5. Penny
FIVE
Penny
I held my breath as I sat in the small driveway of 459 Jefferson St. I glanced at the address I’d written down in haste and then back up to the numbers on the house.
I was here.
I turned off the engine and slipped my keys from the ignition. Then I pushed open my door with my shoulder as I held my purse to my body.
I could do this. I was fine. It wouldn’t take long for Cordelia to make the needed repairs, and I would be right back in her basement where I belonged. This was just an off ramp to my future.
With my keys and phone slipped into my purse, I headed up the weathered walkway, sidestepping a root that had pushed its way through a crack, exacerbating it. Once I got to the door, I knocked and waited .
I was certain that this house had been used in the latest horror movie. I half expected a man with a mask to open the door with a knife in hand and proceed to kill me. Instead, a man I recognized from Clementine’s shop appeared in the side window, and the sound of the deadbolt releasing filled the air.
This was Spencer?
My heart pounded in my chest so loud that I could hear it in my ears. I hadn’t expected this.
He pulled open the door, and his gaze roamed over me. “What do you want?” he asked. He was wearing a black sweatshirt and sweatpants to match. His greying hair was tousled, and his dark eyes narrowed as he stared at me.
“I’m, um…I called. I’m Clementine’s friend. I’m here to rent the room?” My throat had gone dry, making it impossible to talk. I cleared my throat and swallowed a few times, but that did nothing. “I’m Penny. Ms. Brown?”
I still felt like I had sandpaper in my mouth.
The moments that ticked by while I stood there under Spencer’s scrutiny felt like a lifetime. But then he slowly nodded and stepped away from the door.
“Come in.”
Despite how rough the outside looked, the inside was much neater. The furniture was outdated but in good shape. Everything was tidy and clean. It smelled like a man—but in a good way. Like he preferred a certain cologne, and his house was infused with that scent.
“This is nice,” I whispered as I shut the door behind me .
Spencer was halfway across his living room when he stopped and turned to look at me. “Were you expecting it to be bad?”
I snorted, but when his eyes narrowed, I hurried to explain myself. “It’s just that the front looks so rough.”
He peered toward the front windows. “Rough?”
I nodded. “It’s just a tad overgrown.”
A pained look flashed in his eyes, and he cleared his throat. “It is what it is. Now, do you want to see the room or not?”
I hurried to fall in step with him. “I want to see the room.”
It seemed strange that he was sensitive about the landscaping. After all, he had eyes. He could see that it was in dire need of some work. I wanted to press him more about it, but since I needed a place to stay and his was the only place available at the moment, I wanted to stay in his good graces.
“This is the room,” he said as he flipped on the light.
The room was bathed in an orange glow. There was a small bed pressed against the side wall. A dresser, nightstand, and desk completed the set. It was tiny but clean. I stepped into it and looked around.
It wasn’t the Ritz—which I’d stayed at on numerous occasions—but it worked. “I’ll take it,” I said.
Spencer frowned. “Now hold on, I need to make sure you aren’t a crazy person.” He leaned over and pulled a piece of paper off the top of the dresser. “Here’s the application, please fill it out. ”
I stared down at what he’d presented me. It looked like the standard lease agreement you could print off from the internet. “You want me to fill this out?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
I pointed to it. “Do I need this to stay the night?”
He paused and then sighed. “You can stay the night, but bring this to me as soon as you can.” He turned to leave.
“You do know that I’m a friend of Clementine. She’ll vouch for me.”
He grunted. “I’ve learned that things like that mean nothing. I want to see what kind of shenanigans you’ve gotten into.” He folded his arms. “Don’t fill it out. Don’t stay.”
I brought the paper to my chest. “I’ll fill it out.”
He made his way into the hallway, holding onto the door handle as he went. Just before he shut the door, he glanced back at me. “Good.”
The click of the door filled the air. Now that I was alone, I blew out my breath and collapsed on the bed, stretching my feet out in front of me. I set the application down and threaded my fingers, pressing my arms out as I hunched over.
The pressure in my back began to lessen as I took in a deep breath.
It wasn’t what I’d expected, but I was beginning to learn that nothing in my life turned out the way I wanted. I was beginning to expect the unexpected .
I unpacked what I’d brought into the dresser and nightstand. I pulled open the small closet on the other side of the room to find a bundle of hangers. After hanging what clothes I had, I glanced around the room.
What was I going to do now?
I took in a deep breath, my stomach growling. I was hungry. The pastry I’d grabbed at The Hideout wasn’t cutting it.
I wondered if Spencer was still up.
I shuffled over to the door and twisted the handle. I pulled the door open slightly and peeked out to the hallway. When I didn’t detect movement, I slipped out, closing my door quietly behind me.
I made my way down the hallway, taking note of the pictures hanging up there. I couldn’t tell if they were put there by Spencer or were original to the house—I couldn’t imagine Spencer putting up pictures of flowers. This house definitely had a feminine touch to it.
I finally discovered where the kitchen was located. I made my way to the fridge and peered around. Would Spencer be angry if I looked inside? I would repay him for whatever I took.
He hadn’t been clear about what I could or couldn’t use, and it wasn’t like my room was equipped with anything. He had to know that I needed to eat and was going to use the kitchen. He couldn’t blame me for that.
I pulled open the fridge and peeked inside. There wasn’t a lot there, but I did see some ham and cheese. Hoping that I would be able to find bread, I pulled those items out and moved to kick the door closed with my foot.
“What are you doing?”
Spencer’s deep voice startled me, causing me to yelp and toss the food into the air. Like I was trying to get rid of the evidence. As soon as the packages plopped on the ground, my entire body heated from embarrassment.
I glanced over at him sheepishly. “I, um…” Why couldn’t I speak?
Spencer ran his gaze over me and then shifted to the food. He walked over and picked it up before I could get my mouth to cooperate and speak.
“We should set up kitchen boundaries,” he said as he set the cheese and ham down on the counter.
I felt like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. I moved to help put the items back, but he didn’t step out of my way. Instead, he pulled a loaf of bread from the breadbox on the counter and pulled out two slices.
“I was hungry,” I whispered as I watched him make me a sandwich.
He grunted as he moved to the fridge to pull out a jar of mayo. “I figured that.”
I leaned against the counter. “Why did you scare me, then?”
He glanced over at me. “I just asked you what you were doing. You were the one throwing my food on the ground.”
“I didn’t…mean to throw them on the ground,” I stammered .
“Well, if you were hungry, you should have just told me.”
I glanced down the side hallway that I could only assume he’d come down. “I wasn’t sure where you went or if you wanted me to bother you.” I turned to see him cutting the sandwich in half. “I really could have done that myself.”
He set the sandwich on a plate and handed it to me. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
I wasn’t sure what was happening, but my hunger took over as I brought the plate over to the table.
“Coffee?”
“Water,” I said over my shoulder.
I’d just picked up my sandwich when Spencer appeared with a water bottle. I thanked him and started eating. From the corner of my eye, I saw Spencer standing a few feet away, as if he wasn’t sure what to do.
Not wanting my stay here to be awkward, I motioned toward the seat across from me. “You can join me if you want,” I said.
Spencer flicked his gaze over to the seat and hesitated. Just when I thought he was going to refuse, he crossed the room and sat down.
We were quiet as I ate. Spencer just leaned back in his chair with his hand on the table, his gaze focused on the window to the right. I tried not to stare at him, but there was so much I wanted to know, and I wasn’t sure how to ask him any of it .
“How long have you been in the landlord business?” I finally asked. I was going crazy from the silence.
“I had one roommate before you.”
I chewed as I thought about what he said. “What happened?” I asked after I swallowed.
He sighed. “He got a job in Florida and moved on.”
He. Hmm. That made me wonder about Spencer’s past.
He glanced in my direction as if he could read my thoughts. “He was an old friend. Nothing more. He just got me used to an income that I wanted to keep.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand as if he were trying to rub stress away.
“I wasn’t assuming anything,” I said as I took another bite.
Spencer scoffed. “Yeah. Sure. I hear what this town says about me.”
I felt confused. “What does the town say about you?”
He looked at me. “You don’t know?”
I shook my head and took a sip of water. “I just moved here and don’t have a lot of friends. I mean, everyone I know, I know because of my daughter. I don’t have anyone that’s just my friend.”
“It won’t last long that way.”
I shrugged. “I like staying in my own world. I’m not really interested in gossip.”
He furrowed his brow before he sighed. “Well, I hope it stays that way.” He shifted in his seat until his elbows were resting on the table. “What are you doing here? ”
My mouth was full, so I finished chewing before I spoke. “I moved here to be close to Maggie. She’s married now, and I anticipate babies in the future.” I shrugged. I didn’t want him to think I was a loser, so I didn’t talk about my job loss. “I didn’t want to live my life in the city anymore. Coming here was like coming home.” Which was true.
He studied me before he slowly nodded. “I can see that. There are drawbacks to living in a small town, but then there are also benefits.”
“Exactly.” A slow smile spread across my lips. The same smile that appeared every time I thought about Magnolia Daily . It was my future. “I am the new owner of Magnolia Daily,” I said softly.
He frowned. “The town’s newspaper?”
I nodded as I brushed the crumbs off my fingertips.
He grew still, and when I looked up, I saw that his lips were pursed. As if he was bothered by this.
“Everything we’ve talked about is off the record, you know that right?”
His response startled me. I nodded. “Of course.”
He moved to stand, the legs of his chair scraping against the linoleum. “I’m heading to bed,” he said. His tone had turned stiff.
“Yeah, of course.”
He made his way to the hallway, and just before he disappeared, I called out his name. I didn’t like how we were leaving this, and if I could somehow make it better, I was going to .
“I won’t ever write about what we talk about,” I said when he paused and turned to meet my gaze. I hoped he could tell that I was being genuine as I smiled at him.
He paused but then gave me a curt nod. “Good night, Penny.”
I wanted to call him back. I wanted to ask him if he was still worried. But he disappeared before I gathered the courage to speak.
Now alone, I finished my food and then gathered up my dirty dishes. After washing the dishes in the sink, I dried my hands and stepped back. I sighed as I turned off the light and headed to my room.
Once inside, I closed my door and padded over to my bed, where I collapsed. I covered my eyes with my arm and took in a deep breath.
I hated how I’d left things with Spencer. I wanted him to know that I was never going to invade his privacy and write something about him—he’d made it pretty clear that he was against that.
For some reason, I wanted Spencer to like me. Maybe it was because he’d opened his house to me. Or the fact that he’d made me food when he didn’t have to.
A part of me whispered that it was because he was attractive—which wasn’t a lie, but I wasn’t going to go down that road. I wasn’t in the market for a man, and I was fairly certain that love wasn’t in my future.
No, I wanted him to like me because he was a nice guy. And he held the keys to where I lived. If I wanted to keep my life less complicated by staying here, then I needed to focus on what was going to keep me in his good graces.
And from how he reacted to hearing about the newspaper, that meant keeping my work life and private life separate.
I could do that.
I could.