the cards for her biologically.
“Can I ask why you want the house so much?” Molly was slightly curious.
“I have a son I’m trying to get custody of. His mother tries her best, I guess, but she just isn’t motherly. She goes out a lot, and I worry she drinks too much. I think if I owned a house, it would look better if I take her to court.”
“Oh, and it has to be that house?”
He smirked. “I guess it doesn’t have to. There was a perfect place in the back yard for a tree house.”
“I saw it. The two big oaks with the big branches that almost intertwined in the middle.”
He closed his eyes for a moment and gave a soft sigh as he nodded. “That’s it.”
“I guess we both have our reasons then.”
“Do you have kids?”
She shook her head. He began to speak again, but Sandy called Molly from the bar entrance, interrupting him. Looking away from Luke, not really sure what to say, she choose to walk away and go back to her friend. At the door, she looked back and saw him climb into his truck. At least he was leaving—hopefully they’d never cross paths again because, for some reason, she felt a strange attraction to him.
Sandy wrapped her arms around Molly and told her to fill her in on what happened. Before she could say the words, she needed to sit and let everything that happened sink in. And not just about the house, but why she suddenly cared about this stranger.
* * *
Luke sat outside on his porch, watching Sammy play in the sprinkler. His kid loved that thing, but his wallet didn’t when the water bill came in. Sammy enjoyed water, and Luke hoped to put a pool in whenever he got his new place.
After he’d picked his son up this morning, he drove around the neighborhoods nearby and checked out the other homes for sale. At some of the vacant ones, they got out and walked around. But there was always something he didn’t like. Something that didn’t compare to the house on Maple Street.
He took Sammy by the house and of course, his son loved it. Even begged him to get it. Seeing the way Sammy’s face lit up, he knew he had to have it. Molly crossed his mind many times. She loved the house too. This past year had been hard for her, and she had a story to share if only she could find someone willing to listen. However, he’d still instructed his realtor to take his offer up to his max and raise the earnest money fifteen hundred more. If he got the house, he was going to have an enemy, but there wasn’t much he could do. Whoever lost would have to find another home. He didn’t have only himself to think about, but Sammy as well.
He needed to get custody of his son. His ex-wife loved Sammy but just didn’t have it in her. Kids didn’t get easier as they got older, they got harder. Leslie was likely popping pills daily and drinking. He was building a case, and he needed to get into a home that would show Sammy would have a more stable environment, because both he and Leslie were currently renters. Even though his lawyer told him often that renting versus owning didn’t matter to the judge, he couldn’t see how it wouldn’t help with his case.
The creak of the front steps brought him from his thoughts only to find Sammy dripping wet in front of him.
“Daddy, my stomach hurts. I think I’m going to be sick.” He held his stomach, looking a little green.
“Probably the heat. Let’s go in.” Luke motioned his son. Even though fall was around the corner, Luke found it was considerably warmer than usual. His shirt was slightly wet from the short amount of time they’d been outside.
He turned off the water and then followed Sammy in. Hopefully his son wasn’t getting sick. He was clueless when it came to stuff like that. But he was going to have to get used to it. He turned the TV on and pulled a blanket over Sammy on the couch, but not before feeling his forehead. Yikes, he was awfully hot.
“Anything else hurt?” He pushed the hair back from Sammy’s forehead.
“I’m dizzy too. I think I’m gonna throw up.”
He searched for something to give his son, but he didn’t get to the trashcan in time. Sammy puked on the carpet