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He wasn’t sure he could win Mrs Fletcher over, even though she stood to make a tidy profit if he could sell his father’s house.If. The place was a wreck. Dirty, filled with junk and in need of repair. Really he needed to gut the place and start again.
He blew out a breath and eyed the scuffed carpet beneath him. He’d be willing to bet he’d have to sink a ton of time and money into this place and though he had money, he didn’t have time. The sooner he left Ballicliff, the better.
With Maddie in tow hopefully.
Sawyer did a mental face palm at how badly he’d messed up his apology. What had he been thinking? His smirk to himself deepened. He hadn’t. He’d been so entranced by the way her worn jeans pulled at her ass and how her big hazel eyes sucked him in. For years he’d been planning how he’d apologise for one of the worst things a guy could do to a girl and as soon as he’d stepped foot in the shop and seen the curvy figure and cute face, he’d been done for.
“Shall we look at the garden?”
He blinked at the woman and nodded. “Sure, this way.”
The red-headed woman followed him, her heels clacking on the floorboards of the hall and the stairs. He couldn’t believe his father had let the place get in such a state. He’d never been great at staying on top of stuff but the six-bedroom house had been in the family for generations. It was something his father had taken great pride in.
Sawyer had to battle to get the back door open. All the paint originally intended to protect it had peeled away and the wood had swollen. Then he nearly tripped over an abandoned garden rake that was hidden in the jungle of a garden.
In Ballicliff there were few flat spots. The houses rose up on hills either side of the harbour. This house was one of the few with a long, wide garden. Unfortunately his father must have given up maintaining it long ago and brambles and nettles rose up from the ground, making inspecting the length of it impossible.
“Goodness,” Mrs Fletcher murmured.
He turned back to the woman and folded his arms. She peered at her clipboard then removed her glasses to let them dangle from a chain.
“Mr Steele, let me be honest. House prices are very steep here, as you probably know. But unfortunately that prices many people out of the market. Those who want to buy holiday homes here won’t be willing to put a lot of work into the house. It’s not worth the effort, you see, for a place you’re only going to use during the summer.”
Sawyer nodded, dread settling in his stomach. He’d hoped to be able to sell the place quickly. Considering seaside towns in Cornwall were one of the ultimate places to live in the UK, he didn’t think he’d have any problems, but he hadn’t realised he’d be dealing with this mess. Apparently his father wanted to cause him hassle even after he was gone.
“So how long do you think it will take me to sell this place?”
“If you’re not willing to put any money into it, I’d say two years, and you’d have to put it on at a very competitive price.”
He closed his eyes for a moment. Two years. He couldn’t wait that long to get rid of the place. A little voice inside him whisperedclosure. But it wasn’t as something as stupid as that. He just wanted the house gone. He wasn’t one of these eccentric writers who had piles of notes and paper and junk on his desk. He liked things clean, organised and there was nothing he liked better than a decent clear-out. This was all this was. He wanted rid of this extra piece of junk that had come into his life.
“Alternatively,” Mrs Fletcher continued, “you could consider selling to a developer. This is a sizeable house and with the gardens, a housing company could build at least four new houses.”
“They’d demolish the house, right?”
She nodded, sending her glasses chain rattling against the pearl buttons of her sensible buttoned-up blouse. “Yes. Some of the locals would be disappointed but I always say this town needs new blood. We can’t become one of those holiday towns where the population is made up entirely of holiday-makers.”
And he was willing to be Mrs Fletcher would make a nice profit off a deal with a developer. Who knew the older woman was so ambitious?
Sawyer rubbed his chin and peered back at the Victorian building. It had been a decent house once—one of a kind too. Tall smoke-stacks rose up from the angled roof on both ends of the house and the once white trimmings were worn and looked to be rotting.
He turned his attention back to Mrs Fletcher. “If you can get me a fair price, I’ll definitely consider selling to a developer.”
Her wide grin told her she was pleased with his decision. They finished up the afternoon measuring the rooms and photographing the inside and outside of the house. It took Sawyer longer than he’d hoped. He couldn’t help thinking of a certain brunette who’d be standing in her little green bookshop on the other side of the harbour right now. Damn, he’d wanted to kiss her.
Locking the door, he shoved the keys in his pocket and waved to Mrs Fletcher—who had certainly warmed to him. He suspected the knowledge he wouldn’t be staying in town for too long helped. That, and the fact he was going to make her some money.
He peered across the harbour. Most of the fishing boats were gone for the day and the tide was out. Some smaller boats sat on the sandy bed at awkward angles and the scent of seaweed was high in the air. Kids hung off the railings either side, and farther up he saw some picking through the shingle near the cliffs to gather mussels and hunt for crabs. He’d done the same when he was younger, dragging Maddie with him and scaring her with crabs. Then when they’d grown older, they used to sit on the pier late at night and watch the fishing boats come in. Sometimes they’d even kissed.
He should have kissed her. Why hadn’t he? Because he was trying to prove himself, right? Everyone had told him he was no good for her and they’d been correct. When his father had come ranting at him, even going as far as to hit him, the day before their wedding, berating him for his disgusting behaviour, it didn’t matter than he hadn’t been guilty of the vandalism of the war memorial. The fact was, everyone thought he was and that was enough. He had been a tearaway and wising up to that had been better than dragging Maddie down with him.
Didn’t mean he didn’t regret it though. He had. Every day of his life since.
“Sawyer.” A guy his age paused jogging and came to the bottom step.
He peered at him until recognition sparked. “Ryan. It’s been a long time.” He’d gone to school and hung out with Ryan a lot. They used to cause quite a bit of trouble together.
“Sure has. Checking out the old place, huh?”
