Sand Castle Bay (Ocean Breeze) - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,71

didn’t look hopeful.

“But promising,” Taylor Lockhart argued, spinning it as only an excellent Realtor possibly could. “Right, Sophia?”

“Beyond promising,” Sophia insisted optimistically. “Emily, you’re going to love it. I know it.”

“Then let’s take a look,” Emily said, following them inside.

Almost immediately, she saw the room that Sophia had envisioned as a children’s playroom. The kitchen, though a disaster of outdated appliances, peeling linoleum and obviously rusty plumbing, was roomy enough for a large communal table.

In fact the biggest recommendation for the entire house was its size. All of the downstairs rooms could accommodate multiple adults with children underfoot. The drawback was the lack of a downstairs bathroom.

Upstairs there were a half-dozen bedrooms large enough for a mother and child to live comfortably, or perhaps two children with the use of bunk beds. One sunny room was large enough for, perhaps, a mother with three smaller children. Emily could already envision trying to make maximum use of the space and turning each room into something homey and comfortable with simple furniture, bright colors and textures. That, she knew, would be a godsend for many of these single-mom families fleeing bad situations. They needed a safe, clean, comfortable environment, not luxury. The bedrooms would give them privacy. The playroom, living room and yard would give them much-needed space.

“There are only two bathrooms,” she noted. “That’s a problem. With this many people, we should have at least three, and four would be better. I’m not sure how we can do that without giving up one of the bedrooms. I’ll have to check into code requirements.”

“Come with me,” Sophia said, leading the way to a door at the end of the hall. She opened it to reveal a sizable storage closet. “Could you work with this? It’s right next to one of the existing bathrooms, so the plumbing wouldn’t be a nightmare, right?”

Emily studied it thoughtfully. The space wasn’t huge, but it would certainly accommodate a sink, toilet and walk-in shower. “I’ll get with the plumber and see what he thinks,” she said, making a note on her phone, where she’d already stored other observations and preliminary measurements, along with photos of every room they’d been in.

“Want to see the attic?” the Realtor asked.

Emily’s excitement stirred. “There’s an attic?”

Taylor grinned. “Wait till you see.”

Though access now was through a pull-down staircase, that could easily be changed to something more permanent, Emily thought, making another note. As she climbed the steps and emerged into a huge room filled with sunlight, she gasped.

“Two more bedrooms, at least,” she said at once.

“Or a dormitory style room with a bath for the older kids,” Sophia suggested. “A room with beds and desks, so they can study. It would give the moms and the teens both a little more privacy.”

Emily nodded. “Not coed, of course.”

“Of course,” Sophia agreed.

“Some moms won’t be comfortable being separated from their kids,” Marilyn commented. “They need to know they’re close and safe.”

“The little ones, for sure,” Sophia said. “But the teens? I think they need this tiny little taste of independence.” She regarded her friend with a coaxing smile. “We’ll talk about it some more, okay?”

“And you’ll win,” Marilyn responded with an air of resignation. “You always do.”

“Only because I’m so often right,” Sophia joked. “Okay, Emily, you’ve seen it all. What do you think? Can you pull off a miracle?”

“Do you still want this open by Thanksgiving?”

“Absolutely,” Sophia said, her expression unyielding.

Emily hadn’t expected any equivocation, and she’d prepared herself for an impossible schedule. “What fun is ordinary when we have a chance to perform a miracle? Let me spend tonight and tomorrow making some calls.” She glanced at the Realtor. “Can I have access again, maybe late tomorrow afternoon, if I can line up some people to take a look and get started?”

The woman chuckled. “You’re asking the wrong person. If the board signs the papers this afternoon, they’ll be able to give you all the access you want.”

“You’re moving that quickly?” Emily asked, her gaze on Sophia.

“We don’t have time to waste. I’ll have a set of keys sent over by courier as soon as these papers are signed. My attorney has been on this for several days now, getting the paperwork taken care of. I’ve called in every favor in my arsenal, and we’ll have the title by tomorrow. He’s already started the process for building and zoning permits.”

“That could take forever,” Emily warned.

“Not with Sophia on the case,” Marilyn commented. “The mayor swoons when she walks into the room