Mine (6 page)

“Seeing as Theresa wasn’t my husband.”

“Exactly. They usually segregate the members by age group, but this batch was so small, it didn’t make sense. So here we are.”

They laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation, but were content to shrug it off. When they reached their cars, Lisa asked, “Hey, Courtney? Do you think we could, I don’t know, get some coffee sometime or something? It’d be nice to be able to talk to somebody about things who’s not older than my mom, you know?”

Courtney was touched. “I’d like that.”

They exchanged numbers and parted.

Chapter Four

It seemed like every year, Rachel was shocked at how fast the summer had gone. It felt like the flowers had just begun to bloom last week and now Labor Day weekend was on the horizon. She steered her slate blue BMW down the road, absorbing the sunny and pleasant absolutely beautiful day. The heat wave had finally broken and, aside from a few days of rain, the past two weeks had been blissfully moderate.

She felt good. She was pleased with the way this particular client transaction had gone. Courtney McAllister had immediately fallen in love with the small house Danny had recommended and put in an offer the same day she viewed it. Rachel had known the second she saw it online that it would be just the right fit for her client, and she hadn’t been wrong. Selling Courtney’s larger house had also been a nonissue. Once she’d made the changes Rachel had suggested, it had shown like an immaculate dollhouse and two potential buyers had entered into a bidding war within a week of it going up for sale. Courtney had ended up getting eight thousand dollars more than her asking price, something very pleasing to both her and her realtor.

Rachel was taking a bit of a detour, having just come from an appointment with another potential client referred to her by Danny. It was the Friday before the long weekend and it was going on two o’clock. Courtney’s move was happening quicker than most cases, the new listing, the sale, the closing, and the move all happening within a month. Once she was in the right mindset, Courtney seemed to want to get into her new house as soon as possible. Or did she just want to get out of her old one? Since she was in the neighborhood, Rachel thought she’d swing by and see if she was able to catch Courtney before she was done moving out. They’d taken care of the closing that morning, but Courtney had some final things to take care of before she relinquished the keys; the buyers were understanding. Rachel needed to collect the keys and thought she might possibly be able to save Courtney a trip to her office by swinging by and grabbing them in person.

As she turned onto Courtney’s street, she passed a moving truck. It was followed by two other cars, neither of which was Courtney’s VW. Rachel kept going, wondering if she’d missed her.

At the end of the cul-de-sac, Courtney’s gunmetal-colored Jetta sat like a lone boulder in the driveway. Rachel pulled in and parked next to it. The neighborhood was quiet, the sun shining down on the trees whose leaves showed tints of fall coloring along their edges. She inhaled deeply, the fresh air carrying the vague scent of the impending autumn, her favorite season.

The front door of the house was open, the storm door screened. Rachel shaded her eyes against it and looked inside, noting the emptiness.

“Courtney?” she called, the sound echoing through the vacant rooms. She tapped on the door lightly, not wanting to disturb the peacefulness. She called her client’s name again, then reached for the handle and pulled the door open.

Despite the fact that she’d been in real estate for most of her adult career, Rachel still found empty houses to be just a little bit eerie, especially after she’d seen them full of furniture and life. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to ward off the inexplicable chill she got as she entered. She didn’t have to go far; Courtney was standing in the middle of the living room alone. Rachel wasn’t sure whether or not to approach her and was filled with the sudden sense that she was intruding on a private moment.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she faltered. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.” As she turned to leave, Courtney spoke.

“It’s okay.” Her voice was soft and gravelly. “Stay. I’m just about ready to go, anyway.”

“I…” Rachel hesitated, embarrassed that she’d walked in on such a personal scene. “I was in the area and thought I’d see if I could save you the trip to my office by just picking up the keys here.” She shrugged, not knowing what else to say.

Courtney smiled at her, a gentle curving up of the corners of her mouth that told Rachel she was touched, even if she couldn’t verbalize it at the moment. Then she lifted her face to the sun streaming in through the skylights and it shone down on her, bathing her in the warm light. Her hair was pulled back into a haphazard ponytail and the exposure of her throat made her seem so incredibly vulnerable that Rachel had to fight the sudden urge to move closer and protect her.

“Theresa stood just like this, right here, the first time we looked at this place.” Courtney’s eyes were closed as she reminisced. “Right here. The sun was shining in just like it is today. This spot right here is the reason we bought this house. Theresa loved the sunshine.” She took a deep breath and lowered her face. When she turned to look at Rachel, there was a gentle shimmering of unshed tears. “Life turns on a dime, doesn’t it?”

Rachel nodded.

Courtney cleared her throat as she dug into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a set of keys. She crossed the room and placed them into Rachel’s palm. “Thanks for saving me a trip. I appreciate it.” With that, she took one last look around the empty room, nodded once, seemingly to herself, and exited through the front door.

Rachel was still standing there, the keys a warm weight in her hand, when she heard the Jetta’s engine turn over and the car back out of the driveway.

*

The Sunday before Labor Day was a gorgeous day, sunny, mild, and gently breezy. The lightweight curtains at the open kitchen window fluttered like feathers as Amelia put groceries away, checking with Courtney every few minutes to see where she wanted things.

“I’ve got to say, C., this place is really looking like a home. I can’t believe how much you’ve gotten done in two days.”

Courtney pulled her head out of the refrigerator and smiled. “It’s good, huh?”

“It’s great. I love it. And I’m glad you’re closer now.” She slid a box of cereal onto a shelf.

“Me, too.”

The move had been one of the hardest things she’d ever done in her life, but she’d made it through. Once her friends had left her on Friday night, she’d cried herself to sleep in her new bedroom that Theresa would never see, feeling more alone than she had in months. But Saturday morning seemed to bring new vitality and she vowed to embrace it. She’d called Lisa from group and talked with her a bit, knowing she would understand. Then she’d spent the day unpacking, washing dishes, hanging pictures, and making the place into what she wanted. When Amelia had arrived late Sunday morning to go grocery shopping with her, her jaw had dropped to the floor like it weighed twenty pounds and she’d stared in disbelief at the living room that looked, well, lived in.

“Hungry?” Courtney asked now. “I’m going to make a sandwich.”

“No, I can’t stay,” Amelia replied, smoothing back her hair. “I’ve got to get Kyle to the shoe store. I can’t believe he waited until three days before school starts to tell me we forgot to get him new sneakers. The crowds are going to be ridiculous.”

“There will be you and soccer moms everywhere.” Courtney unscrewed the peanut butter jar and made herself a sandwich. “I, on the other hand, am going to sit on my ass on my new porch and have a glass of wine.”

“I hate you,” Amelia sneered good-naturedly.

“I know.” Courtney smiled at her and bit into her late lunch.

The basement door opened with a start and they both jumped, Amelia letting out a little squeak. Mark Benetti peeked his head into the kitchen with a huge grin on his handsome face.

“Sorry about that.” He had a toolbox in one hand and he set it on the counter. “Everything looks good down there.”

Mark was Theresa’s big brother, and he and Courtney had always been close. Their friendship had grown even closer after Theresa died; they’d leaned on each other and helped one another be strong through those first brutal months. Theresa’s parents had been so devastated, it was all they could do to wake up each morning. They were no help for Mark. Courtney looked at him now, his curly brown hair rumpled, his dark eyes so like Theresa’s, and felt indescribably thankful that she had him in her life. He meant the world to her.

She’d had an engineer’s inspection before she bought the house—Rachel Hart had insisted upon it—but Mark still thought it would be a good idea if he checked things out himself “just to be sure.” It was a sweet, albeit unnecessary, male gesture and Courtney loved him for it.

She handed over her sandwich and he took an enormous bite. “Thanks for checking, Markie. I appreciate it.”

He wiped his hand on his gray T-shirt and nodded.

Courtney watched him, then glanced over at Amelia, who was organizing her spice cupboard, and her heart swelled. She felt so fortunate to have these people who loved her, these people who looked out for her and took care of her and came running anytime she needed something. She was about to speak her thoughts aloud when her doorbell rang. She was so unfamiliar with the sound that she just stared at Amelia for several seconds.

“Hello? There’s somebody at your door,” Amelia said, shooing her out of the kitchen by waving a dish towel at her.

Courtney laughed as she crossed the living room to the front door, which was open. Through the screen door, she could see a very tall silhouette standing on her porch and she faltered, suddenly wishing she was wearing something nicer than old gym shorts and a beat-up T-shirt.

Rachel Hart was dressed more casually than Courtney had ever seen her and yet she was still stunning. Her cargo shorts were navy blue and her mile-long legs were surprisingly tanned beneath them. She had simple brown sandals on her feet, her toenails polished a deep purple. Her scoop-neck T-shirt was bright white and hugged her body as if it was tailored for her—which Courtney had to admit, it might have been—and tortoiseshell sunglasses completed the look. Her hair was loose and fluffy and looked impossibly soft, glimmering in the sun. Her hands were full and she looked the tiniest bit…unnerved.

“Rachel,” Courtney said as she reached for the door. “Hi. It’s nice to see you.” And it was. Courtney had to admit that, too. Rachel handed a bottle of wine to Courtney, then pushed her sunglasses up onto her head. Courtney felt the need to stifle a gasp when the crystal blue of her eyes was revealed.

“I was in the neighborhood,” Rachel said with a shrug, surprising Courtney with what seemed to be a touch of shyness.

“You say that a lot,” Courtney said, grinning at her. “Come in. Please.” She stepped back.

Rachel held out the other hand, which grasped a wooden and pewter bird feeder. “This is for your new yard.”

Courtney blinked at her, enormously touched. “Rachel. This is so sweet of you. It’s beautiful. You didn’t have to do this.”

“I wanted to.” Rachel looked at the floor, and it seemed like now that her hands were empty, she didn’t know what to do with them. She tugged at her earring and then glanced up at the living room…and blinked in shock. “Wow. You did all this in two days?” There wasn’t a box to be seen and the room looked like it had been arranged this way for months.

Courtney’s laugh filled the air. “School starts on Wednesday but I need to go in on Tuesday, so I wanted to have tomorrow to get myself ready for it. Besides, I didn’t really have much. And the cable’s not hooked up yet, much to my dismay, so there wasn’t the ever-present possibility of plopping down to watch TV. But it looks pretty good. It’s coming along.”

Rachel was interrupted by Amelia, who entered from the kitchen, her keys jingling in one hand. “Baby, I’ve got to go,” she said, rubbing Courtney’s arm.

“Oh,” Courtney said. “Okay. Um, Rachel Hart, this is my best friend, Amelia Tyler. Amelia, my realtor, Rachel.”

Amelia stuck out her hand, and Courtney could see her trying to be discreet about sizing Rachel up. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Hart. My husband, Carl, is a mortgage broker and works over at the Citibank in Pittsford. I believe you’ve worked with him on occasion.”

Rachel’s face lit in recognition as they shook hands. “Yes. Oh, Carl’s great. Very easy to work with. Please tell him I said hello.”

“Will do.” Amelia kissed Courtney on the cheek. “Call you later, honey.”

“Okay,” Courtney said as Amelia took her leave. She and Rachel stood somewhat awkwardly in the middle of the living room until a loud crash sounded from the kitchen.

“I’m okay,” Mark called out and made Courtney grin.

“My brother-in-law,” she said by way of explanation to Rachel, pointing toward the kitchen with a jerk of her head. “He was checking out the furnace and stuff. Hooking up the washer and dryer.” Turning to the kitchen, she said, “Mark, can you come in here? I’d like you to meet somebody.”

Mark’s handsome features were tinted a gentle pink when he entered the living room, toolbox in hand and a smudge of peanut butter at the corner of his mouth. Courtney reached up and wiped it away with a chuckle before making the introductions.

“Heading out?” Courtney asked.

Mark nodded, his eyes darting all over the room. “Yeah. Yeah, I am. We still on for tomorrow night?”

“As long as I can get my school stuff all set, I’ll be over for at least the first half.”

“Cool. I’ll see you then.” He turned to Rachel and did his best to look her in the eye. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Hart.”

“Rachel. Please. It was nice to meet you, too.”

He blushed some more and practically ran out the door.

Courtney waited until she heard the engine of his pickup turn over before she burst into laughter. “Oh my God. Poor Markie. I think you made him nervous.”

“How so?” Rachel asked, smiling at Courtney.