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“Never, that I know of,” Braxton replied.
“Who told you guys of the problem?” she asked.
“Zach just said he received a call from the city office.”
Sophie had no doubt who’d placed that call, but she wasn’t going to start stirring the pot, because if Zach and Martin talked, there was already trouble brewing.
“When do you want to meet?” she asked.
“Zach is working there now. I’m free whenever, so just tell me your schedule.”
She glanced over her planner, though she tried to keep it memorized. “I can be there in a couple hours. I just have to get some papers signed and run a few errands. Does that work?”
“Sure. See you there.”
As eager as she was to get the new listing under contract, Sophie was more eager to get Chelsea’s project under way and find out exactly who had called Zach, though she suspected she knew the answer to that one.
After making a few calls and setting up two showings for other properties, Sophie gathered her folders and slid them into her messenger bag. By the time she got out of the office, she realized she was running late.
The early summer sun had her squinting as she stepped out onto the sidewalk and walked the half block toward her car. The streets in town were becoming busier during the day now that school was out. More kids were playing in the park, splashing in the fountain, and riding bikes along the designated paths. Families were setting up picturesque picnics on checkered blankets, and Sophie couldn’t help but feel that familiar tug on her heart at the sight.
With the park being across the street from her office, she often got a view of all the activities. She didn’t feel self-pity for her circumstances. Pity wouldn’t give her the ability to have children. But that didn’t stop her from feeling that clench to her heart each time she saw a happy family.
She was human. She hurt. She’d like nothing more than to be immune to the sight of children running to their mom’s or dad’s open arms. Adoption was an option, sure, but she’d really like to be married before diving into that process.
And at this rate, she wasn’t walking down the aisle anytime soon.
She also wasn’t focusing on Zach. Nope. She refused to do so. She refused to relive over and over how amazing he felt against her, how he kept trying in some Zach-style way to protect her from himself. The man was noble to a fault, and damn if that didn’t make him even more appealing each time he pushed her away.
As she slid behind the wheel of her SUV, she glanced at her watch. She’d be meeting him in just under an hour. Hard not to think of the man when she was constantly seeing him or . . . damn it. She couldn’t not think of him. She tried, somewhat, but he just kept popping into the forefront of her mind.
He wasn’t only stubborn in real life, he was quite infuriating in her thoughts as well.
Sophie focused on her potential sale as she went to meet the parties for signatures. Once she was finished, she drove toward the edge of town and up the small incline toward the property. Sophie absolutely loved this setting. The sprawling two-story Civil War–era home certainly had seen better days, but that was all cosmetic. With all the rich history and beauty, something with all this charm couldn’t just be built. The old mossy oak trees had stood for decades, providing that perfect Southern backdrop for such a magnificent home.
Smiling as she approached the two-story mansion, Sophie could almost see the place as it had once been in its grandest of forms. She could picture horses and buggies coming up this slope, women in full skirts greeting their men as they came home from the war.
She glanced toward the two small cottages in the distance near the pond. If this place could talk, Sophie knew the stories would be epic.
Braxton’s shiny truck sat next to Zach’s beat-up work truck. A slight difference in the vehicles, much like the differences in the men themselves. One always seemed to be polished and put together. The other was rough around the edges but definitely reliable.
Leaving her bags in the passenger seat, Sophie slid her cell into the pocket of her skirt. The sun had really warmed things up today, so she left her cardigan in the car. Making her way up toward the front door, she made a mental note to figure out something grand for this entryway. The landscaping and path leading to the main entrance should really make a statement . . . something other than “this place has been neglected for decades.”
The old handle wiggled beneath her hand as she pushed the door open. The creaky hinges gave off a haunted-house vibe, but Sophie knew that was just another item in the long line of things that needed replacing. Though she hoped Zach found a door that was similar to the one currently hanging. She really wanted to capture the essence of the original house with some modern-day touches.
“Zach? Braxton?” she called, her voice echoing in the open empty foyer.
“Kitchen,” Braxton yelled back.
Sophie smoothed her hair back over her shoulders as she made her way toward the back of the house. The musty smell was almost overpowering, and she only prayed they didn’t find mold, or at least a very minimal amount. Mold in older homes was a financial suck and extremely dangerous. The last thing they needed was too many unexpected problems, though renovating was never as simple as anyone planned and unfortunate expenses always happened.
As she stepped into the wide entryway leading to the kitchen, she spotted Braxton with his hands on his hips, standing over Zach, who was on his hands and knees beneath the old, rusty sink.
Zach muttered a curse from inside the cabinet and Braxton threw her a look. “He’s getting crankier. You’ve been warned.”
“You mean it can get worse?” she joked.
Pushing out from beneath the cabinet, Zach came to his feet and wiped a hand down his face, no doubt ridding himself of the cobwebs he encountered. She recalled how much he hated spiders. Even as a rough and tough teen, he’d get one glimpse of a spider and start trembling and stomping on the thing until it was beyond dead.
