Hope's River

by McHeyzer , Margaret

Charlie walks in one way, then out the other. “It’s dark. But it’s obvious it isn’t an add-on. Whoever had this house did some minor renovations. See here?” He points to the ceiling. There’s a gap between where the wall should end, and the ceiling.

  “I didn’t notice that before.”

  “They probably needed extra space, and added a temporary room. What’s over here?”

  “The dining room.”

  Charlie walks in, and looks around. “This is massive.” I nod. “And back here is the kitchen?” I nod again. He walks through the small door, and walks out not even a moment later. “Dark, and dingy. And there’s a crappy half bath in the kitchen.”

  “Yeah, I’m thinking of taking this all back to studs. Strip it down. Try to maintain these floors though, and the coffer ceiling.”

  “There’s almost no way we can keep the floors. We’ll try, but I doubt it. What’s upstairs?”

  “Four bedrooms and a tiny bathroom.”

  “Give me a minute.” He goes to the staircase, grabs hold of the railing and rocks it. “Yeah, real safe,” he sarcastically says before taking off up the stairs. I can hear him walking around, and it doesn’t take long for him to come down again. “It’s tight up there. If you want to make any real impact, you’re going to have to go out.” He looks to the back, then disappears into the kitchen again. When he returns, he’s scratching his chin. “No back door?”

  “No back door.”

  “Show me the back.” I lock up, and we make our way down the porch and around to the back. “Where’s the border of the land?”

  “See that line of trees down there?” I point into the distance. “There. We have room. And once we get it cleaned up, we’ll see exactly what we’re dealing with. But I’m still thinking.” I grit my teeth because I know what Charlie is going to say. “Let’s push this wall out, giving us extra living area down stairs. Upstairs, we can have a master retreat, with four bedrooms.”

  “Five bedrooms? Why five bedrooms?”

  “The one thing I’ve noticed is families usually stay here for several generations. May has her niece coming to stay with her, and I’m sure others are the same.”

  “How far do you want to push this out? Like what, ten feet?”

  “Maybe fifteen.”

  “Hope, what are you going to do with all that space downstairs? Create a ballroom?”

  “Maybe a second master bedroom suite, and an office.”

  Charlie stares at me for a few seconds, before rubbing at his temples. “Whatever you want to do, Hope. You’re the boss. But remember, it’s just a house.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “When do you think you can have the plans drawn up?”

  “A week, maybe ten days.”

  Charlie huffs, and takes one final look around. “Well, I have my tools here. You’ve already called for a dumpster, so I can start ripping the kitchen and bathrooms out.”

  “Get it tested for lead and asbestos first.”

  Charlie pushes me as we’re walking back to my truck. “This ain’t my first rodeo, baby sis. I know.”

  Opening the door to jump into the truck, I take one final look at the house, and smile. It’s okay, old girl, I’m going to bring you back to life.

  Meow.

  Charlie and I both look at each other, then around. “Did you hear that?” I ask.

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  Meow.

  “There’s a cat somewhere close.” I look in the truck, but there’s no cat. Meow. “You’ve got to be kidding!”

  “What?” Charlie looks to where I’m staring.

  There’s a gray and white cat sitting in the bed of my truck. “Shoo,” I say as I tap on the window for it to disappear. The cat turns its head, looks at me, and lets out a meow. Then it continues ignoring me. “Hey, get out.”

  Charlie gets out of the truck’s cab. The cat sees him and jumps out of the bed and struts away. When Charlie gets back in, I watch as the cat sits, looking around it. Meow.

  “Does this shit house come with a cat?” Charlie asks.

  “Hell no. I’m not a cat person. It’s the first time I’ve seen it here. It’ll probably be gone by tomorrow.” I drive away, not thinking twice about the stupid cat. “When we get back, if you want to familiarize yourself with what the town has, and the town over. I’m going to try and figure out the plans of the house. Find someone to take care of those crazy weeds and bushes.”

  “Yeah, on it. Let’s get that cleaned out, and I’ll call to get the dumpster delivered. I wanna get a start on this as quickly as possible. What’s the time frame?”

  “I want to push this out in twelve to fourteen weeks.”

  “Man, that’s tight. It’s a huge job, Hope, and if there’s asbestos or lead it’ll take longer.”

  We pull up at May’s and I see another car in the driveway. When Charlie and I get out of the truck and head toward the stable, I hear May calling out to me. “Hope, Charlie, come here and meet my niece.”

  “Ugh, does she do that a lot?” Charlie mumbles under his breath.

  “Not really, she keeps to herself. Stop being an ass, and come say hi to her niece.”

  “Fine. Only because she’s nice enough to let me stay with you.”

  “Honestly, she doesn’t meddle.”

  We walk up the stairs to the front door. May is holding it open for us. “Come in, come in. I want you both to meet Tabitha. Tabitha, come meet Hope and her brother Charlie.”

  “Hang on a second,” Tabitha calls from the back of the house. Probably the bedroom I made up for her. From the back I hear footsteps approaching, and when I turn to look at Tabitha, I know without one single iota of doubt, Charlie is in trouble. Tabitha is just the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen. She’s wearing a sundress that goes to her knees with black cowboy boots. Her long blonde hair falls to just below her shoulders, and she has pale, flawless skin making her vibrant green eyes pop.

  “Hello, I’m Tabitha,” she introduces herself. “My aunt has told me all about you. Hope, and Charlie, right?”

  “Hi. Such a pleasure to meet you too.” I hold my hand out to her. I turn to Charlie who looks like he’s swallowed his tongue. He’s staring at Tabitha. “And this is my brother, Charlie.”

  “Hi.” She smiles at him.

  “Um. Hi.” He shakes his head slightly and blinks rapidly a few times.

  “It’s really nice meeting you, Tabitha. Charlie and I have a lot of work to do, and I’m sure you want to catch up with your aunt. Have a good night.”

  “We’ll talk in the morning. Will you and Charlie join us for breakfast?”

  “Yes!” Charlie yells. I look at him, and smack his arm. “I mean, yes, thank you.” Charlie better keep his hormones in check, because I don’t want him screwing Tabitha around.

  “Thank you.” I start moving toward the door, and Charlie hasn’t moved. “Charlie!”

  “Yep, I’m coming. Nice meeting you,” he says to Tabitha before turning and jogging up to me. “Oh, shit,” he whispers as we leave.

  I stop walking, and grab his arm. “Don’t try to chase that girl, Charlie. I know what you’re like, she’s exactly the type you go for.”

  “I know, I know. Okay, I promise, I won’t do anything with her.” He crosses his heart. “Just so you know, it’s going to kill me. But I won’t do anything.”

  “This is a tiny town, and everyone knows everything. Don’t screw this up.”

  “I said I won’t. Have some faith in me.”

  “I do,” I sigh. “Right, let’s get to work.” We head to the stable, where I start thinking about a new floor plan for Old Roger’s house.

  “Hope, how are things?” Elle asks as she rushes around the café. “Coffee?”

  “Yes, please. How are you? I haven’t had a chance to talk to you since our night out.”

  Elle starts laughing. “Jake said I was throwing up in the bushes out in front of the bar, and you were holding my hair back.”

  “Oh God
,” I whisper as I feel my face burning. “I forgot about that. Did he say anything else?”

  “No.”

  I look around the café, and the only person who can hear is that old guy at the counter. I lean over and motion for Elle to come closer. When she does, I whisper, “Did you and the Sheriff…?”

  “Nope. No, it’s not like that with him. We’re friends.” She winces without making eye contact with me.

  “Are you?” I ask.

  “Nothing happened. Nothing’s going to happen. It’s not like that for us, okay?”

  Hmm, we’ll see. “Okay,” I say placating her. Even so, I’m sure she wants more from him. “Can I get two coffees, and two blueberry muffins please.”

  “Two?” Elle asks.

  The old guy at the counter turns and says to Elle. “Yeah, her brother is in town. What’s his name? Chase, or Chuck or something like that.”

  I stare at the old man, still having no idea of his name, or how he knows about Charlie already. “Charlie,” I correct.

  “Ah yes.” He holds a finger up as if I’ve reminded him. “Apparently, he’s a nice kid. Got a team together to get the yard tamed over at Old Roger’s house.”

  “He has? Already?” I ask. How does he know this before I do? But then again, why am I even surprised in this town?

  “Oh yes. A few of the townsfolk put their hand up to help. I’m going to finish my breakfast and head out there myself.”

  “Murray, that’s sweet of you,” Elle says as she tops up his coffee.

  Huh, I look at him. He doesn’t look like a Murray. More like a Frank, or Joe. “Yeah, that’s really nice of you, Murray. Thank you,” I say.

  “Yeah, it’s my pleasure, Hope. You know, everyone’s real happy you’re going to do something with Old Roger’s house. It’s been sitting like that for so many years, but it has a lot of history too, and no one wants to see it torn down. Wait, you’re not tearing it down are ya?”

  “No, not tearing it down. But we’re likely taking it back to studs.”

  “You know there’s an army of men around here who’d be happy to help with it. Myself included.”

  I smile at Murray, and gently place my hand on his back. “Thank you.”

  “Here you go, Hope. Two coffees, and two blueberry muffins. Bring that brother of yours around. I’d like to meet him.”

  “I will. I’ll see you later.” I pay Elle, then take the two coffees, balancing them on top of each other, and the paper bag with the two blueberry muffins. Getting in my truck, I drive over to the house, which takes only a matter of a few moments. “Holy shit,” I say as I pull up in front of the house.

  Already there’s a huge dumpster placed to the side of the house, which is quickly being filled by the ensemble of people working on the yard. “Hope!” I hear from the top of the porch. Looking up, I see Charlie. He jumps off the steps, and jogs down toward me. I hand him his coffee, and the bag with the two muffins.

  “What…how? I’m not even sure what to say.” I’m stunned by the number of people working.

  “Something else, eh? I made two phone calls this morning. First was for the dumpster.”

  “Which is already here? When has that ever happened before in all the years we’ve flipped houses?”

  “The moment I said it was for this house, they said they could load it on the truck and bring it out right away. Then I made one other phone call to a place I found so they could come and quote us for clearing the yard. Next thing I know, four trucks showed up with people, and they’ve all been working ever since.”

  “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

  “I know.”

  Charlie sips on his coffee, and all I can do is look around at all the people here. The yard itself is taking shape. And I think by the end of the day we may even have a clean slate. “We can’t afford this many people, Charlie.”

  “They don’t want payment. All they want is to restore this eye-sore behind me. Apparently, this house means so much more to people than what you or I could ever imagine. Now I can’t use my rags and gasoline.”

  “They don’t want payment? Who works for free?” I look to Charlie who shrugs, then sips on his coffee. “We can’t let them do all this yard work, and not do something for them.”

  “Hey, you’re the boss. You can do whatever you want.”

  This town is something else. “You know, when I arrived everyone knew my name within the day. And now these people, who don’t really know either you or me, are sacrificing their day to come here and help.” I turn to Charlie and place my hand on his forearm. “Doesn’t that just, like…I don’t know.” I huff in frustration that I can’t articulate what I’m feeling. “Doesn’t that speak to your soul, Charlie? Out of all the houses we’ve flipped, when have we ever had a turnout of people who just want to help with no strings attached?”

  “I can’t recall a time,” he answers candidly.

  “Okay. Well, I’ll meet you inside. We have to do something for them.” I gesture toward the people who are working hard. Pulling out my phone, I call Elle.

  “Hey. Everything okay?” she asks.

  “Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” I don’t give her time to answer. “Anyway, I need you to do something for me.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’ve got at least twenty people working in the yard trying to clear it. Apparently, no one wants to take payment for their work. Can you get some food ready and bring it over to Old Roger’s house? Enough for say thirty people?”

  “Shit, Hope. Um, I can try. What time do you want this for?”

  I look at the time on my phone. “It’s already just after nine, and the yard is looking amazing. It wouldn’t surprise me if they’ve been here for at least the last two hours. Do you think you can get food over here for eleven?”

  I hear Elle suck in a breath. “I don’t think I can get it done for eleven, but maybe eleven-thirty. I’ll call in some help. Do you have a budget?”

  “Whatever it is, it’s fine. I’ll pay you tonight if that’s alright?”

  “No problems. Leave it with me.”

  “Thanks, Elle.”

  We hang up, and I look around. A part of me wants to thank everyone individually, but I know if I start doing that, it’ll slow all of us down. It’s best if I wait until Elle gets here and make a small speech at lunch. Heading up the stairs, I smile at whoever I come across. But most people are scattered and working all over the land. I head in, and Charlie’s already pulling the kitchen out. “Okay, wow. It’s already so different.”

  “It’ll look even better when we take this wall down.” He hits the sledgehammer into the back wall.

  “I think I’ve got most of the new layout drawn up. I’m trying to figure out upstairs though.”

  “What?”

  “I’m thinking we have a bathroom in each room.”

  “What? That’s insane. Not every room needs a bathroom.” Charlie protests. “And don’t forget, there are costs involved if you want to put a bathroom in each room. There’s already a master suite going in, right?” I nod. “And four bedrooms?” I nod again. “Five bedrooms with six bathrooms? Who would want six bathrooms?”

  “I’m thinking of creating two master suites.”

  Charlie blows out a large breath. “Two master suites? Yeah, you’ve gone insane.”

  “Look. Bear with me.” He rolls his eyes as I start talking. “Come.” I walk out of the kitchen, and turn to look at Charlie, trying to coax him out of the kitchen. I stand at the entry way. “If we have a master suite downstairs, that could be for in-laws, parents, grandparents, anyone. If we leave the stairs where they are, we can create this side as a first master suite that opens up to an outdoor patio. This side we can have as open concept living, dining, and kitchen. We can have a butler’s pantry to the side, and a separate mudroom behind it.”

  “Then you’re going to have the stairs in the middle of the space, blocking the view of the kitchen. It won’t be open concept. And you know
, open concept is what sells.”

  “Kitchens and bathrooms sell houses. But you’re right, the stairs will be blocking the kitchen.” We both stand looking at the space. “I think I’ll have to stick with moving the stairs to the side. The issue with the house is it’s wide, but not long.”

  “With an extra fifteen feet on the back, then it’ll be wide and long.”

  Nodding, I think I’ve got the plan for the downstairs working in my head. “Actually, you know what?” I look at Charlie who shakes his head. “I’m going to change it completely.”

  “How surprising.” He rolls his eyes. “Look, you do what you do best, and I’m going to keep going with demo.” He flashes me a cheeky smile. “My favorite thing about renovations.”

  “Demo day,” we say together.

  I run out to my truck and get a notepad and pen. When I come back in, all I can hear is a flurry of noises—Charlie bashing away in the kitchen, and everyone else weed-whacking outside. Sitting on the floor, I stare at the space, imagining so many different layouts. The stairs are what’s throwing me, and the more I stare at the space, the more I like the idea of moving them completely.

  “Hello?” I hear a knock on the door, and look up to find River entering the house.

  Lord give me the strength not to stare at his lips, or his beautifully shapely arms. “River. What are you doing here?” I ask. Please, please, please, don’t stare at him.

  “There’s word you may need help with the yard. I’ve come to help.” He gives me a small smile just before lowering his eyes. “But it seems like a lot of people have come out to help. So, I can…” He hooks his thumb over his shoulder.

  “No, you don’t have to,” I say way too eagerly. “I mean Charlie could probably use the help with demo. Or you can help out in the yard. Any extra pair of hands will be a great help.” I draw my brows in together. “Hang on, aren’t you working?”

  “My customer cancelled, and my next one isn’t until two. So you can use me until then, anything you want.” He sticks his hand in his pockets and struggles to keep the small smile off his face.

  Use him? Hell yes. I can use him. He can strip his clothes off and let me run my hands all over his taut chest. God, he does something to me. He’s the quiet type, so understated. Those damned butterflies in my stomach spring to life, as my heart flutters at his mere presence. I’ve missed River, so much. And I had no idea until he showed up here. “Sure,” my voice cracks. Hold it together, Hope. “Charlie!” I call. Charlie’s bashing away, and I doubt he heard. I start walking in toward the kitchen, and when I get in there, I find Charlie has protection over his ears. “Charlie!”