“So, what happened? Why do you look exasperated instead of satisfied?” Kara dangled her leg over the side of the chair and kicked her foot up and down as she waited for my story.
“Do you know Maddox Kingston?” I asked.
Kara arched one eyebrow. “Are you kidding? I helped build his brother’s house up in the mountains. Those Kingston men.” She closed her eyes as she sucked in a deep breath. “Hot doesn’t begin to describe them. Even the dad is sexy as hell. He barely looks older than his sons.”
I nodded. “Agreed, though I’ve only seen most of them in passing, except for Jury. So, we’d just sat down at the ice cream shop. Hadn’t even had time to order. And Maddox comes barging in and growled at Harry.”
Kara’s jaw dropped. “You’re joking.”
“Not in the least. And the worst part was that Harry just sort of gulped, then he got up without another word and left!” Kara had the good sense to look completely shocked, at the time, I was completely shocked. “I haven’t heard from him since, either.”
It’d been several days since the horrible date. And I hadn’t been thinking about it. Nope.
“So, Maddox then offers to drive me home, since my date abandoned me.” I dropped my head onto the desk and banged it against my hand there. “I told him to shove it and walked home.”
Her jaw dropped. “Why didn’t you call me?”
I waved my hand at her. “I was wearing comfortable sandals and it’s not a long walk at all.”
“Wow.” She stared at me. “I have no idea what to say.”
“Neither did Abby,” I said. I wasn’t sure that Kara and Abby had met, but I’d mentioned my new friend to my old friend several times. “Except she said Maddox comes on strong but is a good guy.” I rolled my eyes. “Good guys don’t growl.”
Kara shrugged. “I don’t know. If one of the Kingston men turned their attention my way like that, they’d probably have to drive me home in a bucket.” Her expression went soft. “‘Cause I woulda melted.”
I snorted. “Yeah, I get that.” We both burst out laughing.
“Too bad they’re all taken.” She continued giggling. “Except Maddox, but it sounds like he’s got a boner for ya.” That caused even more laughter.
“Hey,” I said when we’d calmed down. “If nothing else, it’s flattering, right?”
She straightened up in her chair and wiped her eyes. “Yeah. Definitely. Are you going to see him again?”
That was a negatory. “Heck, no,” I said with a frown which cemented my thoughts.
Kara laughed again at my vehemence. “Tell me how you really feel.”
“Well, can you blame me?” I rolled back in my chair and crossed my arms. “He came across like a lunatic. I’m not planning to give him the time of day.” Something about his behavior—the insanity of it, perhaps—rubbed me the wrong way. “No.” He had to be nuts. Probably had an explosive temper, too. “Definitely not.”
“You’re saying no in a lot of different ways.” Kara narrowed her eyes. “Are you trying to convince yourself?”
My jaw dropped. “No, of course not. I’m just saying how I feel, which is that Maddox Kingston is a wild card.”
Kara cocked her head and grunted. I didn’t respond, and she raised one eyebrow.
“Really!” I exclaimed. “I’m not convincing myself. I mean, sure, he’s super hot. One of the hottest guys I’ve ever seen, actually.” I hung my head back. “Certainly the hottest guy to ever be interested in me.”
Kara grunted again, in a higher pitch.
“Stop that,” I yelled. “Hot does not equal good for me or especially for my daughter.”
Her face softened. “Okay, okay. I’ll stop giving you a hard time about it. You’re of course going to be extra protective of Tiffany.”
My daughter was my priority. Always. There was never anything more important than keeping Tiffany safe. And someone who would be that irrational over someone they barely knew would surely get even more passionate with someone they knew and cared about. Like a child being super annoying. Or when she was older, disrespectful.
Best to not even go there.
“Tell me about this house.” She sat up and we got serious. The next two hours were spent going over my measurements and pictures. All my notes ended up spread all over the desk as we discussed the potential investment versus the possible gain.
“I think this property would be a good one to flip and sell,” she said. “Instead of rent.”
“Why?” I asked.
She pulled my notes back out and pointed out a few places that were potential problems. “I have a bad feeling about the grade of the land in the listing.” She pointed to the information on the printout from the realtor’s website.
In the end, we decided this wasn’t the best investment for my business. “It would be unethical to flip the house and not warn the new buyer about the potential problems that would be costly to fix.”
Kara nodded. “You’re a good person. It’s refreshing to work with someone that values the right thing over the almighty dollar.”
I neatened the papers and tried not to be proud of myself. “I just try to think about what my grandparents would’ve wanted with the opportunity they gave me. Screwing people over wouldn’t have been a part of their plan.”
My watch beeped and I tapped the screen. It was my mom. Working late?
“Oh, crap,” I said. “I didn’t realize how late it had gotten. Fill me in on the repair.”
Kara ran over what she’d done at the tenant’s house and we parted ways.
My parents kept Tiffany most days, though I was fortunate I could take her with me for many of my duties and responsibilities relating to my business. I’d asked Mom to keep her today because I wasn’t sure of the condition of the property. Sometimes these homes listed so cheaply for flipping were very dirty or in bad enough shape it would’ve been dangerous for Tiffany.
My parents lived about twenty minutes away. I swung through a drive-through and grabbed
