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“It’s good to hear from you, Whitney. But I thought we promised to check out a few more options tomorrow. I’ve spent the afternoon combing through the listings and I think I have two more you are really going to like and then one that I think would be a good fit.” Katie started to talk some more, so I had to jump in, cutting her off as I paced the driveway.
“There’s been a change in plans. I need a place to live immediately, and I want it to be that house. Can we do a fifteen-day close and not a thirty? I don’t want any delays. I have a loan preapproval if that speeds things along.”
“Why the sudden change of heart? I thought we agreed on tomorrow.”
I pressed my eyes closed and opened them to find Jack nearby. I turned on my heel trying to get some semblance of privacy.
“Let’s just say I’m now in immediate need of a house. I’m going to need you to make an offer on the house immediately, can you do that?” I used the tone of voice I used with vendors to make sure I got what I needed from them for an event. Salespeople liked to dick around and bullshit. I never had any time for that.
“I just don’t want you rushing into anything. I’m very good at what I do, Whitney. I read people and I read homes. I think you are going to like these new options. Don’t close yourself off to them.”
I removed the phone from my face, getting more and more agitated. Jack caught my distress and came even closer.
“Katie, can you or can you not put an offer in on the house I want to buy? If you can’t, tell me now and I’ll go dig up that contact info for Haver’s Creek only other real estate agent and have him file the paperwork on my behalf. I don’t give a shit who gets the commission as long as I get my house.”
Katie clucked her tongue on the other end of the line. “I understand. I’ll draw up the paperwork immediately.”
I smiled a very unfriendly smile. “Excellent.”
“Whitney, the plumber’s back,” Jack announced as I tried to get off the call.
“Was that Jack?” I heard Katie ask through the speaker.
“Uh yeah, he’s here helping with something,” I said. “Listen, I’ve got to go. Call me in the morning with an update.” Then I hung up on Katie. She knew what she needed to do, and I needed to figure out the rest of this mess.
“I still need to get my car,” I realized looking around the driveway. Jack’s impromptu kidnapping kept inconveniencing me.
“I’ll have Kurt bring it over after his shift,” Jack assured me.
“But my keys?” I held them up, so they dangled in front of his face.
He snatched them out of my hand. “I’ll take those.” Then he went off to make a quick phone call.
Savannah exited Jack’s car and walked up to me, sliding her arm through mine.
“It’s generous of Jack to let us stay with him, especially since we have no idea how long it’s going to take to clean up this mess.” She pointed at the house.
I scoffed. “Yeah, very noble.”
Savannah turned to me, bracing my shoulders.
“Don’t be like that. Believe me, I know it’s uncomfortable for you because you’re being stubborn when you could be having an honest conversation with Jack instead. But I won’t judge you for it. It’s not like I haven’t spent the last ten years trying to get you back here just so you can have a damn conversation with your ex-best friend.”
I leveled a glare at her.
She smiled at me, her eyes watery again. I couldn’t tell if hormones were to blame or if she was just genuinely exhausted by all the events in her life. But I understood exactly where she was coming from and couldn’t blame her for it one bit. Jack’s house would definitely be more comfortable than a hotel. For both of us.
“Fine. Let’s do this.” I nodded through gritted teeth. Despite the day with Jack, I felt more certain than ever that I needed to keep my distance from him.
I’d loved him. I’d felt gipped all those years ago. It had taken so much for me to gather the nerve to finally share my feelings with him only to not have the opportunity to do something about it. I couldn’t forgive his leaving me at that party for another woman before I even got to share my feelings for him. And now he’d never know. I was leaving that firmly in the past.
Jack quickly returned. “Whitney, why don’t you drive Sav’s car, and I’ll drive her in mine?”
“Savannah should just drive with me. I don’t know where I am going. What if I get lost? She can help me.” I put my hands on my hips.
Jack gave one quick shake of his head.
“Nah, you’ll be fine. I’ll drive slow.” He winked, then made his way to the police car with Savannah.
