Nerds on Fire (25 page)

This surprised her.

Turning one corner, they nearly
knocked over Nina. Trixi said a hasty goodbye to Mark as she
retrieved her lunch bag then hauled the resigned, but smiling woman
into the ladies room. A moment later, Katy joined them. They
cornered Nina and folded their arms.

“
We haven’t heard a peep
from you or Dad,” Katy started.

“
Yes, we’d like to know
what’s going on.” Trixi continued, but it was hard to keep her
voice and expression firm.

Especially with the laughter bubbling
in Nina’s eyes. “I’m not telling you anything.” Except giggles
ensued immediately and a peachy glow stained her cheeks and
brightened her eyes another notch.

Trixi and Katy exchanged satisfied
looks. “So things are going well?”

Nina’s smile came close to blinding
them. “He’s an amazing man.” There was no denying the happiness and
glee emanating from her.

“
Yes, he is. Certain women
haven’t appreciated him like they should.”

The other woman nodded solemnly. “I
have noticed his former fiancée...” She trailed off but both Katy
and Trixi nodded.

“
Yeah, she wanted his money
but didn’t care about him.”

Nina’s smile faded. She shuffled her
feet a bit and wouldn’t meet their eyes.

“
What did you two do
yesterday?” Trixi’s nosy question was rewarded by a softened spine
and Nina’s renewed megawatt smile. Her glow could have powered the
entire pediatric wing.

“
We’ve been going crazy
trying to find out.” Katy’s enthusiasm furthered Nina’s
flush.

In light of their eagerness and
girlish interest, Nina caved. “I made supper for your father last
evening.” She expounded for a moment, but it was evident she hadn’t
cared what she ate as much as she cared about getting to know her
dining companion.

“
It sounds like it was a
dreamy date.” Trixi grinned at the blushing woman.

“
It was. He helped me with
the dishes and then we had coffee in my family room. We talked long
into the night.” Nina took a moment to cover a dainty
yawn.

Katy sighed. “Sounds like it was
wonderful.”

“
It was.” Her smile was
sweet.

“
So you’re hoping to see
more of each other?” Katy asked.

“
For as long as he asks me
out, I’ll say yes.”

“
So your physician
assistant is coming back?” Trixi asked Mark at supper that evening
after hearing rumors at work.

“
I think she said
Thursday.” Mark scraped the last of the lasagna from his plate.
“This is the best lasagna I’ve had in ages.”

“
Thank you.” She tapped a
finger on the table.

He helped himself to another slice,
smaller than the first, and dug in. It didn’t take him long to
finish the second helping.

“
So Katy will be done with
you then?”

“
She should be in the
emergency room by Friday or Monday.”

Katy would be pleased. Trixi rose to
work on the dishes. Gran shooed her away, and she went because all
that was necessary was stacking the dishes in the
dishwasher.

Trixi tucked the leftovers into the
fridge, about faced, and bumped into Mark. “Do you have additional
living space here?” He steadied her with sure hands.

She peeped up at him, dazed by the
man’s handsomeness. Maybe she should get him a cowbell to warn her
when he was nearby. With ruthless discipline, she shook off her
attraction and instead nodded, still tossing around the idea of the
bell.

“
Yes, there’s an apartment
above the carriage house where my brother lived with his
wife.”

“
Can I see it?”

“
Sure.” Why was he
interested? Was he already tired of her? She started in the
direction of the mudroom where her jacket hung, stomach muscles
tight.

“
I didn’t even notice a
carriage house.” Mark kept pace with her, but it made sense, since
the man’s legs were probably twice as long as hers.

She decided not to dwell on her
shortcomings.

“
It’s been here since the
house was originally built. That was a long time ago.”

“
Like how long
ago?”

“
The history of the house
is my ancestor had several boys and one girl. The boys were all
killed in the war, most likely the Civil War but it could have been
the Revolutionary. His sons’ deaths left him with only his
daughter. His daughter became his sole heir.

“
She had already inherited
his brain and great sense of business. It soon became apparent she
was worthy of his home and business. From all accounts, she took
the business several levels beyond what he had. Her daughter took
over, and then her daughter and the company prospered.”

He assisted her with her jacket then
slung on his own.

“
What happened to the
business?”

“
Automobiles were invented
so there wasn’t much need for carriages.” She hunted down the key,
hanging on the key rack behind an old family portrait.

“
Ah, yes, that makes
sense.”

“
They still had a goodly
bit of money, so they sold what was left of the business and
invested the proceeds.”

“
But then the stock market
crashed in the nineteen thirties.”

“
Yes, while they didn’t
lose everything, it was a near thing.”

“
So your family fortunes
have declined?” He sounded amused as they stepped outside. The wind
blew leaves into their faces, and she hunched her shoulders against
the bluster.

“
Unfortunately. But we’ve
managed to hold on to the house and property.” They crossed the
driveway. Trixi unlocked the door to the carriage house. It led
through a generous double car garage, where the tractor and lawn
mower were currently parked.

“
My brother and his wife
used this for their vehicles while they lived upstairs. They also
completely refurbished the place.”

Mark took stock of the garage. He eyed
the workbench and garage organizers with interest.

She opened the door to the stairs and
climbed them. Using the same key, Trixi unlocked the door and led
the way inside so he could view the place.

“
This is big.”

“
The open floor plan makes
it seem so. It’s nearly a three car garage size. Reed and Shawna
slept in one bedroom and stored their clothes in the other at
first. They did eventually build closets along one wall in both
rooms.”

The far corner comprised the kitchen,
complete with a breakfast bar. The kitchen opened to a decent sized
dining space. Both abutted the living area. As grand rooms went, it
was cozy, yet spacious. The bedrooms and bath completed the
apartment.

“
It’s a good size for one
or two people.” Mark glanced at her. “What did they do besides
build closets?”

“
The kitchen cabinets were
already here, but they were outdated. They’re solid wood, so Reed
and Shawna sanded them down and refinished them. Then put on new
hardware and changed out the countertops, which were also outdated,
and in bad shape. They finished by replacing the sink and
appliances.”

He whistled. “Sounds like a lot of
work.”

“
Yes, but because they’re
family, they only paid their own utilities. So, both insisted on
‘paying rent’ by redoing the entire apartment.”

“
They have great
taste.”

Trixi showed him the full-length
closets in each room. Both rooms were small, but in the slightly
larger bedroom there was room for a queen bed, chair, and chest of
drawers.

Finally, she showed him the minuscule
bathroom. “They made their bedroom a bit larger by stealing some
space from the bathroom.”

“
How?”

“
They took out the tub.
Neither of them used it and if they wanted a tub, they just came
over to the house.”

Peeking into the tiny bathroom, there
was no question it was cozy.

“
Not a lot of room, but
there is a decent amount of storage.”

Trixi nodded. “Shawna was adamant
about that.”

“
How long did they live
here?”

“
From the time they got
married, until about a month ago, so nearly two years.”

“
They accomplished a
lot.”

“
Yes, instead of joining a
gym, they said this could be their workout.”

“
Didn’t you say there’s
also a guesthouse?”

“
Yes. Initially they lived
there, but the water heater broke and flooded the place, but no one
was home. So that took some time to fix. By then they had this
bathroom finished and the kitchen was moving along. So they just
moved in here.”

She shrugged before continuing. “There
was no point moving again, so they stayed. I think they really
liked having the garage. The guesthouse doesn’t have
one.”

“
Makes sense.” He peeked
into the second bedroom then followed her out of the apartment. She
locked up and then ran down the stairs. “This used to be the garage
for the house?”

“
Well, it was the stable
and carriage storage way back when. There was a two car garage
attached to the house an ancestor built. But then my maternal
grandmother, who by then lived in the guesthouse, even though she
owned the house, fell three times in about ten days, so she had to
go into rehab. My mother hated the two car garage. She and Dad
altered some storage rooms into the current three car and converted
the two car garage into a suite of rooms for my grandmother. She
loved it and my mom and dad enjoyed having her in the house
again.”

“
Let’s see the guesthouse
next.”

She gave him a quick tour, and he
admired the space. It was chilly so they didn’t linger. Trixi led
the way into the house.

Since they had talked about it, they
peeked into Gran’s rooms. “This is where Gran lives now. It’s
actually a perfect setup for her. She’s close to everything, but
has her own space where she can escape if she wants to. It’s fairly
quiet.”

They didn’t linger.

“
So if you have the
apartment and the guesthouse, why are there guest rooms?” Mark
followed her into the kitchen.

“
You mean your
space?”

He nodded as he watched her check
something in the fridge. “Your area was a big nothingness until
Reed was in high school. That’s when his do-it-yourself nature
surfaced.”

“
It was nothing? You mean
no walls, nothing?”

“
There were outer walls and
windows and the roof. But no ceiling. We’re still not certain what
the space was originally used or intended for.”

“
But your brother figured
it out?”

“
Yes, he decided it would
make an amazing guest wing. Dad had some contractors come in and
build the stories, because he didn’t want to fool with the floors
and ceilings, and installing plumbing and electric. He and Reed
finished up the space, and had a lot of fun.”

“
I’m impressed with my
wing.”

“
Reed and Dad went all
out.”

“
Have you ever had all
those rooms filled?”

She paused. “Yes, for Reed and
Shawna’s wedding. And around the holidays.”

They were still standing in the
kitchen, facing each other across the island. “I’m thinking about
renting out the apartment and guesthouse now. Since we have a bunch
of rooms free for guests.”

He nodded. “It would be an ideal
situation. You could get a good bit of money for both of them. Are
their utilities combined with yours?”

“
No, they’re all separate.
Reed and Shawna also did that while they lived here.”

“
Separate utilities will
help you with all your costs. We need to figure out how much I owe
you for rent.”

“
We’re really happy to have
you here, you know. Your presence means Gran and I sleep better at
night.”

“
I still need to pay rent.
You helped me out when I needed something.”

“
You could have stayed with
Leo.”

Mark sent her an are-you-kidding look.
“Leo is occupied with Katy. His house is spacious, but when they’re
there, it’s painful.”

“
They’re not
lovey-dovey.”

“
And therefore painful.
They need to kiss and get it out of their systems.”

She laughed. “Kissing would probably
help.” Then she wondered how long Mark planned to stay. “Do you
have plans for buying another house?”

“
Not at the moment. Staying
here is actually perfect for me. Leo was right.” He glanced around
the kitchen with a smile. “Paying you rent will help you out and I
get to stay in a place as comfortable and nice as this.”

“
Like I said, Gran and I
are really happy you’re here.”

“
I’m happy to help keep you
both safe.”