A Good Day to Buy

by Sherry Harris

  “I don’t get it.”

  “Tim showed all the charges to the officer questioning him during the investigation. No one looked beyond that because it all seemed legit.”

  “What good did that do?”

  “Tim figured if all else failed, and he had this back-up plan, the officer would check his phone records and realize the calls were placed from here. He was willing to take the blame so his mother wouldn’t have to go to jail. He said he owed her that and more.”

  “If he wanted to save his mom, why didn’t he just confess?”

  “Because he knew they suspected my brother. He hoped they would pin it on him.”

  “That’s horrible.”

  I clenched my champagne glass. “I know. I understand trying to protect your family. But not by blaming an innocent person.” I, at least, had been ready to turn Luke in if he’d been guilty.

  “I wonder what will happen to her.”

  “I don’t know. As DA, it’s up to Seth to decide on the charges.” I raised my champagne glass. “But this is supposed to be a celebration. Here’s to you and your new adventure.”

  We clinked our glasses together. “Are you going to put your house on the market now?” I asked.

  “Unless I can find a buyer without having to go through a Realtor. I’ll give them a great price.”

  We toasted to that.

  “What about you and CJ?” Gennie asked. “This house would be great for you.”

  I had fallen in love with it during the months I’d worked here. The kitchen was beautiful, really too nice for someone with my cooking skills, but maybe I could learn. I pictured CJ and I working side by side in here. He could have a gym in the basement. I could use one of the bedrooms overlooking the large backyard as an office. Maybe we could get a dog. I’d have a lot of fun scouring flea markets and garage sales for things to furnish the house with.

  “I’ll even leave the punching bag down there as a remembrance of me.”

  I laughed. “You’re right. It’s perfect. CJ and I are having dinner tonight. I’ll talk to him about it. He’s been wanting us to move in together to really restart our lives.” I’d miss seeing Stella as much as I did, but at least I wouldn’t have to share walls with the likes of Ryne O’Rourke.

  Chapter 39

  I zipped home. CJ’s car was parked in front of the house. I ran up the stairs and pushed open the door.

  “I have great news,” I said.

  “Me too.” CJ picked me up and twirled me around. “I applied for my dream job. Chief of police in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. There’s even a house for sale down the street from my parents. It’s brand spanking, new. Not like the old creaky houses around here. With vaulted ceilings, a swimming pool, and a hot tub. And you won’t have to run your business anymore.”

  I felt dizzy from the twirling and what CJ was saying. “My business?” I loved what I did.

  “No more cold winters. Plenty of fishing. The cost of living is way cheaper.” CJ put me down and looked at my face. I made no attempt to hide my distress. “We don’t have to live by my parents if that’s why you’re upset.”

  “It’s not. I love my business.”

  “Okay. Well, there you won’t have to stop in the winter. You can run it all year.” He looked so proud of himself.

  “But you applied for it without even talking to me.”

  “Not just applied for it,” CJ said. “I’ve had two interviews and I’m their top candidate. I wanted to surprise you. This will be the best assignment ever.”

  “It’s not an assignment. Not like when the Air Force sent us someplace. You chose it.” I walked to the window that overlooked the town common. The church bells chimed. I loved my friends here and Ellington, even with the terrible winters.

  “You’ve always known I wanted to move back there someday. You always say how beautiful the beaches are, how it’s a great place to go antiquing.”

  CJ had sacrificed a lot for serving in the Air Force. He deserved his dream job. He was right about the weather, antiques, and beaches. I turned back to face CJ. “But we’ve made our life here. I even found the perfect house for us. Gennie’s. She said she’d give us a good deal. Call the department in Fort Walton and decline.”

  “That old house?” CJ looked perplexed.

  Minutes ago, I’d been excited about life, about how things were working out. “I can’t believe you’d do this to me. To us,” I said.

  CJ sat on the couch, arms resting on his knees. He stared down at his clasped hands and then shook his head. “I’ve tried to keep this to myself, but I can’t anymore.There’s something you’ve been keeping from me,” CJ said, looking up at me.

  I tried to decipher his expression: sad, frustrated, angry. All of the above. Yes, I’d been keeping something from him, but I stopped myself before I said it out loud.

  “I know there is. I’ve felt it these past couple of months. I couldn’t figure out what and wanted to give you the space so you could tell me, so you’d trust me.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “I don’t get why you can’t trust me after all our years together.”

  “I made a promise to someone. You wouldn’t want me to break a promise I made to you,” I said. I had to talk to Mike Titone, to get him to release me from my promise.

  “No, I wouldn’t, but it’s me. Your husband—” He held up a hand. “I know. We aren’t married, but we should be. I want to be. Do you?”

  Aargh, such a loaded question. Yes, eventually I did. I loved CJ, but I liked dating him.

  CJ walked over to me and ran a finger down my cheek. “We need a fresh start. Away from the people here.”

  I shook my head. Was he talking about Seth? Seth who I’d hardly seen? Who I’d moved beyond. But who CJ had said loved me only last week. “I like the people here. I’d miss them.”

  “It’s not like you can’t come back and visit. You’ve always made the best of everywhere we moved. You didn’t even want to come here.”

  “That’s true.” But people called Fitch the best kept secret in the Air Force. I’d always made the best of our assignments because it was either that or being miserable for a few years. It often became as much about the people as the place, but here it was the whole package. “Being stationed here wasn’t a choice. Leaving is.”

  “There are two bases there. Which means two thrift shops you can volunteer at. You love doing that. Double the fun.”

  “You don’t get it. You could switch Fort Walton out for London or Paris and I’d feel the same way. You didn’t talk to me about a major change in our lives.”

  CJ took a step back from me. “What are you saying?”

  “I don’t know.” I turned back to the window and looked across the common again. I could see Carol’s shop, the DiNapoli’s restaurant, and thought about how at home my friends here made me feel. I thought of my promise to CJ, not to let him die a lonely old man. I loved him. We had a long history of loving each other. Every couple had their problems to work through. Maybe I needed to dig deeper, to work harder on us.

  But I’d also become my own person since the divorce. With my own goals and needs. Maybe my promise to CJ wasn’t enough. Maybe sometimes love wasn’t enough.

  Should I stay? CJ came up behind me, put his arms around me, and rested his chin on the top of my head. Should I go?

  Garage Sale Tips

  Pricing Items – there are a number of different ways to price your items. You can try to do it with a color-coded system like Sarah did at the beginning of A Good Day to Buy, you can lump like things together (all paperback books for fifty cents apiece, for example), or you can price every item individually. The first two save time, but as things get moved around, it can create confusion. If you have someone helping you (and you should) they must know your system as well as you do. Individual pricing takes a lot longer so you have to decide if the time is worth it or if you lose a little here or there from things being moved around, that it won’t matter to you.

  Lots of peop
le check the prices of things on sites like eBay to determine how they will price things. This method is good to a point. However, some people will overprice things and some will underprice. So follow an auction to see what the final price is or if anyone even bids on it. If no one bids on a popular item, you know the price is too high. If you have something that you think might be very valuable, call in an expert. It’s the only real way to find the actual value. But make sure the person is qualified and trustworthy. (I’m not asking much, am I?)

  It’s okay to mark FIRM on one or two items. But don’t overdo it because most people enjoy the process of bargaining.

  Are you an introvert? Ask an extrovert to come help you with the sale. They can bargain and welcome people.

  People will buy almost anything. But don’t put perishables out, and do check to see if your community has regulations about what can and can’t be sold.

  If you have a hard time parting with things, put the items you want to sell in black plastic bags so they are out of sight until the day of the sale. Have a friend come over to help sort. It’s a lot easier for them to tell you if you haven’t used it in five years, you don’t need it. Be brave.

  Acknowledgements

  My deepest gratitude goes to my agent John Talbot of the Talbot Fortune Agency and my editor at Kensington, Gary Goldstein. Thanks for making this journey an adventure and for making me laugh.

  To Barb Goffman, Donna Andrews, Clare Boggs, Robin Templeton, and Mary Titone—each of you added something special to this book and I’m so glad to call you all friends. Barb edits an early draft and, as I revise, continues to give me thoughtful advice. Mary not only reads but acts as my publicist. I don’t deserve you.

  To my Wicked Cozy Author and Wicked Cozy Accomplice blog mates—Jessie Crockett, Julie Hennrikus, Edith Maxwell, Liz Mugavero, Barbara Ross, Sheila Connolly, Jane Haertel, and Kim Gray—this wouldn’t be as much fun without you. I love that when I write you saying I’ve gone completely bonkers with this book, you write back saying, “She’s crazy. But mostly in a good way.”

  To my family, for sticking with me even when I’m at my grumpiest—I love you.