Page 13 of Neighbors' Omega
“Ok…” I replied as I followed him to the door.
We stepped down off the porch, and I fell in step beside him as we walked across the lawn.
“So this would be a rent-to-own situation,” he stated. “Carl called my office this afternoon looking for advice. He’s just been given a promotion, but has to move to the east coast within the next two weeks. Apparently they need him there now, and adding a traditional home sale to the already packed schedule is just not something he wants to do. But he doesn’t want the house empty either, and being a long-term landlord isn’t something he’s interested in.”
“Ok…?”
Derrick motioned to the cute front porch, indicating that I should go first. “I know rent-to-own wasn’t something we discussed. But it gets around the timetable issues since he’ll be out quickly, and is still on the purchase track.”
I pursed my lips, but allowed him to unlock the door.
Derrick’s gaze met mine, and he smiled softly. “I wouldn’t have called you for this if I wasn’t positive you’d love this house. Trust me?”
I licked my lips, then nodded. “Ok.”
He held the door open, and I knew something was different as soon as I stepped into the house. The living room was warm and inviting, with steel blue walls and a gorgeous wood floor. It opened directly into a spacious kitchen with a large island and dining area.
“Three bed, two bath,” Derrick explained as I looked around. “Appraisals for similar houses in the area are right around your pre-approval amount, so getting in shouldn’t be a problem, especially given the situation.”
I nodded and headed straight to the kitchen, where I ran my hand over the cool surface of the island.
“He had real granite countertops installed a couple years ago, and the master bath was renovated last year.”
I could already imagine working in the kitchen.
“There’s a deck out back, and a custom-built grill area,” Derrick continued. “Plus beds for a vegetable garden.”
I blew out a long breath, turning and taking in more of the space.
My attention snapped to Derrick when I heard a chuckle.
“Want to see the bedrooms?”
I smiled and nodded, even though it hardly mattered. I already knew that this was the home I wanted to buy.
∞∞∞
“Do you have any more newspapers?” Ryan called from the kitchen.
“If the stack in the living room is gone, I bought some roll ends. Look for the blank rolls of paper near the door,” I yelled back.
“Found them!”
“Okay!” I pulled open a drawer and scooped out an armful of shirts, then dumped them unceremoniously into a box.
I was glad that I’d been slowly packing since deciding to move. It meant that I had boxed up almost everything except the essentials already.
The doorbell chimed through the house.
“I’ve got it!” Ryan called.
“‘K!” I dropped another stack of shirts into the box.
“Hey Jace?”
“Yeah?”
“Did you hire movers without telling me?”
