Forever Saved - Kathleen Brooks Page 0,1

sweet three year old’s voice. It was clear that Karl’s wife, Eden, was away this week by the very lopsided pigtails her niece was sporting.

“For now.” Rick tried not to sneer but he couldn’t hide the fact he thought children were beneath him.

April’s bright blue eyes went big and her sunny yellow blonde hair bounced as she cocked her head to the side and looked up at him. “Forever is good.”

Stella bit her bottom lip to keep from smiling while Karl cleared his throat and nudged April into the house. Stella didn’t wait for Rick to think of a snappy comeback for a three year old. She just shut the door and locked it.

“What was that all about?” Karl asked as April skipped down the small hallway leading into the open kitchen and living room.

“I just broke up with Rick.”

“Thank goodness. I couldn’t stand him.”

Stella smacked her brother’s arm. “Why didn’t you tell me that sooner? It could have saved me a lot of time.”

“He bought that gaudy, overpriced house down the road from you. It should have been obvious then that his cornbread wasn’t cooked in the middle.”

Stella wanted to roll her eyes at him, but she was beginning to realize how stupid women could be when a man with a pretty face paid them a lot of attention. She vowed right then and there not to fall for another pretty face without fully cooked cornbread behind it.

“Aunt Stell and Wick are over,” April sang as she skipped around some more.

“You never did like him, did you?” Stella asked her niece.

“No. He’s mean. Can I go play with Jimmy?” April asked.

“Sure. Jimmy is out back.”

Karl shook his head as his daughter flung open the back door and yelled, “Jimmy!”

The black and white mixed-breed dog raced from where he had been chasing a squirrel. Jimmy was a big dog, but a lean one. He weighed seventy pounds and was the height of a German Shepherd. He had the coloring and speed of a border collie and the short coat of a Labrador retriever. His body was black, but the bottom parts of his legs and the tip of his tail were white and he sported a white shirtfront in a tuxedo chest. His head was also black except for the lightning bolt of white down his forehead. Stella had stopped traffic during rush hour on the busy Harrodsburg Road in Lexington to rescue the dog four years ago.

Now he and April were inseparable. Jimmy slid to a stop and sat in front of April, who immediately flung her little arms around his neck. “Come on, Jimmy. I want to play dress up.”

Jimmy dutifully followed after as April ran down the hallway toward the guest room that also served as April’s room. Once a week, April stayed with Stella so Karl and Eden could have a date night.

When April and Jimmy were off getting dressed up, Stella grabbed a beer for her brother and one for herself. “I want to sell my house.”

“What? You just bought it two years ago.”

“I know, but it creeps me out that Rick is right down the street. How can I relax? Plus, with him purchasing that house, it’ll really help my comps. I should come out ahead on the sale.” Stella took a sip of her beer. “And I’m ready for a move. I bought that farm in Keeneston and the farmhouse on it is awfully cute. What do I need this house for?”

Karl cringed behind his beer. “Farm rubble more like it. It needs serious work to be livable.”

“I know. That’s why I thought I’d quietly start looking for a buyer for this house while I get to work on the farmhouse. Then I can close and move out and never have to discuss it with Rick.”

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Karl asked after a moment of silence.

“No, I just don’t want the headache. Everything’s always about him and I don’t want to hear it. Do you think Eden can find a buyer without publicly listing the house?”

“Of course she can.” Karl sat down his beer and pulled out his phone. In less than a minute, Eden had gotten back to him. “She’s finishing up a showing just down the road and will come straight here. I won’t bother telling you what she thinks of this.”

Stella rolled her eyes at her brother. “Of course you’ll tell me. Otherwise you wouldn’t have said it.”

“Fine. She thinks it’s a great idea and she agrees with