He’d just bought himself a house, he thought, amazement and panic washing over him. Here he was, a man who’d never planned to put down roots, and he was suddenly the owner of a house with a mortgage and the parent of a grief-stricken little boy. Somewhere God must be having a really good laugh at his expense, because the carefree life he’d envisioned for himself had definitely gone up in smoke.
He was a little astonished at how quickly and smoothly the purchase had happened. When he’d finally called after his dinner with Carrie, Susie had leaped into action. She’d clearly been highly motivated and apparently in Chesapeake Shores when O’Briens were in your corner, credit reports and paperwork could be handled with lightning speed.
Susie hadn’t wasted time dragging him all over town. She’d brought him straight to this house and let the cozy little cottage speak for itself. Sam might have hesitated for days, weighed the merits of buying a house at all, rather than renting, but Bobby’s initial enthusiasm had been contagious. Listening to his exuberant shouts echo through the empty rooms and watching his eyes widen with delight when he spotted both a swing and a tree house in the backyard had clinched the deal for Sam. Everything after that had been all about the paperwork.
“Not to worry,” Susie had assured him. “I’ve already spoken to the seller and you can move in as soon as you want to. Mack spoke to the bank and reassured them your job is solid. All you need to do is sign an endless number of papers, pack up, get some furniture in here and you’re all set. My cousin Connor will handle all the legalities.”
Sam had been astonished. “Just like that? Do things always go this smoothly? I’ve heard horror stories about buying a house.”
She’d simply shrugged. “In this town, connections help.”
They certainly did, Sam concluded. He’d even been able to arrange for the beds he’d bought just yesterday—a king for him, the bunk beds Bobby had insisted on—to be delivered first thing this morning. Susie or someone she’d designated had made a call and the store had been more than happy to cooperate. He’d had to call Carrie and Nell to cancel this week’s cooking lesson, but this delivery had taken precedence. The truck had been waiting in the driveway by eight o’clock and the hastily purchased furniture was already in place.
Susie had made a few more calls and O’Briens had offered additional furniture from attics and extra sets of dishes they swore weren’t being used, but that would happen during this next week. In the meantime, he and Bobby could put their clothes in the freshly painted closets and sleep in their own beds. Bobby was elated by the new Spider-Man sheets on his lower bunk and the matching night-light that had already been plugged in.
The only thing missing, Sam concluded with a sigh, was a refrigerator stocked with cold beer. He could really use one about now as he faced his new reality.
“Knock, knock.”
The hesitant, musical voice cut into his thoughts. Or maybe it was the aroma of freshly baked cookies that caught his attention first. He turned, and there was Carrie, her cheeks naturally rosy from baking, her auburn hair curling about her face. She was wearing shorts and a Chesapeake Shores T-shirt and looked a little too approachable. He could suddenly envision coming home to her every night and finding her in his kitchen looking just like this, the aroma of one of Nell’s specialties they were mastering wafting from the kitchen.
“Hi,” he said, then gestured around the empty space. “I’d invite you in, but, as you can see, chairs are in short supply.”
“That’s okay. I’m just dropping off cookies to welcome you to the neighborhood. I’m a little stunned by how quickly you pulled this off.”
“Me, too,” he admitted. “I hadn’t even thought about this move making us neighbors. You okay with that?”
Carrie frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“We sort of agreed to keep our distance, right? For Bobby’s sake?”
“We’ll just have to work a little harder to make sure he doesn’t get the wrong idea,” she said.
Sam wondered what she’d think of the ideas he was getting right now. Was it possible that chocolate-chip cookies were an aphrodisiac? She looked far more tempting than that plate of cookies.
He suddenly realized she was studying him with a puzzled look.
“If you’re really worried, you should know that I don’t intend to make a habit of this. I just wanted to welcome you. It’s a great neighborhood. I didn’t even realize this house was on the market or I’d have mentioned it to you myself. The location couldn’t be more convenient to town and the house is absolutely charming.”