Page 16 of Seizing Mack
Chapter Seven
~ Nick ~
For a small town, Covendalehad its fair share of temporary housing options, Nick thought as he looked at the short list of half a dozen places Maryann had emailed to him the night before. They’d made arrangements to meet up at the Cape Cod later that afternoon, but in the interests of thoroughness, she’d wanted him to know what else was available.
He appreciated the effort. To save time, he decided to do some drive-bys. Two he eliminated right off the bat; they were condos in town and Nick preferred something farther out. Of the remaining four, one was much bigger than what he was looking for, and another was in a cookie-cutter development popular with younger families.
The fifth house turned out to be a duplex, which wasn’t a bad thing, but not his first choice. He often worked odd hours depending on his cases, and he liked the quiet and privacy of a single home.
He’d saved the Cape Cod for last, and once he saw it, he knew right away why Marianne had chosen that one for a walk-through. It was exactly what he was looking for. An older place on the edge of town, the simple symmetry of the place appealed to him, as did the mullioned windows and classic shutters. The house looked in fairly good shape, and the property was large enough to have a nice buffer between the neighbors on either side. Eventually, he hoped to buy some land and build his own place, but until then, the Cape Cod would do quite nicely.
Nick swung by Liz’s place again. She still hadn’t returned any of his calls. He knew he had the right address; he’d double checked. Maybe her job required travel? Or perhaps she’d gone down to Florida to visit with their parents? Doing that was on his to-do list, right after he got settled. He was even thinking of asking Liz if she’d like to go with him. It had been a long time since the four of them had been together under one roof, and who knew how many more chances they’d have to do so.
A familiar pang of guilt went through his chest. He hoped his parents were okay. He’d done a shitty job of keeping in touch with them, too. At first, he called every holiday, but then his mom always brought up the past and started crying, asking him when he was coming home. His calls grew few and farther apart until he’d stopped calling all together. At one point, Liz had expressed concern that their father was showing the beginning signs of Alzheimer’s, but when she hadn’t mentioned it again, he’d assumed everything was all right.
With some time to kill before he met Marianne at the house, Nick drove to Lou’s and grabbed something quick for lunch. As he tipped the small bowl of coleslaw on top of his burger, he couldn’t help but think about Mack’s comment about burgers and fries sending people her way and smiled.
Something told him she was not a frequent patron of Lou’s. Her body was too fit, too toned to enjoy the greasy burgers and sugary donuts he liked to indulge on occasionally.
Admittedly, his eating habits hadn’t been the best. Working odd hours and living alone meant ease and convenience often won out over healthy and nutritious, though he tried to counteract that by running daily and working out when he could. He made a mental note to make regular trips toSeizepart of his schedule. An added incentive to do so: more chances he’d run into Mack again. He was curious to see if he would feel the same unusual spark of interest as he had the first time, or if that had been just a fluke.
Popping the last French fry into his mouth, Nick wiped his hands on the napkin and counted out a generous tip for the server before heading back to the Cape Cod. Marianne pulled up to the curb a minute after he did. “I had a feeling you’d like this one,” she said with a smile.
They walked around the inside. It needed a bit of work, but most of it was aesthetic. If it were his place, he’d slap on some new paint, do some minor refinishing, update the fixtures. The foundation was solid, the roof had been replaced less than ten years earlier, and there was no sign of water damage or infestation. On the surface, everything looked good.
The first floor had a nice-sized living room and kitchen, with a powder room and a mud/laundry room. The upstairs had two bedrooms, each with a nice dormer, and a shared full bath. The colors were neutral; the floorplan, simple.
“This is a good house,” he commented as he checked out the partially finished basement.
“It is,” she agreed.
The clincher was the two-bay garage at the rear of the property – plenty of room to set up shop and get back to one of his first loves: rebuilding classic muscle cars.
“So? What do you think?” Marianne asked when they reached the front door.
“I think,” he said with a smile, “Gail was right. You do have a gift for finding people the perfect space.”
Marianne smiled broadly, her cheeks flushing with color. “Thank you! I’ve got all the papers right here, but if you’d like to think about it for a few days, that’s fine.”
“No need. This is exactly what I had in mind until the right parcel comes along. You’ll help me with that, too, won’t you?”
“I’d love to!”
“Then let’s sign those papers.”
Nick was in high spirits. Things were coming together nicely. Hoping to extend his lucky streak, he decided it was the perfect time to go work off that burger.
