Chapter 18
Chapter eighteen
Liam
April
“Ican’t tell you how unusual it is for a rental like this to come available here,” the real estate agent tells me. “Ever since Christmas Fest started and the pet food plant opened, rentals have been practically nonexistent in Noel—especially furnished spaces.”
My first order of business this morning had been to contact Rhonda, the town’s only real estate agent, to inquire about a longer-term rental option.
As comfortable as the cabin has been for a short stay, if I’m going to be here for a few more months, Hamlet and I need a little more room to stretch our legs.
I really don’t want to commute in from Bella Vista or Bentonville every day, but finding a furnished apartment in a town like Noel isn’t exactly easy.
Luckily for me, Rhonda messaged me back almost right away letting me know that a rental property had just come available.
I left the factory to meet her here a mere hour later—a pro of small-town life, I suppose.
It’s an unremarkable ranch style house made of reddish-brown brick with dark shutters framing the windows.
“The owners of the house will be back at the beginning of next year when they return from visiting their kids abroad. So, as long as you’re out by the end of December, the place could be yours,” Rhonda says.
It’s a more-than-adequate space with a split floor plan, the primary bedroom on one side of the house and two small bedrooms on the opposite end.
One of the rooms is being used to store the owners’ more valuable and sentimental items, so it will remain locked.
But the other is open and set up as a bedroom.
There’s a single garage that’s also locked, but I can easily park my SUV in the driveway.
The space is an odd juxtaposition—the interior of the house looks like it was recently remodeled, with hardwood floors, white granite countertops, and dark wood cabinetry in the open-concept kitchen and living spaces.
The furniture, on the other hand, looks straight out of the 80s with mismatched floral prints and pink velvet chairs.
Although the furniture is outdated and not at all my personal taste, I could live with it for a few months.
Hamlet will certainly appreciate having more room to roam while I’m gone at work.
“What do you think?” Rhonda asks. “I have someone else interested who’s coming to see it today, so let me know as soon as possible if you want it.”
“I’m not sure that I would need it all the way through the end of the year,” I say as Rhonda and I walk back to the front door and onto the porch.
“But even if I wind up leaving town, the company could still pay to rent it out for the full duration of time. I’ll take it—I can sign the rental agreement right now and move in this coming weekend. ”
A shocked gasp draws my attention to the driveway, where I find Madison frozen, a look of dismay on her face.
“Oh, you’re a little early for our time, Madison,” Rhonda says. Her voice sounds apologetic as she adds, “But also too late, I’m afraid.”
Madison half huffs, half screams and literally stomps her foot from her place on the driveway. She spins around to retreat back to her car, but not before I see a sheen of tears in her panicked eyes.
“Text me your office address, and I’ll meet you there to sign the papers,” I call to Rhonda over my shoulder as I jog down to the curb. Rhonda’s expression looks equal parts confused and intrigued, but she shrugs and pulls out her phone.
I manage to make it to the driver’s side of Madison’s car before she can get in, and I catch her elbow. “Madison, wait. Talk to me.”
She yanks her arm from my grasp, but I block the entrance to her car with my other arm.
She glares at me. “No, Suits. Sorry if I’m not interested in talking when you’ve been very uninterested in talking the past couple of weeks, right up until you snatch the only rental property available in Noel right from under my nose.
Move your arm so I can get in my car and drive away with dignity. ”
Her voice is full of bluster, but I can see the very real tears she’s fighting to hide. I feel an unusual wave of guilt wash over me—for the rental house issue on top of my intentionally distant behavior.
“Come on, MJ. I didn’t know that you were also coming to look at the house. I’m staying in Noel for a few more months and need a bigger place, but I’m sure there’s another option for you,” I say, trying my best to soften my typical no-nonsense tone.
Madison blinks rapidly and bites the corner of her lip, clearly composing herself before she flips on the dagger-eyed expression.
“What option, exactly? If you’re here with Rhonda, then you must know that there are zero other rental properties available in Noel.
I have to be out of the cabin so James and Becky can start renting it out for the season.
I was finally starting to get my feet under me here, and now I’m going to have to start all over again somewhere else.
Because—so help me—I cannot stay under the same roof as Clark Noel, the world’s most anti-social recluse who also cannot manage to keep his hands off of my best friend for more than five seconds at a time!
I’d rather move back to my parents’ farm in Nebraska, which I thought was the one thing I would never, ever do with my life! ”
She pauses to take a deep inhale after her tirade, and the fire in her eyes flickers out again. She theatrically removes my hand from her car door and turns away, saying, “Goodbye, Liam.”
Her use of my given name triggers a red alert in my brain, and I blurt out, “You can stay with me in the rental house.”
Madison’s head jerks sideways to meet my gaze again, a bewildered expression in her eyes. “What?”
I motion my head toward the house behind us. “The house is more than I need. It’s more than enough for both of us. It’s a split floor plan, so we could have bedrooms on opposite sides of the house and work out a plan for the shared spaces.”
As she bites her lip again, I see the wheels turning in her mind. “I don’t know . . .” she says. “What would people think? It’s a small town. People are bound to make assumptions.”
As if I needed a reminder of why I despise small towns so much.
I shrug. “Who cares? We both know that we’re simply sharing the only rental space available in town. Besides, it will only be for a few months until my work here is done. Then you could have it all to yourself until the owners come back in January.”
I’m surprised to feel a balloon of hope in my chest—hope that Madison will agree to this. Hope that she could remain a regular fixture in my life for the duration of time I’m here. Even if that’s a dangerous hope.
Madison drums her fingers on the roof of her car. I glance back to the house, where Rhonda is standing and very conspicuously watching our interaction. No doubt she’ll have planted the rumor seeds to grow wild by the end of the hour.
“Fine. I’ll pay half the rent,” Madison says, squaring her shoulders. “How much is it?”
“No need. Holden will be footing the bill anyway. You don’t need to pay anything,” I say. It’s a true fact, but I also hope that a few more months of fewer expenses might encourage Madison to truly take the leap with her business and stop playing it safe at the coffee shop.
“That’s ridiculous! I’m not just going to live here for free!” she exclaims. “I’m not a charity case.”
“What if you cover groceries?” I offer, hoping to appease her sense of pride.
She’s back to chewing her lip. “I’ll buy groceries, and I’ll cook dinner,” she states.
I hold out my hand to shake hers. “Deal,” I say.
Madison looks down at my hand and moves to take it with hers. She stops short and glares at me again, “But you are cleaning your own room and bathroom. I’m not your maid.”
“Agreed,” I reply with a shrug, still holding out my hand.
She again stops short before she takes it. “And your devil cat is not allowed in my room.”
I roll my eyes. “Hamlet is actually very well-behaved and easy to train on boundaries. I promise he’ll stay out of your room.”
Madison finally shakes my hand. “Fine, then. It’s a deal.”
I’m not easy to intimidate. In fact, I’d almost be so bold as to claim that it’s impossible to intimidate me.
But as I stand in the living room with Clark—arms folded across his broad chest, eyes shaded from view by a baseball cap, deep scowl on his lips behind his beard—I find myself internally squirming ever so slightly.
He’s only a few inches taller than I am, but he exudes a towering presence beyond his physical height.
I adopt my “command the room” posture I use when addressing employees with a plan they won’t want to hear.
From the other room, Madison’s and Clara’s cheerful voices can be heard as they debate where to place the desk in Madison’s room.
“I think it should be facing the window so I can look outside,” Madison says, but Clara quickly counters, “But if you’re facing the window then the sun will be too bright in your eyes!
Let’s put the desk perpendicular to the window. ”
A throat clears next to me. “Just so we’re clear—you’ll be treating Madison appropriately, like a landlord with a tenant?” Clark phrases it like a question, but I know it’s a statement.
I narrow my eyes. “Of course.”
Clark grunts. But his tone is slightly softer when he says, “Beau’s had decent things to say about you, which is the only reason I’m okay with this plan for Madison to stay here.
” I nod, not sure how else to respond. Clark leans closer when he adds, “But, for the record, I’m very protective of my people.
And, as my wife’s best friend, Mads qualifies as one of my people. Got it?”
“Noted,” I reply. Clark’s expression narrows, but he leans back and turns around as Clara walks into the room. The way his hardened scowl melts into a besotted smile at the sight of her hits me with an unexpected wave of envy.