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He was sure he would know when the time was right, but maybe just to be safe, he better take them both. Even if one wasn't supposed to be his, he could always think of something else to do with her. Perhaps he could just keep her around for company. Sometimes it got lonely living a double life.
The women closed the car doors and walked back to the house. They were deep in conversation and didn’t notice him watching them.
Luck always seemed to be on his side.
* * * * *
11:39 A.M.
“Thanks so much for letting me borrow the boxes,” Hope said as they closed her car doors.
“Have, not borrow, I don’t need them back. I'm not planning on moving again any time soon,” Summer corrected. She hated moving, hated the packing and the unpacking, and then finding a spot for everything in the new place. She had loved her last house and had lived there for several years, but then late last year the couple who owned it had sold it, so she had been forced to move.
Since she had to move anyway, it seemed like the right time to finally buy a place of her own. She had never owned her own home. She’d moved into Carlton’s house when they got married, and then after his death, she hadn’t been ready to have something so permanent in her life again. It hadn’t taken her long to find the house of her dreams. It was small but not too small, just right for a single woman living alone with her cat. It was in a quiet neighborhood, nothing too remote, but she also hadn’t wanted her neighbors right on top of her. Her house sat on half an acre. She loved gardening and spent hours getting hers just right. It was a mixture of vegetable garden, fruit trees, and flowers that bloomed into a sea of color once spring hit.
“I can't believe that Chance surprised you with a house. A house,” she exclaimed again. She had been so excited to hear the news because she knew it was exactly what Hope wanted.
“I can't believe you went on a date,” Hope said as they walked back to the house. “You. On adate.”
She shrugged, it still felt weird to hear the word date in a sentence about herself.
“And I can't believe that Luke was arrested—”
“Questioned,” she corrected automatically.
“Questioned,” Hope amended, “in the middle of your first date. And I can't believe that the first guy you’ve dated in all the years I've known you the cops are interested in.”
“Can you stop saying it please?” she begged as they headed for the sitting room to the right of the front door. She had a fire raging in the open fireplace and Sprinkles, her cat was curled up on the carpet in front of it. They had been talking about her ruined date with Luke ever since Hope arrived a couple of hours ago.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to keep going on about it, I just can't …”
“Believe it,” Summer finished for her.
They both laughed, then sank down into her gigantic couch under the front window facing the fireplace.
“Iamsorry, Summer. And I'm sure that Luke isn’t guilty. He’s Nick’s brother after all.”
“I'm sure everything will get sorted out,” she said confidently. Maybe she should have doubts about Luke’s innocence, especially given her history, but she didn’t. She had been married to a monster, and even though she hadn’t seen it at the time, looking back she could see the signs. Luke was nothing like Carlton. “It’s just a misunderstanding,” she reiterated.
“I can't wait to meet him.”
“He should be back soon. He said he needed a walk, that the cold air would help to clear his head.” After her little crying meltdown, she had made French toast for breakfast, and they had chatted about themselves while they’d eaten. Then Luke announced he needed a walk and asked if he could come back for lunch. She’d said yes, called in sick to work, showered, and just as she was getting ready to sit down and read a book, Hope had shown up at her door. Her friend had also taken a day off, so excited about her new house that she wanted to start packing to move immediately.
“So, tell me about the house,” she said to Hope.
Her friend’s brown eyes were sparkling nonstop. “It’s perfect.Exactlywhat I would have chosen myself.”
“Chance knows you so well.” Summer was a little jealous. She wanted someone who knew her well enough to buy the exact house she would have chosen for herself. She’d thought her husband had known everything about her, but in reality, he’d learned everything about her not because he’d loved her but because he wanted to manipulate her. She wondered if perhaps Luke would one day be the man who knew her just as well—or even better—than she knew herself.
“I don’t know how he managed to keep it secret, Chance ishorribleat keeping secrets. But I'm glad he did. It was the best surprise ever.”
“Next step is a proposal.”
Hope nodded eagerly. “I can't wait to see how he’ll do it.”
“He’ll do it just the way you’d imagine it if you could plan it all yourself.”
“Yeah, you're probably right, I …”
