Chapter Four
Greg
As I carried a paint can into the house, I heard the car drive past, slowly.
A tingle rolled up and down my spine, but I did not turn around.
If I was going to be an innkeeper, I’d have to get used to people being around my house and living their own lives.
Some were going to be quirky, and others would attract my bear’s attention.
He was protective, so it would be an adjustment for him, too.
Inside, I carried the can into the downstairs hallway and set it on the canvas drop cloth.
The soft gray with one tone lighter for trim should look nice when it was done.
With the common areas more neutral, I felt as if it gave me options to have each room be special in its hues and decor.
Without the historical constraints, I had a broader range, but I still liked the idea of keeping the Victorian feel.
But with a bit of a fantasy edge. And of course, modern conveniences.
“Anyone home?”
I cringed. Back in the city, nobody ever popped in unannounced.
Most of my acquaintances were business related, so I saw them in meeting rooms or restaurants, and I’d never exchanged more than a nod and hello with my neighbors.
When Chelsea showed up with a plate of fresh-baked cookies as I was unloading the truck on the day of my arrival, my heart warmed.
I took it as a sign I’d chosen the right town.
And her questions about my plan for the house seemed to make sense, since she’d lived there for forty-plus years and watched my home go through many iterations.
Most of them in the wrong direction. So, if she was concerned with the effect my choices might have on her property value, I didn’t blame her.
“In the hallway, Chelsea.” I continued getting ready to paint the trim because if I stopped every time she came by, I’d never get anything done. “What’s up?”
She came into the hall, dragging a folding chair from the living room behind her. “Nothing much. Oh, that old man on the other side of me, the one who thinks he’s all that, asked me out again.”
“Did he?” I stirred the paint and laid out the rollers and brushes. “And what did you tell him?”
“You know what I said. I haven’t been on a date since my wife passed away and not with a man since I was seventeen. I’m not sure they’re worth the trouble.”
I had to chuckle at that. “Me either, but are women easier?” I’d never dated one myself.
“People are people, all individuals, but nobody will ever be my Leesie.”
“No, I don’t suppose they could be. But maybe they could just be themselves.
” I had stopped working and was just standing there, unable to imagine what it would be like to have a mate, someone at my side for decades and then gone.
Maybe Fate was kind in not giving me someone.
“There’s no reason not to have someone to spend time with, have dinners out or see a movie. You’re not trying to replace Leesie.”
She huffed out a breath. “No, of course not. But I don’t see why that means I have to lead that old goat on. I have friends already.”
Not the first time, we’d had that conversation. “Yes, you do. Now, what do you think of this color for the trim?”
“It’s much nicer than the color it was before you bought the place.” She wrinkled her nose, raising her glasses with the gesture. “You didn’t see it, since they slapped that white all over everything, but it was ug-ly!”
“I’ve found some of it as I worked. Purple, olive green, baby-poop brown. What were they thinking?”
She shrugged. “I’m glad you’ve stripped and refinished the woodwork.
And the wallpaper in the living room is stunning.
” She sniffed. “When we first moved in, the house was beautiful, owned by the nicest couple.” She settled back into her chair, eyes dreamy.
“We were newlyweds, both of us just out of the military, and looking for a friendly town to settle down in.”
“I didn’t know you were in the military.”
“That’s a whole other bunch of stories. If you want to hear, I’d be glad to share them with you.” I had zero doubt of that. If I managed to stick it out here long enough.
“I would, one day. But you were telling me about the house?”
“Right. Leesie was a city employee, and I had a job in an insurance office. Neither of those things paid enough for anything fancy, but her grandfather owned the house and gave us a deal. It’s much smaller than yours, of course…”
“But you have kept it so nice.”
“Our neighbors in this house did, too, until the alpha mate passed and the omega had been a house husband and couldn’t keep it up.”
I’d wanted to hear this story for a while, so paint or no paint, I wasn’t going to stop her. “That’s very sad.”
“Worse than that. He was alone and desperate and fell for the wiles of an alpha with no morals. He moved in, pretended to care for him, and talked him into taking out a mortgage for a ‘business opportunity.’”
“And?” I was breathless, imagining what the poor omega must have been going through. “What business?”
“Monkey business. He took the funds and left town, never to be seen again. So Ralphie, the omega widower, had to sell for what was owed and just a few thousand more. Enough to move away. He was so shamed by the whole thing, he wouldn’t tell us where he was going.
We offered to help, too. We didn’t have a lot, but we would have let him stay with us and get on his feet… ”
I was sitting down now, leaning against the wall. Floored by the cruelty of some people. “And you never heard from him again?”
She shrugged. “Not so far. He’d be as old as I am now, maybe older. I’m not sure exactly. But I’d love to know if he’s doing okay.”
“Me too.” I flushed. “Not that I know him, but he lived here once. And I hate when someone is taken advantage of.”
I wanted to hear more about the house and its history, but my neighbor had to make dinner, and I had to get working or I’d have to sell the house, too. So, I said goodbye and picked up my brush.
Maybe I was better off never having someone in my life than risking unkindness.