Page 42 of Sins or Secrets
“No, it doesn’t,” I agree, looking in atthe decadent mahogany furniture, high ceiling with cornices lining the corridor and gold accents adorning them.
The placealmost, almost looks like how I remembered it.
The floorboards creak when we step inside, but other than that this side of the house looks intact.And the place smells like Lilly.It smells like warmth and love, like coming home.
Lord knows I could call this place home because I was here more than I was in my own home.
“It seems like this side of the place looks okay.It’s just the back. The roof has caved in and the whole section at the back ispractically gone.That is going to make the rest of the place unstable though,” Logan states.
“Yeah. I wonder how much it will cost.”
“A fuck load of money. It was definitely a good call to fix the place up before selling.It was a beautiful house with memories.I don’t want to charge a dime less than what it’s worth.”
“Me neither." At least it looks like we can agree with a few things."Should we go look around some more?”
“May not be safe.”
“I’ll be careful.” I really want to look around and recapture some of the memories floating within the walls of this house.I haven’t been here in so long it hurts.
“Okay. Let’s go upstairs and work our way down.That way I can take note of the damage.”
“Thanks.”
We get upstairs and look around.Lilly’s bedroom is fine and so is one of the nearby guestrooms I used to stay in whenever I stayed over.The bathroom is okay and when we get downstairs I note the kitchen is okay too.It’s functional for the most part, but the section attached to the sunroom has a gaping hole in the roof that’s allowed water to come in and damage the floor.
It really is the left side that’s in the state of disrepair Mr. Mulligan described.God knows what the backyard, the boathouse, and the school must look like.
A bad idea forms in my mind, but it’s no worse than the other crazy ideas I’ve had in the past.
“What if I stayed here,” I suggest and Logan snaps around to glare at me like I’ve just lost my mind.
“Are you kidding me? You can’t stay here.The roof and the walls are falling down.”
“On the left side. The right side looks fine.Unstable in some places but I could avoid those places.Besides it’s not like we’re not going to fix it.”
“Quinn it’s not wise to be shacked up in a house that needs this much repair even while it’s being fixed.At the very least we need a surveyor to come and assess the damage.That way we know what we can’t see.”
“I agree but after you successfully managed to freak me out, I don’t think I want to go back to that motel other than to pack my bags.”
“And the Four Seasons isn’t an option?” He raises his brows.
Since I already told him I’m broke I’ll think of that comment as an invite to elaborate, but I won’t accept the invitation.
As much as I spoke about Riley and Dad to Bree, I don’t think it will be the same talking to Logan.Talking about Lilly was enough earlier.It drained me and I can’t go back down that road and speak of worse things.
“No, that’s not an option. I don’t see any reason why I can’t stay here and just be careful working my way around.If we get the roof in the kitchen fixed and the floor sorted out, I’d practically have one side of the house to stay in.I think it would be okay.”
“You’re actually serious.”
“I am. I can be here by tonight.”
“Okay… well let me get someone to sort that roof and maybe a few guys to check the electricity and plumbing.Then we’ll start working on the place, fixing it up.”
I smile. “Did we just come up with a plan?”
“It looks that way.”
“Cool and you even did it without being an asshole dick to me.”
