Fierce at Heart (The Kincaids of Pine Harbour)

by Zoe York

  “Grow up.”

  “You grow up.”

  “Already did. Had the baby and everything.” She said it lightly, but he still apologized.

  “You know I’m just teasing. We’re both all the way grown up now.”

  “I started it, it’s all good. Okay, we’re ready for yoga. When is your next shift?”

  “Day after tomorrow. Are you going to check up on me afterwards?”

  “Maybe. If only to make sure that Dad hasn’t picked on you.”

  “He doesn’t pick on me.”

  “He has been better lately,” Becca conceded. “Kerry’s a good influence on him.”

  Owen’s new wife was a great influence. They could all agree on that.

  It was only after they hung up that he realized he hadn’t told Becca about the mortgage pre-approval. For the best—if he told her, he would have to swear her to secrecy so she didn’t start a chain reaction of are you sure you’re ready texts from his brothers.

  His phone vibrated. It was Becca, forwarding the photo Seth had taken of Adam, his arm slung around Isla’s shoulders. It looked like he was holding her against him, instead of the split-second hug it had really been.

  He smiled. Well, that would distract the rumour mill for a while.

  Leaving him wide open to look into some real estate. After dropping the groceries at Will’s house, he popped in to Catie Berton’s hair salon on Main Street. She had a client in the chair getting foil highlights.

  He waved. “Afternoon, ladies. I’m just here to look at the real estate wall.”

  Catie pointed to a big QR code framed on the wall. “I’ve gone high tech, if you want to check out the latest listings on my website.”

  Hell, he could have done that from home. “All right.”

  “And as soon as I put Donna here under the dryer, I can chat more with you about what you’re looking for.”

  He pulled up her website on his phone, just to have it, then went to the wall as he had intended. Catie was Pine Harbour’s only real estate agent, and it wasn’t a full-time job, so she kept a mini office in the corner of her salon.

  It wasn’t long before she joined him. “See anything you like?”

  “Any of them would do,” he admitted. “I don’t have a clear idea of what I want, other than I don’t want it to be expensive. I’m done renting, and I’m done living in my brother’s house—not that Will isn’t a great host,” he hastened to add when her eyebrows curved up.

  This town and its gossip were both hard to control sometimes.

  “It’s just time for you to find your place.” She filled in the blanks, which Adam appreciated. “How many bedrooms?”

  “It’s just me, so something small and basic is fine. But the bedroom needs to be quiet.”

  “Because of shift work, of course. Bathrooms?”

  “Same, but if I could have a bathroom attached to a bedroom, that would be even better.”

  “En suite. Got it. Garage? Does it need to be attached to the house?”

  “I’d want one, but no, it doesn’t need to be attached.”

  “How do you feel about a fixer-upper?” She picked up a tablet and brought up a listing. “This one needs some work, but it’s empty. And the owner is eager to sell. It hits all of your criteria. It has three bedrooms, one of which has an en suite. The whole house is quiet, because it’s set back from the street a fair bit.”

  As Adam clicked through the digital slideshow, the salon door opened and Anne Minelli came in.

  Catie gave her a bright smile. “Afternoon, Anne. What can I help you with?”

  “I want to talk about the listing for my cafe.”

  Adam didn’t miss the way Catie almost rolled her eyes before sliding a professional expression of enthusiasm onto her face. “Of course, give me one second to finish up with Adam and check on Donna.”

  Adam flipped back through the photos. “It looks great. Can we go take a look at it sometime soon?”

  “How about later today?”

  “I can do that.”

  “Meet me there at…” She twisted to her client in the stylist’s chair. “Donna, do you want a blowout?”

  “Yes ma’am, I have a hot date.”

  Catie nodded affirmatively, then looked back to Adam. “All right. Let’s say five o’clock.”

  After she reminded him of the address, Adam stood and waved Anne into the chair. “Your turn.”

  “You Kincaid boys have grown up so fast, buying houses now. What will come next? Babies?”

  He didn’t bother to point out that Owen had been a father for nineteen years. He knew what she meant. Owen was the father figure, and Adam was the “kid”, even though there were only ten years between them. He didn’t need to stick around for any more of that conversation.

  Without missing a beat, Catie took over. “What would you like to do about the cafe, Anne?”

  “I want to drop the price.”

  “Good plan. What were you thinking?”

  “A dollar.”

  Adam froze. He couldn’t have heard that correctly.

  Catie clearly couldn’t believe it either. “Say that again?”

  “With certain specific conditions, I want to drop the price of the cafe to a dollar.” Anne paused, and Adam felt her attention drift in his direction.

  It wasn’t his fault that her real estate agent’s office had zero privacy, because it was in the corner of a hair salon. But on the other hand, it wasn’t polite to be a nosy Kincaid. He lifted his hand and waved goodbye to all three ladies.

  Maybe if he was lucky, Catie would fill him in at the showing in two hours.

  Chapter Five

  Two thoughts rocketed around Adam’s mind as he waited for Catie outside the house he was going to look at. He really wanted to tell Isla about Anne Minelli basically giving away her cafe. It was a de facto bakery—they had homemade muffins and pies. And at the same time, he knew the conditions were a deal-breaker.

  He didn’t need to wait for Catie to show up and spill the tea. She’d updated the cafe’s listing on her website just a few minutes ago.

  Looking at the screen again, he shook his head. He couldn’t ask Isla if she wanted to…

  No.

  He flipped over to their text messages.

  Adam: What are you doing?

  Isla: Chopping pistachios. How about you?

  Adam: Waiting to look at a house. I might buy it, although it’s not much to look at from the outside.

  Isla: Are you there right now?

  Adam: Standing across the street

  He took a picture of the one-and-a-half-storey cottage with peeling paint and a sagging porch and texted it to her.

  Isla: Ooh, I like that! Call me later and tell me if it’s cute on the inside, too.

  She was way too kind. The house was only cute if he squinted, and inside he expected the same.

  He shoved his phone in his pocket and took another hard look at the house. It was a few blocks from Main Street, on the same side of town as Owen and Kerry’s place. Will lived on the other side, in the newer build, but everywhere was walkable.

  He liked the long driveway and the tall trees. The paint was a long weekend of work to repair, and a new porch was doable. But from the photos, he knew there was work to be done inside as well.

  Was he biting off more than he could chew?

  And was he really considering buying a house he hadn’t yet stepped foot inside?

  It’s time. He felt that inside like a drumbeat. He had the job, now he needed a home. One big enough for him and a wife, maybe.

  He crossed the street just as Catie arrived.

  The porch creaked, but the boards held up just fine under his weight. Catie got the key from the lockbox on the screen door as he peered in the windows.

  “It’s unfurnished,” she said as she pushed the door open. “A blank canvas.”

  The foyer was dark, the doorway they were standing in the only source of light. Catie moved in further an
d flipped on an overhead light in the wider room beyond the entrance. In that space, a small living room with a fireplace on the left wall, a staircase climbed up the right-hand side of the room. So far, it looked just like the photos in the slideshow, if a bit smaller in real life.

  Adam squinted and tried to picture where he might put a couch and a TV. The place had nice wood floors. Easy to keep clean, he figured.

  “It’s cozy.” The brightness in Catie’s voice made Adam laugh.

  “Your positive spin is noted,” he said dryly. “Is the kitchen through there?”

  “Yep. And one of the bedrooms.” Her expression slid from salesperson to delicate professional. “The former owner lived on the main floor for the, uh, final few years.”

  “Ah.” Adam poked his head into the kitchen. It was as he expected from the listing, small and forgettable. Then he pivoted and went down the small hallway to the bedroom at the end. Unlike the rest of the house, it was large, with a window that overlooked the front garden. But the best part of it was an en suite bathroom built off it, with a tiled walk-in shower. He whistled. This looked bigger and better than in the photos.

  “This bathroom is definitely the selling feature for the house. There’s another one upstairs that’s more…original. There weren’t any photos taken of it for the listing.”

  “Let’s go see that, then.” He led the way, already feeling at home in the space.

  The stairs were narrow, but the landing at the top was big. Off of it were three doors. The aforementioned bathroom, with an original cast iron tub, cracked linoleum flooring, and yellowed wallpaper. At the front of the house was a room that didn’t look big enough for a full-sized bed, but it could be an office or a workout space.

  The second bedroom, though, was a decent size. And more importantly, as he walked over to the small window overlooking the backyard, he realized it was completely quiet.

  He could have a bed up here for when he needed to sleep during the day and avoid any street noise.

  “Do you think the price is firm?”

  Catie hesitated.

  “I need to do something about that bathroom, and the kitchen downstairs. This place needs more than a little work.”

  “The price reflects the potential. But if you made an offer, they can always counter.”

  Adam glanced at his watch. It was twenty minutes after five. His brothers should all be available for a quick consult—but he didn’t need them to weigh in on this.

  He thought about what he’d been pre-approved for at the bank, and the list price. He could easily afford to offer just below the list price and still be able to get a line of credit for the renovation work. Or maybe he’d do it himself, slowly.

  It wasn’t like he had anything else to do in his downtime.

  By five-thirty, they were back at the salon so he could sign the offer. By six, his offer was accepted. And he’d done it all on his own.

  “Congratulations,” Catie said as she locked up the salon behind them.

  “Thanks.” Adam thought about asking about the cafe, but then thought better of it—he didn’t need to feed a rumour mill that might get back to his brothers, who were already sharing photos of Adam and Isla looking like they were falling in love.

  Once Isla’s tarts were in the fridge to set, she put on her favourite YouTube workout and poured her frustration into a high-intensity interval training session that left her drenched in sweat and feeling thoroughly wrung out.

  Her final bake sale pop-up event organized through the school was a week away, and she had zero prospects for work on the other side of that.

  She didn’t want to get a job in a restaurant. She’d left that kind of high-pressure alpha environment behind when she left the military. But she had enough money to cover her rent for three more months, and that was only if she didn’t spend any extra money on recipe development.

  Her phone rang just as her workout ended.

  “How was the house?” she gasped as she collapsed on the carpet.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Never better.”

  “You sound like you’re being chased by a murderer.”

  “This is how I spend my free time. Practicing for the apocalypse. Don’t want to be anyone’s prey.”

  Adam snorted. “Are you in the middle of a workout?”

  “You’re quite the detective. I just finished. Tell me about the house.”

  “Well…” He laughed. “I bought it. I take possession in ten days.”

  “What? That’s incredible.”

  “I think the previous owner may have died in it? I didn’t ask. But it’s been on the market and empty all summer, so basically, as soon as the mortgage and title transfer can get set up, it’s mine.” There was a bit of wonder in his voice that made her chest ache. Once upon a time, she’d wanted to buy a house, too. In a different life. “It’s not much, but it’s mine.”

  “Congratulations. Are you celebrating tonight?”

  “Just waiting for my brothers to get home, then I’ll break the news to them.”

  She knew he was staying at his brother Will’s place. Breaking the news didn’t sound like a celebration, though.

  “I didn’t even know you were looking.” She felt a bit silly saying that, because it wasn’t like they were close enough for him to confide a big life decision like that—except he had told her, hadn’t he?

  “Neither did I until this morning.”

  That sounded specific, like something had triggered him to go hunting. “What happened?”

  “There isn’t a ton of privacy at Will’s. It’s all open concept, so sound carries. When I got home from my shift, he was just getting ready for the day. And I just thought…I’m a grown man. I need my own space, that’s nice and quiet, so I can come home and rack out without waiting for someone else to have a shower.”

  “His shower pushed you over the edge?”

  “It was loud.”

  “And then you went to see a house, and then…done.”

  “It just felt right.” He yawned in her ear, like he’d just stretched. Or like he’d just had a twenty-four-hour shift and only napped a bit.

  “You sound tired.”

  He chuckled. “A little. I’m still adjusting to the schedule.” Then he groaned. “Speaking of a lack of privacy, my brothers are back from work. Hang on, I have to go tell them I bought groceries.” She listened as he moved through his brother’s house, as he greeted people and told them there was cold beer in the fridge. “I’m just wrapping up a call with Isla, then I’ve got some news.”

  There was a scramble, then a different voice came on the line. “Hey, Isla. This is Will.”

  “Hi, Will.” She laughed. “Can you put Adam back on the phone?”

  “He’s busy right now. Listen—” He grunted as the phone was grabbed back, and in the background someone shouted about wanting more cookies.

  “I gotta go,” Adam said, out of breath. Then he hollered something profane back at his brothers as she heard laughing.

  “Now you’re the one who sounds like they’re running from a murderer,” she teased.

  Adam set his phone down after Isla hung up and flipped his brothers a double bird. “Was that necessary?”

  Will grabbed his suit jacket from where he’d hung it on the back of a chair. “It was more fun than necessary. The way you got all panicked when I tried to talk to her. Man, you’ve got it bad.”

  Shaking his head, Adam went to the fridge, nudging Josh out of the way. He needed a beer. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “She’d be good for you,” Josh said.

  It wasn’t like Adam didn’t see what they saw—Isla was smart and beautiful, kind and funny. But he didn’t need a woman to improve his life. He was doing just fine on his own. And he’d already told them she was getting over a divorce. So he said nothing, just shrugged and popped the cap off his bottle.

  Will made it almost out of the room, then stopped and turned aroun
d. “Hey, thanks for grabbing the groceries. What was the total damage? I’ll transfer you some money.”

  Adam waved him off. “Nah, it was my turn.”

  “You sure? I don’t mind covering that while you get your feet under you.”

  Fucking hell. He loved his brothers, but the concern was misplaced. A worn-out laugh ripped from Adam’s chest. “It’s all good. Go change, then come back down so I can share my news.”

  Will frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  “Why do you assume something is wrong?” Adam turned to Josh. “How was your day?” I bought a house.

  Josh made a not-displeased face and flicked his hair, still damp from a shower, out of his eyes as he pulled a tray of steaks out of the fridge. “Not bad. Started work on a sweet 1970 Firebird. Hey, T-bones!”

  I bought those, too. Adam took a long, cold swig of beer.

  Will returned quickly. “So, what’s your news?”

  Adam grinned, took another long slug of beer, and shrugged. “I bought a house.”

  Josh set the steaks on the counter.

  Will crossed his arms over his chest.

  And then they both gave each other a look that broadcasted concern clear as day.

  “Is that wise?”

  “It’s not a money pit, is it?” Oh, that was rich, coming from the guy who’d bought a garage that was barely habitable.

  Adam blinked at them both. “Thanks, I’m thrilled.”

  “Right. Of course. We are, too.” Will cleared his throat.

  Josh took his sweet time nodding. “Totally. Congrats, man.”

  “Fuck you both.”

  “Well, it’s surprising,” Will said. “Why’d you keep it a secret?”

  “When do we get to see it?”

  He ignored the first question and went straight to the second. “I have a home inspection tomorrow. Middle of the day, though.”

  As if it were just dawning on him that Will would be at school. Owen had to work tomorrow, too. He’d picked that timing deliberately to minimize Kincaid overload. But he couldn’t stop Josh for clearing his schedule.

  “I’ll be there.” Then Josh nodded at Will as if to say, don’t worry, I’ll look out for him.