The cloud of dust following Lucy’s car settled as she slowed and pulled into the driveway beside Kerrigan’s car.
I parked behind Lucy, blocking her vehicle in, and stepped out just as she rushed to meet Kerrigan.
“Hi.” She smiled at Kerrigan. “I’m so sorry I’m late.”
“It’s no problem.” Kerrigan pushed up from the steps where she’d been sitting, her hand extended as she walked to meet Lucy. “I’m Kerrigan Hale.”
“Jade Morgan.”
Lucy said the name with such effortless ease no one would question it. There was no hesitancy like there had been with me. Lajade. Christ, I’d fallen for that lie like a rock tossed over a cliff.
As they shook hands, Kerrigan’s gaze darted over Lucy’s shoulder. “Uh, hi, Duke.”
I lifted a hand. “Hey, Kerrigan.”
“I didn’t realize you knew Jade.”
I gave a single nod. “Yep.”
Though Kerrigan had grown up in Calamity, we’d only known one another for a couple years. When I’d moved here to take a deputy job, she’d been in high school and had left shortly after graduation for college. I knew her parents along with the abundance of Hales in town—her aunts, uncles and cousins. As her grandfather loved to boast whenever I saw him at the café drinking coffee, their family had been here since Calamity’s inception.
She was a few years younger than I was, which to most of the nosy women in town meant the two of us were eligible for matchmaking. We’d gone on one blind date, and though Kerrigan was a nice woman with long, chestnut hair and pretty brown eyes, the two of us had zero chemistry.
Lucy, on the other hand . . . there’d been an instant spark.
Too bad it was all based on bullshit.
“Let me show you the house.” Kerrigan turned and started up the stairs, returning to business. “Can I help you bring anything inside?”
“Oh, no. Thanks,” Lucy said. “I’ll get it later. I don’t have much.”
I swallowed a snarky retort, following them up the porch steps. Lucy didn’t have much because Jade Morgan was a whole two weeks old.
“This porch is beautiful,” Lucy said, her eyes roaming over the smooth, chocolate deck boards.
“Thanks.” Kerrigan beamed as she unlocked the front door. “I stained it myself.”
We stepped inside the entryway and I had to remind myself where we were standing. I hadn’t been inside Widow Ashleigh’s place for months, and Kerrigan’s updates had transformed the entrance from old and run-down to classic and stylish.
If the rest of the house was like this, no wonder she was asking for so much in rent.
“Like I told you over the phone, the lease includes the house plus twenty acres,” Kerrigan told Lucy. “The house sits on the front of the property. The boundary line runs along the road so everything behind the house is yours to use. The neighbors all have good fences so it’s easy to see where the property lines run. There is a barn out back if you need it, but I’ll warn you I haven’t spent any time in there, so it’s a mess.”
“No problem. I don’t need a barn for anything,” Lucy said, following Kerrigan deeper into the house. She cast a glance over her shoulder and if she was surprised that I was following, she didn’t let it show.
“This is it.” Kerrigan waved a hand toward the living room.
“It’s beautiful.” Lucy’s smile widened, her gaze bouncing from ceiling to floor to fireplace to window.
There was a hint of paint in the air, mixed with the fresh scent of furniture polish and glass cleaner.
“Looks good, Kerrigan,” I said.
“I’m happy with how it turned out.” She waved for us to follow. “Let me show you the kitchen.”
Kerrigan had done a lot of the work here herself, much like she had with her other properties in town. We shared a mutual friend, Kase, who owned a construction company in Calamity, and he assisted in the larger tasks that Kerrigan couldn’t tackle alone. But for the most part, she was a one-woman show.
Some people in town didn’t like how she was renovating some of the historical homes, this one included. But I disagreed, admiring her for taking risks.
Lucy didn’t say much as she walked through the living room. Her attention seemed fixed on the large window that overlooked the front of the house, past the porch and to the driveway. When Widow Ashleigh had lived here, that window had been three. Now, the single, sparkling glass pane allowed sunlight to bathe the room. With the mountain view in the distance, it was hard to tear your eyes away.
She was so fixated on the picture outside, she nearly tripped over the corner of a rug.
“Careful.” I caught her elbow in my grip, holding her steady before she could fall. A jolt of electricity shot up my hand from her smooth skin.
A red flush bloomed in her cheeks as she muttered, “Thank you,” then chased after Kerrigan, this time watching where she put her feet.
Chemistry. We had it in spades.
Damn.
I gave her a head start, taking a moment to suck in a breath, then followed, finding Kerrigan and Lucy standing beside the table in the dining room off the kitchen.
Because it was an older house, none of the rooms were enormous and the spaces were all segregated by walls. Open concept hadn’t been an architectural trend when this place had been built seventy or eighty years ago. Every room had at least two doorways, all adorned with ornate trim that had been painted a stark white. The crown molding had been painted to match while the walls had all been coated in a bright cream.
“Are these original?” Lucy asked, pointing to the hardwood floors.
Kerrigan nodded. “They are. I was able to restore them down here, but unfortunately, upstairs they were in bad shape, so you’ve got carpet in the bedrooms.”
“I don’t mind carpet.” Lucy ran a hand over the back of a chair, then retreated into the kitchen.
The cabinets and appliances were new. They brightened the small space and made it seem more modern than the other rooms. It was large enough for a square island. Whereas the countertops around the room were granite, the island was topped with a butcher block.
Lucy opened the rear door, taking in the small patio out back.
“Should we go upstairs?” Kerrigan asked Lucy.
I stayed in the kitchen, not needing to see the bedrooms. It was going to be hard enough to mentally erase the smiling, fun, witty Jade and replace her with the scheming, famous, I’ll-bribe-my-way-out-of-a-speeding-ticket Lucy. The last thing I needed was a mental image of her anywhere near a bed. Because whether I called her Jade or Lucy, that woman was sexy as hell.
As they padded up the staircase, I wandered back to the living room and stood in front of the picture window. This house wasn’t flashy or expensive. It was a nice home, perfect for a couple or even a small family. Every room was furnished with quality, affordable pieces, nothing elegant or expensive.
Would someone like Lucy Ross, whose car cost more than most homes in Calamity, actually be comfortable here? I wasn’t sure how long she’d agreed to rent the farmhouse, but I was giving her until winter. Then I suspected she’d be more than willing to retreat to her glamorous life.
“The kitchen has all the standard items but if you need anything else, just let me know,” Kerrigan said as the pair came down the stairs. “Same goes with the furniture.”