Page 2 of August 20

She sniffed. No, it was something else. Not unpleasant but not natural to the coastal area, either. Almost a bacon aroma.

"Whose furniture is that?" Skye walked over to the green overstuffed couch and bounced on the cushion.

"The house came furnished." She scanned the front room. "That means we get to use the furniture as long as we live here."

Which was a good thing. All she had was her grandmother's old furniture she'd put into storage. After her ninety-day probation period for her job was over, she'd have the items delivered. There wasn't much, and everything was old. It might even be wise to let the owner of the self-storage unit have what's there and start over fresh if her job pans out.

She walked forward. The furniture here was in better shape than the stuff she had in storage.

"Let's see where you're going to sleep." She tossed her purse on the couch and stepped toward the hallway.

Skye rushed around her and headed into the first room before quickly backing up. "I don't want that one."

Brooke peeked inside. There was a big bed. The drapes were closed, making the room dark. Besides that, it was rather stark and uninviting, with bare white walls and a small dresser.

"You do know we can get your toys out of the trunk of the car and decorate your room, right?" She followed Skye into the second doorway off the hallway. "Oh, this is a big bathroom."

Besides the shower, there was a clawfoot bathtub. She raised her brows, looking forward to a good soak once Skye went to bed.

Skye walked into the shower. "There's no shower curtain."

"There doesn't need to be one." She tapped the glass. "This keeps the water from getting out on the floor."

Skye quickly lost interest in the new bathroom and explored more. Brooke followed with one longing look at the tub. It'd been a three-hour car trip after they'd stopped at McDonald's for lunch.

"I want this bedroom," yelled Skye.

Brooke followed Skye's voice and stepped into what was the main bedroom. Walking around the king-size bed, there was nothing to set the room off from the other one except the size of the mattress and an attached half-bath. She opened the bi-folding doors to a regular closet with one long rod running along the top.

Like Skye, Brooke's initial reaction wasn't screaming that she needed the room. She would rather be closer to the shower. Skye used the bathroom more often in the middle of the night than she did. Maybe it would be better if she took the main bedroom.

And, if Skye was happy, then that was good enough for her. They could decide who got what room later once they unloaded the car of their belongings.

"Okay." She smiled. "How about you help me bring in the boxes from the trunk and all our clothes? We can put everything in the other bedroom until we decide where to sleep."

Her niece's eyes rounded. "I have to sleep alone tonight?"

Seeing everything was new and strange to Skye, Brooke shrugged. "We could have a sleepover until we're both comfortable."

"I won't ever be comfortable. It's not home."

"It will be. Wait and see."

Skye ran out of the room. Taking two seconds to relax, she inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly out of her pursed lips. What they were doing was the right thing. She could give Skye a better future here.

She walked across the room and stepped into the hallway when she backed up and looked behind the door. There was a jacket on the floor. She picked it up with a pinch of two fingers and held it up for inspection.

It was a man's jean jacket. Levi's brand. Ratty and well-worn.

The prior tenant must've forgotten to take it with him when he moved out. She carried it through the house. A door in the kitchen led to the double-car garage. She found a garbage can and put the coat inside the trash.

Brushing her hands together, she returned to the kitchen. She checked the inside of the fridge. There was a milk carton and butter on the shelf.

She wrinkled her nose. The first thing she would do tomorrow morning was start scrubbing the house down.

She'd expected the place to have been cleaned before her arrival, considering the hotel's owner was letting her stay there. She hoped the hotel had better service or she'd have a problem. She might not like cleaning toilets, but she was a perfectionist when doing the job.

For tonight, she'd put the sheets she brought on one of the beds and at least know they were clean.

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