Page 66 of Endlessly Yours
I grinned. “You’re like this scary landlord, aren’t you?”
“Not really. If any of the renters want to buy, they’re welcome to, but most of them are military and know they’re going to leave in a couple of years.”
And then everything clicked. “Just like your cousins.”
“Exactly. They were in and out of places often, and I know finding a good place to rent where you can trust the landlord isn’t always easy. And having a little bit of space these days just doesn’t happen. We’re close enough to the base that they can go in if they need to or remote work. Either way, it’s a good school district, and it’s not like I’m collecting an evil amount of rent.”
“No, you’re just making sure people have a way to move quickly if needed.”
“Exactly. Having to sell your home after living in it for two years because you got orders is a whole other set of paperwork that most people don’t need. And the Wilders own this land. We might as well use it for something that will help others. And help my business.”
I snorted. “There’s always that.”
“People need to eat.”
“That is true. And I don’t know when I’m ever going to be able to own a home.” I looked down at the wine glass, realized I had drunk nearly all of it, and set it down. “I can’t believe I just said that out loud.”
“I thought you were trying to save before this. Before you moved in here?” he asked gently.
“I was, but I’m a small business owner that does graphic art. Getting the girls’ medical insurance was a pain, and once I hit the new year, it’s going to be even harder.” My stomach ached at that thought.
“Do you qualify for anything?”
“Some. It’s a whole process, and I’m grateful that Everett is decent at actually figuring all that out with me. But my small savings is dwindling down slowly when it comes to new shoes and upcoming sports and other things that they want to do. Let alone therapy and doctor’s appointments, and one day the girls are going to need cars, and then there’s prom dresses and college, and I can’t even think about it all.”
“Hey, hey, just breathe. We’ll figure it out.”
It was funny that he said we, because we weren’t technically a we. This was nice, and I was so grateful that we had a roof over our heads, but I needed to remember that this could all be temporary. He could be temporary. But I didn’t want to ruin the entire night, as we had already had a stressful day.
“I’m trying not to think too hard about everything that’s coming, but I also have to be realistic. I’m so grateful that we have this place because I couldn’t afford it otherwise.”
“You never have to worry about a place to sleep, Rory. Ever.”
I reached over and ran my hand over his jaw. He turned his head and kissed my palm, and another little slice slid into place, and I knew falling in love with him fully would be inevitable.
“I know that I need to stop worrying about every single thing in the future, and I will. Eventually. It just keeps me up at night sometimes.”
He frowned, tangling his fingers with mine. “I hate that you even have to worry about that. That the girls didn’t have savings or anything.”
“No, they didn’t. But we haven’t heard a single thing from the people that my sister got involved with, and I guess that’s worth it.”
“You know I looked them up, right?”
I raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
“We looked them up. We wanted to make sure it wasn’t going to be a problem later. But the whole community is actually quite peaceful. There’s no violence or police investigations into them. There’s literally nothing to connect them to anything illegal other than that hinky feeling you got.”
I let out a breath. “Ava and I looked them up too. They’re just insular, and I don’t know, they wanted money, they got it, and I got the girls. Honestly, they’re so far from my mind that they don’t matter.”
“They don’t. But I still want to kick them.”
“To be honest, even my lawyer looked at the funds. There wasn’t much. My brother and sister were in debt, they didn’t own their own home, and there wasn’t much in their savings account. At least for the girls.”
Brooks’s eyes widened. “What?”
“There wasn’t. I don’t know why I thought there would be more, or at least something. But in the end, the girls are safe, and I’m going to do my best to make sure they have a safe future.”
“You’re a good aunt, Rory.”
