Chapter Twenty-Seven

Jeanne Ellen POV

"Are you ready to go?" I asked. Steph and I had each worked out in the basement gym already, and I was nicely energized for the day ahead.

"Yeah, let me just give Zoë bunches of kisses!" Steph said, lightly tickling her daughter on the tummy and raining kisses on her head. Zoë was laughing and squirming while I observed them, smiling. Steph released Zoë after one last kiss, said, "Zo-zo, be good for Uncle Tank," and nodded to me. I hugged Zoë, kissed Tank, and we walked out to my car.

"Okay, so we have four appointments today for walkthroughs on properties I'm interested in, plus the two open houses I mentioned. Miranda, my real estate agent, will accompany us to all of them. I don't want to waste much time going back and forth when I leave next week for my case. I'd love it if we found a place in the next few days, and I can submit my offer."

"You think we'll find one that soon?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Honestly, there's not a lot out there. It's not your forever home and only an investment for me. I know we only talked about it briefly yesterday, but if you're still okay with it, we can even look at a fixer-upper that we can renovate to your needs if none of these places work. We have options."

"All right. Let's do it!" she enthused.

While I drove to the first place on the list, I told Steph what I knew about it. "It's a condo with two bedrooms and two baths. It's on the fifth floor of a five-floor building. No concierge, which would be unusual here, but there is an on-site super. The best part is a washer and dryer in the suite and a dishwasher."

"Wow. A washer and dryer in the suite? How luxurious," she teased.

"Did you have one in New York?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"No."

"That's what I thought! It's luxurious in that it's rare in New York. But I can't imagine having to lug your dirty laundry to a laundry room, or even worse, a laundromat, so that was one of my must-haves for every place we'll see today."

"Cool. How far is it from your house?" she asked.

"About a fifteen-minute drive," I replied. "About ten minutes from Rangeman."

"Do you know anything about the schools or amenities nearby? Supermarkets, etc.?"

"No, but Miranda will have that information. All I know is it's not in the 'Burg."

"That's good."

"One of the places today, a townhouse, is in the 'Burg though. Is that a dealbreaker?" I was curious. I wouldn't want to live there, but maybe Steph would be okay.

"I'd live there if I had to, but it'll never be my first choice. Too insular and gossipy. Too close to Mom."

I nodded. "Those are my reasons for not liking it too. By the way, have you spoken to Mom at all since you've been back? Does she know?"

She sighed. "Not yet, but now that I've filed for divorce, I should try to get over there. I have to tell her, I suppose."

"Probably better she heard it from you, but nothing says you must do it in person." Helen was strictly a Christmas-only pseudo-parent for me now.

We pulled up in front of the condo building, and I cut the engine. We looked over at the building; it had some pretty landscaping, was made of brick, and was only five years old. No balconies, however. I had seen photos, but that must've slipped my notice. It did have lovely large windows in what I assumed were the shared spaces of each unit. I checked my watch and said, "Miranda should be here shortly."

She nodded and continued contemplating her potential new condo. "It looks like a quiet building," she commented.

"Yeah, it does. I wonder if there are any other kids. Oh, by the way, when Tank and I were out yesterday, we stopped by Rangeman and dropped off The Dick's second laptop with Hector. He asked us to give him a few days to get whatever information he can from it."

Steph smiled. "I like Hector."

"Yeah, he's a good guy. Scary, but he's always been kind to me."

Miranda pulled up behind us and hurried out of her car. I saw her in my mirror and opened my door to meet her. "So sorry I'm late," she said breathlessly. "Were you waiting long?"

Steph got out of the car, slinging her purse around her shoulder. "No, only a few minutes, it's fine," I assured Miranda. "Miranda, this is my sister Stephanie. She's going to be my first tenant in whatever I end up buying. Stephanie, this is my real estate agent and friend, Miranda. She helped us find the house we live in now."

They shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. "Shall we go in?" Miranda asked.

I nodded. We walked up to the main doors, and Miranda pulled a set of keys from her purse. "I have keys for each place we're seeing today, except for the open houses. I thought it'd be easier. We also won't see any homeowners or other agents, so feel free to be as candid as you like."

As we let ourselves into the condo, I saw Steph looking around in interest. I tried imagining myself living here, but I couldn't. I need way more space, not to mention privacy, that a condo can't provide. But Steph is used to apartments, having lived in New York since graduating college. It'd be nice to find her something with a yard or other outside space, though. I'm sure Zoë would love it.

Once Steph had walked through the entire place, I asked her for her thoughts. She was an experienced renter, and I valued her opinion on what potential tenants would look for. She wouldn't live here forever, and I planned to continue renting out whatever I bought today. Knowing what tenants look for would help a lot.

"The bedrooms are close together. Not a big deal when it's a family looking for somewhere to live, but if it were two roommates, it'd be less than ideal. I love the ensuite bathroom, however. It's so nice and bright, and that tub is awesome. It's too bad the main bathroom only has a shower stall, even if it's bigger than your average one. I love love love the washer/dryer setup. You're right; it does feel like a luxury. But a necessary one. Before my current apartment, I'd never had a dishwasher, but it's nice."

"The bedroom sizes seem alright to me," I observed.

She nodded. "I think they're good too. The primary would fit a king-sized bed, though not much else. A queen would go better, and then there'd be room to move around when you add dressers and things like that. The walk-in closet is a nice idea. I like that it's a pass-through design on the way to that bathroom."

We wandered to the kitchen and living room space. "The living room is a decent size, but this kitchen is quite small when considering the rest of the apartment," she noted.

Miranda said, "it's laid out pretty well. However, it's clearly geared for one person to use. The last tenant was a single woman past retirement age. I believe she moved to Florida."

We agreed to meet at the next location, then Miranda locked up behind us as we left. The second place was another condo with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. We all went in together, and immediately, I liked this place more. It was a seventeen-year-old building, but the condo itself had been updated in the past two years. The bedrooms were at opposite ends of the unit, and both had walk-in closets. The main bedroom had an ensuite, and the main bathroom was just off the hall, close to the front door.

The kitchen had been updated too. It was fitted with a walnut-coloured wooden IKEA kitchen and stainless steel appliances, with a white countertop that looked like quartz. Stephanie looked impressed as she looked around, and I tried to view it as a renter might. What Steph had commented on earlier about the good in having bedrooms distanced from each other made sense, particularly if you were living in a roommate situation. I smiled to myself as I thought of another good reason. If my child was on the other side of the same wall, they might be subjected to noises that no one wanted them to hear. If they were on the other side of the apartment, I could be much louder when Tank (or whomever, in my imaginary scenario) rocked my world. Though I could only imagine Tank anyway.

Miranda ran down the particulars of this unit, and Steph said she liked this place more than the last.

At the third location, we both noped out of there almost as soon as we entered. It was dark and dirty, and I almost felt the cockroaches crawling all over me. Miranda apologized profusely, saying the other real estate agent failed to warn her of its dilapidated condition.

Our next stop was an open house for a small cottage. It had three bedrooms, though only two could be used as proper bedrooms. The third was small and ideally suited as a home office. It had a finished basement, though, and a chute near the main bathroom to funnel your dirty laundry down to the washer/dryer area in the basement, which I thought was a cool feature. This house had more original charm but lacked some modern conveniences. I could see Steph liked it, though, especially when she saw the cute backyard with a tire swing hanging from a mature oak tree. It didn't have a garage, which I was not pleased about. From a security standpoint, I preferred everything tucked away at night.

We broke for lunch after that, stopping at a cute diner that specialized in all-day breakfasts. Miranda joined us, and we discussed the options we had seen that morning. We agreed to scrap the first place since Steph liked the second condo above the first one. The third was disgusting, and no one needed to mention it again. We agreed to wait to decide about others until we saw everything. Miranda received a call during lunch and excused herself to answer the phone.

"So, cards on the table. Do you love either of the remaining two we've seen so far?" I asked.

"I loved the second condo. But I also love the idea of a yard. The next appointment and the second open house are townhouses, right?"

I nodded. "Alright, let's see those two before we discuss the options again."

Miranda returned to the table and said, "that was another agent in my office. She has just returned from viewing a property she feels would be perfect for you. The sellers are motivated, and it's in your price range."

I raised my eyebrow. "Can we see it today?"

She winced apologetically. "I'm sorry, but not today. They want to do a deep clean before showing it. She said she could arrange a viewing tomorrow evening if that works for you two."

Steph and I looked at each other, our sister ESP kicking in as we conversed silently. After a moment, we nodded, and I said, "Six o'clock tomorrow evening?"

Miranda texted someone on her phone and said she'd let us know when she heard. We finished up our lunch and followed her to the last appointment.

It was a three-bedroom townhouse, but two of the bedrooms were smaller. Either would be fine for Zoë for now, however. The primary bedroom was large, as was the ensuite bathroom. It had a separate shower and tub, but they were classic nineties style and looked old-fashioned.

There was another full bathroom on the second floor and a powder room on the main floor off the hallway. The rest of the place was serviceable enough, though it needed an update. Luckily, it appeared to be primarily cosmetic. Other than redoing the bathroom, the only major thing I'd want would be to switch out the carpeting for hardwood floors on the main floor, stairway, and upstairs hallway.

Finally, we were on our way to the last place, an open house just inside the boundaries of the 'Burg. It was another townhouse, but a bit more unusual than we had seen. It had two bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, but both bedrooms had an ensuite, a walk-in closet and were each spacious. Essentially, both could be treated as primary bedrooms. The powder room was off the landing from the stairwell, another unusual feature. It was an immaculate space and nicely appointed with updated features. The backyard was tiny, however.

As we bade our farewells to Miranda and thanked the hosts, we got back into my car, silent but thoughtful. In my mind, that one was perfect for me as an investor. But as a single mom with a young daughter, Steph would probably have more doubts—something we'd have to discuss later.

I cleared my throat. "How did it go yesterday with Ranger?"

She looked at me, clearly surprised. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, did you have fun hanging out with Ranger yesterday?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, he's a nice man."

I snorted. "I've heard him described in many different ways, but 'nice man' has never been one of them."

She grinned. "He's brutally hot, too. And I'm a little worried that I think about him too much. But I am raw right now, and I'm not about to jump in bed with him, so there are no worries there."

I nodded knowingly. "Very wise decision."

"Tell me what you know about him and women, Gigi. I may not be about to have sex with him, but after my divorce, if he's still around, I may need him to clear out the cobwebs, so to speak. Is he a hit-it-and-quit-it kind of man?"

"Are you sure you want to know, Steph? Maybe we should put this conversation on hold until after your divorce?"

"Yeah, you're probably right. I have one question for you, which I'd like an answer to now."

"Shoot."

"Even if our relationship never turns into anything other than friends, is he the type to keep those friends? If he were to find himself interested romantically, sexually, whatever, in someone else, is he the type to abandon someone who is a friend? And more particularly, abandon her daughter, who seems to like him?"

Ahhhh. Now I know what's going on. "Once he considers someone a friend or, better yet, part of his family, he won't abandon them. It's for life. He does not have many true friends, and even fewer he'd consider family. That is something you should never worry about," I promised.

She fell quiet for the rest of the ride home.

We arrived back at the house ten minutes later, and as we got inside the door, we were greeted by Zoë, who hugged us excitedly. "Mama, guess what? Applepuff licked my hand!" Zoë was giggling, happy that the feline matriarch of the house liked her enough to 'groom' her.

Tank leaned over Zoë and kissed Jeanne Ellen, asking, "how did it go, Baby?"

We all sat in the living room to get comfortable, though Zoë's attentions were back on the three cats, laying in sunbeams on the floor.

"All in all, not a bad day. Of the six places we saw, only one was an immediate no. One was eliminated because the others were better, and we haven't discussed it since then," I reeled off before turning to Steph. "What did you think of the last two places?"

"I loved the place with two primary bedrooms. It might be an odd choice for my four-year-old daughter and me, but man, if I had the money, that's the one I'd choose. The only downside was the tiny yard," she said.

"It's only about a block to a park, though. Remember, we drove by it?"

She nodded. "True. The backyard could look awesome as a hangout space, maybe with a barbecue."

"What about the other townhouse?"

"It was okay. I liked that it had three bedrooms but was a bit outdated. I could see your gears turning as you toured it."

"You know me too well," I said, laughing. "I was calculating the changes I'd want to make to update it, including changing out some of the flooring."

"It was near the bottom of the list in terms of cost, though," she pointed out.

I shrugged. "That's a valid point, but not my primary concern. All of them fit within my budget." I slapped my thighs. "Okay, I think we should take that one out of the running. Agreed?" She nodded her approval. "So out of six places, three are eliminated."

Tank was watching and listening to us. "What is the worst part of your remaining options?" he asked.

I thought for a moment. "The first place is only a condo, albeit laid out nicely and updated. It's also an older building, nearly twenty years old. The second place was the cottage with the nice backyard. The worst part of that place was the tiny third bedroom."

Steph said, "yep. I agree with that assessment."

"The third place was the townhouse with the two primaries. The worst part was the tiny backyard."

Steph was lounging on the couch but sat up suddenly. "There's that place Miranda thought we'd like. Are we seeing it tomorrow night?"

"I don't know. Let me check." I found my phone and checked the screen. Miranda had left me a voicemail that six o'clock tomorrow would work, and she left the address. "Looks like we're on to see that place tomorrow." I googled the address. "It's not far from here. Between this house and Rangeman, about ten minutes away."

"So, should we hold off making any more decisions until we see that place?"

"Sounds like a plan."