Page 24 of Broken Chains

With the sunlight shining through the front windows, I awoke to a knock on the front door. I jolted up on full alert. It took me a moment to get my bearings straight and calm my nerves long enough to register that someone was here.

I sat up and could see Kenneth through the glass door. I jumped out of bed, still in my clothes from the day before, and opened the front door.

“Peyton? What is this place?” he asked, looking skeptical.

“Your summer job, if you want it,” I said excitedly.

He made a face as he peeked his head in.

“Is it safe?” he asked, hesitantly.

“I slept here last night. Yes, it’s fine. Come on, be excited with me, Kenneth.”

“It’s just, it’s old, and it smells,” he said.

“I know it needs a lot of work, but it’s going to be amazing when we’re done.”

“You really want me to work here with you? I’m honestly not very good with this kind of stuff, Peyton. That’s more Brady and Oliver’s domain,” he said honestly.

“Relax, I’ll hire contractors to do the hard stuff. Just come and take a look around,” I said, pulling him into the foyer and shutting the front door.

He poked his head in a few rooms, asked about plumbing and electric. I cringed when I admitted they wouldn’t be on until Monday. He didn’t say much as he walked around the house. Then he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

“What time do you get off today? Okay. Perfect. I’ll text you an address. Need you right after work,” he said, then hung up and dialed another. Two more identical conversations and he seemed relieved.

“My brothers will be here around three. I need them to take a look at the structure and make sure this place really is safe.”

“I told you the realtor told me it was,” I insisted.

“Realtors will tell you anything, Peyton. He was trying to sell a dump. I’m guessing you didn’t even have it inspected.”

“Of course I did. The paperwork’s in the kitchen on the counter with a list of all the major issues as well as list of the should-be-dones. We’ll tackle one thing at a time. Starting with just cleaning. There’s so much dust and cobwebs that it just needs a good wipe up before we even begin. My sisters are coming by in about an hour. I’d recommend just staying out of their way this morning,” I said with a laugh.

An hour later, everyone had arrived. They brought their mates, too, and paired off to each take a room. Since Shelby and I were the only two without mates, we teamed up in the dining room.

“This would be so much easier with the power on, Pey,” she whined.

“I’m sorry, Shelbs, I didn’t get back to them in time to get it turned on yesterday.” I didn’t mention that I could have made it, except I had chosen instead to have ice cream with a certain handsome man.

We scrubbed and swept, and the guys worked on some minor repairs throughout the day. By two o’clock everyone was exhausted and every muscle in my body ached. I was ready for a hot bath, but of course that wasn’t on the schedule, because while I said goodbye and thanked my siblings, Kenneth’s were soon to arrive.

We both collapsed onto the air mattress as we waited.

“I like working in the greenhouse much more. This is like working in hell,” he complained.

“Did you look out back yet?” I asked him.

“No, why?”

“Come on,” I said with a groan as I walked him upstairs. He wasn’t as skittish from every creek in the floor since Thomas and Bran deemed the place safe to walk around.

At the top of the stairs there was a door that led to an open balcony across the entire back of the house. It overlooked overgrown gardens that had no doubt been beautiful in their day.

“Do you see it?” I asked him.

“The gardens?”

“Yeah, what do you think?”

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