* * *
The location was gorgeous, and as soon as I turned onto the road running parallel to the Gulf of Mexico, an unexpected sense of peace washed over me. Seafood restaurants, boutiques, hotels, and condos lined the road with occasional empty lots that provided a pristine view of the beach and water. Although everything was shinier than I usually liked—a little too pretty—I fell in love at first sight.
This had to be why Pops insisted I see the place before selling it. But had he expected me to move here? I’ll never know. When I first pulled up to the address on his paperwork, I thought he must have known. The place sat right on the main road and across the street from the Gulf in one of those exact spots where there was nothing but beach and water on the other side. It looked as though he’d had it all prepared for me.
I sat in the paved driveway, waiting for Buck the real estate agent to meet me. I’d called him from a pay phone at my last stop for gas in Tampa, and he’d accurately estimated I was thirty minutes away. He would arrive any minute.
“It’s . . . nice, isn’t it?” I asked Sammy as I slid out of the Jeep, never taking my eyes off the property as he hopped into the driver’s seat, then jumped down and immediately began exploring.
The house itself, quite a large one, wasn’t exactly what I’d imagined Pops buying for himself or thinking I’d want, but for some reason, I did kind of like it. With its Asian-style architecture, it felt out of place among all the modern and Spanish-style homes I’d seen so far, which was probably what made the house perfect for me. After all, I was usually out of place, too, wherever I was.
I waited impatiently for Buck, unable to keep myself from climbing the wide, covered front porch and peeking into the glass doors and windows. The place was furnished! Not exactly my style— it looked as though a Swatch watch had barfed all over the inside with tacky modern geometric patterns and lots of pastels—nor Pops’, but probably typical for the area. It would be fine for the summers, the only time I’d be able to spend here, if even that. And the view across the street made up for it all. Still peeking into windows, I began to wonder if Buck had forgotten about me as I circled the house, astonished to find a smaller version of the home at the rear of the property. A guest house?
And was someone inside? I thought I saw movement through one of the windows, possibly a renter, but a voice from behind me made me spin around.
CHAPTER 9
“Well, there you are.” The familiar voice unmistakably belonged to Buck, a thin man, average height, his head balding with patches of yellow on the sides. Sammy ran to my side and stood with his ears up, his whole body on alert. Although he didn’t growl, I sensed he didn’t like Buck very much. “Since you didn’t show up when I thought you would, I was a little concerned something happened to you, but thought I’d check over here before I got too worried.”
I cocked my head as I approached him. I’d been here almost exactly the time he’d expected. He was the one who hadn’t shown up on time. “Um ... sorry?”
“You’re Jacey Burns, right?” Buck asked, holding his hand out to me, his fingernails yellowed, probably from years of smoking if the smell of stale tobacco enveloping him meant anything.
“Yes.” I reluctantly shook his hand, letting go as soon as politely possible, and casually wiped my hand on my jeans. “But I’ve been here for nearly an hour, waiting on you.”
“Oh, yes. You were on time, I suppose, but so was I. Only, I was at the right place, and you aren’t.”
I looked at the unusual but pretty house and back at him, my eyes narrowing. “What do you mean?”
“You’re on Gulf Drive North. You want to be on Gulf Drive South. When you crossed the bridge, you should have turned left, not right.”
My heart sank. “So this isn’t my place?”
“Nope. Follow me and I’ll take you there.” He looked me up and down, as though studying my black Psychedelic Furs concert shirt, ripped-up jeans and Converse high-tops. “Your place is more suited to you. I’m sure you’ll love it.”
My eyes narrowed tighter. What did he know about me? I happened to love the oversized Asian house, even if it was a little . . . pretentious. Biting my tongue, I called Sammy to the Jeep, and we followed Buck’s ugly gold sedan back the way we’d come, passing the bridge I’d crossed from the mainland. Although only a bridge separated the two areas, I felt as though we’d crossed into a whole different world. Pink, green, bright blue and lavender houses, inns, shops, bars, and cafés lined the road here, with side streets turning to the left that were clustered with small homes—beach shacks was probably a better term for them. And although I hated Buck for judging me, he was right.
“Well, the other place was awesome, Sammy, but this is more our speed, don’t you think?”
My dog, standing in the passenger seat as he leaned out the window, wagged his tail in agreement. But I’d spoken too soon.
Buck pulled into a sand pit of a driveway that appeared to have had room for at least four cars at one time, but overgrown bushes had taken over two full spaces. And the place the little parking lot served? It wasn’t big and shiny, that’s for sure.
Buck later called it a four-plex and said it had lots of potential. All I saw was a run-down hellhole that couldn’t possibly have belonged to my grandfather.
“I think there’s a mistake,” I managed to say once we were out of our vehicles. I’d barely been able to close my mouth after it had hung open for several minutes as I sat in my Jeep staring. “My grandfather would have never bought this kind of place, let alone let it sit like this. No, not my Pops.”
“Well, he did. He’s owned it for many a year, actually. For a while there, I had the occasional investor or couple wanting to buy it and fix it up, but your granddad kept telling me, ‘No, I’m saving it for Jacey.’ I gave up even asking him several years ago.”
I shook my head. “I have no clue what he was thinking, except it must be worth a lot of money? Maybe it’d been an investment for me?”
“Possibly,” Buck said with a noncommittal shrug. “But I doubt it. There was a reason he wanted you to see it first.”
I couldn’t imagine why. To me, it looked like nothing more than an eyesore.
“Well, I’ve seen it. And I sure as hell don’t want it. What’s it worth and how quickly do you think it can be sold?”
Buck’s eyes cut toward me. “Why don’t we go in and check out the units?”
I blew out a frustrated sigh. This trip had been a complete waste of my time, and I didn’t want to spend anymore. I needed to find a place to stay for the night, get the paperwork taken care of tomorrow, and then figure out what I’d do until the piece of shit sold. Bex said the lease on our new apartment didn’t start until August, so I had two months with no place for Sammy and me to live.
Buck was already at one of the first-floor doors, pushing it open. Four units made up the structure, with the top two served by outside, rusty metal stairs on each side of the building. The top-floor units each had a tiny balcony out front, facing the main road and a bar across the street. They might have a nice view, I thought, but I doubted it.
I reluctantly followed Buck inside the ground-floor, right-side unit, entering into an efficiency with a living area, a kitchenette, a bathroom, and a small area behind it with barely enough room for a full-size bed. The unit was actually larger than I expected, and even more disgusting. The place had apparently flooded at some point, and although no mold stained the walls, the room smelled as though mildew had tried to grow but someone had doused the place with bleach.
“We have someone come in once in a while to make sure the place hasn’t become a hazard,” Buck said, confirming my theory. “It’s actually in pretty good shape, considering. Just needs a little TLC.”
“A little?” I asked, wrinkling my nose.
“It’s really all cosmetics,” Buck said. “It’ll take a little work and some cash, but you’re really better off fixing it up than selling it right away. I think that’s wh
at your grandfather had in mind.”
Yeah, right. Pops knew me better than that. I was far from being the fixer-upper type. On the other hand, Pops always told me not to be afraid of a little work, or even a lot of it. Was he still trying to teach me a lesson from the grave?
“How better off?” I asked skeptically.
“If you listed it now, you’d be lucky to get enough to pay my commission and all the fees and taxes. You might end up with ten grand in your pocket, at the most. If you fix it up, though, restore it to how nice it could be, you could wind up with five to ten times more, even after the cash you put into it.”
Five to ten times more? That would not only pay my tuition until graduation, but also give me a nice sum to start off with afterwards. But ... I looked around. Ugh, that was a lot of work. Could I even get it done before I had to be in Virginia for the first day of classes?
“I have no idea where to start,” I admitted. “I have no clue how to fix up a place and not a lot of time either.”
“I can recommend whatever you need. I know all the contractors around.” He pulled a stack of business cards from his front shirt pocket, shuffled through them, then handed me a few. “The one on top is my best recommendation. He’s pretty busy, but if you tell him I sent you, he’ll take care of you.”
My suspicion radar piqued at this. Why did Buck push this idea so hard? Some kind of devotion to my Pops’ wishes? I highly doubted it. Pops hadn’t even mentioned he owned this place, let alone knew anyone here well enough to care. Were Buck and this contractor in on some kind of scam?
“Look, the more you sell it for, the more commission I make,” Buck said, apparently sensing my paranoia. “Besides, I think your granddad saved this place for you for a reason. I don’t know what, maybe for the money after it’s fixed up and sold, but I do know that’s what he’d hoped for. It’s cut-and-dry to us who are older and wiser, and if I left a place for my granddaughter like this, I hope that’s what she’d do. Why don’t you give it some thought, at least?”
I glanced around the unit, taking in the peeling wallpaper, the threadbare shag rug and stained linoleum, the rusted kitchen faucet and metallic gold, itty-bitty fridge. Sucking in my courage, I made my way to the bathroom, afraid of what I would find, but it wasn’t as grody as I expected. The pink paint of the sink and tub was chipping and mildew grew in the corners, the toilet definitely needed to be replaced, as well as the flooring, but not as nasty as it could have been.
“Are the other units like this one?” I asked.
“Pretty much. The upstairs ones are a little better off since they didn’t flood with the last hurricane. We don’t have to treat them for mold but once a year, which is normal for an empty place down here with nobody cleaning and maintaining it every day. You want to see them?”
I blew out a breath. “I guess, but I can’t take long. I need to find a place to stay tonight. You know anywhere that takes dogs?”
“Why don’t you look at the rest of the units? If you don’t mind sleeping on the floor, you might decide to stay in one upstairs. I had the utilities turned on yesterday. You’ll have to run the water a while to get the rust out of the pipes, but at least you’ll have running water, air conditioning and a place for your dog.”
The thought of sleeping on a floor that who knew how many people had traipsed over disgusted me, but I had, admittedly, stayed in worse. And I did have a sleeping bag and blankets with me. Then when I entered the upstairs, left unit, I thought maybe there was hope for this place after all. It appeared as though Pops, or maybe the previous owner, had started remodeling with this unit at some point, but never made it to the others. There was no wallpaper, the carpet appeared to have been replaced though it was already outdated, the kitchen was all white with no ugly appliances from the seventies, and the bathroom was bearable. With a little scrubbing, I might have even sat my bare ass on the toilet seat.
The two upstairs units were set up a little differently than the downstairs ones. The kitchenette, bathroom, and a closet lined the rear wall and one large room made up the front, which could easily be split in half with a curtain to separate the living area from the sleeping part. Both sides had big picture windows with French doors in the middle leading out to the little balconies I’d seen from the ground. I peered through the grimy windows to find a spectacular view of the sun in the western sky over the Gulf. Of course, the bar across the street was also part of the view, but it didn’t completely ruin the scene.
Uh-oh. The potential was definitely growing on me. This place could actually be really cute, a perfect little beach getaway for college kids or couples on a budget. Definitely not the big beach house down the road, but who needed all that space anyway? And the money to be made was becoming more and more tempting. It would be nice to know I didn’t have to work throughout college and I’d still have money to live on while I launched my career. Hell, maybe I could even take a break first. Or better yet—make my dream of being a professional artist come true!
My mind ran away with these thoughts, almost convincing myself right there as Buck watched me. But the practical side of me kicked in right in time. Before I made a decision, I needed to find out how much this would cost me. I had money from the rest of Pops’ estate. It was supposed to be for next year’s tuition and rent, but this could be an investment with great returns. Was it enough, though? And how long would this take? If it couldn’t be done and sold by the time classes started, I’d be screwed, my tuition and rent money tied up in this place. And what if there’s more wrong with it than meets the eye?
“I’ll get back to you, okay?” I asked Buck as I rubbed the back of my neck. “There’s a lot to think about.”
“Of course. I think your grandfather would be happy to hear that. Nothing like seeing our offspring making smart decisions.” He gave me what he probably meant to be a grandfatherly smile, but I found it a little creepy. “Give that contractor a call as soon as you can. To be honest, I already told him you were coming, so he’s expecting to hear from you. I hope that’s okay. I promised your granddad I’d help out however I can.”
He winked at me, which definitely grossed me out. I walked outside with him, cringing as the metal stairs creaked under our weight. Buck swore they were safe and Sammy didn’t worry, bounding up and down them with no troubles, but I did. If I went through with this, they would be the first thing to be replaced. Because I definitely wanted to stay in the top-left unit while I was here.
Once Buck finally drove off after giving me a quick run-down of where I could find dinner, breakfast, and a store, I unpacked the Jeep, carefully trudging up the stairs.
“Well, Sammy, I guess this is home,” I said as I poured a bowl of food for him. “For now anyway.”
He stood on his hind legs, placed his paws on my shoulders and licked my face. His seal of approval. And if Sammy, the smartest dog in the world, liked the place, and Pops, the smartest man in the world, had kept it for me, then who was I to question it?
The bar across the street served food, and although it wasn’t one of Buck’s recommendations, it was close and I could bring Sammy so I wouldn’t look like a total nerd eating by myself. The rear part of the bar had a large patio area that spilled onto the beach, and we sat out there as the sun lowered in the sky, Sammy keeping me company while I ate a burger and fries. The food wasn’t bad and the atmosphere righteous, but when people—couples and groups—began filling up the place for cocktails and the live band started setting up to play later, I took my cue to leave.
I used their pay phone out front to check in with Bex.
“I’m sorry, who is this?” Bex’s mom asked, catching me off guard.
“It’s me, Jacey. From college?”
“Oh, huh. I don’t think Rebecca has ever mentioned you. Does she have your number, honey?”
Bex had always talked about her mom losing her mind, but this was the first time I’d ever heard it for myself. How many times had I met her? Stayed at their house for the w
eekend? Shaking my head, I simply said, “No, I don’t really have one right now. I’m in Florida. I’ll call back another time.”
“She’s not here much, dear. She’s moved into her apartment at school and spends most of her time there with her roommate. But I can tell her you called.”
And before I could say anything, the line went dead. Bex’s roommate? She had to have been lying to her mother. That was the only explanation, which was better than the alternatives—Bex was pissed at me and had found someone to replace me or her mother really had gone over the deep end. The first one sucked for me and the second one really sucked for her. But as it was, I worried about her. She hadn’t said anything two nights ago about going anywhere else or moving in with anyone for the summer. So where was she really?
The question gnawed at me as Sammy and I took a walk before heading back to our new place. Well, our temporary place. I still wasn’t sure whether to trust Buck’s suggestion. While Sammy ran up and down the white beach and nipped at the gentle waves sliding onto shore, I squished my butt into the soft sand and shuffled through the business cards Buck had given me. Only half of the sun showed over the horizon, streaking the sky with pinks and purples and providing barely enough light for me to study the cards.
I couldn’t help my suspicion of the first one, bright orange paper with black ink, because Buck had been recommending him so highly. Maybe that makes no sense, but I didn’t quite trust Buck himself. The second card, white with metallic gold lettering, made me think of high dollar signs. The last wasn’t a card at all, but a scrap piece of paper with the name Humphrey and a phone number handwritten in blue ink. This one piqued my interest—probably cheap and perhaps a little rebellious of the “professional” establishment. Just my type. If I decided to do this, the handwritten number would be the first one I called.
Curses, Fates & Soul Mates Page 10
