your debt. And I haven’t been able to contact the bank about it yet, but I will on Monday. Between the house, the credit cards, and the second mortgage he took out on the house when you built it, you need just over a hundred grand to come out ahead.”
I gasp at the number. My heart is racing a million miles an hour, and I think I might throw up. “If he wasn’t dead already, I’d probably kill him again.”
“You and me both, sweetie.” Nahla refills my wine.
I stare at her, the firelight flickering on her cheeks. “What should I do?”
“I think you should rent out the room above your garage. That will at least give you some extra cash, and I’m going to see about the lease on the building you’re renting. You might be able to get out of it.”
Tears sting my eyes. I worked so hard to get a space where I could work and sell my pieces in Scottsdale. It’s the perfect part of town that I can take Tatum with me and not worry like I do when I’m in downtown Phoenix. So not only had that man left me with nothing, and financially ruined, the house in foreclosure, unsure how I’m going to keep Tatum in school, I might be forced to go back to working out of the garage? I shift my attention to Tatum. No way. I wouldn’t take away her security. “Okay. I’ll do whatever I need to keep this house for her.”
“I think if we can find a responsible renter, this could work out,” Nahla suggests. “I have to head out. I have dinner reservations with Kenneth.”
I stand and hug her. “Thank you. I really appreciate all this, even if you did marry a man over me.”
Nahla grins. I tried to get her to become a lesbian and marry me. Clearly I would have been better off. But when I told her I wouldn’t put out, she left me for a man. Figures.
Nahla leaving Sadie and me alone is where the night goes to shit. She left us with that bottle of wine and a laptop. What else could go wrong?
More than you know. It starts with Sadie pulling up ASU’s baseball roster and us staring at the guys on the team. “Forest was sure into Nahla.”
I laugh. “Who isn’t? Look at her. She’s like every man’s exotic wet dream.”
Sadie quirks an eye in my direction, drinking straight from the bottle of wine now. We’ve lost the glasses at this point. “Do guys really have wet dreams?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never asked one.” I scroll down on the page to see Cason’s name and a picture of him in a Devils’ hat and jersey. The sight of him sends a quick blip through my chest. I can’t help the smile.
“Damn, he must’ve really gave it to you last night.” With the bottle between her legs, she pretends to hump it.
Tatum grins, watching her, and then proceeds to hump the air.
“Can I watch Frozen?” Tatum, wearing a cowgirl hat and a lace skirt, stops her humping motions and twirls around the room.
“No, we watched it this morning.” I grab her and haul her onto my lap. Her cackles fill the room, and it’s the best sound I’ve heard all day. “You don’t even watch it. You just fast-forward until you get to the parts with that little snowman talking.”
She bats her long dark eyelashes at me. “I like hims.”
“He’s a pretty great character,” Sadie adds, pulling up Craigslist. “Now, let’s post this ad for you since you won’t let me live here with you.”
Tatum settles on the couch between us, and I roll my eyes at Sadie. “I would, but you can’t pay rent. That defeats the purpose of renting it out for money.”
“Right. I know that.” Sadie hasn’t held a job in her life. Unless you count the week she worked at Starbucks and got fired for reasons she won’t tell us.
There’s one thing that’s been good about this last week, and I’m reminded of it during the opening credits of, you guessed it, Frozen. It’s spending time with my sister. I can’t remember the last time I was able to see her for a week straight.
“Right. Let’s put up an ad.”
My ad?
Classy as shit.
Large, okay, medium-size apartment above garage. Has a toilet. Not in the bedroom, but like, attached and shit. Even gets hot water after an ungodly waiting period. Might as well bring baby wipes. It’d be faster.