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Chapter Sixteen
“This is it,” Zack told Megan. It was only the second house they’d seen that morning but he knew the perfect house when he saw it. Perfect, except it needed work. A lot of work to make it like he wanted it. Not as much to make it habitable. At least, that’s what he thought. “I’d like to bring Harlan Sullivan over to check it out before I make an offer.”
“All right. Since the house is unoccupied we can do that whenever you want.”
“Let me call Harlan.” Zack called Harlan’s cell and he answered on the first ring.
“Sullivan.”
“Harlan, it’s Zack. I need a favor.”
“Okay, what is it?”
“I want to make an offer on a house, but it needs a good bit of work. Would you mind looking at it and seeing if you think it would be worthwhile to fix up?”
“Sure. I’ve got some free time now. Can we do it soon?”
“Is now okay for Harlan to come over?” he asked Megan.
“Yes. Do you want me to cancel the other appointments or do you still want to see them?”
“That depends on what Harlan says. Let’s hold off on that for a little while.” He told Harlan the address and ended the call.
The house was an older one, on the street behind the big mansions, Levi’s being one of them. By no means a mansion, it was a large two-story clapboard house with a wraparound porch, six bedrooms and several other rooms. Four bedrooms upstairs, the master and one other on the first floor, as well as a room that Zack thought would be perfect for Laurel’s office. The kitchen was large, open and had a picture window looking out into the backyard. It had been unoccupied for years since its elderly owner had died and her heirs had put it on the market.
The asking price was already low but Megan thought he could offer even less, since it had not only sat unmoving for years but also needed work. A lot of work. Even Zack could see it needed new paint, carpet and floors, but he didn’t know if it would need any structural changes. As for the yard, best not to even think about that.
Harlan arrived shortly and after greeting Zack and Megan, said, “I wondered if anyone would ever want to buy this place.”
“You’re familiar with it?” Zack asked.
“I haven’t been inside but I’ve always thought it was a shame that it had been left to fall apart. I really like the exterior.”
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Megan said.
Harlan didn’t say much as they walked through the house, and Zack was too nervous to ask anything. He realized he really wanted this house. Not another house, but this one that they could restore and make their own. Imagine, him with a wife, kids, maybe even a dog. Every family needed a dog. A year ago he’d never have thought of himself as that traditional. But a year ago Laurel hadn’t even been a possibility, much less involved with him and pregnant with his babies.
“Zack?”
“Sorry, did you say something?”
“Does Laurel know you’re looking at houses?” Harlan asked.
“Not yet.”
“Are you going to tell her?”
“Of course. I have to if I want her to move in with me.”
“Do you think she’ll go for that?”
“I don’t know. I hope so.”
Harlan simply nodded. “Well, structurally the house is in surprisingly good shape. I think most of what you’d want to do is cosmetic. Obviously, I can’t tell about the electrical system or the plumbing without a closer examination. I have numbers for people who can check that out for you.”
Him, deal with all that kind of crap? Oh, hell no. “Would you consider being the contractor for this? You’re already doing the airport and you’ve saved us a lot of aggravation.”
Harlan laughed. “Sure. Especially considering you’re trying to get my sister and her kids to move in here with you. This will be a much better place for them to live.”
