Whispering Wishes (10 page)

“Well long story short is that I’ve had a bit of financial trouble and had to file for bankruptcy.
The house is being reclaimed by the bank and will be owned by them. So therefore, you will have to move out.”

“But… but… I have a lease.”

“Well if you remember, after your lease was up this last time, instead of renewing it for another year, we just went month to month. The lease stipulates that I have the right to ask you to vacate the premises at any time. And the end of the month is in two weeks.”

“But…but…this is my home.
And you told me that you would potentially sell this house to me, like a rent to own. I love this house.”

“Look Aspen, what do you want me to tell you?
It isn’t like I wanted to file for bankruptcy. It isn’t like I enjoy being a bitch kicking you out of your home, but I don’t have a choice. Shit happens. The home is now owned by the bank or will be very soon and I have no say in this whatsoever.”

“Well maybe I can contact the bank.
Maybe they will sell it to me.”

“Maybe they will, I don’t know.
I can give you the contact information, but I know they will be refinancing it and it seems unlikely they will offer a mortgage that equates to the same deal on rent that I’ve been giving you the past few years.”

That, I knew was true.
I had completely lucked out on rent when I got this place. In the several years I’ve been in the house, she’s never raised the rent on me once. Finding another house in this area for less than a thousand dollars a month is not going to be an easy task at all.

“I’ll include the contact information for the bank in your letter when I mail it to you.”

“Okay,” my voice sounds small, withdrawn.

“Again, I’m sorry Aspen.
I wish you lots of luck.”

I hang up the phone without responding.
What can I say? I didn’t see this coming at all. I put my head in my hands and cry. And cry. I feel helpless, confused, lost. I’ve been saving for a down payment for this house for a while; hoping and admittedly assuming it would one day be mine. I don’t have much saved, but it was something. And then the floodgates open and I cry for all that has happened in the last few days. At least my red eyes and nose will blend in with the sunburn.

I go to my room, change out of my lounge clothes and put jeans and a t-shirt on.
I throw my still damp hair in a high bun and don’t even bother with makeup. Before I can even think about it, I once again find myself in my car and at the gas station buying a paper.

Time to start looking for places to rent.

I drive without even thinking and find myself sitting in the parking lot of D’Vine.
I’m not sure why D’Vine continues to be my go to location, but one thing I do know – alcohol needs to happen.

When I walk
into D’Vine, the hostess greets me with my name. Apparently, I do come here a lot. Oh well, what do I care? I’m allowed to come here any time I want. After I order my second glass of wine, I look down at the newspaper in front of me once more. Red pen in hand, apartments that look promising are circled.

I’m really sad that in order to find something within my price range, I’m going to have to resort to apartment living once again.
I often forgot how lucky I was to get my house when I did. I just happened to see the for rent sign and placed a call to the listed number. She was desperate for someone to take it off of her hands and take over the mortgage payment.

I’ve gotten used to having the privacy a home provides as opposed to an apartment where you can hear everything through the walls, floor
, and ceiling. This is going to suck massively. And the fact I have to get out in two weeks? The thought makes me want to throw up.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” a smooth voice says to me as the man that owns it slides into the booth across from me.

I look up into Wes’ face and it brings an instant smile to my lips, but it quickly falls when I remember the last time I saw him. Before I can respond, his eyes widen. “Whoa. That’s quite the sunburn you’re sporting there.”

Shit.
I forgot about my face. My hands raise and I start to cover it, like that will do any good. And then I remember my approach to getting ready to go out and what I look like. And wish that the room would just absorb me somehow so I could disappear. “Shut up. Besides, don’t you have something else you want to tease me about? Go ahead, let’s hear it.”

I don’t know how it’s possible, but his smile widens.
“Why didn’t the chicken cross the road?”

I’m not going to smile.
No, I’m not. “Why didn’t the chicken? Isn’t that wrong? You’re already telling it wrong.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Just answer the question.
Why didn’t the chicken cross the road?”

I sigh
. He’s not going to quit, so I give him the answer he wants. “I don’t know, why?”

“Because she was dancing on the corner,” and then he starts laughing like he’s hilarious.
His eyes crinkle in the corners when he laughs. It’s cute – the jerk.

I refuse to give in and offer him a smile, but it isn’t easy.
“Ha. Ha. How long did it take you to think that one up? Have you been dying to see me again so you could use it?”

“I’m not telling,” his grin grows and he winks at me and I’m pretty sure my heart skip
ped a beat. What the hell?

“Smart.”

“So, a chicken, huh?”

“Look,” I point at him in my irritation, “in my defense, I had no idea that was going to happen?”

“What do you mean? You didn’t know you were going to be a chicken?”

“No, and stop.
You’re making fun of me.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. I can tell by your tone.”

“Well
, for the record, you were the cutest chicken I’ve ever seen.”

“Damn straight I am,” and with that I smile.

“That looks good on you.”

“My chicken suit?”

He laughs. “No. Your smile.”

“Thanks,” I smile bigger
. I can’t help it. He’s sweet. “So, do you want to hear my story or are you just going to keep teasing me?”

He looks behind him and I’m guessing he’s checking to make sure he doesn’t need to return to the bar
. “I absolutely want to hear your story,” he tells me when he turns back around.

“Well you won’t believe this,” I start telling him about the strange interview and smile at his laughter.
I love it when he loses it when I mimic the horror that was likely on my face when he handed me the chicken costume. “I was shocked to say the least, but being unemployed made me panic. I need the money. I figure I can just keep working there until I find something else.”

“Hey, I may tease you
, but I respect that. A lot of people would have run the hell out of there when they saw that god awful chicken suit.”

“Oh, believe me
, I wanted to.”

“So, I suppose you aren’t interested in a job here
, then?”

I freeze and look at him closely.
He’s smirking at me a little, but he seems sincere- not joking at all. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, really.
I talked to the boss man and was able to work something out!”

“
That’s so amazing! I could kiss you!” I look down and flush at my words and I hear him chuckle but he doesn’t say anything. I’m so stupid, ugh.
He’s not interested in you like that, stupid!

“The job is for a hostess.
I can let the owner, his name is Jack by the way, know if you’re game and you’ll just need to fill out some paperwork and you’ll be good to go.”

“That’s it?
I don’t need to have an interview?”

“Nah.
He trusts me. I’ve known him a long time.”

“I don’t even know how to say thank you.
The timing couldn’t be better. Now that I’m being kicked out of my house, I could really use a good job, that’s reliable and pays well. It does pay well, right?”

“Yeah, but wait.
What? Kicked out of your house? What the hell is up with your luck lately? Losing your job and now your house?”

“Don’t even get me started on that.”

“What happened?”

“I got home from dancing on a street corner,” he snorts making me smile a little, “and was in the shower practicing my street corner moves when the phone rang,” he grins.
Has he always been so sexy? I shake that thought out of my mind and continue. “I checked my messages and it was my land lady telling me she had to file bankruptcy and that the bank now owns the house and I have to be out by the end of the month.”

“Holy shit!
The end of the month? That’s in like two weeks. Don’t you have a lease?”

“Yes, I do.
But, I made a mistake. I was so thankful for the cheap rent and the fact that I love the house I let my lease lapse.” He raises his brows at me. “I know, don’t say it. It was stupid. I figured we would get to it eventually.”

  
“So what does this mean for you, exactly?”

“It rolled into a month to month arrangement after the first year was up.
It states that she reserves the right to boot me out at any time. The thing is she talked to me about having the option to eventually have a lease to buy, so I never thought this would happen.”

“Oh man, I’m so sorry.”

“Me too.” Before I can stop it, my eyes well up. I blink rapidly trying to push them back. “The thing is, yeah I had a great rent price, but I also just really love my house. I’m pretty sad about this, but there isn’t time to focus on my feelings right now. Lots of good that would do anyway. I'm going to need to find a new place to live.”

He reaches out and takes my hand in his to offer me comfort and instant tingles run from my hand all the way up my arm and my stomach flips.
I gasp softly, thankful he doesn’t notice. What the hell is that? This is all I need – to fall for him when I don’t have a freaking chance in hell. He gently rubs his thumb across the back of my hand and I embarrassingly have to clench my legs together. Oh my God. I pull my hand away slowly and reach for my pen, hoping it isn’t obvious that I’m kind of freaking out.

It doesn’t seem to faze him at all.
He taps the newspaper in front of me. “I’m guessing you’re on the hunt then for a new place?”

“You would be correct
,” I sigh, place my head in my hand and look at him. “It feels kind of hopeless. I have nowhere to go, and I confess the thought of going back to apartment living is nauseating.”

“I don’t blame you, I remember that all too well.
The loud neighbors, loud music reverberating through the walls, and hearing people above you walk across the floor. In one of my old places, the person across the hall had a dog that used to always pee on the rug at my door. It hated me.”

I laugh
. “Nice. What did you do to the poor thing?”

“Poor thing, my ass.
That dog was the devil. It even bit my ankle once, which is ironic because usually I have much better luck with women.”

Now it’s my turn to snort
. “Is that right?”

“Well, mostly.”

I quickly look back down to the newspaper, chills covering my entire body. “Were you surprised that your parents left you their house?”

“Yes, definitely
.” He rubs his hand along his jaw and I find myself following his movements. “I mean, I had no idea that they even had a will prepared or anything like that. It’s good they did since their death was so sudden, but nothing like that ever occurred to me.”

I look at him and quietly ask, “What happened?”

“Plane crash.”

“Oh wow,
I’m so sorry.”

His face is somber and there’s sadness in his eyes
. “Me too. They signed up for flying lessons – they were so excited. It was only their fourth lesson; the plane had engine trouble and they weren’t able to land safely. My dad died on site and my mom hung on for a little while, but we had to take her off life support because she was brain dead. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through.”

“I can’t even imagine.
I’m so sorry.” He nods in acknowledgement of my condolences. “Do you have any siblings?”

“I have an older brother that lives in Texas with his family.
That’s why my parent’s left their house to me because he’s settled and doing really great. I think my family was worried about me to be honest. My mom was always trying to convince me to settle down.”

I’m intrigued
. “And you didn’t agree with her?”

“It isn’t that I didn’t want to; I just never found the right girl.
I thought I did once, but it didn’t work out.”

“What happened?”

“We both wanted different things. She’s very career driven and thinks my dreams of owning my own bar are lazy and easy.” He laughs, but there’s no humor there. “A guy that owns a bar isn’t the kind of man she pictures herself being with.”

“Well
, she sounds crazy,” I say, making him smile a little. I’m glad he’s not with someone like that. “She didn’t deserve you.”

His smile turns brilliant
. “I like to think that it was just a step to bring me in the right direction. It had to happen to get me, eventually, to the right person.”

“That’s a really great way to look at it.”

We stare at one another for a minute and he looks somewhat conflicted. One minute, he appears unsure and then, he’s smirking. I wonder what he’s thinking. And then, I don’t have to wonder any longer, because suddenly he blurts, “You should move in with me.”

“W-w-what?!”

“You should move in with me,” this time the sentence is louder and more forceful
, as if he thinks it’s the best idea ever.

“Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack. I’ve been thinking about renting out a room to get a little extra money. The house is much too big for just me and it can be a temporary solution until you find something you really want. It also means you can stay out of apartment living like you just said.”

I stare at him blandly
, feeling at a loss or words. “I don’t know.”

“Look at it this way.
You would really be doing me a favor. Like I said, the extra money would come in handy. And besides…” he stops, looking away for a moment, then says softly, “it can get lonely in the house. It’s full of memories. I had a lot of it redone, but there are still difficult moments. It would be nice to have someone else there.”

“You have an empty room?”

“I have more than one, actually. It will take me no time at all to clear it out; it has its own bathroom and everything. We would have to share living space as far as the kitchen and living room goes, but like I said, you’d have your own bathroom and bedroom. And I have some storage space if you need some.”