Twenty-Three
S cott stretched his arms over his head and looked up at the ceiling. He’d been in Iron Creek for almost a week now and the world around him hadn’t come to an end.
Jarold was the only client complaining, but it wasn’t because Scott was in Iron Creek and not in Chicago. He’d find a reason to complain no matter where Scott was.
Plus, he loved spending time with Lauren and the others. He hadn’t realized how much he missed having them in his life until they all came back into it. Not that he was seriously considering moving to Iron Creek full-time, but he could maybe spend some of his time here. Except he couldn’t live out of a hotel and work out of the bakery every time he came up. He’d need a house.
No way would he stay at his father’s house, so that meant he’d have to find one.
Before he second-guessed himself and the fear of Lauren and the others hating him for what his father had done put a stop to his plan, Scott packed up his things and went looking for Lauren.
He found her standing behind the counter, chastising the apron for failing in its task to keep her clothes clean while three other women watched her antics.
She was adorable. And even though he’d never tell her that to her face, because he didn’t think Lauren considered adorable to hold the same meaning as it did to him, it didn’t stop him from thinking it.
If the chocolate on her arms was anything to go by, her shirt must have been a mess. She even had a smudge of chocolate on her cheek that Scott wanted to brush away, but not with an audience, especially the current audience of Olivia, Melody, and Elizabeth.
“I need your help.”
“You do?” All four women stopped what they were doing and gawked at him.
“Yes….” Scott’s gaze shifted nervously between the women. On their own, each one was formidable, but together, they were a force not to be reckoned with. Thankfully, all four didn’t come together all that often. Before the other three could ask any questions, Scott grabbed Lauren’s hand. “I’m stealing her away for the rest of the afternoon.”
Melody waved goodbye. “Have fun storming the castle.”
Once outside, Lauren found her voice. “Where are we going?”
“To look at houses.”
“What? Why do you need my help? And I can’t wear this. I’m a mess.”
Scott stopped, turned to face her, and took her other hand in his. “Do you need me to say it.”
Lauren lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know about need, but I want you to.”
“I need your help because I care what you think about these houses because I’m hoping I won’t be living in it alone for long.” Or at all. But he didn’t say that last bit aloud. It was enough to admit he wanted to share a house with her, eventually. He led her to his car and put her in the front seat before she offered another word of protest. “And you look fine. Just take the apron off.”
He circled around the front and as soon as he was behind the wheel, he started the car.
Lauren had been remarkably quiet. Maybe he had overshot when he admitted he didn’t want to live alone. When he turned to look at her, she was staring at him. Unable to help himself, Scott reached out and brushed his thumb across her cheek, wiping away the chocolate. “Is Dave’s dad still the go to Realtor?”
Lauren shook her head. “Dave is. His dad is 75% retired.”
“What does 75% mean exactly?”
“He comes in once a week to tell Dave what he needs to do, and Dave does it for the day, then goes back to doing things his way.”
“Same place?”
“Yep. He’s the only business on Main Street that owns its building.”
Her comment hit him right in the gut, reminding him of his father’s misdeeds. The investigators hadn’t gotten back to him about the LLCs yet, but anytime he heard a complaint about the current state of Iron Creek, he assumed his father was at least partially responsible.
He pulled out from his parking space, drove around the block to the end of Main Street, just before the bridge, and pulled into a spot in front of the building housing Jenson’s Realty. While he got out of the car, Lauren stayed where she was. He watched through the window as she pulled off her apron and wiped away the remnants of chocolate and he envied the apron. The car door opened, and a relatively cleaned up Lauren emerged.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking for a quarter for the meter.”
“Why? They’re voluntary.”
“Voluntary?” Scot had never heard of a parking meter being voluntary.
“The town installed them, and the merchants complained.” She pointed to the sticker just below the coin slots. “See. Voluntary.”
Sure enough, the sticker stated the meter was not enforced, and any money collected went to maintenance of the sidewalks and roads in town.
Fifteen minutes later, they left Dave’s office with a selection of listings and the keys to said listings. Dave had an appointment, and sent them off to explore on their own, but with the promise he’d have time for Scott later that day or the next morning. Whatever worked best for him.
They got back in his car and Lauren directed him to the first house on the list.
“See that house there?” She pointed to the green lake house with the white shutters and the black shingles.
“Yeah.”
“That’s the house.”
“It’s not on the market, I don’t think. Dave didn’t put it on the list of available houses.”
“No. Not like that. That’s the house every mom in Iron Creek would go out of their way to drive past. It’s the house every little girl dreams of living in some day.”
He slowed down as he drove past the house and took a closer look.
Lauren was right.
That was the house Scott’s mom took detours just so she could drive by. It sat on the busiest lake, but that didn’t matter. His mom said it looked like a lake house should. Two stories with porches on both floors, three chimneys, and flower boxes filled with begonias during the summer epitomized the cottage look even if the house wouldn’t qualify as a cottage by anyone’s standard. The owners arrived at the end of spring and left at the start of fall, and they weren’t locals.
But then, neither was Scott. At least not anymore.
He thought back to the last time he saw the house. He had to run an errand for his dad and both Lauren and Jake were with him. When he drove by, he happened to glance in the rear-view mirror. Lauren had turned her head to gaze out the window, and she wore the same expression his mother wore when she saw it. Lauren’s lips parted, and she held her breath until they passed the house. She loved the house as much as his mom had. Maybe even more.