The Best of Us (Sullivan's Crossing #4)(86)

The master bedroom was just down the hall and it was enormous. There were no clothes in the closet. There was a bathroom right next to it. The master bath was heavenly—large and beautiful—and spotless.

“Doesn’t anyone live here?” she asked the Realtor.

“Can you believe this is a vacation home? It’s owned by two couples from Las Vegas. I don’t know why they decided to sell. All I know is that between friends and family, this house was kept busy—a cool retreat from their hot summers and a place for skiing in winter.”

They retraced their steps and on the other side of the great room were a couple of bedrooms. And upstairs two more and a large bath joining them.

“How big is this house?” she asked. “It’s huge!”

“It’s just over six-thousand square feet and there’s a three-car garage. It just went on the market and has only been shown a couple of times so far. Quite a vacation home.”

“How many bathrooms?”

“Five. Given the size, it could probably use another one. The house is twenty years old.”

Leigh turned and looked at Rob. “Are you crazy?”

“This is just the first one. There’s time to look at others. And there are others. Bigger, smaller, in between. But it’s hard to find a house that has room for a couple of home offices, three kids and an aunt.”

“But Aunt Helen—”

“Could always come back to us,” he said. “Just like the boys, we’ll always have a place for her.”

“But we could never afford this,” she said.

“That’s going to take a calculator. But here’s what we should do—go to dinner, talk about priorities, add and subtract... Claudia gave me a sheet estimating mortgage and payments, taxes, et cetera. And remember, there are other properties and plenty of time. You won’t be in labor anytime soon.” And with that he put his arm around her shoulders.

“Oh, congratulations!” Claudia said. “I had no idea! That’s wonderful.” She handed them each a business card. “Let’s get together again soon. I’m sure we can find you the perfect home. But let’s do that before ski season begins. Prices always go up then.”

Rob pulled Leigh to the car, but she was dragging, looking over her shoulder at the house. It made him laugh. “You really like it,” he said.

“It needs things, like updated tile. Listen to me, acting like I know anything about updating tile! I can put in stitches, deliver a baby and treat the flu, but I can’t even cook a decent dinner! We should agree right now that no matter what happens, you should never let me help with remodeling or decorating. If you do, you’ll be sorry.”

“And I agree not to try putting in stitches or deliver a baby,” he said. “Anything any house needs, don’t worry. Tom and Lola Canaday can do it. That’s what they do—remodel, flip houses, construction and property rejuvenation. I run a pub, you run a clinic, and we should stick to what we know.”

“But tell the truth, we can’t afford something like that. Right?”

While they stood by the car, Claudia got in hers and backed away, giving them a wave.

“I haven’t run the numbers yet,” he said. “But I have a house to sell and we each make a decent living. The thing that might get us—college educations. I put money in college funds for the boys and Finn is getting a little scholarship help, but it’s unbelievable...”

“Oh. Speaking of that. You’re taking Finn to Boulder on Saturday? Do you suppose I could go along? Would he be mortified?”

“I think that would be perfect,” Rob said with a smile.

“I’m sure they’ll get used to me. Eventually. There will probably be a period of adjustment, but when you told them I was pregnant, did they scream, Oh, no?”

He grinned. “Something like that, but not because it’s you. Because they couldn’t believe I was that irresponsible, especially after all the screaming I’ve done about safe sex.”

“I hope they’ll give me a chance,” she said.

He touched her cheek. “We’ll know soon enough. Come on. They’re cooking up something. I hope it’s dinner.”

Leigh’s doubts and fears were fewer after seeing a house that would not only hold them all but represented a fresh start for everyone—for her and Rob, for the boys, even for Helen. Helen was having her own fresh start with Sully, but it brought Leigh great joy to be able to tell Helen there would always be a place for her.

“It’s too big for us, isn’t it? Even all of us?”

“Probably,” Rob said. “But I don’t know what we need yet. Will the guys be around a lot or will they disappear into college and beyond and hardly notice us? Do we need space for a nanny? Will the three of us rattle around in a big old house or will we fill it up? I’ll tell you one thing—I wouldn’t mind sitting on that deck and looking at the mountains.”

“If not for our situation, would you ever have considered another house?”

“Probably not. My whole life was invested in my boys and the pub. I haven’t been sorry. But when I saw that house I thought about how great a Christmas tree would look in front of those French doors.”

Then he pulled into his driveway.

“What’s this?” she asked.