as a guest room. Upstairs there are four more bedrooms and another bathroom.”

“Wow,” Lea said, walking past him and glancing into the living room. Drew followed behind her. “This place is huge.”

Owen stuffed his hand into his pockets and walked over to stand behind them. “Yeah, we always wanted a big family, but it wasn’t in the cards.” His voice turned rough at the end, and he cleared his throat to disguise his discomfort.

Lea glanced at him, empathy in her dark brown gaze. But she didn’t say anything, for which he was eternally grateful. She walked into the living room, her gaze sweeping from corner to corner. Of course, the place was still furnished with his and Izzy’s stuff. Maybe he should have removed it. He didn’t want it to color Drew and Lea’s perception of the house. They’d probably want to do their own thing.

He followed behind them, keeping his distance, as they wandered from room to room, talking quietly to each other. Every once in a while, Lea would point at something, and Drew would nod or shake his head depending on what she was asking. Owen wasn’t close enough to hear, and honestly didn’t care. If Drew and Lea bought the place and tore the house down, that would be fine with him.

Are you sure about that?

He pushed the errant thought away. Okay, so maybe he wouldn’t be completely okay with them tearing the house he and Izzy had designed down. But maybe it would be a good thing. Another step in the plan to move forward.

“Is it okay if we go upstairs?”

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Lea was staring at him, a small smile on her face. “Of course. Go ahead.”

She and Drew headed upstairs, but he decided to stay behind. It wasn’t like the idea of bedrooms was so confusing that they’d need him to explain it to them.

He wandered back into the living room and sat on the sofa. The cable had been turned off a long time ago, as had the internet, so he couldn’t even watch TV or fool around on his phone. Not that they got very good cell reception out here, anyway. You were lucky if you got two bars.

He relaxed back into the sofa. It was a big fluffy gray thing that Izzy had insisted they buy. He’d never told her it was the most comfortable thing he’d ever sat on. It was like your ass was planted on a cloud. He tilted his head to rest on the back of the sofa and stared at the ceiling. He could hear Drew and Lea moving around upstairs, opening and closing doors along the way.

Another wave of guilt hit him, followed by a stab of sadness. He closed his eyes, resting his hands on his belly. This was the right thing to do, there was no real doubt in his mind. He’d never be able to move on with the past hanging around his neck like a noose. It was why he’d signed the divorce papers.