Liam had more questions than she thought imaginable for the realtor the next morning. Molly had plenty of her own, of course, but as soon as one of hers was answered, Liam chimed in another from his lengthy list.
The house was not a palace, but it was slightly bigger than her parents’ colonial. Liam inspected every nook and cranny, even calling his dad at one point to ask a few questions about the plumbing. Mr. DiNatali was tired of dealing with death and funerals and, as much as he loved his grandchildren, a full house. At the first detection of uncertainty in Liam’s voice, he hopped into his car and drove over.
Mr. DiNatali had bags under his eyes, but he was focused on the task at hand. When Molly began to apologize profusely for Liam making him come out, the older man shook his head. “No, no. I need to do something. Sitting around the house all day feeling… this? I’m better when I have a project to work on. Thank you for rescuing me from yet another person with a casserole.” He turned to Liam. “When I die, don’t tell anyone. It’ll save you from eighteen tuna casseroles and people coming over just to tell you about their lost loved one, and how they can relate.”
Liam chuckled and showed his father around the property, bringing up questions Molly did not think to ask. They inspected the pipes, did a furnace check, tested the plumbing from all angles, and looked for mold in all the usual and unusual places. The realtor was patient as the inspection went on for nearly two hours.
Molly was more concerned about the soil and the trees than the interior of the house. She retested the pH levels, frowning at the long turnaround time it would take for the soil to be up to snuff on the back few acres.
While Mr. DiNatali was looking at the aged washer and dryer, Liam took Molly into the house. They went through each room, and he asked her in detail what she thought the space would look like when she was moved in. There were five bedrooms, a massive den with a fireplace, and a separate living room. There was a mud room that led to the greenhouse, and a spacious kitchen with separate dining room. Though the walls needed the paper peeled off, and the carpet and some of the wood flooring needed to be replaced, the damage was minimal and no problems were structural. The upstairs bathroom needed to be gutted, though. The tub and shower were so broken down and speckled with cracks, they would need replacing.
“What do you think about knocking down this wall and making it one big bathroom? I mean, did you have your heart set on five bedrooms?”
Molly tried to picture what Liam was saying. “Well, of course not. I’ll use two rooms, tops. But is this a load-bearing wall? And that sounds expensive. There’s a bathroom downstairs. It’s smaller, but it works alright. Fancy stuff like knocking down walls and making dream bathrooms can wait until the grid gets built, which is going to take a few years. Big time home renovations are light-years away. I can’t even think that far in advance.”
“The realtor said no one else has come to look at the property, except contractors who want to give a low-ball offer and turn it into a strip mall. The family’s son doesn’t want to do that. He doesn’t want to own the place, but he won’t see his family’s work demolished, either.” Liam’s grin could not be contained. “Odds are looking pretty good, Moll.”
She held a cautious finger up. “Don’t jinx me.”
He led her by the hand to the master bedroom, looking inside like a kid ready to dive headfirst into the candy store. “So, this is our bedroom.”
“Liam, you’ll be traveling with whatever team you’re working for. Crashing here occasionally doesn’t make it ‘our bedroom’.”
“Humor me.” He squeezed her fingers and walked into the empty expanse with her. “You’ll need a new bedroom set. King-sized bed for when I’m in town and stay over?”
“Sure.” Molly threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. “Since we’re being ridiculous and talking about things that aren’t real. Yes, king-sized bed. Why not? Let’s paint two walls a dark red, and make two an off-white. Sound good?”
“Sounds very good.” His glee was uncontained that she was playing along, his smile boyish. “What else?”
“A cork board.”
“Don’t go crazy, now. You’re on a budget,” he kidded. “Seriously? That’s your dream bedroom? It’s got two red walls and a cork board?”
“I wasn’t finished. A giant cork board that stretches at least twelve feet wide and maybe ten feet tall. I can pin all my ideas to it. I always had to hide my projects at Kyle’s parents’ house. This way, they can be out in the open. Because, I mean, who’d see it? Just fictional you, and you wouldn’t care. Would you?”
“No, fictional me would get a kick out of seeing your brain mapped out on a wall like that. What else?”
Molly shrugged. “I don’t know. Honestly, I’ll be working outside on the grove most of the time. I won’t have time to care about knickknacks and wall colors and whatnot. So long as it has heat, water and the roof doesn’t leak, I’m good.”
“Man, you’re high maintenance,” he teased, lacing his fingers through hers. “Where are you staying until you move into your amazing farmhouse?”
Molly frowned. “I’m still not sure. Motels would eat the crap out of my savings, but the thought of going back home makes my stomach churn.”
Liam nodded. “Understandable. Do you have any friends you could stay with?”
Molly laughed derisively. “Oh, Liam. I forgot how little you know about me. Friends? No, honey. I don’t have close friends like that. I skipped ahead two grades and finished my Master’s when I was twenty-three. I was always hiding bruises, so I never spent much time out of the house. I have work friends, sure, but not let-me-crash-on-your-couch friends.”
“What about—”
Molly held up her hand to silence him. “It’s fine, Liam. I’ll figure it out. Really. I have options. Motel or parents’ house. If everything goes smoothly, it’ll only be a month or so. Maybe I’ll try to find a short-term roommate on Craigslist or something.”
Liam’s tone was clipped. “I think you can guess my opinion on that.”
Kissing him lightly on the mouth, Molly smiled sadly up at him. “Liam, sooner or later you’re going to have to accept that you’re leaving tomorrow. All these decisions are mine, and not something for you to concern yourself with.” She kissed him again. “You’re a good man, though. In a perfect world, things might be different.”
Liam gestured around the empty room, and then led her to the window. “Look outside, Molly. This is your perfect world. And whataya know? Here I am.”
Liam leaned down and kissed Molly, feeling her saying goodbye with every beat their lips were joined.