“I’ll tell you what I think. Let me get the roof shingled and fix the siding and then you can decide if you want to tackle bigger projects after that.”
“Get me your quote and I’ll get two more for comparison, and this way—”
“That’s not needed.” He must have noticed her questionable look because he walked out of the room and came back with the contract. “I already have the supplies. It’s per the contract that I signed with Doug, so you’re all set.”
“No.” She crossed her arms across her chest. “You’re not listening. I’m not doing anything that Doug signed me up to do. I don’t think it’s legal anyway. I own this place. I’ll sue Doug for wrongful possession and bring you into it, if forced.” Although not feeling confident in what she said since she wasn’t a lawyer, she didn’t put the emphasis behind her words.
“Mia, listen.” Scott placed the contract on a nearby table and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’m leaving the contract for you to look at. If you really own this house and want to go ahead with any part of the agreement, just let me know. I won’t fly another drone this way. I understand the airspace is restricted.”
He smiled and winked before leaving, giving Mia the opportunity she needed to review the contract, and the much needed space she needed to figure things out. So why did she feel terrible about stopping the work from going forward. “Ugh! I hate being in the middle like this.” She threw herself onto the couch and pressed number four on her phone.
“Mia. Well, this is a surprise. We haven’t spoken in a while.”
“We just did, mom. Remember?” Mia sighed. She shook her head thinking of the amount of times she’d called and her mother not remembering a word of their conversation. “Did you talk to Doug?”
“I guess he mentioned something about wanting to move, but I figured he had everything under control. So, is there anything wrong? I mean, you’re okay, aren’t you?”
“I’m calling about Aunt Cathy’s house. You know, the cottage at Point Pleasant that she turned over to me when she went into the nursing home?” Mia heard incomprehensible mumbling and building noise outside the cottage, and then silence. She wasn’t sure if she’d been disconnected. “Mom?”
“I just asked Doug,” her mother answered. “And he said that Aunt Cathy put him in charge of the house. He said she left it to us. That’s why Doug is having work done so we could sell it and—”
“Mother!” If there was one thing people admired most about Mia, it was her self-control. Today, however, Mia was close to losing whatever control anyone thought she had. She rubbed her forehead, a headache beginning to form. Why would her aunt have done this? Didn’t she have a valid agreement? Mia knew she needed to get in touch with her aunt and locate the paper she signed showing she really owned the house.
“Are you okay, dear?”
“You know what? No. I am not okay. This entire situation is not okay. I’ve had it with Doug and…what the hell?” She looked out the front window from where the noise had come. “Mom, I gotta go, but we’ll talk later.”
Mia ran outside frantically waving her arms until a worker stopped her. “Excuse me, miss? Do you live here?”
“Yes, but—”
“Sign here, please.”
She absentmindedly signed the paper he handed her and stared at the pallets being placed on the front lawn. “Those look like shingles. Are those shingles? I didn’t order those. You can’t leave them here, you have to take them back.”
“Can’t. This is where we were told to deliver the bundles. Besides, you already signed for them.” He ripped off a copy of a document and handed it to her. “Have a nice day.”
Mia looked at the delivery sheet and sure enough, her signature was on it. She crumpled the paper and screamed before storming inside and sitting at the kitchen table with the contract in front of her. “This can’t be happening.” She pulled out her cell and hit number three on speed dial and listened intently as it rang. “Come on, dad. Pick up.”
SIX
“I feel like I’m being kicked out of my own house. I’ve already paid several months of the mortgage, and now I have pallets of shingles on the lawn that I signed for, and I have a mother who acts like a child,” Mia wiped her eyes, blew her nose, and handed Scott the empty tissue box. He opened a new one and sat beside her on her bed.
“Hey,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on either, but my dad has an attorney who I called and he agreed to look into this for you. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to stop the delivery of the shingles, but the truck had already left.”
“I’m hoping they’ll come back and get them. This isn’t fair. I came here looking to start my life over again since—” Since they’d broken up, Mia had wanted to say. She’d been told that he moved on and left the island, so she thought she’d come back and start over. “It’s been one disaster after another. I mean, it’s almost like a bad omen since I’ve been here.”
“It’s no one’s fault. It’s just... I don’t know.”
“And now my throat is scratchy. And my headache will probably come back.”
“Shh. How about if you just lie down and get some sleep. You look exhausted.” He got up, removed her sneakers, and placed her feet on the bed, before lying beside her. “You sound like you’re catching a cold or something. Why don’t you just try to sleep and we’ll talk about this in the morning?”
“I still have to clean up the kitchen.”
“From what? That’s the beauty of Chinese take-out. All I’ll have to do is throw away the to-go containers. Don’t worry about it, I’ll clean up.” He covered her with a blanket, kissed her on the head, and left the room, heading to the kitchen.
“You are so sweet.” She yawned and closed her eyes. She knew the stress was getting to her and agreed that the best thing she could do now is get some rest. Mia drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow, she figured, she’d have more strength to tackle any problem.
***
“Coffee?”
As she put her phone back into her pocket, she was puzzled to hear his voice. She hadn’t realized Scott was in her kitchen cooking something that smelled wonderful! Sipping the coffee he handed her when he walked into the kitchen, she sat at the table with her back to where Scott was cooking. Maybe I’m dreaming and he’s not really here. When he placed a plate of pancakes in front of her, she pinched his arm.
“Hey! What’d you do that for?”
“I thought I was dreaming.” She poured syrup on her pancakes, ate a healthy slice, and then took a good gulp of coffee, before turning to face him. “These are good. It’s been a long time since you’ve made breakfast. Well, for me anyway.”
“And that’s a bad thing?” Setting his own plate of pancakes on the table, he then filled his cup with coffee, topped hers off, and took the seat across from her.
Was this a bad thing? No. Except it was like old times, when he’d invite her over to his place for breakfast and they’d sit around and chat before rushing off to work. Yep. Like old times, before the red head. Mia shook her head. Again with those thoughts. But one question hung over her that she needed cleared. “So. Did you, um, stay here last night?”
“Me?” Scott laughed and seemed genuinely surprised. “No, of course not. This is your house. I went back to mine.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “And yet you got in this morning and made breakfast?”
“I didn’t break in if that’s what you’re implying. I recall you kept a key under a certain flowerpot for those times someone in your family got locked out. It happened more than once.”
“You’re right. It did.” She felt her face flush and continued to eat. A knowing smile came across her face as she remembered the many times her brother coming in after his curfew, when he’d taken too many walks on the beach with the girls he’d met over the summers. She had placed a spare house key under one special flower pot on the porch, but only now remembered it was still there. Those were fun years. “I suppose now I’ll have to
change the locks.”
Scott laughed. “So. You and Jake?”
Mia was about to enjoy the last bit of pancake when Scott asked. Her hand froze halfway to her mouth. “Jake? What? Me and Jake?” She put her fork down, pushed her plate away, and looked directly into his eyes. “What about it?”
“Nothing. I just never figured him as your type.”
“And you know my type? That’s pretty presumptuous since we haven’t seen each other for a while, don’t you think?” She didn’t like where this conversation was headed. She cleared her dish from the table and started washing the pans. “Thank you for breakfast. I’ll finish up, I’m sure you have things to do at your own place.”
“Hey. I’m sorry,” Scott said. “I didn’t mean to bring him up. It was just that it was great seeing you, and I thought…you know what? Never mind. I’ll clean up.”
“Fair enough. But since you brought up the subject, you and Krista? Are you a couple?” Mia figured if he could question her about Jake, she could question him about Krista.
Krista? “No. Me and Krista? That won’t happen.” Scott looked uncomfortable and he put his empty coffee cup in the sink while he spoke. “Let’s just say there’s some things going on in her life right now and—”
“You mean Jake? Don’t bother trying to explain,” Mia interrupted. “Don’t worry. Krista said your date was a mercy date.”
“What? What do you mean mercy date?”
Maybe she shouldn’t have been so direct, but Krista had said to use those exact words. “Krista called me the day after we went to lunch and said you’re a nice guy and all, but she’d rather get back together with her old boyfriend, Nick. She went out with you only because you seemed like you needed a friend.”
“Ah, hell.”
Mia touched his arm. “Are you okay?” She felt his muscle tense.
But then he backed away and shrugged. “Why shouldn’t I be? She called me a friend, not a date. I know she’s not my girlfriend, or even a date, but she said ‘nice guy’. I’m sure you must have heard the saying, ‘nice guys finish last’? Well, I’ve been finishing last a lot in the girlfriend category lately.” He shook his head and then laughed. “At least I’m consistent.”
“Okay then. Tell me about the red head.” There. It was out. The question that both of them needed answered, but neither of them wanted to ask.
“Ah, hell.”
“You already said that.”
“I did, didn’t I?” Scott folded his arms across his chest to match her posture. “Okay, fine. If you hung around long enough, you’d have found out that she wanted to make her ex-boyfriend jealous hoping he’d go back to her. So, she picked the guy closest to her, which was me, and before I realized what was happening, she had her arms wrapped around me.”
“And that’s all?”
“That’s all. And that’s the truth.” He shook his head. “I don’t really remember her name. I think it may have been Lisa? Lisa Neely,” he said shaking his head, trying to remember. “I’m not really sure, but if you would have stuck around, you would have seen the guy laugh and walk away. Of course I tried to call you, I even called your mom’s phone, but you never returned my messages.”
“I never got any messages.” Mia covered her face with her hands. “Oh, no. I can’t believe it. He sabotaged me.”
“What’s wrong? Who sabotaged you?”
“Scott, I’m sorry. I was so angry at you for what had happened, that I threw my phone and broke it. I had asked my mom if you’d called her number, hoping to hear from you again, and Doug said you hadn’t. But I do recall him saying that a woman called to tell me to leave you alone. That you were finally happy.”
“Mia, that never happened. I don’t understand why he would have said that. You’ve got to believe me.”
“I do. I really do. I was going through so much at the time.” Mia suddenly felt foolish. “My parents went through a horrible divorce, my aunt ended up in a nursing home, I was trying to get my business started, and I guess I must have believed Doug. I’m surprised, because so much was happening so quickly that I didn’t trust anyone at the time.”
He held her hands and then gently kissed them. “You can trust me. I’ll never let you down. I hope you know that.”
“I do now, but why would he have said that?”
“I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense. There’s something going on and I intend to find out.”
“That makes two of us.” She frowned when the realization of wasted time set in. “So, we basically wasted all of those years.”
“No. You needed to get your life together and I was trying to build my own business. I think we both needed time to work out our issues. I’m just glad to have you back in my life.” Scott started to rinse the dishes. “Why don’t I finish cleaning up here, you get the contract and any questions you might have jotted down, and meet me in the living room so we can talk.”
“I’m not sure there’s anything to talk about. If Doug created the contract, wouldn’t he make sure it was unbreakable?”
“You’d be surprised. The lawyer for my dad’s company reviewed it before he spoke with your aunt. I’m pretty sure you’ll want to hear what he said.”
“My aunt? I got off the phone with her right before I came into the kitchen. She never mentioned that she spoke with a lawyer.”
“So, I guess you do want to talk about it?”
“I’ll get the contract.” She turned and walked away. After she grabbed the papers from her desk, she opened a window in the living room to let the warm breeze filter in. Should I have come up with questions? Mia looked through the papers and wasn’t sure how Scott could back out of working on the house. She couldn’t find any loopholes other than she knew the house wasn’t Doug’s. Her aunt assured her that the paper she wrote up showed her intention to let Mia have the house.
A southern paradise, this was what her aunt called Mimosa Key. With the varied palms, the lush foliage, and the beautiful birds, it’s an island oasis, and this house was supposed to be her oasis. Mia was determined to keep it that way.
Mia pulled her phone from her pocket when it rang and glanced at the display before she sat next to Scott on the couch. “Hey, dad. I’ve been thinking about you and was going to call. How are you?”
“Hey, Pumpkin. I’m doing great, thanks. Listen, your Aunt Cathy called me. She didn’t say anything to you because she knows how stressed you are, with the house and your new business. She told me that Doug’s trying to weasel her house from you and he hired a contractor to do some major repairs.”
“Yeah, and he’s probably trying to stick me with the bill. The roofing material was dropped on my lawn today. I was so busy trying to get mom to understand what might be happening, that I signed for the materials without realizing what I signed for.”
“Okay, listen. I know the house definitely needs a roof. I’m actually surprised it hasn’t started leaking. I’ll cover that cost so don’t worry. We’ll get this straightened out. I’ll have a chat with your mother.”
“Thank you, dad. Hey, remember Scott Chase? His family still owns a place just a few houses down. He’s actually taking over the construction company from his dad.” Scott nudged her and mouthed that he was learning the ropes first.
“Yeah. Aunt Cathy told me something like that. I already have a call into the company asking that they hold off on any other work so we can get to the bottom of this. Listen, I’ve got to get going. I’ll give you a call later this week.”
“Okay. Love you, dad.” No sooner did she end the call, when Scott’s phone rang.
“Well, well,” he said when he looked at the display. “Hello Doug…Now hold on a minute. Wait, you can get as pissed off as you want, but this job is on hold… Fine. Call your damn lawyer.” Scott stood and looked at the display and then shook his head before he put his phone away.
Mia didn’t know what Doug had said, but when Scott looked at her, she knew the conversation pained him. She got up and grabbed
the front of his shirt and pulled him close. Then his lips were on hers and she responded. Gentle and slow, their breathing became heavy, and the warm summer weather was as intense as the heat between them. She felt his hands cradle her back and his lips trailed from her mouth to her shoulder and then nuzzle her neck. His groan was low as his lips once again consumed hers and she ran her fingers through his deep brown hair.
“Wow,” he said.
“Yeah. Wow.” She licked her lips as her hands caressed his neck, before they pulled apart. “I suppose we need to comb through the contract.”
“Yes. We really need to.” He leaned his head on her shoulder and kissed her cheek. “We’ll need to remember where we left off.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t forget,” she smiled and then helped Scott spread the contract on the table in front of them.
SEVEN
Hours passed and the documents they reviewed didn’t show anything they could use to get out of the contract. “I don’t know,” Scott said. “I don’t see how I can get out of working on your house. I spoke with my company lawyer last night and even he said it looked iron clad.”
Mia gathered the documents. “But didn’t you tell me that you were pretty sure I wanted to hear what the lawyer said about my contract?”
“He asked me to look over your contract for the purchase of the house. But I wanted to look over the contract for the work on the house first. Since we didn’t find anything, there’s a good chance we might find a loop hole in yours.” He noticed her face flush and she looked away when getting her other paperwork in order. Oh, that can’t be good. Was it possible that she lost the contract to the house? Surely, there’d be a copy registered with the town. “Mia? Is there something you’re not telling me? I can’t help you if I can’t take a look at the contract.”
“Well, you see, that’s a bit of a problem.”
She started to pace, and he knew when Mia paced, that meant something was wrong, but he couldn’t understand what made her nervous. Scott sat back on the couch and watched her walk back and forth across the room. He knew this was a way for her to handle stress and that she needed to get this out of her system before she said anything. But he also knew Doug wouldn’t wait around for him to finish the job. Since he’d told Doug the project was on hold, Scott knew that the next step would be for a replacement contractor to come in and take over. If that didn’t work, Doug was sure to find an attorney who would start legal proceedings right away.
Barefoot Bay: Second Chance Summer (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 4
