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Just in case, I called my father.
“Jesse! When are you heading to the ranch? I thought you’d be here by now. You’re off the next three days, right?”
“Yeah, I am,” I replied with a sigh. “I’m having a little bit of technical trouble before I leave. Would you be willing to wait a little longer for me tonight if I can’t leave before seven?”
“What kind of technical trouble? Are you all right, Jesse?” my father asked, and I could hear the worry in his voice.
Same old Dad. At least I didn’t have to worry about him ever not worrying that I was going to make it home safely after a shift at the firehouse. Though I suspected he was more upset that I was not going to be there on time, I knew that he was probably going to find a way to be all right with it.
“I’m trying to post an ad to rent out the top floor of the house, but I’m getting tripped up with details,” I replied. “I should have been more careful the first time, but I’m going to try to finish this before heading over.”
“I can wait up,” he said before I’d even asked. “I’ll see you when you get here. Text me when you finally leave Lantana, Jesse. I want to know an ETA so I can open the gate for you. Don’t worry about being late, I can keep myself busy. I have a few things I’ve been putting off doing anyway.”
After taking a deep breath and making some adjustments, I started filling out the ad. Again. I decided to change up some of the wording, too, since the original wording had only been the first thing that came to mind.
First, I made sure the issues that had popped up the first time were filled in this time. This included that I would prefer that those who were going to rent from me had renter’s insurance and that the deposit would be half a month’s rent to cover any cleaning expenses when they moved out beyond typical wear and tear of items that would already be covered as part of my duty as their landlord.
As for why someone should rent from a first-time landlord, I decided I would be honest. I wrote in this area that it was a shame this house sat empty most nights, and I’d like someone else to be able to enjoy the house as much as I do when I’m home. While a first-time landlord, I also noted that by my being gone most of the time, I would give the tenant almost as much privacy as if they were renting from a more experienced landlord or management company.
Once these areas were filled in, I cracked my knuckles softly. The rest of this was going to be child’s play, but I wanted to make the property look appealing to any potential renters. I listed around half of the rent in the area because I could afford that. Again, I noted that this included utilities.
That was incredibly rare to find in Lantana. A quick search on the site confirmed that I was practically the only rental to include utilities in the price of the rent. Most landlords were looking to cover various costs and make a profit on the rent from their tenants. Honestly, I didn’t need to make any money from this; I just wanted someone to enjoy the house and keep it from looking abandoned most days.
“Hmm. What else should I share in this ad?” I pursed my lips.
This ad needed to be well put together. If it wasn’t well-written, I wouldn’t attract renters.
I decided to write up a generic overview of the house, with the only caveat being that I didn’t want anyone in the master bedroom. The rest of the house was theirs to explore, and this rent included exclusive use of the two bedrooms and full bathroom upstairs.
I supposed this set-up would be good for a mother with up to two children, but it would also be good for friends who were looking to move in together. Or one person who could afford the rent and wanted an extra room for a home office of sorts.
Thinking about the home office made me put a few restrictions on the “upstairs is yours to do whatever you want with” phrasing. I didn’t want a business being run out of my home. They could work from home – including meeting with clients or coworkers over video chat – but I would not allow anyone to run a business out of my home and conduct most of their business out of the living room.
Once I was done with the ad, I submitted it. As I waited for it to get approved, I grabbed a few things that I decided I would take to the ranch with me at the last minute. Once those were in the truck, I looked at the laptop again.
This time, the ad had gone through. That was wonderful. I shut my laptop down and put it back in my room. As much as I knew that I could leave it in the dining room for now, I didn’t want to. Everything had a place, and I thought it needed to stay that way. Especially if someone else was going to be moving into the house and staying there when I wasn’t around.
I called my father back and let him know that I was on my way. I didn’t think that I would be late enough he had to worry about opening the gate for me, but I appreciated that he had been willing to do that.
Chapter two
Two: Jade
I stared at the phone with my lips pursed. A bracelet had completely fallen apart in front of me, and the beads were now scattered around the apartment floor.
“Is that the sound I think I just heard? The sound of beads on the floor?” The other side of the line crackled a little as Maria spoke.
I pushed my long black hair out of my face, frustrated that I didn’t put it in a braid. Perhaps now I should, but that was a moot point since the beads were already rolling away from me.
“Yeah. At least my arms will fit under the couch. A few of them fell under there. I think I lost my grip on the bracelet or the pin on my pants came undone. That just came undone out of nowhere,” I lamented. “Hold on. I need to clean up the beads before I lose any of them.”
“I understand.”
The line went quiet as Maria patiently waited for me to gather all the beads from the floor. The last thing I needed was to step on a bead and break it. These beads took forever to get to me, and the next shipment wouldn’t be for a while. I wanted to use all the beads first. Or, most of them. These beads weren’t popular this time of year, either, so it wasn’t like I was in a hurry to get the beading finished on this piece.
“All right. I have all the beads, I think,” I said as I got up from the floor. “What were we talking about?”
I could hear Maria smiling through her words. “I said I have something important to talk to you about.”
