Fixer-Upper (Spinning Hills Romance 3) (9 page)

Marissa smiled. “She already did. Marty got me a gift certificate last year for my birthday. That’s when I met her. It was a lot of fun.”

“Speaking of weddings, have you and Brian set a date?” Sherry asked.

“We’re thinking about December.”

Abuela Rosa’s eyes widened. “Why so soon?”

Marissa shrugged. “When you know, you know. And I’ve known exactly what I wanted in a relationship for a long time now.”

“But you two have been in a long distance relationship for a year, and you haven’t had time to really get to know each other.” Her grandmother’s tone softened.

Marissa laughed. “I’ve known him my whole life!”

But there was something else in her grandmother’s eyes. “What?” she asked, sobered by her grandmother’s anxious look.

She watched as her grandmother’s throat worked, and Marissa knew she was considering her words. It was a first. “Your head is set on him. We all know that. We’ve heard you recite your list. But what about your heart?”

“My heart always leads, Grandma, but I’ve worked hard to teach my heart to slow down and let my head catch up. Everything works out so much better when they’re working together. With Brian, I let my head lead and my heart follow. It’s the same thing.”

Sherry shrugged and looked over at Abuela Rosa. “That works, too, you know.”

“I know.” Abuela Rosa nodded and patted Marissa’s hand. “As long as you’re sure they’re working together.”

Ruby placed her hands on the table and pushed herself up. “And I know how we can find out! Now, what dessert will it be for you today, Marissa?”

Marissa laughed and glanced over at the chalkboard menu. One item sounded so good it made her mouth water. “Dark chocolate cream pie.”

“That’s funny.” Sherry chuckled and turned to Ruby. “Remember how last year . . .” But her voice died away as she and Ruby exchanged surprised looks.

“What?” Marissa asked with a faint smile. But they were now looking at her grandmother. Sherry’s eyebrows were raised, her grandmother was shaking her head, and Ruby was nodding yes.

“What?” Marissa asked again, bewildered.

Her grandmother’s head swiveled her way. She met Marissa’s gaze so steadily, it was impossible to flinch or look away. “Where were you the night of that infamous masquerade party?” she suddenly asked.

Marissa froze.

“Does this mean you finally believe?” Ruby asked Abuela Rosa.

“Ruby, this is not the time!” Sherry slapped Ruby’s hand while looking at Marissa with the same urgent expression her grandmother was wearing.

Ruby nodded. “Right. Where were you?”

Marissa let out a nervous laugh. “How am I supposed to remember where I was that night? It was a year ago!”

The three women frowned at her in disbelief. A change of subject seemed best. She turned to Ruby and smiled. “So. About that pie. I can’t wait. My mouth is watering . . . What craving will dark chocolate cream pie fulfill for me?”

“Sweet lust,” Sherry said with relish.

Marissa’s eyes widened.
Sweet lust.
That sounded good. Except the simple words brought her back to the night of the elevator and the wonderful, sweet torture she’d felt at the mercy of the stranger’s hot hands and mouth. Except he wasn’t a stranger, was he?

She mentally shook herself. “Well then, one sweet lust to go, please. Mom’s expecting me at five sharp.” She started to get up, but Sherry covered her hand, in a move that told her they weren’t done with her. The fun and comfy soda-shop pink and green café suddenly felt more like a mob’s den. Now that she thought about it, the gilded mirrors and huge wedding cake chandelier looked like they belonged in a gangster’s jazz club, not in a café.

“How is Brian going to feel when he finds out you’re working with Johnny? Do you think he’ll feel threatened?” Ruby asked with a too-innocent look in her eye. “Men can be completely irrational when they’re jealous, you know.”

“Why would Brian be jealous of Johnny?” Marissa asked, focusing her attention on the dessert display, to remind herself these women were the warm, elderly owners of a charming, small-town café, and not seasoned interrogators.

Sherry reached over to squeeze Marissa’s hand. “Oh honey, forgive us. We’re in our seventies and our minds just aren’t what they used to be. Sometimes the years get all jumbled up on us and we get stuck in the past. I think the three of us are just remembering how everyone used to think you had a crush on Johnny. We’re worried Brian will remember, too.” Sherry’s posture and sad eyes suddenly made her look so sweet and old and Marissa felt bad for thinking they were like the mob.

Abuela Rosa and Ruby, too, were now looking vulnerable. Why hadn’t she noticed before that their backs were becoming slightly humped and their shoulders were sagging? It was almost like they were aging before her eyes.

She loved these women so much, it was easy to believe they’d be around forever. Marissa’s throat clogged. If caring about the people around them made these women happy, Marissa wouldn’t deny them. “Johnny was the only one of Marty’s friends who went out of his way to be nice to me and we became good friends, too. For a time. But I developed a crush on Brian soon after,” she explained. “I’d forgotten all about it until we ran into each other last year.”

Abuela Rosa smoothed Marissa’s hair behind her ear, the way she used to when she was little, and sighed a sad, tired sigh. “Yes, Sherry’s right. Our memory is not what it used to be. Why is it that you and Johnny were only good friends for a time? I forget.”

Suspicion prickled up Marissa’s spine. “I never told you.”

“No?” Her grandmother’s eyes now looked
too
confused. Maybe the prince in the elevator—Johnny—was right. Maybe she was too naïve.

“Yes. My memory fails, too. Remind me again where you were the night of the masquerade party?” Ruby asked with a croaking voice.

A
thump
came from underneath the table and Marissa quickly ducked to see Sherry kicking both Ruby and her grandmother.

Marissa got up and glared at them. The little old ladies instantly disappeared, replaced by the bright-eyed, sprightly, meddlesome, and unapologetic women she knew. “You should be ashamed of yourselves, preying on my feelings like that.”

Laughter followed her out the door. Boy, was she gullible. That was something she needed to work on if she was going to be an effective teacher. She pulled out of the parking lot and drove north through the sloping, softly winding roads and rolling hills, and gave herself a pep talk. She had to face Melinda next.

J
ohnny rolled into the parking lot beside Amador Construction and Preservation, grateful it was empty. His first day had gone great, but not at all like he’d expected, and he didn’t feel like getting into it. He and the puppies stopped by to visit a veterinarian he used to date, and he was now ready to be a daddy to the pups, but not ready to explain his plans to anybody else.

He went up to the second-floor apartment he’d been sharing with Sam the past two months.

“Surprise!” a chorus of voices shouted the moment he walked in.

Dan, Holly, Sam, Cassie, and their kids were standing around a cake, smiling and clapping. Johnny dropped his keys. He quickly picked them up and set the box down near the entrance. “Happy first day of work!” Cassie yelled, and she and Holly kissed his cheeks. Johnny took a quick look around. His mother wasn’t there to celebrate with them. It didn’t surprise him she wasn’t there, but it would’ve been nice if she was.

“What did you do to your hair?” Holly laughed.

“He thinks it makes him look professional,” Dan said as he and Sam bro-hugged him.

“Kind of like Cass’s bun,” Sam added, pulling at the tight bun that tamed Cassie’s wild red hair.

His nephew, Jake, and Holly’s daughter, Ella, ignored them all and peered into the box. “Puppies!” they exclaimed.

Sam’s eyebrows went up.

“Puppies? As in plural?” Dan walked over.

The cake and Johnny’s first day were forgotten, reminding him that nothing on earth could compete with cute, furry animals for attention. Everyone except Dan and Sam picked up a puppy. “They’re cute as heck, but please tell me they’re not all yours.” Dan turned to look at him.

“Sorry. Can’t do that. I’ve adopted them all. They’re Amadors now. Say hello to your new nephews.”

Sam didn’t look at all surprised. “They can’t all stay here for long, you know,” he said. Cassie covered her puppy’s ears and shot daggers at Sam with her eyes.

Johnny told them how he’d ended up with five puppies, conveniently leaving out the part about working with Marissa Medina. It would only lead back to Saturday night, and he wasn’t in the mood.

“You’re one of the smartest people I know, and yet you always seem to get yourself into these screwy situations. I can never figure out how you do it,” Holly said.

“What are you going to do about them? You promised you’d keep them together and Sam’s right. They can’t all stay here for too long,” Dan said.

“I know. I’ve got my eye on some property, and Cassie here’s gonna find out who owns it.”

Cassie looked surprised. “Where, Johnny? You know the rules. You practically need a farm to house five dogs and there are no farms here.”

“You’re leaving Spinning Hills?” Holly asked, looking equally stunned.

“Nope.”

Dan and Sam narrowed their eyes in thought. A moment later, both pairs of eyes widened and they looked at him in disbelief.

“Wait . . . you can’t mean . . .” Holly looked up at Johnny.

Cassie covered her puppy’s ears again. “That’s—that’s nefarious, Johnny, even for you,” she sputtered. “It’s wicked. Holly’s great-great-great-aunt was murdered by
your
great-great-great-grandfather in that house!”

Both Ella’s and Jake’s eyes went round. “Wicked?” Ella repeated, clasping her hands together. She was obsessed with fairy tales and knew the word well. “Murdered?” Jake’s eyebrows went up, and he turned to stare at his dad.

Holly sent Cassie a withering look. “There are children here and you cover the
puppy’s
ears?”

Later, after stuffing themselves with cake and pizza, he, Dan, and Sam were standing in front of the Cursed Lover. Sam lifted a shoulder. “Hey, you know me. I’ll take on anything.”

Dan shook his head. “But a woman was burned alive in there. By our ancestor’s hand.”

Johnny grinned at him. “Don’t tell me you’re creeped out.”

Dan was serious. “Hell, yeah, I’m creeped out.”

Sam turned to Johnny. “We’ll take it on if that’s what you want, but, come on, man, at least admit it’s creepy.”

Johnny looked around. Tall grass swayed in the breeze. Different species of trees, both huge and small, dotted the land here and there. A willow and a few birches gave shade to a winding, sparkling stream out back. Three deer stared at them, their ears perked, as if ready to bolt should the humans prove hostile.

It was beautiful, peaceful, and serene. As he stood there, he could almost feel it welcoming him home.

The house backed up to a preserve, it was a ten-minute walk down a picturesque road to the downtown area, and although he’d never tell his brothers, he felt as if someone in his family owed it to the house, the land, the town, and especially the murdered bride, to set the place to rights. Give it a new life and a new story. “I can see how others might think so, but look around, this place is beautiful. Don’t think about what it is. Think about what it will become.”

Sam looked around, too. “It
is
nice.”

“Really nice,” Dan grudgingly agreed. “There’s nothing else like it here.”

The three brothers were quiet as they began walking around. They met again in the back of the house. Johnny tried the back door. “It’s open.”

They stepped inside. The smell hit them first. It was worse than he could’ve imagined. Major water damage, mold, rodents, roaches . . .

“Maybe you should just tear the whole thing down,” Dan suggested.

Sam rubbed his chest. “I don’t know. That goes against the grain with me. I think the skeleton can be saved. Others must’ve done work on it after the fire and over the years to prevent further structural damage. The gingerbread trim, bargeboards, and spindle galleries outside also look good. The wraparound porch needs work, though. But us fixing it up would be kind of poetic, you know?”

Dan and Johnny looked at him, surprised, before busting up with laughter.

Johnny put his arm around Sam’s shoulder. “I gotta admit, I was thinking along the same lines.”

“Never tell Ruby I said so, but I can see what you mean. Can you even buy it, though? Who owns it?” Dan asked.

“Cassie texted me a few minutes ago.” Sam looked at them each in turn. “The county owns it. They’ve been trying to get rid of it for years. It can be Johnny’s for a little over twenty grand, and that’s only because of the five acres. But they warned that no bank will finance the home because it’s condemned.”

“Then it’s a done deal,” Johnny declared. “Can you tell her to get started on the paperwork?”

“Dude, the house has to be practically rebuilt. Only a hard money lender will finance it,” Dan argued. “That’s not a good idea.”

Johnny stifled a sigh. Even his brothers kept treating him like a goof-off who didn’t think ahead. “Listen, I’ve got a little over fifty grand that I’ve saved up over the years, thinking I’d need a good down payment for a house. With that, and with the three of us doing most of the work here, we save at least another forty, and that leaves me with enough to get the house to where I want it. I know it was originally a grand, two-story painted lady, but Ruby once told me the bride wanted a Victorian cottage and so that’s what I want, too. Holly also found an article on how the bride had picked out the gingerbread trim and the bargeboards, and she designed the spindle galleries herself, so it’s great we can keep those. It’ll honor its history and cost a lot less than turning it back into a grand two-story. I’ll just have to keep the inside simple for now. That’s something I can take on little by little on my own. I’ve got a year and a half to go before I have to start paying off my student loans, and they don’t amount to nearly as much as they could’ve thanks to all the work I’ve done with you, Sam. Business is doing well, you’ve paid us back, and I’m set to rake in even more as the houses keep on selling. Everyone thinks I don’t think things through, but I do. I just let my heart lead first, but I’ve learned the hard way to make sure my head follows. I just wish everyone could see that.”

Dan put a hand on Johnny’s shoulder. “You know what? You’re right. It actually sounds like you’ll be sitting pretty.”

“Very pretty. This place is gonna end up looking like a cupcake on top of a dollhouse,” Sam teased.

Dan’s eyes lit up at that. “It totally will. We can put flower boxes along the windows and get him some frilly curtains.”

Johnny sent them both a wary look. “Good to know the idea of humiliating me is such a motivator. My point is, I’ll be fine. My salary won’t be great, but I won’t need it to be, thanks to all the work I’ve done and will do for you. I’ll have to cut back a lot, but I won’t stop. Like Dan, I enjoy it too much.”

The three of them studied the ramshackle structure one last time. It looked like Johnny would have ninety grand to get the small house into shape, which meant that, with his brothers’ help, he could have the works.

“By the way, Marty called to remind me we’re still on to play at Huffy’s this Friday night,” Dan said.

Well, he and Marty had to talk sooner or later. They’d never stayed angry for long, but then again, they’d never argued over anything other than sports before.

“And Mom’s been to the office twice looking for you,” Sam said.

Johnny blew out a breath. “Crap.” He’d told his mother again and again what he wanted to do with his life, but she wouldn’t accept it. Confrontations with her were never easy, and he’d tired of this one long ago.

“One thing at a time, man. Let’s wrap things up here first.” Dan sent Sam a look, as if to say Johnny had been through enough that weekend.

“Sorry about that.” Sam slapped Johnny’s back good-naturedly. “It shouldn’t be too hard to close on the house in record time, what with the county owning it and practically giving it away. We could have it completely gutted and roofed in one week, and plumbed, wired, insulated, and drywalled by the end of the second. I’ll need to order custom windows and that will take a while, but we could put new doors in by then, too.”

A breeze swept in then, and both the front and back doors slammed shut. They whipped their heads around. Both of the four paneled pine doors looked like they had once been painted to imitate oak. They were obviously solid and serviceable. “I guess the doors want to stay,” Johnny quipped.

Sam laughed. “Let’s get back to the office. I can’t take this stink much longer, and we’d better get started on plans for plumbing, electrical, and HVAC, too. And Johnny still hasn’t told us about his first day.”

“The puppies kinda threw us off,” Dan said. “We should probably go feed them now, too.”

“We?” Johnny raised both eyebrows.

Dan shrugged. “There’s five of them. You’re gonna need all the help you can get.”

They opened the front door and walked out as Johnny said, “You don’t know the half of it,” under his breath.

Dan stopped to give him a quizzical look. “How
was
your first day?”

Johnny lengthened his stride and widened the distance between them. “Turns out I’m working with Marissa Medina,” he said as he walked to the pickup. “It also turns out she’s the girl.”

Johnny didn’t need to look back to know his brothers had stopped in their tracks.

“You work with Marissa? And
she’s
the girl? Jeez, Johnny, it’s like the perfect shit storm,” Dan said after a long moment. He always did have a way with words.

“You do know she’s going out with Brian Golden, right?” Sam, always the master of practical matters, asked next.

“I know. They got engaged over the weekend.”

Dan blew out a breath. “It just gets better and better,” he muttered.

Though he hadn’t gotten into the details, telling his brothers made him feel as if a load had been lifted off his shoulders. Being with his brothers had been the only thing that made him feel whole throughout his life. They got him. But they had their own full lives now, and they were busier than ever.

 

Marissa parked in her parents’ driveway. Her mom and dad were sitting in the lush garden in front of their stuccoed, red-tiled, two-story Mediterranean Revival. Built in 1947, it was the last house built in town and one of only twelve Mediterranean-style houses.

“How was your day?” Her mom jogged up to her the moment she got out of the car. “Are you staying? You said you were staying. Where’s your clothes? You brought your cat this morning, but you didn’t leave any clothes.” Marissa was engulfed in a bear hug.

When her mother let go and Marissa could breathe, she replied, “I had a great day, I’ll probably be staying for a while, if that’s okay. It’ll be so much easier if I don’t have to drive an hour to work each way. And my clothes are in a suitcase in the trunk.”

Her father waited for Marissa to come closer before he pushed off the garden bench. Her mother trailed behind her, asking, “Did the students like you? Were they well-behaved? I’ve been praying all day that it’ll be everything you hoped it would be. I even lit some candles at church this morning.”