What I need is a mulligan, though I know it’s not possible. I’ve made a fool out of myself. A week has passed since the confrontation at the bar, and my brothers haven’t let me live it down. What’s even worse, apparently Leigh is friends with Jamie’s vet tech Avery. They went to lunch and she asked my fiancé if she knew my old girlfriend was back in town. Now I’m sitting at the dinner table across from her, and by the look on her face I can tell I’m not getting out of this without explaining.
“Why didn’t you tell me about her?”
I shrug; taking a bite of food like this isn’t difficult. “I don’t know. It was a long time ago. We were just kids. There’s nothing else to it.”
“Nothing else? Avery said you were sitting outside of the animal hospital in your truck one day watching. Then she said you gave her boss a hard time about talking to guys at the bar.”
“You’re making it sound a lot worse than it was. Coop was trying to mess with her. I was simply looking out for her. She’s married.”
“And the stalking?”
“It wasn’t stalking. Seeing her again surprised me. I was freaking out about Brimley. I was going to go inside, but changed my mind. They made it seem like I was spying on them for a while. It was a few minutes while I contemplated checking on the dog.”
She crosses her arms, ignoring the food on her plate that’s now cold. “Avery said her boss isn’t married.”
“Well one of us has been misinformed then. It doesn’t matter anyway. We’re different people now. She means nothing to me.” The moment I say it I feel like I’m shoving my foot down my throat. I don’t want to harbor feelings for Jamie, especially after all these years, but seeing her again and knowing she thinks I’m an asshole only makes it harder to swallow. I want to make things right. I’m not saying I want to rekindle a relationship with her. I need her forgiveness.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’m positive. She was someone I screwed back in high school. That’s all. It was weird seeing her again. She’s never been a local. I thought it would be nice to catch up, welcome her to the island, but instead I got blamed for stalking and shit. I’m over it. I haven’t seen her since that night, and I’m not planning to go looking either.”
“I want to trust you, Brant. We’ve been together for a while now, and when you asked me to marry you my friends said I couldn’t trust a Wallace boy. You’ve only ever been loyal to your family, and I love that about you. I just don’t want to get hurt. So if you still have unresolved feelings for her I want you to tell me.”
“Nothing to tell. I love you. End of story, babe.”
“Prove it.”
I shake my head. “How the hell am I supposed to do that? I’m with you. We live together. I’m engaged to you.”
I can see her body language finally relax after reminding her of my commitment. “I guess it doesn’t matter. I didn’t plan on staying in this town for long anyway. All the more reason to move away with me. While I was away this weekend I started looking online. I found a house I’d like us to go look at. It’s in Snow Hill. We could both commute easily.”
I don’t want to move, but Leigh isn’t going to give up. “Leigh, I told you I needed time. My job is here, and unlike you, I have to wake up before daybreak. Living off the island makes that difficult.”
“Please. I want us to have a future together, but I’m never going to find work in this little town. We have to compromise.”
I sigh. I’m not going to win this fight. Top it off with her question if she can trust me and I’m shit out of luck. I have to do this for her, or at least make her feel like I will. “I’ll look at it, if it’s really what you want.”
“It is.”
“Just make the appointment for the evening so it doesn’t mess with my work schedule.”
She stands, coming around the table to hug and kiss me with thanks. “You will love this place, babe. I’m so excited.”
“Yeah,” I lie. “Me too.”
––––––––
Leigh gives me directions to the house we’re supposed to look at. Since she only has a part time job, we're going to rely mostly on my income to pay the bills. That's okay by me. My mom stayed home to take care of the house and us kids. My dad preferred it that way. He'd worked extra jobs so she'd never have to go out looking for something. Leigh and I rarely talk about kids, but I know we’d both eventually want them. I'm turning thirty. It's time I thought about our future, being parents and owning a home. I just wish it was closer to the island. Snow Hill is only about thirty minutes away. It's not as bad as living in Salisbury, which would be an hour commute, but to be fair Leigh has been making it for over a year now.
I meet her at the address, stepping out of the truck before getting a good look at the place. It’s a two story colonial with peeling paint on the exterior siding. The roof has a few shingles missing, which may mean there is damage to the structure. Aside from the house, the landscaping is out of control. Someone has come and mowed the grass, but everything else is overgrown.
“Isn’t it cute?”
I’m not sure how to answer. “It needs work.”
“You like working with your hands. Just look inside. We can make it work. My parents said they’d give me ten grand for a down payment.”
“Really?” This is the first I’ve heard, although they’ve been pushing the idea of us getting married on me since we first started dating. If it weren’t for their direct hints, I probably would have held off on asking her to marry me, not because I didn’t want to do it, but I just like to do it on my own terms.
I take Leigh’s hand and let her lead the way into the home. The realtor greets us at the front door, opening it so that we may walk around. We enter into a foyer. On the left is a dining room. The only way I can tell is the large chandelier hanging down in the middle of ceiling. To the right is what appears to be a living room. I can see cable wire coming out of the wall where the television used to sit. The place is empty, giving me a better idea of what I’ll need to do to the structure if we decide to purchase the home. I take in each room, surveying the cracks in the ceiling, or any other damage that would warrant a further inspection. We walk to the rear and find a family style kitchen with a large space for a table. A sliding glass door looks out into the long backyard. “How much land?” I ask.
“Two acres,” the female realtor replies. “There’s also an adjoining lot on the right hand side that’s for sale. It’s seven more acres that backs to a forest conservation and a nearby dairy farm.”
A half bath sits in the hallway as we approach the stairs leading to the second floor. The realtor stays put while we explore the rest of the house. Three bedrooms are situated neatly, with one full bathroom in the mix. There’s a claw foot tub, toilet, and double vanity. Leigh climbs into the tub. “Isn’t this fantastic? We can both fit in here. Think about late night bubble baths, some wine, a little music.”
I smirk. She knows how to persuade me. “I can see the potential. It seems to have good bones. We could move in and do the work as we go. I’m sure the guys would pitch in, especially since it’s pretty close.”
“See. I told you that you’d like this one.”
“I like the property. I think I should look into the land next to us, if the price is right.”
“It’s a foreclosure. I don’t know anything about them, but we could move in quickly once we get approved.”
Getting approved for a loan isn’t a problem. I’ve saved a lot through the years, and my credit is damn near perfect. “How much is the house?”
“Get this, it’s only one hundred and twenty thousand. My dad says with your income we should be able to afford at least double that amount. Plus they want to give us money to help.”
“It would help more if we saved the cash for the renovations. For ten grand we could redo the kitchen and bathroom upstairs.” I’m feeling excited, which surprises me. I didn’t think seeing a house together would change my opinion. Leigh isn’t trying to push me. She wants this because she wants me.
“I think we should put in an offer. Let’s see if we can get this place. You’re right. It would be great for us. We can make it ours, have a couple kids, maybe even an outside dog or two.” My arms wrap around hers as she climbs from the tub. She’s elated with joy, and I know once we get back to her apartment she’ll reward me. I enjoy making her happy. For the first time in a week I’m optimistic we can make it work.
Upon checking out the attic, and the crawl space, I let the realtor know we’re interested in putting the offer in, pending a inspection by a professional. We’re informed the paperwork will be ready to sign by the next morning, and head back to the island.
Since we’re in two separate vehicles, I call my dad during the short ride back.
He picks up on the second ring.
“You caught me in between jobs, son. What’s up?”
I take it he’s driving into the restaurant after working on the water with us for a large order we needed to fill. I’d guess he went home to take a short nap to prepare for an evening rush.
“Hey, I just left Leigh. We looked at a house in Snow Hill. I think I’m putting an offer on it.”
“I thought you said you didn’t want to move off the island.”
“Yeah, I didn’t, but I need to come halfway for Leigh. It’s not fair to keep her here. This way she’ll be closer to school. Do you think I’m making a bad decision? It’s the reason I’m calling you. I’d appreciate your advice.”
I hear my dad pausing before giving me his answer. I know he’ll tell me the truth, even if I’m not going to like it. “Can I ask you a question without you getting defensive?”
“Yeah.” I have no clue what he wants to know.
“Does this have anything to do with a certain woman coming back to town?”
I sigh heavily, not even worried if he hears it. “Of course you’d ask that.”
“I know what that girl meant to you, son. Coop told me about your run in with her at the bar. You obviously care enough to want to protect her. I’d rather you not make a compulsive decision if it’s based on running away from feelings you may still have but refuse to face.”
“I’m engaged to Leigh, Dad. Jamie doesn’t mean anything to me. I was keeping her from damaging her reputation by hooking up with Coop. I thought she was married.”
“She is, or was I suppose.”
“Huh?”
“Her uncle told me she was getting out of a bad marriage. She moved here alone, Brant. Did you hear a different story?”
“No. She led me to believe she was still married, that’s all. It doesn’t matter. I’m not interested in rekindling an age old romance. We don’t even know each other anymore. I’m happy with Leigh. This move is something we’ve been talking about for months, way before Jamie moved to the island.”
“Well then I think it’s a good decision. Make sure you get inspections done. Is it a newer home?”
“Actually, it’s an old foreclosure, and I’ve told the realtor we wanted a full inspection to be safe. I’d like you to ride over to look at it with me in the next few days, before I sign any papers.”
“Sounds good. I’ll help with whatever you need.”
“Thanks, Dad. And thanks for asking about Jamie. I know everyone thinks I’m going to fall apart, but I’m fine. Really, I am.”
“I hope so. If you’re not, you’re going to have a lifetime of regret.”
I get that my dad has a newfound way of thinking because he’s married and happy again, but his life isn’t mine. I didn’t think of Jamie once when we were looking at the house. That has to say something, right?