Gifts of Love

by Natalie Ann

  “A year. I’m sixteen. I’m hoping I get to stay until I’m done with school.”

  “Me too,” Ruby said. “I just turned sixteen. Two more years.”

  “You’re lucky your birthday is over the summer. Mine is in April. Wherever I am, I pray they let me stay to finish school when I turn eighteen.”

  The magic number when the payments stop and foster families normally want the bed opened up.

  “Are we allowed to get jobs?” Ruby asked, knowing that was the first thing she planned on doing. There was a bus stop around the corner, perfect in her eyes.

  “Yep. But you have to find your own transportation and still follow the curfews.”

  “I’ll make it work,” Ruby said. She had to. She’d been doing that since her mother overdosed ten years ago and she started to get shuffled around.

  All she wanted to do was have a home of her own someday. A family who was there for her or cared about her would be nice, but a home was her number one priority.

  His Plan

  Twelve years later

  Josh Turner let himself into his apartment, walked to his bedroom that barely fit the king sized bed he refused to do without. He opened the drawer in his nightstand and put his gun in there, then his badge on top, his holster hanging on the hook behind his door.

  Once he was changed out of his tan pants and button-down shirt, he put on shorts and a T-shirt, and grabbed the extra key to his apartment that he kept on a chain. He slipped it over his neck and went to the gym to run for thirty minutes, then lift some weights for another thirty.

  Just like always, a few women from the apartment building were eying him while he worked out, sending him flirtatious smiles and little waves.

  He returned them, being friendly and all, but continued on with his workout. No way he was getting involved with anyone that lived in the same building.

  An hour later, he stood staring into the open freezer trying to decide what to warm up of his grandmother’s frozen dinners. He grabbed the small casserole of lasagna and popped it in the oven and went to shower.

  Dressed in sweatpants and a sweatshirt twenty minutes later, he pulled the oven open to check on his dinner and noticed that one side was cooking faster than the other. He turned the dish and shut the door again trying to hide his frustration. Between the oven, the water dipping in his bathroom sink, and the draft through one of the windows that wouldn’t shut properly in his spare room, apartment living was getting to him.

  When he accepted the transfer ten months ago he grabbed the first available apartment that met his needs and signed a one-year lease, but now he had some decisions to make.

  He grabbed his phone when it rang, noticed it was his grandmother and felt the grin fill his face. “Hey, Grandma.”

  “Josh, am I interrupting anything? Did you just get home?”

  “No, I got home a little after five, worked out and now I’ve got your lasagna warming in the oven.”

  “You’ve got to be getting low on food. It’s been three weeks now.”

  He went to visit his grandparents once a month in Poughkeepsie. They had raised him after his parents were murdered when he was eight. He owed them everything he had in life. For keeping him sane, for giving him a stable life, for being his world when the world he’d had crumbled beneath his feet while he hid in the closet and heard the screams of his mother and his father fighting back the intruder.

  “I’ve got enough,” he said. He loved that she cooked for him but at the same time knew that she was pushing eighty and he didn’t like that she spent so much time working on it. He needed them around for a long time and overdoing it was the way for that not to happen.

  “You say that all the time. Your grandfather and I are going to come up and check and see if you are lying to me.”

  Since he ate out a few times a week or made sandwiches now and again, he didn’t eat his grandmother’s meals nightly so they did last.

  “I’ve got enough for about six meals,” he said, knowing the lasagna would stretch for two easily.

  “Then if you aren’t doing anything this weekend, you can come down and get some more.”

  “I don’t want you rushing to cook for me,” he said back and opened the oven to check on his dinner, saw it was burning on that one side and shifted it to another in the oven.

  “I don’t. I freeze what your grandfather and I have. Do you really think I cook a roast beef and mashed potatoes to put in container trays for you alone?”

  He laughed over the humor in her voice. “I have no idea what you do.”

  “Whatever I make for Grandpa and me, you get the same. I just make extra. My freezer is overloaded so that is when I know you need some too.”

  “Okay,” he said. “I’ll stop down on Saturday sometime.”

  “See that you do. Bring a few coolers with you,” she reminded him. Not that he needed the reminding, but he figured she felt like she had to say it.

  “I will.”

  “So how is everything else going?” she asked.

  “It’s fine. I think I’m going to start looking for a house.”

  “That’s good. You know how we feel about you throwing money away on renting apartments.”

  He’d heard it enough, but when he moved out years ago he didn’t know where he’d land, as he wanted to work his way up. He didn’t want to worry about buying and selling. He was here to stay at Troop G in Latham, New York, in his mind. Or at least for the foreseeable future.

  He had twelve years of service in right now and could retire in eight if he really wanted to. Not that he would, as forty-three would be too young for him, though many did it and got a second career.

  Too early to even consider it.

  “I think I’ll start looking online at what is available in the area and go from there. I’m sure I’ll have no problem finding a house.”

  “Don’t buy new,” his grandmother said. “You’re handy, find something you can fix up and get some equity in it.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, laughing. His grandfather worked construction and taught him everything he knew. It’d been his plan to find something he could put some work into anyway.

  “I’ll let you go eat your dinner then. I’ll see you soon.”

  He hung up the phone and opened the oven again, pulled out his dinner and tried not to scowl at the browned top layer on one side.

  After he cut a piece, he felt it with his finger and realized the brown side was the only side really warmed up, so he peeled the top layer off and started to eat while he browsed houses on Realtor.com. He wanted to stay within fifteen miles of his headquarters, which really opened up a wide range of places to live.

  He didn’t think he was fussy, but he was struggling to narrow in on anything and pictures didn’t give him that good of an idea. Maybe it’d be better if he just had a realtor that could find what he was looking for rather than him sitting here clicking through screens.

  After thirty minutes, he found a house that seemed decent and sent an email to the realtor listed. Ruby Gentile. He supposed she looked like a Ruby with her brown hair that looked like it had hints of red in it. Chestnut might be a better description.

  Her red blouse and bright smile just drew him in and made him think she was somewhat trustworthy.

  Somewhat because he didn’t trust many people in life. Least of all someone trying to sell him something when their profit could be dictating things.

  For now, he’d see how it went. It was only one house showing and he didn’t have high hopes, but once he met with her he could tell her more of his thoughts and ideas.

  With that pushed from his mind, he cleaned up his dinner, put away the leftovers, and went to go watch TV in the living room. Just another exciting day in his life.

  What He Was After

  Ruby printed off a few listings that she was going to give to Josh Turner when she met with him in less than an hour. He hadn’t really been as specific as she would have preferred when they’d been c
orresponding back and forth this week on showings.

  She knew the area he was open to, his price range, and well, that seemed to be about it. He gave some things he’d like but weren’t deal breakers either. That was great, but she found the simpler someone thought they were being, the harder it really was.

  Hopefully after she spent a few hours with him this morning, she’d have a better understanding of his wants, his needs, and his likes.

  She had managed to get him to agree to seeing more than one house today, which was how she liked it. She had no problem showing just one, but she’d rather use her time wisely. She had other clients for later in the afternoon, but if she could take advantage of more than one listing this morning, she might learn more of what he was after.

  When she pulled into the first address—the one he’d originally contacted her on—she was surprised to see he was alone and so young when he got out of his black SUV.

  Tall, muscular, sexy as all hell. Normally she didn’t notice those things about her clients, but with this man it was hard not to.

  “Hi,” she said, walking forward. “Josh Turner?”

  “That’s me. Ruby Gentile?”

  “One and the same,” she said back. His voice sent tingles through her chest while his handshake warmed up her body on this chilly late October day. “Why don’t we go inside and walk around and have a little conversation about the house, what you like and don’t, and we’ll go from there.”

  “Works for me,” he said. “I’m new to this. First time home buyer and I know what I don’t want, but not sure about what I do want.”

  She laughed. “That’s better than nothing. I’ve got a range that you are looking to spend. Are you firm on that? What have you been pre-approved for?”

  “I haven’t been to the bank yet. I’m sure I’ll be approved for more, but that is where I want to be.”

  She nodded her head. A lot of people said that but didn’t know until they went through the process. Though she’d have to say Josh didn’t look like the type that would lie and make something up.

  He seemed confident, but he also seemed honest.

  “What do you do for a living, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “I’m an investigator with the State Police.”

  She could see that looking at him. He fit the image in her mind. Cocky on top of it, but yet she didn’t get the feeling he was someone that would throw his weight around either.

  “And what do you investigate?” she asked. She’d had other clients that worked for the State Police. She knew enough about plenty of professions in this area.

  “Cybercrimes or crimes where computers are related or played a part. It’s my job to go through what they are trying to hide.”

  Now that she didn’t expect. She supposed in her eyes she thought of nerds when she imagined people doing what he described. “I would have never guessed that.”

  He laughed and man, oh man, the sound shot more than tingles through her body this time. There were tiny explosions making even her toes curl.

  “Too many people watch crime shows and think all law enforcement have tech nerds doing that work. Most places don’t.”

  “So you’ve got a background in computers?” she asked.

  “Not really. I’m good with my hands and tinkering. I’ve taken a lot of classes, got some certificates along the way. Self-taught more than anything, but I get the job done.”

  She’d lost track of what he’d said after he made the comment about being good with his hands. “Why don’t we look around the house and you can give me your thoughts.”

  He nodded and followed her through the foyer where they’d been standing. “Living room here, through the dining room, kitchen in the back.”

  “It’s all kind of small. The ceilings are definitely too low.”

  He seemed dwarfed in this house with his height so she wasn’t surprised he’d commented on that. She made a note of it on the pad she was carrying with her. If she’d known how tall he was, she would have made sure some of the houses she lined up today would have fit. In her mind she was crossing them off before they even went to look at them now.

  “I printed off some other houses to look at if you don’t like any of the options today. I’ve seen two of them. One definitely has higher ceilings.”

  “That’s good. I guess those are the things you were trying to find out?” he asked.

  “Yes. I wasn’t trying to be a pain, trust me. But the more I know, the easier it is to narrow down and not waste either of our time.”

  “Works for me. Let’s check out the rest of the house and I’ll let you know what I like and don’t.”

  “What do you think of this kitchen?” she asked.

  “It’s fine. Kind of small, but it’s just me and workable. I don’t cook a lot. Nothing more than heating up food in the oven.”

  “So size isn’t a big deal right now?” she asked. “This is a starter home?”

  “Hmmm, guess I should figure that out. I don’t want to move again and I hope to have a family someday so I should consider that. How big is this house? Square feet wise?”

  “It’s about eighteen hundred. Not that big for a family of more than three, but plenty of space for one person.”

  Of course it was bigger than what she had with her apartment. She’d love to buy her own home, but she couldn’t decide where she wanted to be and every time she found something it was out of her range. She wanted the perfect place and was struggling to find it. Then she wondered if such a thing even existed.

  “I already know this won’t work, so I’ll go bigger then with the next ones.”

  “The other two I have today are three bedrooms, two baths. Is that enough or do you want more baths and beds?”

  “I guess most think of two kids when they think of a family and I’d like to have an office space. So if there is an office, I don’t think I need a fourth bedroom.”

  “No worries about a guest space?” she asked.

  “No. I don’t have a lot of family. It’s just my grandparents,” he said and walked up the stairs to the second floor where the bedrooms were. “These are pretty small too. I need to fit a king sized bed in the master. That is nonnegotiable.”

  She made a note of that too. “Good information. There isn’t much more to this house, so do you want to move on to the next? What do you think of the location and neighborhood?”

  “Both are good. No problem with either.”

  “So you want to stay in Latham?”

  “Nah. I can go to any city or town within my range. Not Albany,” he said. “I want to stay out of the city.”

  “That’s helpful. I’ll stick to the outskirts then.”

  “I look forward to what you come up with,” he said, sending her a smile that had her wondering if he was flirting with her or not. Probably not. She was just too blinded by his looks and hoped it wasn’t clouding her thoughts.

  Josh had no idea it was going to be so hard to find what he was looking for. Most times he didn’t care much about these things with an apartment because it was always temporary.

  But Ruby brought up a good point. This wasn’t a starter home for him. He was sick of moving and should plan on getting something bigger that he could grow into.

  By the time they were finished looking at the third house he had a good idea of what he didn’t want and what he really did.

  “So you want a master that fits a king sized bed and has an attached bathroom. If you have two floors you want a bathroom downstairs, even if it’s only a half,” she said looking at her notes.

  “Yes. High ceilings,” he reminded her.

  “I’ve got that written down. A place for an office, and if that is there, then no fourth bedroom?”

  “It’s not required, no. I’d like a place for some exercise equipment,” he threw out there. He hated gyms and dealing with people when he just wanted to work out and get it done.

  “Finished space?” she asked with her pen ready, her bro
wn eyes eager, a big smile on her lips. She smiled a lot. He was right—she seemed trustworthy. Honest even. She was definitely trying to meet his needs. Even the listings she’d given him earlier, she’d told him to disregard two of them as they wouldn’t work now. He liked someone that was efficient like that too.

  “It doesn’t need to be. A clean basement is fine if the ceilings are high enough to run on a treadmill.”

  “Is that all you do?” she asked, looking his body over. Yeah, she was flirting and he found he wanted to flirt back for some reason.

  “I lift weights too. How about you?” She had one smoking body on her. Average height of about five foot five he figured. Not thin, but toned. Curvy and he loved that on a woman. He liked to have something he could get his hands on without touching bone.

  She laughed at him. “Some weights, but not like you. I do kickboxing and yoga. Whatever I find I like on Netflix.”

  “Not a gym person?” he asked.

  “Never let them see you sweat,” she said and winked at him.

  “I like you,” he said back and that had her lifting her head from the notes she was taking.

  “The same goes,” she said.

  You can get the rest of Cupid’s Quest here!

  Want to read more of the Love Collection?

  Secret Love:

  Vin Steele has always been in control. Always been a leader. Failing at what he always did was a bitter pill for him to swallow, sending him into an isolation…of sorts. A new life and a new career, trying to find the person he lost.

  Piper Fielding spent her life putting on a good face. Looking for the positive in the light of all the negative in her world. When a threat forces her to face the ugliness she always avoided, she finds herself running to the only person she can trust. Her sexy neighbor that has mystery and complications written all over him.

  True Love:

  Shattered dreams vs a new beginning. Can they help each other heal?