Читать книгу Mending Fences - Jenna Mindel - Страница 9

Laura felt the weight of his stare and shifted her stance. This guy was big, well over six feet. He had an unruly mop of sandy blond hair with more than a day’s growth of beard. He was rough-looking with a lumberjack quality that most women would admire. But Laura wasn’t most women. He had a daughter. “How old is your daughter?”

He beamed like any proud parent, his blue eyes shining. “She’s thirteen and she starts school after Labor Day.”

“There’s not much room in that apartment for a teenaged girl.”

“We’ve had to adjust to tougher things.”

What kind of things?

Laura’s interest piqued. Any self-respecting girl would hate living in a barn.

He pointed toward Lake Superior. “Eventually, I could see myself building on the edge of those woods, as long as they’re part of the twenty acres.”

“Maybe I should call my Realtor.” Laura grabbed her phone and dialed. When her Realtor finally answered, Laura explained the situation.

“I’ll ask.” Laura lowered her phone. “She wants to know if you’ve had dinner?”

He looked surprised. “No.”

“He hasn’t.” Laura held his gaze. “Are you hungry? We can go through the papers over dinner if you have time. You can bring your daughter, too.”

“I have the time, but Angie’s not with me. She’s at my sister’s in Lansing.”

“We’ll meet you there.” Laura disconnected and looked up. “I hope you like Italian.”

“Some of my favorite food.”

“The restaurant’s in the center of town. You can’t miss it. It’s called Gino’s.”

“Mind if I follow you?” he asked.

“Not at all. I’ll get my keys.” Laura headed for the house. She turned in time to see Jack climb into his monster-sized SUV parked across the road. He was a big, tall man with a big truck.

She usually met with men in the safety of offices and restaurants to go over business plans, but this was different. Grabbing her purse, she locked the front door and walked to her car while Jack pulled into the drive. She caught him giving her the once-over, but then he quickly looked away.

She was used to men checking her out. Her looks were one of the challenges she’d faced at work—getting the tech heads to trust her and businessmen to take her seriously. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder what Jack might look like if he shaved.

Slipping in behind the wheel, she turned the key but nothing happened. The car turned over but wouldn’t start.

“Sounds like you’re out of gas.” He leaned close and smelled like sunshine and spice. His nearness gave her goose bumps.

“I guess I pushed it too far.” She’d been back and forth to the hospital several times the last couple days. On her way home last night, the gas station in the four-corner town her mother lived near was closed.

“You can ride with me.”

Laura looked up into those kind blue eyes of his, but she wasn’t buying. “What did you say your last name was?”

He smiled, displaying perfectly even, white teeth—no doubt the handiwork of a good orthodontist. “Jack Stahl.”

“Thanks, Dr. Stahl, but there’s a gas can in the barn. I’ll be just fine.”

He backed away as she got out. “It’s just Jack. I’ll get the can if you show me where.”

She hesitated only a moment before leading the way. She matched his long strides across the lawn and opened the barn door. “Where are you from?”

“East Lansing. What about you? You don’t strike me as the U.P. type.”

“What gives you that idea?”

He gestured toward her waist. “The latest in cell phones.”

“What, no one in the U.P. has a cell phone?” She didn’t want to admit that her mother lived alone, not yet.

“Yours is pretty high-tech. Are you a professor?”

She laughed. “No.”

“Landscaper then, you mow a mean lawn.” He actually winked before he picked up a five-gallon gas can as if it weighed nothing.

“Thanks.” She focused on anything but him. Something about him made her feel off-kilter.

“Nice tractor.” He pointed toward the old John Deere. “Antique?”

“It belonged to my father.”

“Does it work?”

“I don’t know.” She followed him out.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he reached in and popped her gas cover. She watched as he unscrewed the cap. His hands were large and broad with clean fingernails cut short. He wore a modest wedding ring, but he hadn’t mentioned a wife. Was he divorced? It didn’t matter. Like Anthony, he had a daughter.

“How far?”

His question scattered her thoughts. “What?”

“How far to the restaurant?”

“Five or six miles.”

“I’ll follow you, but you may want to stop and fill up just the same.”

“Will do, Jack. I’ll meet you there.”

Jack took a deep breath before opening the door to the pizza parlor. “Italian, huh?”

“You can order pasta, pizza, even meatball subs.” She gave him a quirky grin.

“I’ll remember that.” He held the door for her. When she passed by him, he inhaled her perfume. It was soft and incredibly pleasing. He hoped she didn’t live next door. He was noticing things he’d be better off ignoring.

He spotted a middle-aged woman with a file laid open on the table. After the introductions had been made, Maddie Smith, the Realtor, smiled. “I hope you don’t mind a booth,” she whispered. “More private.”

“Fine with me.” Laura scooted in next to Maddie.

Jack sat across from them. Laura looked ready to get down to business. Surely that meant she was eager to part with the barn instead of negotiating. He didn’t want to waste time haggling.

“What do you like on your pizza?” Maddie asked.

“Everything or nothing. I like it all. Whatever you choose is fine.” Jack didn’t care what they ate or drank. He wanted to put his offer on the table.

The waitress quickly took their order and left. Soon the restaurant started to fill up with customers.

Jack took a sip of his soft drink. “I need a place right away but I know the mortgage process doesn’t work that fast.”

He looked at Laura. Her brow furrowed slightly, so he touched her arm with reassurance. The softness of her skin registered, which reminded him to move his hand away. “Hear me out. I’m interested in making an offer.”

She leaned back against the red vinyl of the booth.

He wasn’t sure if he’d offended her with his touch or his honesty. Either way, he wasn’t about to be discouraged. “I’d like to rent with the option to buy within a year at your listing price.”

Laura sat forward. “You don’t even know my listing price. How do you know you can afford it?”

“I can afford it.”

Her eyes widened. “What if you decide after a month that there’s too much work needed?”

“I can’t see that happening, but if I pull out, I’ll give you six more months rent so you can relist.”

She shook her head. “I have to sell. Can you tell me what’s stopping you from buying?”

Jack also leaned forward. “I have a daughter to consider. I think this place might be good for us. But if I’m wrong, I need the ability to change gears.”

“I see.”

Maddie, who quietly watched their exchange, cleared her throat. “We can look at a land contract. It’s a little more than just renting yet not quite buying it outright.” They both glanced her way as she explained the specifics.

Maddie wanted him to have it. Of course she did, she was the Realtor, but Jack couldn’t help but feel like Maddie was in his corner. She’d just offered a plan that fell somewhere in the middle of what they both wanted.

Laura looked skeptical but in control. “What if he defaults?”

“Pardon me for sounding arrogant, but money’s not an issue. In fact, if you decide to sell the house, I’d be interested in that, too, but I won’t be taken for a sap.”

“You’d have the deed, dear.” Maddie turned to Laura as if he’d never spoken. “You’d simply be back where you are now, looking for a new buyer, only you’d keep the agreed down payment for your trouble.”

Laura looked him straight in the eye, judging him, weighing his words. “You said you could buy the house, too? Pardon me for being nosy, but I didn’t think vets made that much.”

She’d just put him in his place. Whatever she did for a living, the sleek image of a shark came to mind. He shifted under her direct gaze. “I sold off my part of a limited partnership for a generous sum. I have other investments as well. The point is that my daughter needs new surroundings and so do I. I could retire, but being a vet is no less a calling than any other type of doctor. I’m buying out a nearby practice so the guy can retire. This area is perfect for many reasons. Check my credit, my bank accounts, whatever it takes to prove my credibility.”

That earned him a look of surprise from Laura. He’d managed to impress her and for some odd reason, that pleased him.

After a brief silence, she smiled deliberately. “Forgive me, Dr. Stahl, but I tend to look for all the pitfalls. This is my mother’s house and barn. I’m acting in her best interest, but I think we can move forward.”

“Of course we can,” Maddie said with a wave of her hand as if it all were nothing. “I’ll have the papers drawn up in the morning, then meet with you both again, say tomorrow at noon at the house? Dr. Stahl, I need you to sign a credit release.” Maddie searched her file, until she produced the document and laid it upon the table.

He had nothing to hide. He took the offered pen, signed his name and dated it. “And, please, it’s just Jack.”

They discussed the details, and even after acting like he could buy the world, Laura didn’t attempt to pinch him for more. The down payment was modest.

“So that’s it.” Laura set down the pen.

“I’m buying your barn and twenty.” A slow grin spread across his face and then he remembered. “I have movers scheduled for this weekend.”

Laura bit her bottom lip. “I have to clear out the barn, but that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“If you’d like, I can buy what’s in there for another two thousand.” He wanted that tractor.

Laura shook her head. “I need to sort through things first. There might not be anything of worth.”

Again, she didn’t take advantage of the situation. She might be deadly direct in negotiations, but she had integrity. “Do you mind if I swing by early tomorrow and start cleaning?”

“Does that work for you, Laura?” Maddie asked.

“It does.”

Jack looked at the last name on the listing agreement. “So tell me, what nationality is Tee-ovo?”

Laura tipped her head and laughed softly. Her pretty eyes slanted even more. “You’re saying it wrong. It’s pronounced Toy-vo. It was my great-grandfather’s first name but it got turned around during immigration. I’m Finnish on both sides.”

“Pretty name.” For a pretty woman. He shouldn’t like the color that stole over her cheeks, knowing he’d put it there with such a simple compliment, but he did.

He watched Laura’s attention waver by the arrival of the pizza. She reached for a piece.

“Does anyone mind if I say grace?” He might as well let her know he was a man of faith right up front.

Laura’s eyes narrowed as if judging him, questioning his sincerity. She shrugged her shoulders. “Go ahead.”

“Wonderful.” Maddie laid a slice on her plate.

Jack offered up his simple thanks and asked a special blessing upon both Maddie and Laura. Then a cell phone rang.

“I’m sorry.” Laura got up from the table and headed outside.

“She’s in sales,” Maddie said with an indulgent smile.

Jack nodded, thinking that made perfect sense.

Laura closed her phone. Mr. Albertson wanted to wait for her return before signing. Her sales manager, Jeff, offered to step in and close the deal, but Mr. Albertson wouldn’t hear of it. He didn’t trust Albertson Manufacturing’s I.T. support to anyone but Laura.

It felt good to be that respected by a client. Laura hadn’t impressed anyone in her family with her climb up the corporate ladder from computer programming geek to one of their top salespeople.

She’d managed to impress Jack Stahl, though. He’d given her a look of admiration over the negotiation table. Jack seemed like the kind of man who was used to getting his own way, but she hadn’t let that sway her. Hearing him pray had been surprising. When he asked a special blessing over her and Maddie, softness had crept into her heart.

Laura had stopped looking to God for help when she was a kid, but she wouldn’t mind a little divine assistance now. With her manager pressing for a return date she couldn’t give, and her mother’s blood pressure still unstable, Laura hoped things got back to normal fast. Until then, she’d work as much as she could from here. She had her laptop, but the sooner she got back to work, the better.