“You really should let me run some comps at the very least.” As she followed him into the trash-littered living room, some kind of vermin came running out of the kitchen. Bonnie did what any self-respecting woman in that situation would do. She screamed bloody murder and practically climbed onto Aaron’s shoulder.
BONNIE WINDSOR WAS afraid of mice? That would have been hilarious if Aaron wasn’t equally terrified of those disease-carrying creatures. There was something about them that gave him the creeps. They were so small and quick. It was like they had no bones in their bodies, because they could squeeze themselves through something as tiny as a buttonhole. Not to mention they did freakish things like run up pant legs or nibble on people if they get too close.
Aaron somehow managed to hop up on the dilapidated couch with Bonnie on his back. “Are there more?” he asked David, who seemed completely unfazed by the possibility that this house was infested with rodents.
“You two going to be all right over there?” David said with a chuckle. “Two grown adults afraid of one teeny mouse.”
“I am not coming back inside this house until you two have finished remodeling it,” Bonnie said. She set her feet down on the couch as well.
Aaron turned to face her, holding her waist to steady them both. “So you’ll put in the offer for me?”
“If you still want this house after you see the numbers, I’ll put in the offer. It’s your money.” Her tone made it clear she thought he was foolish.
As much as his sister would hate him for thinking it, he couldn’t help but notice how pretty Bonnie was, even when she was being a little sassy. “As long as you and your dad get paid, you couldn’t care less, right?”
“That’s why we’re here,” she said, pushing him away and getting off the couch. “Because my dad and I need to work. Something your family has made it almost impossible for us to do.”
“Hey,” her dad snapped. “Aaron is not responsible for what the other people in his family have done. He’s as much to blame for what is happening to us as you are for Lauren and Mitch not being married. Remember that.”
Aaron was impressed with David’s level head. He was grateful the man could see him as more than a last name.
“This house is going to be the first of many your dad and I are going to flip in Blue Springs. I’d say trust me if I thought there was any chance of that happening.”
“Well, there’s not.”
“Bonnie!” David was visibly disappointed.
“Dad, I heard what you said. I don’t blame him for what’s happened, but that doesn’t mean I trust him to do right by us. I have no idea what we’re getting ourselves into. Right now, all I know is that he wants to buy this pit. I know when Lauren finds out that he hired me to find this house for him, she’ll do whatever she can to make me pay for it. And when his dad finds out he hired you to help him remodel this house, he will also make me pay for it.”
Aaron got off the couch. It was clear that Bonnie’s fear of his family was greater than their fear of mice. He needed to squash some of that right now. He took his phone out of his pocket and dialed Lauren and put the call on speaker.
“Aaron,” Lauren said, answering the call.
“I need you to hear something, and I need you to hear it from me first.” Aaron took note of how wide Bonnie’s eyes got in that moment. She shook her head. He mouthed to her that it was fine. Everything would be fine. He wasn’t going to tell her everything, just enough to make Bonnie relax.
“Oh, I can’t wait to hear this. Why do I fear you have done something that is going to make Daddy even madder than he already is?”
“I am sure the fact that I am not coming back to work for him will make Dad mad, but that is not going to deter me from following my own path.”
“And what path is that, dear brother?”
“I am going to flip houses. In fact, I have already found the first house I want to buy and flip.”
Bonnie had her hands over her ears and continued to shake her head from side to side.
“You’re going to flip houses?” his sister replied in disbelief. “What in the world do you know about flipping houses?”
“I know a little, but I’ve hired someone who knows a lot so he can teach me as I go along.”
“Oh, really?”
“I hired David Windsor.” Silence came from the other end. Bonnie not only had her ears covered, but now she turned her back as if not being able to see would prevent what came next. Unfortunately, he had to come clean about something else. “Dad contacted every contractor in town. No one would work with me, so I had no choice but to work with David since Dad let him go the other day.”
Still nothing from Lauren. It was quite possible, given how quiet it was on the other end of the line, that she had put him on mute while she screamed. Or maybe she was taking it better than he thought she would. The former being the most likely. Bonnie’s eyes were on him now. She looked just as mad as Lauren probably was.
“I know you’re probably angry,” he said to both of them. “But I need you to understand that Dad backed me into a corner and I didn’t have any other options. I’m not doing this to hurt you and really do have a lot of respect for David. He’s a good man, and
