Page 136 of Reckless Harmony

“Yes,” he said. “I’m sorry, did you say Rayna Abrams has agreed to sell her property?”

“She has,” Kira said. “Honestly, I am as surprised as you.”

“Did she say why?” he rasped.

“She didn’t,” Kira said before hesitating. “Should I have asked?”

“No,” he said.

“Okay.” Kira cleared her throat. “She’s asking five hundred thousand for the property. As you know, the property is only worth three hundred, but agreeing to the five hundred would certainly speed up the process and -”

“No,” he said. “Offer her three fifty and make it clear that’s as high as I’m willing to go. I will not negotiate.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone before Kira said, “All right. I’ll speak with Rayna and let you know if she accepts your offer.”

“Thank you.” He ended the call and scrolled to Rayna’s name, his fingers hovering over the keyboard before he muttered a curse and set his phone on his desk. He had no idea why Rayna was suddenly selling her property, but did it matter? Knowing the reason why wouldn’t change the outcome.

He sat back in his chair, waiting for that feeling of satisfaction of finally getting what he wanted. It didn’t happen. Instead, there was only curiosity, shock, and a liberal amount of guilt.

Three hundred and fifty thousand was a more than generous offer for her property, so why did he feel so shitty about it?

“Rayna? Where are you?” Emma called as the front door slammed shut.

“In the laundry room,” Rayna shouted.

She opened up the garbage bag, dumping the litter from Freddie’s litter box into it and carrying the empty litter box to the deep sink beside the ancient washer. She ran hot water and soap into the box before scrubbing it as Freddie sat on the shelf next to the laundry soap and watched.

“Hey.” Emma joined her, moving over when Bea squeezed into the small room as well.

“Hi, Em.”

“You didn’t return my call last night or today,” Emma said.

“I’m sorry.” Rayna rinsed the box, added more soap and hot water, and scrubbed it again. “I went to bed early last night, and work was insane today, but I should have called you.”

“What happened when you sent Stark the offer yesterday?” Emma asked. “Is he buying your house?”

Rayna rinsed the litter box a final time and grabbed an old dishtowel to dry it. “He is. Kira will have the papers for me to sign on Monday.”

“That’s great. Well, not great,” Emma said, “but at least you can save the rescue now.”

Rayna didn’t reply, instead bending to set the litter box down and pouring more litter into it before squeezing past Emma and Bea and heading toward the kitchen.

“Rayna?” Emma followed her. “Please talk to me.”

She washed and dried her hands in the sink and then grabbed two beers from the fridge. She opened one and handed it to Emma, then sat at the table and motioned for Emma to sit down.

Rayna opened her beer and drank a few big swallows before smiling at Emma. “Stark agreed to buy the property, but he’ll only give me three fifty for it.”

“Shit,” Emma said. “You can’t negotiate?”

She shook her head, staring at Bea as the old beagle climbed into her bed in the corner. “No. Kira said that would be his only offer and that I could take it or leave it. So, I took it.”

“But that isn’t enough money,” Emma said.

“It isn’t, but it’s enough money to pay off what I owe on the house and the fifty percent the bank is asking for,” Rayna said.

“You could list it on the market,” Emma said. “Find another buyer who will pay more.”

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