Page 2 of Finding Silence
“How far are the closest neighbors?” I ask the realtor when we step outside on the porch.
“The sheriff lives up another half mile, if you follow this road. He’s your closest neighbor.”
The first thing I’ll be doing is putting in a good security system, but it’s nice to know the law is literally right up the road.
“Let’s go back to your office, I want to put an offer in.”
“Right now? Don’t you need to talk to a bank first?”
I turn to her, smiling. I can’t blame her. She saw the old school bus I parked in front of the real estate office. Little does she know, the inside of that rambling old bus was turned into a very nice living space for when the road calls me. I purposely left the exterior alone to avoid drawing unwanted attention to the old girl. She serves as a great cover for me.
“That’s all under control,” I assure her.
She doesn’t need to know I have what would probably be a decent down payment on the house hidden in cash in my school bus. I carry a lot of money on me because cash is anonymous, and because I want to be free to stay on the road as long as I want.
For too many years I’ve gone where I was told to go, and had little freedom for the things I wanted to do. I don’t want to be beholden to anyone. Not anymore. I work when I want to—which I can do from anywhere—and not because I need to.
“In that case, let’s go write up an offer.”
I follow Rowan to her SUV.
“How fast do you think we can close?” I ask when we pull out of the driveway.
“How fast do you want to close?”
“Tomorrow, as far as I’m concerned.”
“Are you serious?” She immediately bursts out laughing. “Never mind, of course you are.”
Now it’s my turn to laugh. I think I like this girl.
“Do you have a lawyer?” she asks.
“Not here in Washington, but I can have one by tomorrow.”
I can feel her eyes on me.
“Okay, and what are you thinking of offering on the house?”
I glance back. “Asking price minus one dollar, out of principle.”
She nods as her eyes focus back on the road.
“That’ll work. We can try for a closing the end of next week, provided the seller is in agreement, and we don’t run into any glitches.”
That’s actually not bad. It gives me a chance to set the wheels in motion back in Portland.
“Excellent. Now, where is the nearest campground?”
“Campground?”
I grin and fold my hands behind my neck, stretching the muscles in my arms a little.
“Yeah. I’m gonna need a place to stay until then.”
Brant
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