Marjorie cleared her throat. Teresa might have sworn the older woman looked vaguely guilty—but the light changed before she could ask if anything was wrong.

“Take the next left,” Marjorie advised. “It’s the last house on the right in the cul-de-sac.”

“This is a good location,” Teresa mused, admiring the neat lawns of the small houses and duplexes on the street. “Close to the diner and the school, not too much traffic, and the rent you quoted is certainly reasonable. There must be something wrong with the apartment.”

“Nothing at all,” Marjorie answered a little too quickly. “It’s very nice. Small, of course, but big enough to suit your needs for now.”

Following Marjorie’s instructions, Teresa turned into the second driveway in front of the red brick duplex. She took a moment to study the place, approving of what she saw. Two stories. White shutters at the windows. Matching front doors with small covered stoops. Fenced yards with tidy if minimal landscaping. Marjorie explained that a fence divided the backyards, and that each unit featured a small patio.

It looked ideal. Ever the skeptic, Teresa couldn’t help worrying that there would be some major drawback. Maybe it was all facade and the inside was a dump. Or maybe, she thought when the landlord opened the door in response to their knock, the problem wasn’t with the house—but with its owner.

It appeared that this duplex belonged to Riley O’Neal.

Chapter Four

Riley was obviously as surprised to see Teresa as she was to see him. He recovered quickly, giving Marjorie a vaguely

chiding look and saying, “So this is your friend who’s looking for a place to rent.”

“Yes. Didn’t I mention that it’s Teresa?” Marjorie asked with an innocent tone she couldn’t quite pull off.

“No, you didn’t. Your exact words, I think, were that you had a dear widowed friend who’s looking for a quiet, safe place to live.”

“Marjorie!” Teresa turned to her friend in exasperation, stunned that Marjorie had been so deceptive.

“What?” The older woman’s still-sharp eyes widened even further behind her glasses. “It’s all true.”

“And did you mention that your dear friend has two children?”

“No, she didn’t mention that fact.” Riley seemed more indulgently resigned than annoyed by the minor deception.

Teresa shook her head. “And I’m sure you have a policy against renting to anyone with children. So thank you for your time, but—”

She had already taken a step backward when Riley stopped her. “Wait a minute. Who said I wouldn’t rent to anyone with children?”

“Do you?” she challenged.

He cleared his throat. “Why don’t you come in and see the place before you turn it down?” he asked, sidestepping the question as he motioned them inside.

Teresa hesitated, but Marjorie took her arm in a surprisingly strong grip and urged her forward. “Yes, Terry, come inside. It’s really very nice.”

Reluctantly, Teresa allowed herself to be escorted in.

They entered a small foyer with a straight staircase that led to the second floor. A tiny half bath was tucked beneath the stairs. The foyer led into a cozy unfurnished living room with a built-in bookcase and a nice hardwood floor. At the back of the first floor was an airy, eat-in kitchen equipped with a range, a refrigerator, a dishwasher and a washer and dryer behind bi-fold doors in one corner.

Teresa looked longingly at the washer and dryer. The little house she’d been renting for the past couple of months hadn’t come equipped with them. She had to take all her laundry to a nearby laundromat—an expensive and time-consuming process.

“Let’s look upstairs.” Marjorie nudged Teresa along with the ease of an experienced realtor. “Three bedrooms. Right, Riley?”

“Uh, yeah.” He followed them, letting Marjorie take the lead—as if he had any real choice about that, Teresa thought with a slight smile. “Each one’s the size of the average walk-in closet and they all share a bath, but there’s a fair amount of storage tucked into various nooks and crannies.”

He’d exaggerated only a bit about the size of the bedrooms, Teresa discovered. They were small but nice. Hardwood floors again, and good-size closets behind bi-fold doors. Multipaned windows let in plenty of natural light, preventing the rooms from feeling claustrophobic. The single bathroom was easily accessible to all three rooms. It held a shower-bathtub combination, a sink, a toilet and a roomy linen closet.

“My side of the duplex is a mirror opposite of this one except that I’ve taken out an upstairs wall to make one large bedroom. I use the smaller one as an office,” Riley explained, obviously making conversation to fill an awkward pause when the tour ended.

It was nice, Teresa had to admit. Roomier than it looked from the outside. The kids would each have a bedroom, and the fenced backyard would give them a safe place to play. It was on the school bus route, so the bus would drop them off practically at the front door every afternoon.

Too bad she couldn’t take it.

Tags: Gina Wilkins Hot off the Press! Romance
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