Page 26 of The Candle Palace (Jamison Valley 6)
“Is she still in Seattle?”
I shook my head. “After Dad died, Mom came back to Spokane because he left her his house
.”
“Really?” Milo asked. “Not you?”
“Really. It bothered me at first, but Dad explained it to me before he died. I understand why he did it. And honestly, I wouldn’t have time to care for it anyway. It’s about four thousand square feet with a large yard and a ton of maintenance.”
It would have been too much for me. It was too much for Mom. Instead of trying to keep up on the yard work and little repairs, she’d let it go. It was heartbreaking to return home—to a place Dad had worked so hard to keep nice—and see how quickly it was becoming a shambles.
Underneath this winter’s snow, the yard was overgrown. The flower beds were full of weeds. The cedar shakes in the apex of the roofline needed to be stained, the porch swept of fallen leaves and stained too.
The inside, which Dad and I had always kept clean and tidy, was now crowded. Mom wasn’t a hoarder but she loved clutter. All of her knickknacks were coated with dust. Her abundance of toss pillows and crocheted throw blankets had gone too long without washing and gave off a musty odor.
I kept reminding myself it wasn’t Dad’s place anymore. Still, it was hard to see.
“I lived with Dad all through college. When I graduated, he bought me a condo about three blocks from here.” He’d wanted me to be able to walk to and from work. “And he bought me a car.”
He’d already been diagnosed with cancer when he’d bought me both. He knew Mom would fight for his house after his death. At least, for the portion she thought Denny was owed. And instead of making me deal with his loss and a battle with Mom, he’d simply let her win. At the same time, he’d provided me a home and my own freedom.
“Denny just moved in with Mom. Right after New Year’s,” I told Milo.
“Are you close with him?”
“We don’t really know each other. Denny is a carpenter or is trying to be. He’s . . .” Arrogant. Spoiled. Rude. He didn’t like to work before ten or past three. He did good work when he tried but he wasn’t exactly what anyone would call ambitious. “He has some growing up to do.”
Milo chuckled. “Is that a nice way to say you don’t get along?”
“Maybe.” I giggled, feeling a weight come off my mind. I hadn’t unloaded all of that on, well . . . anyone. It was nice to talk freely about Dad, Mom and Denny. “Anyway, that’s the story of my family. Sorry. That got heavy.”
“Don’t be.”
“Do you have any siblings?” I asked.
“I have an older sister, Tanya. She is eleven years older than I am. I was a surprise after a Garth Brooks concert.”
“Ah. And where is your sister?”
“She married a guy in the military. They move around a lot and are currently stationed in Germany.”
“Germany. Oh, wow.”
“Mom and Dad go visit when they can. Tanya and her husband don’t want kids, so they like bouncing around. She says it keeps them fresh.”
“I can see that.”
“Would you ever live somewhere else?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” This was home. It always had been. I’d never entertained the idea of a new town because while Dad had been alive, I had no reason to leave. But now? Maybe. “I love my job here. It would be hard to let that go. If Dad were still alive, I’d say no. But if the right opportunity came along, I’d consider it.”
“But you’re not set on Spokane forever.”
“No, I guess not. Why?”
Milo gave me a sexy, half-cocked grin. “Just curious.”
Five
