Carrie Weaver - Home For Christmas

Nancy’s eyes narrowed. “Time for you to go, buddy.” Her emphasis on the last word reminded him of his place, which was nowhere near her bed.

This friends stuff was proving to be difficult. Very difficult.

Chapter 4

Nancy caught herself gazing out her office window yet again. In the two days since her midnight chat with Beau, she’d found herself doing that a lot.

Her face warmed as she recalled telling him about Ana’s adoption and some of the disappointing responses she’d received back home. She shook her head, wondering at her own ability to open up to a man who had originally appeared to be only one step up on the evolutionary ladder from Eric.

But Eric had rarely listened to her like Beau had the other night. And a part of her really wanted to believe Beau’s interest had been more than just a ploy to get into her bed. But then she remembered that he’d pretty clearly wanted to seduce her before she sent him on his way.

Sighing, Nancy realized she might never understand the male mind. Worse yet, she wasn’t sure she wanted to.

A tap at her open door drew her from her mental maze.

Beau leaned against the doorjamb. “I hope this isn’t a bad time.”

“I didn’t hear you come in. How long have you been there?”

“A couple minutes. You seemed lost in thought so I was enjoying watching you. Nice view.” His distracted frown belied his words, telling her he was hitting on her more out of habit than actual interest.

And for some reason, that ticked her off. Her accent deepened, as it always did when she was upset. “Honey, this view is strictly off-limits.” Still, she couldn’t help but smooth her hair.

His grin told her he knew exactly what she was doing. “Don’t worry, I’m here for your business acumen, not to drool over your…attributes. And to thank you for letting me come over the other night. I really did need to talk to someone.”

“I think maybe I needed to talk to someone, too. Thanks for listening.” Her voice was softer than she intended.

“Anytime.” He held her gaze. “And I’ll try not to screw it up by letting my hormones get in the way.”

Nancy couldn’t help but chuckle. “Agreed. Now, you wanted to talk business?”

He took a deep breath, as if he intended to dive into the deep end of a pool—a pool teeming with alligators. “I need a house.”

“To rent?”

“No. I want to buy one.”

Nancy hesitated. “I would have figured you more for a short-term renter. Have you ever owned a home before?”

“Um, no. This is a first. Emily Patterson said you’re the best Realtor in the county.”

“Emily’s kind of a one-woman PR team. She talks me up way more than I deserve.”

“She’s very passionate in describing your abilities. Says you found a five-bedroom fixer-upper for her when she was practically broke and if anyone can find a perfect house for me, it’s you.”

“If she keeps that up, I’ll have to put her on the payroll. Have a seat.” She nodded toward a chair on the other side of her desk. “How’s Rachel? Didn’t she have a court appearance yesterday?”

“Yeah. Fortunately, the whole process scared the living daylights out of her, so she didn’t mouth off at the judge. He gave her a stern lecture and a few hours’ community service in the form of peer mediation training at school.”

“I’m so glad, Beau. Maybe this is just what she needed.”

“I hope so. We had a long, heart-to-heart talk the other night. To make a long story short, she’s trying to fit in. You know how it goes, Rachel’s the new kid in school. And, um, the kids call her names and stuff—about being skinny.”

“Poor thing. Kids can be so mean, especially teenage girls. The peer mediation might give her a way to meet some kids at school, too.”

“I kinda think that’s where the judge was headed. Smart old guy. But I feel there’s gotta be more I can do, too.”

“How about Rachel’s mom? Is she still determined not to be a part of her life?”

“I called Laurie. It’s weird ’cause she’s always been there for Rach. But now, it’s like she’s afraid or something.”

“Afraid of Rachel?”

“No. More like afraid of herself. Says she’s under a lot of pressure at work and financial stuff, so she’s just gotta have some time to get her head straight.”

“So you can’t rely on her to back you up?”

“No. It looks like I can’t rely on her being there for Rachel in any way.” He rested his arms on her desk. “That’s the reason I’m looking for a house.”

Nancy tilted her head to the side. “Oh?”

“Rachel seems to think I’m going to up and leave her and she’ll have nowhere to go. I figured if I bought a house, Rachel’d feel more secure—know she had a place to call home. Some place she’s always welcome, can always count on.”

Funny, for a guy she’d pegged as a redneck wanderer, he sure was astute enough to see the importance of a home and roots. She wondered if he had any idea how attractive his sensitive side was.

Shaking her head, Nancy refused to join a long line of women vying for this man’s attention. If she were ever ready to give romance another try, it would be with a man who thought she hung the moon and the stars. A man who wouldn’t notice if Pamela Anderson walked through the room naked, because he was too fascinated with the color of Nancy’s eyes or her witty observations. Maybe a chubby, bald guy so ordinary no other woman would look twice or, God forbid, pursue him.

“Hey, this is probably a bad idea.” Beau’s voice intruded on her romantic philosophizing.

She cleared her throat. “No, not at all. Tell me what you have in mind, and I’ll check the Multiple Listing Service, see what’s available. But before we do that, I better get you prequalified so we can see how much house you can afford.”

“Not very different from qualifying for a car loan, I hope?”

“No, just a little more paperwork.” She opened her desk drawer and withdrew a packet of papers. “Here, why don’t you fill these out and I’ll see what I can do.”

Nancy found herself watching him while he completed the paperwork, as if looking for clues to his real personality. The strokes of his pen were firm, decisive. He rarely paused, except to refer to information contained in a small phone book in his wallet. “Is it going to be a problem that I’ve only had this job for six months?”

“It depends. We’ll go back to your previous employment, just in case. Let me run some figures and I can give you a pretty good ballpark idea of what you can qualify for.”

He slid the completed paperwork across the desk, his movements strangely tentative for a man who seemed so confident in most other areas.

Smiling, she tried to put him at ease. “It’s painless. Really. I promise I’ll be gentle.”

Nancy could have kicked herself.

But Beau didn’t seem to notice the double entendre. “Um, I’d pretty much rather have a root canal than think about buying a house. I mean, it’s so permanent.”

“If it makes you feel any better, most people live in their homes an average of five years.”

His face paled a little beneath his tan. “Yeah, um, five years.”

“I’m telling you so the thought of a thirty-year mortgage won’t freak you out.”

Beau turned positively green. She wasn’t sure whether it was the thirty-year part or the word mortgage that made him ill.

“Anyway, I’ll get right on this. There’s some coffee over on the table.”

“Maybe I’ll get some air.”

“I won’t be but a minute.” Nancy could sense the sale evaporating. She wasn’t normally so tactless. She’d always prided herself on being adept at saying the right thing to close the deal. But with Beau, she was off balance.