Currant Creek Valley - By RaeAnne Thayne Page 0,42
and lovely orange cabinetry, and the main bathroom would have to be completely gutted.
All in all, it was exactly what he wanted. The challenge of the work it needed was a huge part of the appeal.
“What do you think, Ethan?”
His son sat on the bottom step of the porch, chin in hand. Rodin’s The Thinker with missing front teeth and dark curls. “I believe it’s my favorite so far. I really like this house. It feels happy in here.”
He grinned. “There you have it. That’s good enough for me, kid.” He turned back to Jill. “Looks like we’re going with the happy house.”
She frowned as much as her Botox would allow. “You really should have a home inspection first. I doubt the electricity is up to code and the plumbing might have to be entirely replaced.”
“The structure is solid and the foundation decent. I had a good look when we came in. I figure I can fix just about anything in between.”
“What about all the other houses we looked at?” she said, a little desperately. “Some of those had real potential.”
“I agree, but they’re not for me. I’m sorry to waste your time and energy. We should have started here.” Which he had suggested, several times, but he figured he should probably refrain from pointing that out.
“We Delgado men know what we want when we see it, don’t we, kid?”
Ethan grinned. “Yep. Can I have the bedroom upstairs with that window seat and the huge closet?”
That was the one with the water damage that would need some serious drywall repair. In the win column, the two downstairs bedrooms were just fine and the upstairs bathroom only needed new paint.
“We might have a bit of work to do first,” he warned his son.
“But after that, can I?”
“Sure thing.”
“Are you sure about this?” The real estate agent looked aghast, probably because the asking price was much lower than any of the other houses they had seen, which meant her commission would take a corresponding hit.
He regretted that but he wasn’t about to buy a house he didn’t want just so she could have a bigger payday.
“Dead sure.”
“It’s barely livable!”
“It’s got a working bathroom and kitchen. What more do a couple guys need? Let’s go down 5 percent on the asking price, see if the seller will bite. With that price, especially for this area, I could raze it to the foundation and start over and still probably come out ahead.”
The neighborhood was perfect, as far as he was concerned, a mix of old and newer houses on lots separated by looming pine trees. A silvery creek threaded through some of the houses in the neighborhood—not his, thank heavens, with an inquisitive son to worry about—and the mountains soared as a backdrop.
He could picture watching sunsets over those mountains from the porch on summer evenings, raking leaves with Ethan on crisp autumn afternoons with the smell of wood smoke in the air, the whole neighborhood lit up with twinkly lights at Christmastime.
Apparently Jill could see his mind was set. She shifted from pointing out the pitfalls to some of the positives.
“Well, it is quite historic, built during the mining boom in the latter part of the nineteenth century. It’s one of the original houses in this neighborhood. Really, most of the other houses grew up around it. The yard is nicely landscaped, with all those beautiful mature trees and even some cherry and apple trees in the back. It’s been neglected the last few years because of the owner’s health issues but should only need a little elbow grease to bring it back.”
He didn’t mind hard work, though he knew little about gardening. He would just have Ethan read some books on the subject. The kid could be a walking encyclopedia when you gave him a research topic.
“The seller is actually the grandson of the original owner,” the real estate agent went on. “He was pastor here in Hope’s Crossing for many years. He and his wife raised all their children here. Hank had a heart attack a few years ago and hasn’t been able to keep up the house as he’d like. From what I understand, they’re moving to Arizona to be closer to grandchildren.”
He had sensed the house had known families, children, love.
“Let’s not keep them waiting then. Make the offer, see if they bite.”
Her carefully coiffed hair didn’t move when she shook her head, he noticed. “I hope you’re not rushing into things, but let me go make a call.”