Crushed (48 page)

Cleo’s look turned to one of subtle relief but also confusion. Reece realized they
were probably both wondering what this had to do with her. With
them.
”

“Why?” Reece asked. “Aren’t houses kind of expensive?”

“If your father can waste ten thousand dollars bribing someone,” she said pointedly,
“I don’t see how it’s anyone’s business, including yours, if I decide to take advantage
of an opportunity too good to pass up.”

“So, we’re moving out of
this
house?” Reece asked. He was surprised. His dad had moved into a townhouse. He had
just assumed he and his mom would stay where they were. But the house in the photos
was nowhere near as lavish as what his mom was used to. He couldn’t quite imagine
her living there. For one thing, it was tiny compared to their current home. Where
would his sisters stay when they came to visit?

“No,” Beth said.

“So why did you buy yourself a house?” he demanded.

“Reece!” Beth exclaimed. There was just a slight edge to her voice, as if she were
becoming exasperated. “I would tell you if you would just stop interrupting.”

“Okay,” he agreed.

“With the economy the way it is right now, it’s a buyer’s market. Like I said, this
house was a foreclosure. It was an absolute
steal
.  But that also means I was able to close on it almost immediately. It was a bit
of a mess on the inside. But I’ve already had a cleaning crew in.  Now it’s good to
go. It’s going to need new siding and probably a new roof in a year or two,” she explained.
“Nothing too terrible but just something to think about.”

Reece decided if his mom were telling a joke, she would’ve killed it by now, dragging
out the punch line like she was. Because even still, he didn’t quite get it.

He glanced at Cleo. She was waiting politely. It was obvious she didn’t have any idea
what this was about either.

“Well,” he said. “That’s great. I didn’t know you wanted another house.”

She shrugged happily. “I didn’t know either.”

Cleo glanced at Reece. They shared a puzzled look.

“But then it hit me, what a wonderful investment this could be. With a little fixing
up and in the right market, I know I can make a nice profit. And in this economy,
that’s been really hard to do. Most of my investments are just fizzling right now.
So you have to know what to buy…and when to buy it,” she explained. “Right now, is
the time to buy houses.”

Reece was ready to jump in with more questions but Beth held up her hand.

“But these things take time,” she said. “Remodeling a house I mean. Which is fine.
I figure I have a few years until the market rebounds. In the meantime, I’ll fix it
up so it’s in prime condition for resale. That way I’ll be sure to make a great return
on this investment. But I hate to have it sitting empty while I’m doing that. That
would be such a waste.”

And there it was.

The explanation they had
really
been waiting for.

Cleo’s eyebrows shot up but she didn’t look at Reece. She was staring wide-eyed at
his mom.

“It would give me peace of mind to know that it’s being put to use. It would also
help me out to have someone there. That way, if something goes wrong, they can let
me know. I don’t think it’s good for a house to just sit empty.”

Was that true? Reece had no idea.

Cleo still hadn’t said anything. Though Reece was sure she had to have known where
his mom was going with this.

“So, Cleo,” Beth finally said. “Would you care to do me a favor?”

“I think you should,” Reece immediately blurted out. “Help my mom out, I mean.”

Cleo was already shaking her head. No matter how Beth twisted the words around, or
how she twisted the explanation around, Cleo knew exactly what she was doing.

“I couldn’t do that,” she said.

“Actually,” Beth said, “I think you can. And I think you should. Now, we can either
argue about it all day. Or,” she said with an encouraging smile, “you can just agree.
The way I see it, we both come out ahead. This truly is a fabulous investment for
me. And no, I won’t lie. I did have you in mind, obviously. But it makes no sense
to turn around and try to sell it now. The whole point of buying now is to sell later
when the market is better. I have a house that I don’t want sitting empty. You need
a place to live. It’s perfect for both of us.”

“Okay,” Cleo said, deciding that she could be just as stubborn as Beth, “if I stay
there, I should pay rent.” Before Beth could say anything, Cleo was talking again.
“It’s only fair,” she said innocently.

Beth had not foreseen this possibility. She immediately protested but after a lengthy
debate, she finally agreed. Cleo knew the amount that Beth insisted on was insanely
low. She had argued excessively until Reece had stepped in and told her she needed
to just accept the offer. For Luci. So that Luci would have a nice place to live.
Because not having a home of their own was still the biggest hindrance to her guardianship.

That
, Cleo knew, was not playing fair.

But because of it, Reece did win the argument.

“So, can we go see it now?” Reece asked.

Beth shook her head. “Give me until the weekend.”

***

The house was small. Cleo decided she loved small. Small meant easier to keep clean.
She had flipped through the papers in the folder, just as Reece had. Now that they
had walked in the front door, the house was so much better than what the pictures
depicted.

As for the outside, Beth had told them it needed new siding and a new roof. Cleo thought
they looked just fine to her. But what did she know? The location was perfect. She
could walk to school if she chose to.
It would be a long walk, but the option was there.
Though Reece insisted that was irrelevant because he would be picking her up every
day.

But the inside of the house…Cleo loved it. The living room had been painted a warm,
chocolate brown. It was open to the dining room and kitchen which had been painted
a cozy beige.

“I thought you just hired a cleaning crew?” Reece asked. He had also realized that
the photos did not match the house they had just walked into.

“Oh,” Beth said looking startled, “I didn’t say I
just
hired a cleanin
g crew. Although I did hire one,
I hired a few other people, too.” She looked around, smiling at the finished product.

In addition to each room being freshly painted,
she’d had a security system installed. She insisted it was for her own peace of mind
as well as for the safety of the girls’. She told Cleo she just wouldn’t be able to
sleep at night if she knew the girls were there without one. Last of all,
the carpeting was new.

“I asked Luci about colors,” Beth admitted. “She told me she would love a hot pink
bedroom.” Cleo cringed
, not at all surprised but wondering if Beth would be okay with that.
Beth continued to smile. “And for you she said—”

“Turquoise,” Reece interjected.

“I picked purple for the bathroom, Cleo! Come and see!” Luci cried as she skipped
through the house.

Cleo followed Luci. The bathroom was very, very purple.

“I know it’s a bit much,” Beth whispered. “But
when I asked her what color she thought a bathroom should be, she was pretty insistent
on purple
.” She shrugged
good-naturedly
. “It’s just paint. It’s easy to change.”

Cleo just smiled because while maybe it was a bit much for Beth, it was perfect for
her and Luci.

Luci’s bedroom had hot pink walls. The bedding was a lighter pink with bright pink
polka-dots.

“Oh my gosh!” she squealed. “I love it! I love it! I love it! Thank you so much!”
she told Beth as she threw her arm
s
around her waist.
Luci had grown fond of Beth over the past few weeks. Cleo was happy that the feeling
seemed to be mutual.

“You’re welcome,” Beth said
as she hugged Luci back
. “Now, Cleo’s room?”

Reece grabbed Cleo’s hand and pulled her down the short hallway.

Beth had their bedroom furniture moved in, along with the rest of their belongings.
The items that Cleo had not been able to pack. The bedroom that was hers had a fluffy,
white comforter on the bed. It helped to mellow out the room and while it might be
too bright for most, it was absolutely perfect for Cleo.

“Do you love it?” Luci asked.

“I do!” Cleo agreed as she grinned back at her sister. She couldn’t wait to unpack
the rest of her things. She was anxious to get her pictures out and make the house
truly their own.

Beth had also purchased furniture for the living room and dining room. No matter how
she tried, she couldn’t explain
that
away. She had done that for Cleo and Luci. There was no other way around it, she
had to admit it.

“Consider it an early Christmas present,” she said as they moved back out to the living
room.

Luci stayed behind in her bedroom. She had already tackled the box that held her books.
She was anxious to get them on her shelves.

“So do you like the house okay?” Reece asked as he tossed an arm around her shoulder.

“I more than like it,” Cleo told him. “I even more than
love
it! But I can’t think of a word for that,” she said with a laugh.

“I’m so glad!” Beth said as she beamed at them.

She knew that she had probably overstepped some boundaries. And she had been so worried
that Cleo would refuse her offer. But she truly did see the house as a lovely investment.
Furthermore, she had been brought up to believe that if you were in the position
to help
someone, then you should help them. It was really that simple.

At first she had promised Reece that she would help the girls because she knew it
was important to him.
After seeing Cleo in her bathroom that day, her face bloodied and tears streaming
down
yet still worried about her sister
, it had broken Beth’s heart. She wanted nothing more than to make both girls happy.
And
as she had gotten to know Cleo and Luci over the last few weeks, she had fallen in
love with them, too. It had been an incredibly easy thing to do. And now that Cleo
was comfortable in their home, she was, for the first time, really able to see Reece
and Cleo together.
She had no doubt that the two of them would be together for a very long time.

As for the house, it
didn’t matter to Cleo that Beth had the money for it. Or that
she really did, in some way, see it as a business opportunity. Cleo was perfectly
aware that she had done this for her and Luci. It was beyond generous and no matter
how many times she thanked
her—and she had done so often—
she just felt like it would never be enough.

“I don’t even know what to say. I just…I think I might cry,” she admitted to Beth.

“Well, go ahead and cry,
” Beth encouraged.
“As long as they’re happy tears.
”

Cleo nodded
as Reece pulled her in for a tight hug
. “They are,
”
she assured them both.

Epilogue

9 months later

“Awww, Reece!” Emma cried.
“You have great taste. That thing is
enormous
!”

“And sparkly!” Luci said with a giggle.

“I told him it was too much,” Cleo pointed out
. S
he still wore a semi-stunned expression
as Emma let go of her hand
. S
he flopped herself back onto the couch, into Reece’s arms.
“It’s way too big.” She held out the glittery princess cut diamond again. She couldn’t
seem to stop looking at it. Reece had picked
it out
on his own, completely surprising her. Emma was right. He had fabulous taste.

Even if it was too big.

“There’s no such thing as a too big
when it comes to diamonds,”
Emma disagreed.

It was a week after graduation and Reece had finally determined what he wanted to
spend his savings on. With the help of Luci, he had proposed the night before.
Now they were all gathered at the house.