For Sale By Owner

by Marlene Bateman

  When Sara giggled, the delightful sound made Kenzie smile. She loved this movie almost as much as Sara did, delighting in Jim Carrey’s amazing physical comedy. Kenzie squeezed her daughter. All other troubles were suddenly of far less importance than they had been a day ago.

  It had been such a relief to find Sara. And how kind Jared had been to not only carry her home, but to go with them to the hospital. It had been a comfort for Kenzie to know Jared was in the waiting room with her father and that he cared enough to endure the uncomfortable chairs and mindless TV. Each time Kenzie had gone to the waiting room with an update, Jared had seemed interested not only in Sara, but also in how Kenzie was coping. His loving concern had gone above and beyond the call of duty. Kenzie’s face softened, remembering how he and her father had given Sara a blessing. The Spirit had been so strong.

  Mandy was right—Jared was a good man. Too bad she hadn’t recognized how special he was before it was too late. Kenzie sensed he liked her, but unfortunately his attraction was similar to how he might be attracted to a tiger—he might be drawn to her, but he’d make sure to stay far away.

  Her gaze rested on the Christmas tree, and a warmth spread to her bones—one of gratitude for Jesus Christ and His birth. It had always been amazing to her that Jesus, a God, would condescend to come to earth and be born under such humble circumstances. How grateful she was that He had come to show people how to live by His perfect example and to bring about the Atonement so people could live again and be together as families. Kenzie bent and kissed Sara’s forehead. Family. That’s what mattered. As Cindy Lou Who said, everything else was superfluous.

  Kenzie’s eyes teared up as Cindy Lou sang the hauntingly beautiful “Where Are You, Christmas?” She knew exactly how confused, disheartened, and disturbed little Cindy Lou felt. It had been hard for Kenzie to find Christmas the past few years too. There had been broken dreams, a shattered marriage, problems at work, and a major falling out with her father.

  A chill of recognition ran down Kenzie’s back as Cindy Lou Who sang, “My world is changing—I’m rearranging.” Christmas used to be easy for Kenzie too, but no longer. Christmas hadn’t changed; she had.

  Sara glanced up with a warm, trusting look before turning her attention back to the movie. A surge of hope and determination rose in Kenzie. Yes, she had changed. But if she had changed once, she could do it again. Her scare had given her a new perspective. She had her daughter, parents, and siblings and their families. It was time to appreciate the things that mattered most—and to realize that the things that mattered most were not things at all.

  When the movie neared its end, the Grinch’s heart was not the only one that had grown. A new spirit filled Kenzie. Not only was she buoyed up by the fact that her daughter was safe, but by the movie’s message. Filled with a new sense of purpose, Kenzie resolved to move forward. When the Grinch had a change of heart, he didn’t just stay in his cave—he went out and did something. He took action, and she would do the same.

  After lunch, Kenzie asked her mother to watch Sara, who was napping, while she went downtown. After parking, she walked to the travel agency.

  Tracy was at her desk and smiled to see her. “Hello there! Come in and sit down.”

  “Any luck on finding a home?” Kenzie asked, sitting and crossing her boot-clad legs.

  “We’ve found one we really like, but Carlos and I want to see it again to make sure. If we feel the same way, we’ll make an offer.” Tracy’s face was excited and happy. “What about you?”

  “I haven’t really had time to look. But I found a house that would be perfect for you.”

  Tracy’s eyes lit up. “Tell me about it.”

  Kenzie told her all about Jared’s house.

  As she did, the light faded from Tracy’s eyes. “That’s the home we were going to see, at least until you stopped by. I told Carlos what you said about older homes and how expensive it was to remodel, so we told Tom we wanted something newer.” Tracy’s brow was furrowed. “You told me there could be a lot of problems with older homes.”

  “There can be, but not with this one—it’s been well-maintained. I know the owner, Jared Rawlins, and you can trust him. You were right when you said you could save a lot of money buying an older home—but it has to be the right house, like this one. And Jared just dropped his price.”

  “But the house only has two bedrooms.” Tracy was bewildered. “You said we ought to get at least a three-bedroom home.”

  “That’s true, but there are options I didn’t think about at the time. You could put your computer in the dining room or even in your bedroom. That way, if you did get pregnant, you’d still have room for a baby.” Kenzie put all the brightness she could muster into her voice.

  “But we decided it would be best if we had a separate room for a home office. After talking with you, Carlos and I realized we’d need filing cabinets, bookshelves, a printer—lots of stuff. You see, we do a lot of work from home.”

  “Put a work station in the corner of the front room. That way it’d be centrally located.”

  “But if one of us was working, the other couldn’t watch TV.” Tracy paused, idly tapping a pencil on her desk. “Look, I know you mean well, but after thinking about what you said, we feel it would be best to get a three-bedroom home.”

  “But you liked Jared’s home. And it would be a great starter home. What about adding on a room? Why don’t you go see it again, maybe with a building contractor who could give you some ideas?”

  “I think we’ll stick with the house we found. We really do like it.” Tracy seemed regretful, but her mind was made up.

  “Well, if you change your mind, Tom would be glad to show it to you.” Kenzie tried not to sound too disappointed. They stood and shook hands.

  “If you ever decide to go to the Bahamas, stop by and I’ll give you a special rate!”

  Outside, a chill wind blew. Her visit to Tracy hadn’t turned out like she’d hoped. But Tom had showed Jared’s house that day. Perhaps that had gone well.

  No one was at the front desk at Dahlquist Realty, so Kenzie went to her brother’s office. Tom was behind his desk, and her heart gave a jolt when she saw Jared in a chair.

  “Well, hello,” she said, a bit startled.

  Tom’s big square face looked tired. “Hi, sis. Jared stopped by to see how the people liked his house.”

  “Did they?”

  “They didn’t seem too impressed, so I told Jared not to count on them making an offer.”

  When Jared stared at Kenzie, his eyes were cool black marbles. “Tom tells me Carlos and Tracy Perez are about ready to make an offer on another home.”

  “I know,” Kenzie said, pulling a chair closer and sitting down. “I just talked with Tracy.”

  Both men jerked like they’d been shocked with a cattle prod.

  “Don’t you think you’ve done enough?” Jared burst out. “They already decided not to buy my house.”

  Tom was irate. “What were you doing? Checking to see if they’d changed their mind so you could talk them out of it again?”

  They caught Kenzie off guard. “For your information, I was trying to talk Tracy into going to see Jared’s house.”

  Tom scoffed. “Yeah, right. And some pigs were flying around here a little while ago.”

  “Why are you being so mean?” Kenzie blurted.

  “Just following your example,” her brother replied.

  Talk about hitting below the belt. And after she’d tried to do a good deed.

  Tom rubbed his forehead. “Sorry, I’ve had a ton of problems today and a bad headache to go along with them. I shouldn’t take it out on you. I’m sorry.”

  Mollified, Kenzie said, “I wanted to tell you what happened when I talked to Tracy that day. You never let me explain.”

  “I’m really not up for this right now.” Jared got to his feet and stood stiffly. “I’m tired and need to get home.”

  Frustrated, Kenzie asked, “Why won’t you let
me explain my side?”

  “Your side?” Tom flared up again. “We’ve seen the results of that! How about being on the side of being fair and acting decent?”

  Stung to the core, Kenzie flung back, “Are you saying I haven’t been?”

  Moving to the door, Jared waved a hand to indicate he was outta there, but Tom stopped him. “I have another couple who wants to see your house tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Unless Kenzie talks them out of it.”

  That hurt. “I don’t even know who they are.”

  “Don’t worry, Jared, I’m not going to tell her,” Tom said.

  It was no fun being ganged up on. And although Kenzie supposed she deserved a lot of it, it still hurt. She tried one more time. “I’m really sorry about the Perezes, but if you would only listen to me, I can explain. It’s not what you think.”

  Jared told Tom, “Let me know how the appointment goes.” Then he walked out.

  Jumping up, Kenzie hurried after him. He’d just reached the front door when she called, “Jared, wait.”

  He stopped and scowled, his eyes alert. “What do you want?”

  Taken aback by his harsh tone, everything she’d wanted to say melted away, leaving only two words. “I’m sorry.”

  “Look, I know the house is important to you, but it means a lot to me too.” Jared raised his hands, palms up. “This is the home my son and I want to live in, and we would have if you hadn’t messed things up. Corey’s been through some hard times after losing his mother. How am I supposed to tell him we can’t live in the house he’s got his heart set on?”

  “Even if Tracy and Carlos had seen your home again, you don’t know they would have bought it.”

  “Maybe not, but you made sure they didn’t even see it a second time.” Jared rubbed the back of his neck. “I made an offer on Tom’s house in good faith, and it was accepted. Everything was fine until you started butting in. And now I only have three days left to sell my house or the deal falls through.”

  “But Tom’s going to show it—maybe that couple will buy it. Or maybe someone else will.”

  Jared pinched the bridge of his nose. The look on his face was painful to see.

  “I—I’m truly sorry,” Kenzie said softly.

  With a sigh, Jared turned and walked off.

  Chapter Thirty

  When Mandy opened her front door and saw Kenzie, she immediately asked, “What’s wrong? Is it Sara?”

  “No, Sara’s fine.” Like a sleepwalker, Kenzie went into the front room and sat heavily on the couch.

  Sitting on the other end of the couch, Mandy asked, “What’s going on?”

  “I’ve done something terrible.” Kenzie pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them.

  “You?” Mandy scoffed. “What did you do? Roll through a stop sign?”

  “I told you how I’d talked with Tracy Perez . . .”

  “Yes, but wasn’t that last week? Has something else happened?”

  “No, but now it looks like Jared isn’t going to be able to sell his house before the deadline.” When her sister-in-law blinked in confusion, Kenzie added, “Which means he can’t buy this one.”

  “So why aren’t you dancing? Or floating on cloud nine?”

  “Because I feel sorry for him.”

  “Well, yeah, I can understand that. But you said Jared could always get another house.”

  Kenzie closed her eyes briefly. “He wants this one.”

  “And so do you.” Mandy frowned a little. “Look, you need to tell me what’s going on because, frankly, I’m a little lost.”

  “I feel guilty! I might be the reason Jared hasn’t sold his home.”

  “No and no! The worst you did was tell Tracy about other houses. So what if you told her not to buy an older home and that it is expensive to remodel? Basic information that’s readily available to anyone with friends or the Internet. Okay, so maybe you did take advantage of the situation, but really in the end it’s up to them to decide what house they want.”

  “But I showed her all those pages of homes! I told her to buy a home with three bedrooms and a garage. If I hadn’t said anything, they might have bought Jared’s house! I killed the sale on Jared’s house.”

  “I think you’re going a little too far there. You didn’t help it along, but you and Tracy were simply talking about houses—that’s allowed between two women who are looking to buy one.”

  Kenzie had to be honest. “Part of me was talking about houses, but I think I was trying to dissuade Tracy from seeing Jared’s house. And I rambled on too much. You know how it is when you’re talking with a good friend? When you say anything that comes to mind? That’s how it was with me and Tracy—we had an instant connection. But I knew I wasn’t doing Jared any favors.” She heaved a huge sigh. “I just came from talking with Tom. Jared was there.”

  “Oh boy. Obviously it didn’t go well.”

  “Jared hates my guts. Tom told him the Perezes were probably going to make an offer on another home, and they both blame me for losing the sale.”

  “You’re beating yourself up over this, but you don’t know they would have bought Jared’s home even if they had gone to see it again.” Mandy propped up her legs on the ottoman. “I think what’s eating you is that you like Jared and it bothers you that he sees you as the Wicked Witch of the West.”

  No use denying it. She’d fallen for him all right, but she’d also messed up big time. “I feel so bad for him and Corey,” she said, trying to swallow the sadness in her throat. “They really wanted this house.” There was a physical aching in her chest.

  “So did you! And you’re the one who spent most of your childhood here. Look on the bright side—now you can buy it. You wanted it so much!”

  Right, but at what price? When she’d first arrived, Kenzie would have happily killed any sale on Jared’s house with few regrets. But now . . . Kenzie wasn’t sure what had changed. Had the movie she’d watched with Sara enlarged her heart? Or had the scare with Sara allow her to see more clearly what was important in life? Perhaps delivering baskets to the needy had played a part to help her think more about others. Then again, a large part of it probably had to do with getting to know Jared.

  “There’s something else I haven’t told you,” Kenzie said.

  “Don’t tell me you had Jared’s car repossessed.” When Kenzie made a face, Mandy went on, “I’m just kidding. Tell me.”

  “Jared is Tyrone.”

  Swinging her legs off the ottoman to face Kenzie directly, Mandy squealed in a pitch that would set cats running for cover, “What?”

  “I found out that Jared is Tyrone.”

  “Bu—but how can that be? He has a different name.”

  “I know. I don’t get that part.”

  “How did you find out?”

  “You know that display window that Jared has at his café? He’d put his old ice skates in the window—the ones I gave him when he was little.”

  “I saw them. So you gave him those skates? What’s up with the ugly green laces?”

  “They’re not ugly! They’re distinctive.”

  “Are you sure they’re the same skates?” Mandy asked.

  Kenzie gave her a withering look. “Who else would put green laces on a boy’s ice skates? Also, Scott said Jared told him the skates were his and that a girl had given them to him. I went inside for a closer look—I’d scratched an inscription on the bottom of one the skates.”

  “Really? What did it say?”

  Kenzie was loath to say.

  “Oh, come on. You have to tell me,” Mandy demanded. “If you don’t, I’ll go down to the café right now.”

  And she would too. “All right, all right. I wrote, ‘Best friends are forever.’”

  Her sister-in-law put her palm over her heart and smiled widely. “How sweet!” Then she declared, “I knew there were sparks when you guys met.”

  There had been sparks, but Kenzie had doused them with cold water.

&n
bsp; “So what did Jared say?”

  “Haven’t you been listening to anything I said?” Kenzie complained. “He thinks I’m the worst! There’s no use. Not after this.”

  “That doesn’t sound like you. Your motto is ‘never say die.’”

  “Jared thinks I’m an underhanded, conniving, evil witch.”

  “Talk to him. Tell him what you told me—that you were just talking with Tracy—that you didn’t mean this to happen.”

  “I tried, but he won’t listen. Tom won’t listen to me either.”

  Mandy’s face fell. “So much for boy meets girl and falls in love and they grow up and fall in love all over again.”

  Sad but true. As an adult, Kenzie had hoped many times to run into Tyrone and discover they still cared about each other. But it was time to face reality and admit defeat.

  “Try talking to him again,” Mandy advised.

  “I did—just now, and you should have seen the look on his face. Besides, even if I could get him to listen, I don’t think it would change a thing.”

  “That’s a good defeatist attitude. Where’s that feisty Kenzie we all know and love? You’ve got to try! Jared was interested in you, and I know you like him. And the night Sara sprained her ankle . . . well, I noticed the way you two looked at each other. The romance vibes were simply gushing from you guys. Now there’s no guarantee that if you talk to him things will work out. But if you don’t try, I guarantee nothing is going to happen. Oh, come on, you’ve got to try! Do something! Take some steps!”

  A gleam appeared in Kenzie’s eye. She sat up straight. Stiffened her backbone.

  Frightened, Mandy clapped a hand to her mouth. “I didn’t mean to say that. I did not say that.”

  “You’re absolutely right. I can take steps.” Newly energized by her sister-in-law’s speech, Kenzie felt a determination in her bones.

  “Oh no,” Mandy moaned. “I’ve created a monster.”

  “Don’t worry—this isn’t going to be like last time,” Kenzie assured her. “This time I’m going to think before I act. All I have to do is plan out exactly what steps I’m going to take.”