Page 101 of January

“Just people like her.”

“I’d need to talk to my sister. Half this stuff is hers,” Kyle replied.

“Of course,” Mr. Beaufort said. “And I have a good lawyer here I can recommend to you if you need to take things further with your mother. I’m primarily estate law, so you’d want someone more experienced if you need to file restraining orders and the like.”

“I hope it doesn’t have to go that far.”

“Me too. But if she shows up, and you’re worried for your safety, don’t hesitate to call the police. The more of her behavior you have on record, the easier it will be to address it in court if you have to.”

“Okay,” Kyle replied.

Several minutes later, she finished the water and sat in the back seat of another car, headed toward the garden house to meet Myra. She’d been told that some of the work that didn’t require permits could begin, which was one thing for Kyle to look forward to.

“We’re good to go on just about everything, and permits should be available soon.”

“I thought it took weeks.”

“I know a few people. Besides, we’re about to enter carnival season when this city fills with hundreds of thousands of people, so I played the tourism card with the city and let them know this house would give one more lodging option and that we could have the work completed sooner rather than later, which would mean there wouldn’t be garbage and construction remnants on the lawn of a Garden District house that is on the main tour path. I’m not really sure how true it is that I’ll get everything done by then, but they gave me what we needed.”

“Really? That’s great,” Kyle replied.

“So, you and I need to get into the materials. I brought some recommendations with me. I’ve got a crew of four, butthe electrical and plumbing are being worked on by those crews. The roof looked surprisingly good, but we’ll repair some of it as well. I’ll get a few more people to join each day to make sure we can try to get the place done for you by when I said we could.”

“This is amazing,” Kyle said. “I’ve never done anything like this before, but I’ve heard so many horror stories.”

“Well, I try not to be part of those whenever I can.” Myra chuckled. “I’ve got some other possible good news for you, too. I had a job planned for next month. They ordered a bunch of materials but decided to sell the place instead and not use what we bought for them. So, if you’re interested in the flooring they chose and some of the other materials, their place is bigger than this one, so I’d have enough for your house, and I already have them in my warehouse. I can get them for you at cost, too.”

“I’m sorry; are you a saint? This is a miracle. When does the Vatican show up to validate that so you can be one step closer to sainthood?”

Myra laughed loudly and said, “It would actually be a favor to me. We need the space, so if you don’t want it, I’m hoping my next job will.”

“Can I take a look?”

“I’ve got samples with me right now. Want to sit down in the kitchen and look?”

“Yeah, that sounds great.”

After Myra left, Kyledidfeel a lot better. She had the flooring picked out, and the windows were standard for this type of house, so they would be in soon. The roof, it turned out, didn’t need that much work, and they were really just making sure the plumbing and electrical were not only up to code but up to the modern era. Kyle had also loved going through the samples provided by Myra, which gave her the idea to call an interior decorator. She wasn’t sure why she’d thought of that. The house would be rented out with basic, cheap furniture for now and didn’t require a professional to come in and decorate it. Then, she had the idea of havingMelinda here with her, going through samples, making decisions about the wall color, the furniture, and how to elevate the garden out back, and that sounded so good, she began searching for companies that she could call to schedule a consultation.

When her phone buzzed, showing Jolie calling her the instant she looked at the display, she was pulled out of her revelry and answered the phone.

“Hi,” she said tersely.

“I know you’re still mad at me.”

“Because you know how she is. Why would you tell her?”

“She just has a way, Ky… She got to me. I’m sorry. Is everything okay?”

“No, it’s not. She said some things.”

“What things?”

Kyle didn’t really want to burden her little sister with any specifics of what their mother had said to her, which was a moment in Kyle’s life she’d never be able to forget. She didn’t want to put that on Jolie, too.

“The usual.”

“I’m so sorry, Kyle.”

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