A Nantucket Affair (Nantucket Beach Plum Cove #4)(13)

“Speaking of Curt, we saw him on Sunday, at the Club Car. He was at the bar with a group of women. I was surprised. I assumed he’d be with you and your mom.”

But Sue didn’t seem fazed in the least. “He’s the chair again of the Nantucket Affair committee. I know they were meeting in the office that day. They must have gone for drinks after they finished up. Brandi was probably with him?”

“She was, yes. And four or five other women.”

Sue smiled. “I think Curt is the only guy on the committee. He must have been in his glory surrounded by all those women.”

“He didn’t seem to mind it.”

“That explains why he went to bed so early. He said he wasn’t hungry for dinner and fell fast asleep on the sofa watching TV, a little after seven. Must have been the drinks.”

Lisa was glad that Sue didn’t seem concerned by Curt’s behavior. It had looked a little off to her, but what did she know?





Chapter 8





Chase always stopped by the office with Beth before heading off to whichever project he was needed on. But he never stayed for long.

“Okay, I’m off. I should be able to break for lunch around noon. I can pick up subs for us, if that sounds good? Tuna with lettuce, pickles and hots for you?”

Beth nodded. “And a bag of chips. I can’t eat tuna without chips.”

“Got it. See you in a few hours.” Chase left and Beth turned her attention to the computer screen. She’d been on the Houzz site, and Pinterest before that, getting decorating ideas for the house. In between answering the phone and other work she needed to get done for Chase, she kept looking for the perfect colors and tiles for the bathroom. If it was her own house, to keep, she’d go for more vivid colors and patterns. For a flip, they needed the look to be elegant and fashionable but not too much, and the colors to be neutral, mostly soft blue grays and creams. The house had to be attractive but the buyers needed to see it as a blank slate, so they could make it their own. It was a fine line, and a challenge that Beth loved.

She’d always enjoyed the work she did for Chase. She was his right hand, talked to all of his clients, and acted as a project manager of sorts, directing where Chase needed to be, and putting in most of their orders with the suppliers. Her strength was planning and organizing, while Chase’s gift was working with his hands. He had a reputation for high quality work, at reasonable prices. He mostly worked by referrals and it kept him very busy.

It had been Beth’s idea to try the first flip. She’d always been careful with money, not much of a spender, and she’d accumulated a good amount of savings. Her original intention had been to use it for a down payment on a house someday. But now that she and Chase were living together, she wasn’t in a hurry to use the money for that. She hoped, at some point, they might build a house of their own and start a family. But until then, it was tempting to put that money to work.

They were both addicted to the HGTV shows on flipping, and Chase had once commented that it would be a really cool thing to do and that he had the perfect background for it—but then he never mentioned it again. Beth filed the comment away, though, and kept an eye out for a potential investment property.

That first opportunity came their way one day when Beth was chatting with Bob, one of their clients, who mentioned that his mother had recently died after a long illness and a stay in a nursing home.

“I had a realtor come and take a look and they gave me a long list of things I needed to do to get it into shape to sell or I’d never get the right price. I just don’t have the energy to oversee that right now. I might just tell her to sell it as is, I suppose. I’m not much looking forward to that, either.”

“Can you tell me more about the house? Where is it? What kind of work did she say it needed?”

“The location isn’t too bad. It’s a small lot, about a half mile walk to the beach. It needs some roof work, mostly replacing shingles, not a whole roof. The rest is cosmetic but there’s a lot—according to the realtor, all the wallpaper has to come down, and I see her point there. The carpets are all worn and need replacing. There’s some mold in the bathroom, the venting seems off. There’s more, but that’s the gist of it.”

“Could we take a look at it? We could give you an estimate and you could decide what to do?”

“Sure. Why not?” They agreed to have Chase stop by the next day to do a walk-through and put an estimate together. On their way home from work that day, Beth told him about the house and they drove by to take a look at the exterior.

“This could be an opportunity for us, to do our first flip—if you think it makes sense, once you work up an estimate. Keeping in mind, of course, that the cost you quote him will be less for us.”

“He won’t want to have us do the work and sell it himself?”

“We’ll give him that option, of course. But he’s exhausted and just wants to be done with it and put it behind him. We could make him an offer, as another option—if it feels right to you. I have a bit of money saved to invest, too.”

“You do?” Chase sounded surprised, and she didn’t blame him. They’d never discussed any specifics about their financial status.

“Yes, I’m a good saver.” She told him how much she had in her account and his eyes bugged out.