Page 13 of The Workaholic Down the Hall

“Okay,” I said, because I could come up with no reasonable argument. Nora had never given in so easily to one of my requests before, but maybe she was loosening up. I could hope.

CHAPTER FOUR

Aubrey

“This is an old hunting cabin?” I eyed the two-story log cabin in front of us. I'd been picturing a ramshackle cabin surrounded by forest, not a log house that looked like new construction and had an actual grassy yard. And windows. The entire front of the house was almost nothing but windows.

George parked his truck in the driveway. “Who told you it's an old hunting cabin?” he asked. “Nora—”

“I never said it was old,” Nora said. “I just said it's the hunting cabin of a friend. Let me show you the interior.”

She pushed her door open and I followed her out. We were about fifteen miles from town. We'd gone up the mountain a ways, but there wasn't any view of the valley from the driveway. We were surrounded by a decent-sized yard and nothing but trees around that. George jumped out and grabbed the largest suitcase like it weighed nothing. He carried it to the front door and waited while Nora and I walked to the door and she unlocked it.

We let George carry my bag in first and then we followed. The place was insanely beautiful, all hardwood floors and huge windows that let in the sunlight. It had an open floor plan, so we could see the living room, dining room, and kitchen as soon as we walked a few steps past the front door. The furnishings were sparse and looked oddly…”Is that my couch?”

Nora grasped my elbow. “Let me show you the baby's room.” She was strong and rather forceful as she led me up the stairs. The front rooms of the house rose the full two stories, so that the upstairs was more of a loft-like area. There was a short hallway and two doors. Nora led me to the second door. The room was painted a neutral gray and held a gorgeous, hardwood crib that looked like it could convert into a toddler bed, a rocking chair, a changing table, and a dresser, all matching the crib. Like downstairs, the room had huge windows that let in lots of sunlight.

“I didn't do too much,” Nora said. “I wanted you to be free to decorate it the way you wanted.”

I turned to see her smiling at me with tears in her eyes. She was crying and I was ready to run screaming because…What the heck was going on? I looked at the room again. It was beautiful, honestly everything I could have wished for in a room for my daughter so, while I was pretty sure Nora was insane, I was also insane because I wanted to keep it. “How can I possibly decorate this? It's your friend's hunting cabin.”

Nora clasped her hands in front of her and bit her bottom lip like she was holding back a smile. “Surprise!” She threw her arms wide. “It's not my friend's hunting cabin. It's your house.”

I took a step back, sure I'd mis-heard. “Did you just say you bought me a house?”

Her smile dimmed a bit. “Did I over-step? I did buy it, but you'll have to make the payments on it if you want to keep it. If you don't love it, you can walk away and look for something else. I figure it will be a great place for the kids to stay when they come to visit. I'm hoping the bed and breakfast will have so much business they won't be able to stay there and this place has four bedrooms…” She pinched her lips together, like she'd realized she was babbling. “The mortgage is fifteen hundred a month, but I've covered the first two months.”

“How?” I asked. “You put everything you had into Nora's Inn.”

Her hands were now clasped in front of her, but she was twisting them. She was nervous. I'd never seen her nervous before. “I sold my home in Atlanta. It was worth over a million dollars and I made quite a profit on it. This,” she spread her arms wide to encompass the house and the room we were standing in, “is my gift to you and my granddaughter. If you'll take it.”

I spun to look at the room again. This was crazy. Who bought a house for someone without asking for their input? I should be running from that house and from Nora as fast as I could go. I should be outraged she was pressuring me to stay in the area by buying me a house. I should be absolutely furious that she had tricked me and lied to me. But I felt none of those things. Tears pricked my eyes and my throat tightened. All my life, since I'd lost my parents at six, I'd been alone and now…Now I wasn't alone anymore. I liked the house, it was lovely, but it could have been a dilapidated fixer-upper and I'd have felt the same. This wasn't just a house, it was Nora's way of telling me she wanted me around. She wanted me in her life. Of course, it was more about my daughter than me, but it didn't matter. She wanted my daughter in her life so much that she'd bought us a house. It was insane, but it was also a gift. The most amazing gift I'd ever received.

I spun and threw my arms around Nora, tears streaming down my cheeks. “Thank you,” I said, a sob bursting through without my consent. “I love it.”

Nora hugged me back. “I'm so glad, dear. But don't thank me, yet. Check the closet.” Her voice was tight, like she might be as emotional as I was.

I crossed the room and pulled open the closet door. It was crammed, almost to overflowing, with dresses in all the colors of the rainbow and in sizes ranging from newborn to three-T. I pulled out one that had a full tutu and glitter. I could see my little girl, eyes as gray and stormy as Noah's, spinning and giggling. More tears fell and I spun to face Nora. “Thank y—”

Nora was no longer standing in the doorway. Had I been admiring the dresses longer than I'd realized? Downstairs, a door slammed, and an engine revved.

I held tight to the railing as I hurried down the stairs, my balance wasn't what it had once been, only to find the foyer and the living room empty. I pulled open the front door to find the driveway also empty. George's truck was gone. Had he left to run an errand?

“Nora?” My voice echoed off the bare walls. “George?”

None of my bags were in the front hall. I wandered the downstairs checking for a bedroom and my stuff. The bassinet I'd bought and thought was in a box in George's truck was in a downstairs bedroom right next to a very familiar-looking king-size bed with my own comforter on top. I rubbed my eyes. Was I hallucinating or just going crazy?

“Nora?” I didn't expect an answer. The house was too still, too quiet for anyone to be there.

I found my bags on the other side of the bed and searched them for my cell phone, but it was gone. My tears dried as confusion and anger replaced my happy excitement. I marched to the kitchen and found a land line on the counter. Next to it was a note from Nora explaining that she'd taken my phone to insure I'd rest. She'd left me her number, in case of emergency, and promised to pick me up for my ob/gyn appointment on Thursday.

I could accept the house, especially since I planned to pay back every penny, but this was going too far. She couldn't force me to rest by stranding me with no other option.

I picked up the phone and dialed the number on the note, the number for the main desk of Nora's Inn. “Hello?”

“May? This is Aubrey. Is Nora there?”

“No. She's not. Where are you?”

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