Page 104 of Housebroke

“You’re funny.” They moved down the hall to the primary bedroom. “I like that it’s nice-sized and has a walk-in closet. But carpet?” She wrinkled her nose. “No. The bathroom needs serious help. So does the other full bath and the half bath. And the exterior needs painting and some good landscaping. Backyard is awesome, though. Can you imagine the sunsets out there?”

They headed back toward the kitchen. “Agree. It’s a huge selling point, and once this place is updated it’ll be amazing—and worth a lot more money. I just need to have an inspection done for electrical, HVAC, and so on to make sure I’m not in over my head. Otherwise, the rest is doable.”

They stood in the kitchen. “Plenty of space in here for an oversize island.”

“Agree. Okay, then, let me tell Jennifer we’re leaving so she can meet us at the second place.”

Jennifer didn’t ask any questions about how they liked the house, just said she’d lock up and meet them at the next one.

They stopped for a drink at a gas station, then drove somewhat out of the area for the next house. They’d gotten to the point whereshe didn’t see neighborhoods. Instead, there was space, a lot of land, with just a sprinkling of homes here and there.

“This is interesting,” she said.

“I hope you think so.”

He pulled down a long gravel drive toward the largest, most sprawling house that Hazel had ever seen. They got out of the truck, and Hazel stood there and gaped. It was an L-shaped one-story in a color she could only describe as musty gray. And it had two entrances for reasons she couldn’t imagine. She didn’t even know where to start, other than this place needed a makeover. But, wow, was it ever huge.

“How big is this house?” she asked Linc as they watched Jennifer’s car pull down the long drive.

“Uh, not exactly sure.”

She gave him a curious look but turned to smile at Jennifer as she got out of her car.

“I’m so excited to show you this house. It’s been on the market awhile, so I think you could get a great deal. And all this land is incredible.” She pulled two sheets out of her briefcase and handed one to each of them. “Shall we go inside?”

“Yeah,” Linc said.

Hazel followed, taking in the information sheet.

Six thousand square feet? Five bedrooms and four baths? All the places she’d ever lived in her entire adult life could fit inside this house.

The first thing she noticed when they walked inside was no carpet. No flooring of any kind, actually. No furniture, either.

“As you can see, the owners had started on a renovation, butthat fell through when one of the owners became ill. They thought it best to sell the place and move somewhere more... convenient.”

Hazel felt immediately for the owners. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Jennifer nodded. “I’ll let you look around.”

Jennifer was good at disappearing.

Linc looked over at her. “First impressions?”

“Humongous.”

He laughed. “Yeah, it sure is. Come on, let’s go explore. Try to visualize what could be.”

“Okay.” This should be fun. After all, it wasn’t her house. But as they walked through the amazing oversize living area with its cathedral ceilings, she could already imagine a tall Christmas tree in the front window, and beautiful wood floors throughout. Or maybe wood-looking tile if the new owners had a bunch of dogs.

The kitchen was enormous, but very nineties, with oak cabinetry, laminate counters, and dingy white square floor tiles. Yuck. “I can already see a wall of cabinets over here, and here,” she said. “Plus there’s room for an oversize pantry. The area on this side is big enough for a chef’s stove and refrigerator.” She studied the space, getting her first glimpse of the actual size of the property behind them. “Oh. You could put bifold doors over here to let in light and showcase that yard and pond.”

“That’s a great idea.”

She wandered to the back door and opened it, her jaw dropping at what appeared to be miles of open land, something she never saw in the city.

“Wow,” she said as Linc came up beside her. “Does this belong to the house?”

“And then some. There’s twenty acres.”

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