Hard-Riding Cowboy (Kinky Spurs 3)

On the wraparound front porch with the single black door and a gold knocker, Jannie waited, along with Harper and Emma. “Hi,” Megan said, hurrying to reach them.

“So great to see you again, Megan,” Jannie said, offering her hand.

Megan returned the handshake with a smile. Jeez, Jannie hadn’t changed. At all. She’d been a cheerleader in high school. She was still shiny and perfect with a short brown bob and flawless makeup.

Jannie turned toward the door and typed a code into the lockbox. “I was surprised to get your call. Are you thinking about selling the bar?”

“Not the bar,” Megan explained, giving Harper and Emma a quick wink. They smiled back. “But I am considering renting my apartment, if you know of anyone who’s looking.” She’d need the income from the rental to help pay the mortgage on the house, considering she was already mortgaged up to her eyeballs on the bar. But she finagled some numbers after she got off the phone with Jannie, and the house was doable. Tight, but possible. Well, as long as the bank was good with a ten grand down payment, since that was all Megan could afford to pull out of her savings.

Jannie pulled out the key. “I’ll spread the word around, for sure.” She smiled at Megan. “I don’t think you’ll have any trouble renting the place out. You’re right downtown. We’ll find a twentysomething who will be all over moving into your place.”

“Great.” Megan returned the smile then gave Harper a knowing look. Harper grinned right back. Of course, Jannie would spread the word. She had been a gossip back in high school. Maybe that was what made her such a good real estate agent now. She loved being in people’s business.

“Ready for a look?” Jannie asked.

“Yes!” said Emma, all but bouncing on her heels. “I’m dying to see the inside. The outside of this place is . . . wow.”

Even Megan wondered how this house was still on the market. Everything was perfect. Almost too perfect.

Jannie opened the door. “If you don’t mind me asking, what brought all this on?” She let them enter first then shut the door behind her. “It’s a pretty big house just for you.”

Oh, yeah, Jannie was digging, but Megan wouldn’t spill this secret yet. She hadn’t even told her parents or Jenny about the baby. She’d had weeks to come to terms with her pregnancy. She figured she’d give Nash a little more time too. She plastered on her most innocent smile. “I’ve been wanting more space for a while now.”

Harper nodded. “It’s all our fault, really. We’ve been trying to get Megan out of that apartment for years.”

“And look at this place,” Emma said. “It’s beautiful.”

“Sometimes bigger is better, and this place really is gorgeous,” Jannie said. Albeit, the suspicious glint in her eyes told Megan she suspected more was going on. Luckily, she turned away, getting into her sales pitch. “You’ll find this house has new windows and a new furnace.” She handed out brochures of the property. “There’s also a recently added sunroom and a new roof.”

The house had a gorgeous white staircase with dark wooden stairs all leading to white wainscoting then to soft green painted walls. There was a living room to the right with a white fireplace and a gray-painted kitchen at the back with white cabinets. From the rug lining the hallway to the modern tables and furniture in the living room and foyer, the place looked move-in ready.

“The house has gone through a full renovation,” Jannie explained, dropping her business card on the small front table. “The owner is a flipper. He put a good fifty grand into the property.”

Which explained the perfection of the house. It was too perfect because no one lived there. The house had obviously been staged.

“His work is incredible,” said Emma, entering the living room. “The attention to detail is outstanding.”

“Totally ama

zing,” Harper called from the kitchen.

Megan chuckled. Of course Harper, being the chef, would go there first. Megan was still kinda stuck on the staircase. She could picture a little one running down those stairs on Christmas morning. Curious about a certain room in particular, she began climbing the stairs, holding onto the thick railing.

“If you ask me, he’s the best builder in River Rock,” Jannie said from downstairs.

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Harper called from the kitchen in obvious defense of Chase. He owned Blackshaw Construction and built custom log homes and resort properties.

And yeah, he was the best.

Megan smiled to herself and headed down the hallway. On the left was a tiny bedroom fitted with a twin-sized bed and dresser that would make for a perfect home office. She went to the right where she passed the only bathroom in the house, fitted with a brand-new clawfoot bathtub and an all-glass shower. Nice. She kept on, finding in the main bedroom what she would expect in a historic Victorian home like this—a small space with a single door closet. The queen-size bed just fit, along with a small dresser. But there was a center rosette on the ceiling around the small crystal chandelier. She could definitely make that room work.

When she finally reached the last door, her breath caught in her throat. The room was painted a delicate yellow, almost as if the flipper knew she’d come looking for this house. Megan entered and ran her hands across the white crib set next to the rocking chair, emotion clawing at her throat.

Reality seemed to be hitting hard lately. She hadn’t ever considered children before because serious relationships hadn’t been her thing. She knew why. She’d been too caught up with Nash. No one else compared to him. Nash had always felt like the endgame, but she had also known he needed time to get his shit right. Especially when it came to her father.

Now the thought of getting married seemed even further away. There was a very good chance that once the baby news hit their families, the bomb would drop, and she would end up caught in the crossfire. Her throat began to tighten, and her heart began to race.

“This place could not get any cuter,” Harper said, entering the room.