Love Finds You on Christmas Morning (24 page)

“I’m just trying to be practical. I know whatever is going on is part of God’s plan for you. He’s always looked out for you, Nikki. Take comfort in that.”

Nikki nodded. “I’ll try.” She sighed. “I know you’re right.”

By the time she and her mother hung up, she had changed her mind about reading her novel. She was sleepier than she realized. Besides, after her mother’s assurance, her need for escape had diminished.

As sleep slowly enveloped her, she prayed. For Hannah and her mother, who clearly loved her. For Harvey’s longevity and her continued employment with him. She even steeled herself to pray for whoever had bought her dream house out from under her.

She didn’t know who the person was, but, as her mother intimated, in some fashion he or she was all part of God’s plan for her.

“I appreciate your taking the time to meet us so I can start making plans, Jolene. Especially on a Saturday. I know this is a busy day for Realtors.”

“Us. That’s cute.” Drew’s Realtor glanced at Freddie before she turned the key in the house’s lockbox. “You and your best friend, here.”

“Did I say ‘us’?” Drew rewound. He sure had. He really did need to get out more. He reached down and scratched behind Freddie’s floppy ears. “He’s my boy, I guess.”

“I’m happy to help out, believe me. Of course, I don’t want to disappoint either one of you, but Freddie’s not going to be able to attend the closing.” She smiled and let the golden retriever walk into the house ahead of her.

“I’ll have a chat with him. I think he’ll deal with it.” Drew followed in Jolene’s perfumed wake and stepped into his future home. He wondered if he would experience that lingering concern others describe—buyer’s remorse—after they closed on the sale. He didn’t think so. His only other home purchase had been his place back in San Diego. He had loved every minute of ownership there, even though he never got around to the painting and furnishing he’d planned before he moved out here to North Carolina. And this house felt even more like the one God had in mind for him. How else could he interpret the fact that the house had sat unattended for so long and drew his attention so swiftly? Yep. This was the home he was meant to buy.

Jolene’s heels echoed against the hardwood in the empty rooms. “Your paperwork is the kind my mortgage people love. Uncomplicated.

Terrific credit. The seller is thrilled, and they’d probably be willing to let you come to the house without me, even. I just want to play it safe in case anything should happen—like another squirrel invasion. I don’t want you getting blamed for something you didn’t do.”

“So you think the closing date looks solid?”

“Definitely. In less than two weeks, this little baby will be all yours.”

He grinned. “It’s happening quickly. A month ago, I wasn’t even thinking about buying a place. But this place just feels right.”

Jolene gestured at Drew’s notebook and measuring tape. “You go on ahead and get started with whatever you wanted to do. I’m going to make some phone calls and do a little business if I can. Also, make sure they replaced that broken pane of glass back there like they promised—and if not, I want to put in a call about that right away.”

“Sure. But a little pane of glass isn’t going to make or break this deal for me. I’d love it if that were the only thing I needed to fix.”

Jolene smirked at him. “I’m sure. But I can see those creative wheels of yours turning every time you’re here. I think you’re looking forward to putting your own mark on this home.”

They spent an hour there, while Drew measured and inspected and gauged what might need remodeling and what could be saved. He decided he’d have the kitchen redone first so he could move in sooner. He could always sleep and work in rooms other than those being remodeled, but he’d need a kitchen daily, right from the point he moved in. Even going that route, he knew from his experience at building sites that he was looking at several months after closing before he’d be able to get out of the apartment.

Freddie casually explored the house, stopping to smell a corner here and a closet there. Drew could hear Jolene on the phone in the front room, proposing meetings and deals and making demands. Her busyness helped him relax about her having taken time to serve as a supervisor during his visit here.

She closed her phone as he walked back to the front of the house. “You all done?”

He nodded. “For now, yeah. But I’m not sure if I didn’t just raise more questions than I solved.”

“Why is that?”

Drew turned and gave the house an overall survey. “I think I’m going to be able to figure out the structural needs of the house easily enough, especially if the town has any blueprints on the place.”

“But?” Jolene walked through the front door, apparently now wanting to move him along.

“Freddie! Come on, boy.” Drew stepped onto the front porch and unhooked Freddie’s leash from his belt loop. “Well, structure I can do. Layout I can do. And I know plenty about architecture. What I’m not very confident about is decor.
You
might see my creative wheels turning when I’m here, but as far as I’m concerned, they’re spinning haphazardly. I can’t seem to visualize the specific
cosmetic
picture of the place. And it might sound weird, but if I don’t have a clue about decor, it will make structure and layout a little more difficult for me. I’d like to be able to put together a complete vision for the interior before I take a sledgehammer to a single slab of drywall, you know?”

Jolene tucked her phone in her purse. “I know exactly what you mean,
and
I know what you need. I’m in touch with a number of interior decorators who would love to work with you on this place.”

He couldn’t help but envision some of the garish monstrosities he had seen when friends had hired the wrong decorators for the job. And they were never inexpensive. Still, he did need counsel in this department.

“Yeah, okay. Why don’t you get me some names and numbers? I’d appreciate that, especially if any of them can show me some of their handiwork.”

Jolene nodded. “I’ll email you their website links.”

They walked toward their cars, but then Jolene set her manicured fingertips on his arm to stop him. “You know what else you could do is visit some of the newer homes on sale. Especially any developments that have model homes open. You might not be looking for cutting-edge decor since your house has that older-home charm, but at least you could get a feel for what styles you like and don’t like.”

The office complex demanded the bulk of Drew’s attention during the following week and into the next. He was just days away from closing on the house before he was able to dash out of the apartment with Freddie and take Jolene’s advice about touring the area in search of model homes. He had a pickup basketball game scheduled with some of the men from work, but that wasn’t for a few hours.

Even if he didn’t see many model homes to explore, he could at least check out some of the landscaping in the area while there was still daylight. That was another hurdle he’d have to face as a new homeowner. There were some dramatic old magnolias and white oak trees on his new property—he paused and savored those words:
his new property
—but the shrubs were overgrown and untidy looking. Back in San Diego a landscaper had advised him that old, overly woody shrubs made a house look shabby. He’d probably need to have some of them replaced. Eventually. But one thing at a time.

He reached over and stroked Freddie’s head. “Let’s do a little sightseeing, partner. Whaddya say?”

Freddie turned at the sound of Drew’s voice and looked happy and eager as he sat up in the passenger seat. Drew chuckled.

They traveled to the part of town where the house was, but there weren’t any new developments around there. Jolene had said the developments were likely to have model homes for him to see, so he decided to look for a newer area of town.

He had only driven a few blocks down the road when they approached a beautiful mansion. The first words Drew thought when he saw it were “Southern elegance.” He recognized the style as Greek revival, with Italianate touches around the windows. White two-story pillars and trim, a huge wraparound porch, and black shutters against pale yellow brick. The circular driveway set off a small, tasteful fountain and pristine lawn. The landscaping was already gorgeous and lush, even in early April. And he’d bet the interior was exactly what he’d like in his own home. Drew pulled over and let the car idle.

“Man, that’s the life, eh, boy?”

Freddie—who actually looked as if he were studying the elegant manor—made no response. At first.

But when a certain feisty little terrier scurried out the front door, followed by a certain young woman holding him with a leash, both Freddie and Drew sat up, alert.

“It’s her!”

Freddie seemed to pick up on Drew’s heightened awareness. He struggled to stand up on the passenger seat, something that had never been easy considering the golden retriever’s size and bucket shape of the car’s seat. He pressed his wet nose against the window and let out an eager whimper.

Drew turned off the ignition and fished Freddie’s leash from the floor of the car. He wrestled with Freddie in order to clip it to his collar.

“Let’s go for a walk, pal.”

By the time they exited the car, however, she had turned the corner, and Drew realized he’d have to run up behind her in order to casually run
into
her. He didn’t like how desperate and maybe even creepy that could look to her.

He pushed Freddie back into the car, but not without a struggle.

“Come on, boy. Trust me on this.”

Freddie’s agitation didn’t subside until Drew got back into the car and peeled away from the curb. The dog was thrown off-balance, and he plopped down on the seat and let out a depressed sigh.

“It’s okay, boy.” Drew drove to the opposite side of the block the girl was walking, and he sought a parking place. “We’re still going for a walk, Freddie. We just need—” And there it was, the parking spot he needed. Drew swerved up to the curb, shut off the car, jumped out, and let Freddie join him. Judging by the pace she had been walking, they would meet right up there at the corner, if he played his cards right.

He ran his hand through his hair and glanced down at himself, at his gray UCLA hoodie and faded jeans. Not his best look, but that would only enhance the pretense of this meeting happening by chance.

They reached the corner and…nothing. She and the terrier were nowhere in sight.

“What in the world?” Drew scratched his head. She must have gone straight, rather than just walking around the block. He’d have to try to cross paths with her up at the next corner.

“Come on, boy.” He didn’t need to tug at Freddie. Freddie was eager to go. So they soldiered on to the next corner and arrived just at the time she would have reached it, by Drew’s calculations.

Again, nothing. Now Drew didn’t know what to do. She could have gone in a completely different direction once he lost sight of her on these neighborhood streets. He should have just run after her as he originally started to do. He tried one more block ahead and discovered a little park on his right. Could she have crossed over there without his seeing her? He and Freddie ventured that way, and then Drew stopped at the park’s edge and blatantly looked for her.

Freddie started to fuss at something behind them. Drew turned, and there she was. She and the terrier approached, and Drew saw amusement in her eyes. He wondered how savvy she was about what he had been doing.

“Did you lose someone?” Her cheek dimpled when she smiled. “Or are
you
lost?”

Hmm. Maybe she
did
know he was looking for her. “What makes you think—Maybe I’m exactly where I want to be and with exactly who I want to be with.”

As soon as he said the awkward sentence, he realized it could be construed in a number of ways. He’d
thought
he was being clever, saying he was with Freddie by choice and at the outer edge of this park by choice. But she could very easily assume he meant he wanted to be there—with her.

Which he did.

If anything, she looked confused by what he said. “Ohhhh–kay.”

Drew put out his hand. “Considering how often we’ve crossed paths, I think it’s time I introduced myself. Drew Cornell.”

She put her dainty hand in his and gave him a strong handshake. “Nicole Tronnier. My friends call me Nikki.”

“Then I’ll presume to call you Nikki.”

“And I’ll presume to call you Drew.” She glanced at the two dogs, who were busy sniffing at each other. “I remember this troublemaker, but I don’t remember what you called him.”

“That’s Freddie. But to be fair—”

Her dog tried to take off after something at that moment, and Freddie tensed, ready to dash after him. But she had a firm hold on the leash this time, so no antics similar to their initial meeting ensued.

“Riley! Chill!”

Still, she looked as embarrassed as if her dog had started another race into the park. Drew should let it pass.

But he couldn’t resist. “As I was about to say, to be fair, I believe it was Riley here who started the trouble six and a half weeks ago.” He raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Go ahead and deny it, while you hold fast to that taut leash there.”

She looked down and smiled. “Okay. Busted.” Then she gave him a sly look. “Six and a half weeks ago, huh? What did you do, write about it in your diary?”

He laughed right out loud at that. “And here I thought maybe you were demure, because of how you always seem to rush away when I see you.”

“Hey, I can be as demure as the best of them. My sister’s always harassing me for not being bolder than I am.”

Oh, yeah. The sister.

“Uh, speaking of bold, do you mind my asking…?” How to tactfully broach this subject? “I’ve missed the last few Sundays at church. But a few weeks ago I couldn’t help noticing the guy you were with—”

“My sister’s boyfriend.”

“Ah.” The
sister’s
boyfriend. Very good. And she supplied that information pretty quickly. He liked
that.